page37 (1/1)

He had spoken loudly enough for everyone else in the cha that the courtiers would knoell as he did that he would soon be in a position to reprimand those who defied him now

Before this he had never had any intention of bringing Erandfather that How dared the old est that Emily was somehow less hile as a person than some Nirolian noble to prove herself as a person She possessed intelligence, compassion, wit and kindness, and her natural sweetness was like manna from heaven after the falseness of the courtiers and their wives

He had seen the pleased looks that sorandfather had flown into a rage over the generators Of course, they couldn't be expected to like the fact that there were going to be changes, but they were going to have to accept the to have to accept E out of the audience chaly he felt about protecting Emily than he had actually known

Emily stared at her watch in disbelief It was closer to lunchtime than breakfast! How could she have slept so late? The sensual after-ache of the night's pleasure

gave her a hint of a reason for her prolonged sleep

Marco! She sat up in bed and then saw the note he had left for her propped up on the bedside table She picked it up and read it quickly

He was going to the palace to see his grandfather, he had written, and since he didn't knohen he would be back, he had given Maria instructions to provide her with everything sheto be organising the interior renovation of the villa

‘If you feel up to it by all ood look around’ he had written, ‘but don't overdo things'

There was no ht, but then there was hardly likely to be was there? What had she been hoping for? A love letter? But Marco didn't love her Did he? The starkness of that reality wasn't soht now Emily ad of her eile happiness of Marco's appearance at the shop and their intiht

But she would have to think about it at soed, except that she nohat living without hiet that all this was nothing race; a chance to store up some extra memories for the future

It wouldn't do her any good to dwell on such depressing thoughts Eet up and then keep herself occupied with an inspection of the villa

If Maria was curious about her relationship with Marco, she hid it well Emily decided, an hour later, when she had finished a late breakfast of fresh fruit and homemade rolls, which Maria had offered her when she had co in the warht of a second inner courtyard, and was now ready to explore the villa, which she estures to Maria, who beamed in response and nodded her head enthusiastically

Emily had no idea when the villa had first been built, but it was obviously very old and had been constructed at a time when the needs of a household were very different from the requirements of the twenty-first century In addition to the dark kitchen Maria showed her there was a positive warren of passages and s what Emily assumed must have been the domestic service area of the house To suit the needs of a rated into aarea, and possibly a fa out onto the courtyard

The main doors to the villa opened into a square hallway, flanked by two good sized salons, although the decor was old-fashioned and dark The bedrooh to acco was equipped with relatively recent sanitary-ware

On the top floor of the villa, there were round and first floors E to feel tired But her tiredness wasn't stopping her froing but ultie enough to convert into two self-contained units that could provide either seers, staff quarters, or si area away from the hubbub of everyday faht, or at least they had the potential to be There were three of them, and the s pool