Page 64 of Awakened in Her Enemy's Palazzo

GRACEWALKEDINTOher wardrobe and stopped.

Beside her, Marta said nothing.

‘What the—? What has happened? Where are my—?’

She went to the shelf where her most used items were kept. It was empty. She looked around in bewilderment—nothing was where she usually put it. Her clothes had not vanished, but they were hung in neat, colour-co-ordinated rows markedSummer,Winter,Autumn...

Marta cleared her throat. ‘Apparently the person your sister brought with her thinks you are not a spring person, and also that your shoes are out of balance with the natural world—something to do with the way they were facing. I put them in the bedroom closet. I will return them when the guests have left.’

Grace let out a little scream of sheer frustration. ‘I will kill her—I really will.’

‘It seemed simpler not to argue. Everything can be put back,’ Marta pointed out placidly. ‘And your sister was enjoying herself.’

Grace’s ready sense of humour reasserted itself and she began to laugh—until Marta pointed out that she would need her make-up done again.

‘Hope had her first internship at an office in a law firm,’ she told Marta. ‘Her second day the clerk was out of the office and she rearranged the entire filing system. Luckily it was all backed up. She really couldn’t understand why people were so upset, because—’

‘Her system was much more efficient?’

Grace spun around to see Theo. ‘You shouldn’t be here. It’s bad luck to see the bride’s dress before the wedding.’

‘You’re not wearing your dress—unless that delightful little number is what you intend to walk down the aisle in. I have no objections, but I’m thinking of the heart attack risk. There are several guests who might well need medical attention. Garters and stockings...now, why don’t women wear them more often?’

‘Because they are so damned uncomfortable, maybe?’ she suggested, deciding that she might bring them out on special occasions if Theo liked them so much. ‘You really shouldn’t be here Theo,’ she added in a softer voice. And then, realising that her husband-to-be was wearing jeans and tee shirt, she let out a small shriek. ‘You’re not dressed!’

‘Neither are you,’ he pointed out.

Her chest, which was squeezed into a corset, swelled. ‘I have endured two hours of being primped and polished. There’s been an army of people in here. We’ve only just got rid of them—haven’t we, Marta?’ She looked around. ‘Where is Marta?’

‘Marta tactfully withdrew to give us a private moment.’

‘We’ll have a lifetime of private moments. Oh, Theo, you do want this, don’t you? You’re not having second thoughts?’

He held her gaze steadily. ‘Never,’ he said simply. ‘For me this is just a formality. I committed myself to you months ago.’

She nodded, loving him. ‘I feel that way too,’ she said huskily. ‘Why has it taken so long to organise our wedding?’

‘Because we have tried to please too many people.’

She sighed. ‘You mean me? I know. It’s just—’

‘You can allow people this day and then we will have the life that suits me—’ He broke off as there was a tap on the door.

‘If that’s my mother or my sister, tell them I’m dead.’

‘Relax...it won’t be. They’re trying to sober up your brother, using some quite brutal methods.’

‘Oh, God, which one? No, don’t tell me!’ she added, shaking her head as she walked past him to the door.

Her shoulders relaxed when she saw Sophia standing there. In the past months she and Grace had grown close, and last month Grace had become godmother to one of Sophia’s twin daughters.

‘Do you want me to go away?’ Sophia said, glancing humorously at Theo.

‘I have already been given my marching orders,’ Theo said, brushing past the two women. ‘Lovely as always, Sophia,’ he called, turning in the doorway and bowing to both women.

‘I don’t know how he can be so relaxed,’ said Grace. ‘I’m a bag of nerves.’

‘It’s a front. Luca was a wreck. I just came to say don’t forget to enjoy yourself. I’ll leave you...’

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