Seduced by Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page B

we’re all on our guard.”
    “And should I be on my guard?” she asked, half laughing, half intrigued by something in his tone that was more than just raillery.
    “One should always be on guard in unfamiliar territory, signorina. Don’t believe that things are as they seem. They almost never are. Isn’t that so, nephew?” Abruptly, Bruno turned his attention to Maurizio.
    “Why ask me?” Maurizio demanded with a shrug. “I’m not a poet.”
    “That’s right, you’re not. Not a poet, but a man with a fixed idea. That, too, is dangerous.”
    “I’m sure we’re boring the signorina, ” Maurizio said coolly.
    Bruno drained his glass. “Now I’ll leave, for I sense that I’ve outstayed my welcome.”
    “Not with me,” Terri said instantly.
    Bruno’s answer was an enigmatic smile at Maurizio. Then he was gone.
    “Did he mean anything by all that?” she asked.
    “My uncle is a poet. He talks riddles and sees things that aren’t there.”
    But although he smiled, Terri had a strange feeling that he was no longer at ease. There was a new constraint in his manner and she, too, felt as though Bruno’s intervention had broken a spell. His words “secret corners where reality comes and goes and a million things are hidden” echoed curiously in her mind. It was to find what was hidden that she’d come to Venice, a city of secrets where reality came and went.
    Maurizio glanced at his watch, making a sound of impatience. “Unfortunately, it’s time for me to go on duty in the casino. Will you be coming to play?”
    “I’d like to,” Terri told him with a smile.
    But she changed her mind as they approached the entrance to the casino. The women beginning to wander in were dressed in clothes that looked as if they cost as much as Terri earned in a year. Some of them glanced at her in frank amusement, and her self-consciousness deepened. Before she entered this glamorous place, she must be able to compete on equal terms. “On second thought,” she said hurriedly, “I’m a little tired after my journey. I think I’ll have an early night.”
    “Then allow me to escort you to your room,” Maurizio said gallantly. At her door he stopped, took her hand and said, “I’ve greatly enjoyed your company, signorina. May I hope to enjoy it again?”
    Terri drew in a sharp breath to calm the sudden beating of her heart. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how disappointed she would have been if he hadn’t singled her out again. “Oh, yes,” she said quickly. Then, ashamed to sound so eager, she added, “I dare say we’ll bump into each other around the hotel.”
    “I dare say we will,” he agreed, the light of amusement in his eyes. “But did you think that was all I meant?”
    Again his eyes held the look that had disturbed her before, as though everything that was happening had another meaning, a different kind of reality. It all seemed connected to the warmth that was stealing through her from her hand where he was still holding it. There was excitement in his touch and his gaze and suddenly she couldn’t breathe.
    “Whatever you meant,” she said slowly, “you must tell me another time. Good night.”

Chapter Three
    T erri breakfasted in the restaurant next morning, choosing a window seat where she could see the Grand Canal in daylight. At this hour, the traffic was different to that of the evening. Now barges chugged by, laden with supplies for the hotels and restaurants. From her corner position she watched several turn in to the side entrance of the Midas where hotel workers pounced and unloaded them in minutes.
    A waiter noticed her interest. “The kitchen is stocking up for the party tonight, signorina, ” he told her.
    “A party?”
    “Signor Maurizio has enlarged the casino and the new rooms are to be opened tonight with a big party.”
    “But I thought that business was falling off because it’s winter—”
    The waiter smiled. “That’s true for other hotels, signorina.