Page 166 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 5-8

‘Did you know? That she was going to turn up?’ Her voice was shaky now.

He nodded. ‘Not for certain, but it looked likely. I knew they were heading back to Europe. Your father told me, and also that Tonia wanted her Marquis to make a donation to the Duchessa’s charity so she could get an invitation. It would mean—’ his voice turned cynical ‘—she could show herself off in Rome with her prize and her new grand title.’

Eleanora breathed out slowly. ‘If I’d known she might be here tonight—’

‘You’d have cried off, wouldn’t you?’ Sanzio said.

She nodded.

He patted her hand. ‘That would have been a mistake. It had to happen at some point, it was inevitable. I just wanted—’ he took a breath, held her troubled gaze ‘—to make sure she would see you in a setting that meant she could never, never again treat you the way she always has!’

‘She tried to,’ Eleanora said, her mouth twisting slightly.

‘Oh, she did that all right!’ His expression changed. ‘But well done for outfacing her! That was masterly!’

She said shakily, ‘I can’t believe I did—I’ve never answered her back in my life.’

‘Well, now you have. And,’ he said feelingly, ‘you hit her most vulnerable spot. Her vanity.’ His mouth curled. ‘She’s spent her life putting you down, insulting you, presuming—’ he didn’t hide his anger at what Tonia had said to him back there about Eleanora ‘—to do so to my face! To get at me, as well as you! Well, now she has had a taste of her own medicine!’

He let that sink in, wanting her to feel the justice of it, however mild the insult Eleanora had retaliated with after a lifetime of cruel condemnation.

He held her eyes. There was something he needed to say to her, needed her to hear, and now was the moment for it. He had been wanting to tell her, waiting to tell her, and now he could.

‘Eleanora, I planned this encounter with Tonia—this showdown, as I knew it would be!—right from the start, from before I even married you. I made it my plan, determined on it, to bring you to Rome, where I could get you to see what you’ve always refused to see—reveal to you the beauty you couldn’t believe in, thanks to your toxic sister. And then—’ his voice hardened ‘—I was determined that she should see it too—as she has tonight, as she’s been forced to see. Enraging her! I was determined to ram it home to her, in full view of the audience she loves to show off to so much, and everyone seeing it too, which is exactly what this evening has done. And your sister,’ he said, and there was satisfaction in his voice, hard as iron, ‘can choke on it!’

He drew a short breath, his mouth compressing. Then, deliberately, he lightened his expression. He had said his piece. Time to be done with it. Finally done. Spotting a waiter circulating with champagne, he relieved him of two glasses, bestowing one on Eleanora. He lifted his to her.

‘What we need,’ he said, his voice deliberately lightening, ‘is a toast.’ He touched his glass to hers. ‘To enjoying the evening! Drink up, and then we’ll circulate. We won’t go anywhere near your toxic sister—but I want to show you off to all of Rome! Because you, Donna Eleanora da Verano Bastoni are, without a shadow of doubt, the most stunning woman here tonight!’

His smile was warm and reassuring, but with a glint in his eyes he wanted her to see.

‘And I,’ he told her, and he let a huskiness into his voice, ‘am the infinitely lucky man who is going to take you home tonight. And make love to you until you melt in my arms like liquid gold.’

Which was exactly what he did, after returning from the gala way gone midnight, slowly and sensuously letting pleasure flow like a river across their bodies, lapping their senses. Eleanora lay afterwards, curled up against him, saying nothing, nor he, just softly, drowsily stroking her hair.

Until sleep took them both.

Chapter Eleven

‘Tell me—’ Sanzio looked at her across the breakfast bar ‘—how does the idea of Milan and the Lakes grab you?’

Eleanora looked at him questioningly, and he elaborated.

‘I need to fly up to Milan tonight for a business meeting tomorrow I don’t want to postpone. We could go on to the Lakes—take another break for a few days, then head back to the Palazzo and catch up with progress there. What do you think?’

Just as it had when he’d suggested driving out into Lazio, Eleanora’s face lit.

‘Oh, that sounds lovely!’

‘Good. I’ll phone you when I know what flight we’re on.’

He rose to his feet. ‘What are your plans for today?’

‘I thought I might visit some antiques dealers, to check out possible furniture. Oh, and maybe some dinner services too, that sort of thing.’

‘Sounds good,’ he said and dropped a kiss on her forehead. ‘I must go,’ he said, and went.

Eleanora cleared away the breakfast things, then went into her bedroom, the guest suite. Though she spent every night in Sanzio’s arms, his bed, she used her own bedroom as a dressing room, the wardrobe full of the wonderful clothes she now wore. She should pack her case for tonight, then dress to go off shopping for beautiful things for the Palazzo. As she walked in, her eyes went to the fabulous gown she’d worn last night, airing on a padded hanger on the outside of the wardrobe. Her expression faltered.