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CHAPTER ONE

'Oh, hold on a moment, Grace, she's just this minute walked in' As her mother thrust the telephone at her Claire's fine eyebrows arched in enquiry, and in the next breath her itated'

'Grace?' Claire almost snatched the receiver in her haste to talk to her friend, this friend who had endured so much in her twenty-five years of life but was now so happy—or had been the last tio

Don't let anything be wrong Please, please don't let anything be wrong, she prayed quickly as she heard Grace speak her naht, let everyone be all right… Grace had lost a baby to cot death soo, when the child, a little boy named Paolo, was only six nancy since that terrible time

'I'et in froeness in her voice e them 'It's just…I needed to speak to you'

'What's wrong?' There was so for your scan today, weren't you?'

'Yes, yes—and don't worry, there's nothing wrong with the baby,' the disembodied voice said quickly 'It's just that it's babies Plural,' she added as Claire didn't speak

'Twins!'

'Twins' Grace's voice was flat

'But that's wonderful,' Claire responded enthusiasti­cally, 'isn't it?'

'Yes, of course it is' There was a little more anima­tion in Grace's tone now 'Donato's over the moon, and I'm pleased—I am, really—but I just feel a bit over­whelmed, I suppose'

'But that's perfectly understandable,' Claire said softly, her big brown eyes darkening with a mixture of sympathy and concern

Grace had been brought up in a children's home and had never known the support and unconditional love of a h she had been very close to her husband's mother, Liliana, almost from the first time she had o It was at tirandmothers, sisters were all at hand, but Grace had no iht perceptively

'Claire—' Grace stopped abruptly, and then, after Claire gave a gentle, 'Yes?', continued hesitantly, 'I don't suppose there's any chance youout here, is there? To live, I mean?'

'To Italy?' Claire stared across the hall in blank a in the lounge doorway trying to make sense of Claire's end of the conversation

'It doesn't have to be straight away,' Grace said quickly, 'and it can be for as long or as short a time as you want, but I'd just love to know you'd be around when the babies were born Oh, I shouldn't have asked you,' she continued in a little rush 'It's not fair I told Donato it's not fair—'

'Hang on—hang on a minute,' Claire said slowly as she tried to feel her way in a conversation that had sud­denly beco you want me to come out and stay with you on a se break?'

'Yes' The reply was immediate 'For months, if you could I'd love to have you here, I really would, and with you having trained as a nanny and everything—' This time the sudden halt was even more abrupt, and Grace's voice was hot with embarrassment when she went on, 'Oh, I'm sorry, Claire I shouldn't have men­tioned that'

'Don't be silly,' Claire said evenly, 'I' to live with you?'

'It was his suggestion,' Grace said eagerly 'When we found out it ins he thought I ht need so in the su your job but weren't sure what you wanted to do He thought you could escape the worst of the English winter out here while you took the ti as you stayed so you'd have a little nest-egg behind you when you went back—'

'No way,' Claire interrupted fir out a friend I had that wonderful holiday with you in the summer, and Donato wouldn't even let me pay for my airfare'

'Well, we'd see' Grace clearly wasn't going to put any obstacles in the way of her cos 'But do you think you ht con­sider it, then? You could stay in the main house or with us—whichever you like—and Lorenzo would love to have you around for a while He did miss you when you went home in September'

'I er brother, who had just turned thirteen and was an enchantingman, with an infectious sense of fun thatkid'