One Christmas Night In...: A Night in the Palace / A Christmas Night to Remember / Texas Tycoon's Christmas Fiancée

Whatever it was, she had no intention of standing meekly by while this man attacked her brother—either verbally or physically. ‘You don’t scare me, Count Scarletti,’ she informed him, grinding her teeth together as amusement glittered briefly in the pale green gaze sweeping over her obvious slenderness and lack of height. ‘Don’t be fooled by appearances. I’m very proficient in kick-boxing—and I’m not afraid to use it!’

Grudging respect briefly lit his eyes and he nodded. ‘When this is all over I would be happy for you to demonstrate your skill. However,’ he continued ruthlessly when Lily would have spoken, ‘at this moment I am more concerned in locating your brother and returning my sister to her home and family without scandal than I am in any threats you may care to make!’

Lily was totally confused now. What did Claudia Scarletti have to do with all this? ‘Your sister?’

Dmitri eyed her scathingly. ‘I wish I could be sure you are as innocent in this matter as you sound, Miss Barton,’ he rasped harshly.

‘But I am innocent! At least … if you count ignorance as innocence.’ She frowned. ‘I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.’

‘I am talking of my sister and your brother’s elopement earlier today!’ he thundered, his patience obviously completely at an end.

Lily blinked.

Elopement?

Felix?

And Claudia Scarletti?

CHAPTER THREE

‘NO!’ Lily protested. ‘You have it all wrong,’ she continued confidently. ‘If your sister has gone missing then I’m sure it must be very worrying for you. But I assure you Felix has nothing to do with her disappearance. I know for a fact that he’s in love with a young lady named Dee. In fact, he’s done nothing but sing her praises this past two months.’

In all of Felix’s text messages and telephone calls during that time he had talked of nothing but the young lady he had met and fallen in love with since coming to Italy.

‘Perhaps he had trouble getting his tongue around the name Claudia too?’ Dmitri muttered morosely.

Lily blanched. ‘I’m sorry?’

Those chiselled lips twisted scornfully. ‘Dee is, apparently, what he calls my sister.’

Lily gasped even as she fell back a step, her hand moving up disbelievingly to her throat. What Dmitri was saying couldn’t be right. Could it? Felix would surely have told her if he had fallen in love with his boss’s sister. Wouldn’t he?

Or would he?

If Felix had once mentioned the full name of the woman he was seeing then he and Lily both knew she would have warned him against getting involved. Told him it was insane!

Claudia Scarletti! The young and beautiful sister of one of the most powerful and wealthy men in Italy. It was insane. Utterly and completely. Yet, while Felix might have done some less than sensible things in his life, surely he wasn’t stupid enough to have eloped with Count Dmitri Scarletti’s little sister?

Only Dmitri certainly seemed to think that he was …

Lily felt her face turn deathly pale. ‘Are you absolutely sure about this?’

‘Positive,’ Dmitri said tersely, reaching into the breast pocket of his dark tailored jacket to bring out a folded piece of paper. ‘My sister left this for me.’ His mouth compressed into an angry line. ‘In the mistaken hope, perhaps, that I would not attempt to look for her if I knew that she was with her lover.’

Lily’s hand visibly shook as she took the sheet of paper he held out to her, before unfolding it awkwardly to look blankly down at it for several seconds before handing it back to him with a grimace. ‘I’m afraid I don’t read Italian.’ She had, however, clearly recognised the name ‘Felix’ written several times in the text. Oh, God!

She took a step back to sit down heavily in the armchair, her pleasure at the thought of spending Christmas in Rome with Felix now replaced by feelings of apprehension as she accepted that Dmitri Scarletti might just be right about Felix’s involvement with his sister, after all.

Which was no doubt the reason the Count had more or less had her watched and herded from the airport in England to his palazzo here in Rome. Simply out of his desire to know if she’d had any idea of her brother’s plans? Or for some other reason?

