She settled herself at the table, trying not to look at the dark shadow of his hard jaw. Her constant awareness of him was so intense that it was making her jumpy.

‘I missed you last night.’ He put a hand over hers and suddenly she had butterflies in her stomach.

‘Jago—’

‘My family are very traditional and I would in no way offend them by broadcasting our relationship,’ he said quietly, pouring her coffee and handing it to her. ‘On the other hand, if you are going to carry on looking at me with that totally dizzy expression on your face, we’re going to have to go and find ourselves a barn, querida.’

She blushed hotly at his teasing reminder of their relationship eleven years earlier. After that first encounter they’d continued to meet in the barn and the surrounding fields, often spending the entire night entwined together.

She had too many knots in her stomach to eat and he shot her an amused look and stood up.

‘If you’ve finished, go and put a hat on. We’re going for a walk and my mother is worried that you’ll damage that delicate English skin of yours.’

Wondering where he was taking her, Katy found the pretty hat that Libby had tucked into her case and joined him on the terrace.

There was no sign of Maria or Jago’s aunt and they left the farmhouse and walked along a dusty track that eventually led to a river. In the early morning sunlight it glistened and danced over boulders and Katy smiled with delight.

‘It’s beautiful.’ It was the clearest water she’d ever seen and she watched it with fascination. ‘What a lovely place.’

‘The river marks the boundary of our property,’ Jago told her, stooping to pick up a stone and tossing it in the water.

She glanced around her, screwing up her eyes against the sun. It was still quite early and yet already she could feel the heat on her skin.

‘I love it here.’

‘Do you?’ He turned her to face him, his eyes suddenly intent. ‘I bought it with the money your father gave me when I left the company.’ Suddenly his eyes were hard and his fingers tightened on her arm in an almost painful grip. ‘When he suggested that I leave, he also made Maria homeless and jobless.’

Shocked by that sudden revelation, Katy felt her mouth dry. At the time she’d been so distraught about her own situation she hadn’t thought to question what had happened to her parents’ housekeeper. She’d known that her leaving had coincided with Jago’s but she’d just assumed that it had been coincidence. How could she have been so naïve?

Suddenly she felt horribly sick. ‘My father fired her?’

Jago’s eyes were as hard as flint and his mouth tightened. ‘Let’s just say he made it impossible for her to stay.’ He released her and turned to stare at the river. ‘Your father was in possession of some information which he knew would hurt my mother.’