‘I do?’ Evanthia asked, picking one of the suitcases up.

‘I can do it,’ Alessandra answered with a smile. ‘Thank you for the offer.’

Evanthia started talking, gesturing wildly.

Not having the faintest idea what the housekeeper was saying or what her gestures meant, Alessandra smiled and nodded politely. Eventually Evanthia bustled off after making gestures Alessandra thought might have indicated food.

As soon as she was alone in her room she set about unpacking, hanging her clothes in the empty dressing room.

A dressing room that would only ever contain feminine clothes.

Silly little Alessandra, she thought, folding into drawers the new underwear she’d brought expecting her husband to remove them.

She could wear bloomers and he would neither know nor care.

allowed herself to believe their marriage could be like a small nursery garden that, with some care

believe that Christian could be someone in whom she could trust, not only with

he’d never wanted the garden in the first place. He’d put her subtly but firmly in

her on their wedding night? Out of

her because she was there and

own lack of sexual experience that had failed to recognise it for

he expect them to sleep together again or was that

just imagining asking that question. The humiliation of his

much to know that an experience she’d found so special and fulfilling had

share a bed

doing anything they hadn’t previously agreed. She

green land surrounding the villa. Flat and one-dimensional and not a single different colour

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