Lorenzo. And she couldn’t even allow herself the satisfaction
of inwardly believing that Lorenzo had
primed his lawyer to speak as he had. One look at
Lorenzo’s grim expression was enough to make it
plain that Alfredo’s unwitting revelations had not
pleased him.
'Jodie does not work in any capacity for any of the
aid programmes, Alfredo.' Lorenzo stopped him. 'As
it happens I met her some time ago, when I was in
England. I had planned to bring her here to meet my
grandmother, but unfortunately Nonna died before I
could do so…which brings me to the matter of my
late cousin’s widow, Caterina.'
'She can have no claim on the Castillo once you
have complied with the terms of your grandmother’s
will and are married,' Alfredo assured Lorenzo immediately.
'No claim on the Castillo, no, but it seems that
Caterina feels she has the right to make a claim on
me,' Lorenzo told him cynically.
Alfredo started to frown. 'But that is impossible.'
'Indeed. But Caterina, as we both know, is somewhat
prone to exaggeration. Ridiculously, she has
even suggested that my grandmother wished me to
marry her! Having run through Gino’s money, and
dragged his name in the gutter, it seems she desires
to do the same with mine.'
'There has been gossip about her,' Alfredo agreed
uncomfortably.
'Indeed. And I do not wish there to be any about
my marriage or my future wife, so perhaps a few
words in the right ears to warn them to ignore anything
Caterina might have to say?' Lorenzo suggested
smoothly.
'An excellent idea,' Alfredo agreed, whilst Jodie
listened and silently digested the suavely subtle, lethal
way in which Lorenzo was dismantling Caterina’s
power base. When it came to getting what he wanted,
Lorenzo was obviously a ruthless opponent. A ruthless,
arrogant, dangerous man — who voluntarily gave
both his time and his wealth to help the young victims
of far-off wars and disasters. That wasn’t just one
man, it was two very different men inside the same
skin — like Janus, the double-faced Roman god of beginnings
and endings, from whom the month of
January took its name. Lorenzo was an enigma of a
man, and the polar differences within himself made
him toxically dangerous. But not to her. No man
would ever again be a danger to her.
'I have brought with me all the various documents
you will both need to sign in preparation for your
marriage. The Cardinal was most helpful. He suggested
the Church of the Madonna in Florence for the
service, and he has undertaken to arrange for the
banns to be read from this Sunday. Since the law is
that they must be read on two consecutive Sundays
before the marriage can be conducted, that means that
you can be married just over two weeks from today.'
Banns? And a church service? Their marriage was
to be just a temporary business arrangement: it didn’t
need to be celebrated in church. A simple civil ceremony
was all that was necessary. Jodie started to step
forward, but somehow Lorenzo had managed to get
between her and Alfredo. She could feel his fingers
curling determinedly around her wrist, and she could
see the warning in his eyes as he lifted her now tightly
clenched palm towards his lips.
'You have done well, Alfredo,' he said approvingly,
without shifting his gaze from Jodie. 'Hasn’t
he, cara?'
His lips were caressing her knuckles, each individual
one in turn, until, helplessly, she could feel her
fingers uncurling from her palm, as though eager for
more.
'I have also prepared the necessary papers for you
both to sign with regard to the financial agreement.
There is one for you to sign, Jodie, renouncing any
future financial claim you might have against Lorenzo
in the event of a divorce, and the other which you
asked me to draw up, Lorenzo, stating that in the
event of the marriage breaking down within twelve
months of the ceremony you will pay Jodie one mil-
lion pounds sterling, plus a further million pounds for
every year after that that you remain married.'
'I’ll sign the papers renouncing any future claim I
might have against Lorenzo, but I Don’t want his
money.' The words were spoken before Jodie could
stop herself. She could see that Alfredo looked both
rueful and slightly embarrassed.
'Of course it is unpleasant to have to talk about
such things now, before you are even married, but—'
'I Don’t want the money,' Jodie repeated.
'This is something we can discuss in private later,'
Lorenzo informed her in a warning tone, before turning
to smile at Alfredo and telling him, 'You have a
long journey back to Rome, so the sooner we get all
the paperwork dealt with, the better.'
'Why do we have to have a church service instead of
just a civil ceremony?'
It was over an hour since Alfredo had left, but
