THE weather in Rome had been swelteringly hot, with clear blue skies and unremitting sunshine, but, as she drove north, Clare could see inky clouds massing over the Appenines and hear a sour mutter of thunder in the distance.
Out of one storm, straight into another, she thought ruefully, urging the hired Fiat round a tortuous bend.
The first storm, however, had been of human origin, and had brought in its wake an abrupt termination to her contracted three months in Italy teaching English to the children of a wealthy Roman family.
And all because the master of the house had a roving eye, and hands to match.
âIt is not your fault, signorina,â Signora Dorelli, immaculate in grey silk and pearls, had told her that morning, her eyes and mouth steely. âDo not think that I blame you for my husbandâs foolish behaviour. You have conducted yourself well. But I should have known better than to bring an attractive young woman into my home.
âAt least you may have taught him that he is not irresistible,â sheâd added with a shrug. âBut, as things are, I have no choice but to let you go. And the next tutor will be a man, I think.â
So Clare had packed her bags, said a regretful goodbye to the children, whom sheâd liked, and expressionlessly accepted the balance of her entire fee, plus a substantial bonus, from a sullen Signor Dorelli, his elegant Armani suit still stained from the coffee sheâd been forced to spill in his lap at breakfast.
If it had been left to him, Clare reflected, sheâd have been thrown, penniless, into the street. But fortunately his wife had had other ideas. And no doubt the enforced payment had been only the first stage of an ongoing punishment which could last for weeks, if not months. Signora Dorelli had had the look of a woman prepared to milk the situation for all it was worth.
And he deserves it, Clare told herself. Sheâd spent a miserable ten days, at first ignoring his lascivious glances and whispered remarks, then doing her damnedest to avoid him physically altogether, thankful that her bedroom door had had a lock on it.
But, however spacious the apartment, sheâd not always been totally successful in keeping out of his way, and her flesh crawled as she remembered how he would try to press himself against her in doorways, and the sly groping of his hands whenever heâd caught her alone.
Even his wifeâs suspicions, expressed at the top of her voice, hadnât been sufficient to deter him.
And when heâd found Clare by herself in the dining room that morning, heâd not only tried to kiss her, but slide a hand up her skirt as well. So Clare, outraged, had poured her coffee over him just as the Signora had entered the room.
Which was why she now found herself free as a bird and driving towards Umbria.
That hadnât been her original plan, of course. Common sense had dictated that she should return to Britain, bank her windfall, and ask the agency to find her another post.
And this she would doâeventually. After sheâd been to see Violetta.
A smile curved her lips as she thought of her godmother, all fluttering hands, scented silks and discreet jewellery. A wealthy widow, who had never been tempted to remarry.
âWhy confine yourself to one course, cara, when there is a whole banquet to enjoy?â she had once remarked airily.
Violetta, Clare mused, had always had the air of a woman who enjoyed the world, and was treated well by it in return. And, in the heat of the summer, she liked to retire to her charming house in the foothills near Urbino and recuperate from the relentless socialising she embarked on for the rest of the year.
And she was constantly pressing Clare to come and stay with her.
âCome at any time,â sheâd told her. âI so love to see you.â She had wiped away a genuine tear with a lace handkerchief. âThe image of my dearest Laura. My cousin and my greatest friend. How I miss her. And how could your father have put that terrible woman in her place?â