Dmitri saw to the second the moment when Lily realised that his motive for having her brought to the Palazzo Scarletti might not, after all, be out of consideration for the sister of an employee, but something else entirely. As far as he was concerned, an entirely necessary something else!

He grimly recalled the frantic knocking on the door of his suite of rooms early that morning, waking him from the deep slumber he had fallen into after returning only hours earlier from a less than satisfactory evening spent with the woman who until six weeks ago had been his mistress. She still, unfortunately, had hopes of reviving his interest in her.

It had been an unpleasant as well as difficult evening. Dmitri had tried hard not to be cruel in his rejection, but ultimately had had no choice when Lucia had all but tried to seduce him at the dinner table. Very undignified. Very messy. And Dmitri was not a man who enjoyed having situations like that one in his life.

Learning that Claudia had eloped during the night with his English PA had put all thoughts of Lucia out of his mind as he’d begun a thorough, if necessarily discreet search for his young sister. The note she had left for him, explaining her reasons for leaving and with whom, had filled him with cold dread, and it had been after several hours of fruitless questioning of Claudia’s friends when his sister’s car had been located, parked at Leonardo da Vinci airport.

The location of Claudia’s abandoned car had at least allowed Dmitri to remember that Felix had requested the afternoon off work today, in order to meet his own sister when she arrived at the airport later …

Several phone calls later, and Dmitri had not only ascertained the woman’s flight number but had also arranged things so that when—if—she arrived at the airport in England, she would effectively be completely under his protection until safely delivered to the Palazzo Scarletti.

His mouth thinned now as he looked at her from between narrowed lids. ‘It would appear that the pair have been secretly seeing each other for some months, and have now decided to run away together,’ he bit out.

Lily was still trying to absorb everything this man had just told her. Even Lily could see the relationship was totally unsuitable—so heaven only knew what Dmitri Scarletti thought about it! Although that wasn’t too difficult to guess, when he was glowering down at her with such cold and brooding intensity.

Felix was certainly handsome enough to have attracted Claudia Scarletti’s interest, and there was no doubting that he was fun too, but everything else about him was totally wrong for such a wealthy, aristocratic girl.

Felix had no money to speak of—except the wage he earned working for the Count. He hadn’t attempted to buy a house or apartment when he’d lived in England, but had rented one instead. He had even sold his old wreck of a car before moving to Italy three months ago, and used public transport in Rome to get anywhere he needed to go. His family connections consisted of Lily. Admittedly she was a teacher, but at the same time she was struggling financially just as he was.

In short, Felix was totally unsuitable for Claudia—and that was obviously an opinion her older brother shared!

A frown suddenly creased the pallor of Lily’s brow. ‘Why secretly?’

A nerve pulsed in his tightly clenched jaw. ‘What?’

This time Lily managed to suppress the cold shiver that threatened to run down the length of her spine. ‘Why did Felix and Claudia feel the need to meet in secret these past two months?’

Those dark brows once again rose to his midnight black hairline. ‘Perhaps because Claudia knew I would never approve of her dating my English PA?’ he suggested.

Perhaps … ‘Is that the only reason?’

‘Is that not reason enough?’ he asked coldly.

Maybe. But then again, maybe not … ‘I don’t know. Is it?’ Lily looked up at him challengingly. ‘I accept that Felix wouldn’t be your first choice as a boyfriend for your sister—’

‘Or my last.’ His top lip curled back disdainfully. ‘There’s no need to be insulting!’ Lily felt a flush of resentment warm her cheeks.

‘No?’

‘At least he isn’t a criminal or a drug addict!’

‘Your argument no doubt being that I should thank God for that small mercy?’ He began a restless pacing of the room. Much like a big cat confined to a cage. A big cat who might lash out with lethal claws at any moment.

And at the moment Lily was the only one within striking distance …

She tried to remember the things Felix had told her about the young woman he had met and fallen in love with—apart, that was, from how ‘wonderful, fantastic and innocent’ she was! By innocent, had Felix meant in the physical sense or—? Good Lord! ‘How old is Claudia?’