CATHERINE GEORGE - Will He Ask Her to be His Bride? - The Millionaire's Convenient Bride / The Millionaire's Proposal / Texas Ranger Takes a Bride

‘No more, thanks.’

Connah sat down again, looking out over the starlit garden. ‘A pity we can’t do this by the pool.’

‘It’s too far away from the house—and Lowri.’

‘Exactly. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately,’ he added, startling her. ‘I’ve tried hard to remember you as you were when I first saw you all those years ago. But all I can bring to mind is a teenager with long blonde curls and huge eyes.’

‘The curls were courtesy of a perm and the eyes looked huge because I was into heavy-duty eye make-up at the time.’ She laughed. ‘I was also rather chubby, but you’ve been kind enough to gloss over that.’

‘From the fleeting glimpse I had of you by the pool this afternoon, it’s not a word that applies any more.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘As a matter of interest, would you have stayed in the bikini if I’d been there alone with you and Lowri?’

‘Yes,’ she said honestly. ‘Lowri pleaded so I wore it.’

‘Then wear it again, when we’re safe from intruders.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘You mean it’s not approved nanny wear?’

She nodded. ‘Or housekeeper wear.’

He chuckled. ‘A bit different from the archetypal Mrs Danvers.’ ‘So you’ve read Rebecca too.’

‘Afraid not—I saw the film. It’s one of the few films I’ve ever seen. I’m not a movie buff.’

Hester eyed him in surprise. ‘You must have watched one of Lowri’s DVDs with her?’

‘No. I keep to chess,’ Connah admitted.

‘A suitable film is another good way to keep her company while she spends a quiet hour out of the sun. Try watching one with her some time. She’d love it.’

‘Yes, Nanny.’

Hester chuckled. ‘Sorry.’

Connah shook his head. ‘Don’t be. I’ll take all the advice I can get. Pity the single male parent of a girl child.’

‘Speaking professionally, I think you make an excellent job of it.’

‘Thank you. But it’s going to get harder as she gets older.’ He sighed deeply. ‘And my mother’s convalescence is much slower than I’d hoped. It’s going to be some time before she’s in any kind of shape to look after an energetic child like Lowri.’ He shot a look at her. ‘I know the original agreement was six weeks, but if you’re not due in Yorkshire until October, Hester, would you consider staying on with us for an extra week or two to get Lowri ready to go back to school?’

‘Yes, of course,’ she said without hesitation. ‘If it helps you out, I’ll be happy to.’ More happy than he knew.

Connah smiled at her in relief. ‘Thank you, Hester. That should take us up to the middle of September when Lowri starts back. Can you do that?’

‘Yes. The Rutherford baby isn’t due until mid-October. I promised to start there two weeks beforehand, to help Mrs Rutherford get ready for the big day, so it works in quite well and still gives me time to spend with my mother and Robert first.’

‘That’s a great load off my mind,’ he said, smiling at her. ‘But that’s a long way off, so until then let’s enjoy our summer in sunny Italy. I’ve never indulged in so much leisure time, so I might as well make the most of it.’

‘Everyone needs to unwind now and then.’ Hester got up. ‘Time I went to bed.’

Connah rose immediately and put a hand on hers. ‘Hester, forgive me for my transgression earlier.’

‘Of course,’ she said lightly, and smiled at him. ‘Goodnight.’

The trip to Greve was a huge success. The sun-drenched piazza had originally been square, Connah informed them, but over time buildings with porticos and loggias had encroached on it until now it was a triangle pointing to the church of Santa Croce.

‘The church has paintings of the school of Fra Angelico,’ he added, then grinned as his daughter made a face. ‘All right, don’t panic. We’ll just look round the shops and buy some postcards since it’s your first day in town. Then we’ll have some lunch and when Greve wakes up again afterwards we’ll buy food for supper.’

For Hester it was hard to remember that this was part of a job she was being paid for as she strolled through the sunlit town with Connah and Lowri. Never in her wildest dreams of the mysterious Mr Jones when she was young had she imagined a scenario like the one being played out right now. She could almost believe …

‘Penny for them,’ murmured Connah as Lowri went through every postcard on display before making her choice.

‘They’re worth far more than that!’ Hester assured him.

Lunch was eaten in a restaurant with stone arches and terracotta floors, and best of all to Lowri, a vine-covered pergola with a panoramic view of the sunlit countryside of Chianti.

‘Can we eat outside, Daddy?’ she asked eagerly.

‘Of course, cariad.’ He turned to Hester. ‘Unless you’re too hot and would prefer to eat indoors?’

‘No, indeed. I’ll take all the sun and fresh air I can get.’

Connah had eaten at the restaurant before and, on his recommendation, they all chose light-as-air gnocchi with a sage and butter sauce as a first course, followed by pork roasted with rosemary and served with porcini mushrooms.

‘They’re just like little pillows,’ said Lowri in delight as she tasted the gnocchi … Hester smiled at her lovingly, then flushed when she saw Connah watching her and applied herself to her own meal.

Full of good food, they lingered afterwards in the pergola, the waiters only too pleased to supply them with as much mineral water and coffee as they wanted.

‘They take food very seriously here,’ said Hester lazily, ‘yet they seem quite happy for us to linger as long as we like. There’s no rushing to clear away so that someone else can take our place.’

‘Not their style at all. Besides, they have enough tables to make that unnecessary,’ said Connah, and took his drowsy daughter on his lap. ‘Sit quietly for a while, cariad , before we make for the shops again. They won’t be open for a while, anyway.’

Lowri yawned widely. ‘OK.’ She snuggled her head into his shoulder and her father smoothed the length of silky hair with a stroking hand as she dozed off.

‘I rang my mother last night,’ said Hester quietly after a peaceful interval. ‘She sent her regards.’

‘Return the compliment when you speak to her again.’ Connah looked at her across the shining dark head on his shoulder. ‘Did your mother ever talk about my companion?’

‘Only to say that she was ill. Mother was only too happy for you to stay until the lady was well enough to leave.’

‘To my immense gratitude.’ His eyes turned towards the sunlit view of vine-covered hillsides. ‘I went back to your house a few years later to see your mother, but she was no longer there, of course. And the new owners very rightly felt they weren’t at liberty to give me her address.’

‘Is that why you came to fetch me the other night? To meet Mother again?’

‘Partly.’ The dark, intent eyes turned back to hers as though he was about to explain further, but Lowri stirred and sat up, yawning.

‘I’m just like a baby, having naps all the time,’ she complained.

‘This one was very short,’ her father said, kissing her nose. ‘You go off with Hester to wash your face, then we’ll wander round the town again—maybe we’ll even force you to explore the church if the shops aren’t open yet.’

Lowri slid off his lap at once as Hester got up. ‘Do you like churches, Hester?’ she asked, sighing.

‘I’d like to look round this one. Then we can both write about it on our postcards.’

After a leisurely stroll back to the Santa Croce to admire its neo-classical façade, they went inside to look at the paintings. But Lowri grew restive in the dark interior and they soon went outside again into the sunlight, discussing what food to buy in one of the alimentares , the various grocery stores beginning to reopen after their long lunch break.