Harlequin Historical November 2015, Box Set 2 of 2 by Lynna Banning

Author:Lynna Banning
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781459292093
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-11-10T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

‘Mary! You are very far away today. Have you been listening to me at all?’

Startled, Mary looked to Teresa where she sat on the seat across their small, open carriage. Teresa grinned at her and Mary had to laugh. In truth, she had not been listening ever since they left the city centre of Rio for an exploratory visit into the countryside. She couldn’t stop thinking about Sebastian, about the wondrous unreality of their kiss, of the whole masked ball. She couldn’t help but think it might all have been a dream. Now there was a picnic on the beach to get to and she had to cease dreaming.

And yet she was sure she could still fell his touch on her skin, still taste that kiss. She had been swept away by the whole romance of the night, the warm, flower-scented air, the freedom of a costume, the music. What had made him kiss her? Was it all a game again? What had he warned her about?

It had not felt like a game. But she had been mistaken about him before.

She tilted her parasol to shield the bright sun that burned over their open carriage. She knew she shouldn’t worry about Sebastian Barrett and what he was really doing here in Brazil, here with her. Not at that moment. It was a beautiful day and she had never seen anything like the scene around them. The city itself had been crowded, noisy, bustling with a marketplace set up around the fountain in the main square, but here in the foothills it was quiet, flickering with shadows from the tall coconut trees. The city was spread out below them in a tumble of red roofs and white walls, with the surging sea beyond. The beach looked like a shimmering cream-coloured ribbon in the brilliant sun.

‘I’m sorry, Teresa,’ she said. ‘I was just admiring the lovely scenery. It’s so very different from anything else I’ve ever seen.’

Teresa nodded and also turned to study the mystery of the jungle that climbed above them into the black mountains. The wide brim of her pink-straw hat concealed her expression. ‘It is hard to imagine it is winter at home right now. The sun is so blinding. It quite makes me forget...’

The note of melancholy in her usually cheerful friend’s voice worried Mary. ‘Are you quite well, Teresa?’

Teresa smiled. ‘Very well indeed. Just a flash of homesickness, I think. But that will soon be gone. There are too many lovely distractions here. Are you going to the Countess de Graumont’s party at her new beach villa tomorrow? It should be even more exotic than the masquerade.’

‘We did receive an invitation this morning,’ Mary said. She remembered the pile of cards already on their breakfast table, but her father had been most distracted when she asked him which parties they should attend. Whatever you think best, my dear, he had said before leaving her for his work. ‘I am certainly looking forward to seeing the place. Will Dom Joao and Doña Carlota be there?’

Teresa laughed.

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