A Face To Die For (26 page)

'Wow, this guy certainly knows how to woo a woman!' exclaimed Lynda.

I agreed. It was wonderful and I was walking on clouds. His message with the wine obviously meant he must be coming back to England shortly.

I didn't have to wait long because the following day he telephoned, inviting me to join him for dinner. I was on tenterhooks anticipating the evening out with him.

It was a delightful meal at a small Italian restaurant in South Kensington owned by a friend of Luigi's and it was obvious that his presence carried more than just a little weight. The staff danced attendance on us from the moment we entered, almost to the point of overdoing it, until Luigi whispered something in Italian to the headwaiter and they eased off.

Over the next few days, in between dining out and dining in, Luigi presented me with more gifts, flowers, perfume and a pair of the most exquisite buttery soft, beige
Lilla
leather gloves... 'Especially made for you,
cara mia,
from my sample maker in Milano.'

Luigi also introduced me to the delights of Italian opera at Covent Garden. It surprised me how much I enjoyed it, despite not being able to understand a word. His behaviour was always impeccable ... in fact almost
too
impeccable.

Initially, I felt flattered by his respectful treatment because it conveyed to me how much he appreciated me as a woman and a person first. But I soon became desperate for more intimacy between us, more than just the restrained kisses he gave me. I wanted him to take me in his arms and make love to me. Passionate love. Hell, I'd been starved of sex for so long; I'd almost forgotten what to do. I now wanted it so badly.

But I waited patiently, anxious not to risk ruining things between us. Dining so opulently, and visiting the theatre and opera had also allowed me the chance to dress self-indulgently in some of my more elegant gowns. One night my hair had gone wrong and, out of desperation, I wore a matching silk turban. Luigi was most complimentary and so, after that, I adopted the habit of wearing them quite regularly. He particularly liked me in strong colours, which delighted me.

'They suit your personality so well. You are a wonderful showcase for your exquisite creations Annabel. By wearing them yourself it will make you even more famous, you will see. Everyone will notice you and want to buy your clothes all the more!'

About a week later, we were having supper together in Luigi's elegant flat. It was a simple salad and Lasagne, prepared for us and left in the oven by his butler, Sergio, prior to his departure for the night.

Puccini's
Madam Butterfly
was playing in the background as I served up the meal for us. Luigi adored classical music and in his company I'd soon discovered the many emotions it conveyed. He was an excellent teacher and clearly my musical education in the past had been sadly neglected.

After the meal, as we finished off the bottle of red wine he’d promised we’d share together. As we relaxed, enjoying the music, a particularly beautiful duet began.

'Oh, this song is so beautiful, Luigi…'

'It is the love duet...
molto triste
, very sad...
molto romantico
.'

He took my hand in his. '
Cara mia
, you must think I am not an affectionate man; but that is not so. Believe me I want to be
very
affectionate towards you, but English women mystify me and I find it hard to know how best to treat you ... romantically I mean.' He gazed at me with dark, smouldering eyes.

'Have you known many women, Luigi?'

'Many? No - and not in a romantic way. My wife Lilianna and I were devoted to one another until she died ten years ago. Since then I know few women, in
that
sense, you understand? Only in business. So you see I am … how you say... very out of practice.'

'Have you any children from your marriage?'

Given my general disinterest in children, I surprised myself, but I wanted to know all about this man.

'Sadly, no, Lilianna was never a well woman. She had many operations but somehow it was no good, she could not conceive. Her womb was not healthy and in the end she died of cancer. But I have a large family and between them they have many young children and I adore them all. My youngest sister Maria has two beautiful daughters and we are very close.'

Up to this point we'd only discussed my family in any detail and I'd assumed he preferred not to talk much about his, but now he obviously wanted to.

I learnt about his family vineyards, and about his sisters and brothers. He talked of his cousin in Sicily, who was also in the winemaking business, but Maria, his sister, was obviously a favourite.

'You must meet her, Annabel. You will like her. My parents had her very late and she has really been more like a daughter than a sister to me, because of our age difference. You must visit Italy soon, I think.'

'I would love to.' Our hands were still clasped and he was stroking my palm. I lifted his hand to my lips. Oh my God, I wanted him so much.

'Luigi,' I whispered, 'it’s also been quite a long time for me, and I'm also a little out of practice, you know, but please don't feel you have to be too gentle. I'm not made of porcelain you know. I have very red blood coursing through these veins.'

'
Si
, I know. But, my darling, I am scared.'

'Scared! Why?'

'That you will think I am an old fool. I am so much older than you. How can I know how to make love to such a beautiful young woman after so long? I feel it here, in my heart, but I do not know how my body will react.' He turned my hand over and kissed the palm. Then as he placed it round his neck our faces almost touched. 'Show me. Show me the way,
cara mia
.'

We kissed long and passionately, and soon we were exploring each other's mouths. Sensual desire urging me on, as familiar ripples of pleasure stirred within me. As he caressed my breasts, he whispered, '
Bello, Bello
, and many other beautiful Italian words of appreciation and love. It was subliminal ecstasy and quite unlike any other romantic experience I'd ever had. His tenderness overwhelmed me.

I hardly remember us undressing, but soon our bodies were touching and I could feel his erection hard against my stomach. His body was still firm and muscular and in remarkably good shape for his age. He looked easily fifteen years younger than his years.

'Come, we will be more comfortable in here,' he said, leading me into the bedroom.

As I lay on the bed I was desperate for him inside me. 'Now! Please Luigi! Now!' I urged, as he lifted himself onto me and I raised my body to him.

Soon I was feeling one of the most intense orgasms of all time, deep within me. Gradually slowing up the pace and arching his body he thrust once more, even deeper. Groaning loudly he climaxed.

'Annabel, marry me, my darling!' he gasped, looking down at me. 'I love you, so very much.'

'Oh yes, I love you too, Luigi,' I whispered happily. Hell! I suddenly realised with less concern than I dared to admit, that we'd been so eager, we’d used no protection.

*

We married quietly two weeks later in Porthmadog. No swish affair. Just Mum and Philip as witnesses.

Astounded at my sudden news, they'd nevertheless been delighted. It seemed the ideal moment; I was long due some time off work, and so Georgio, his chauffeur, drove us to North Wales in Luigi's car.

Apparently Luigi went nowhere without Georgio, who also acted as his bodyguard. I'd found it hard to believe it was quite so necessary, but Luigi insisted on it. 'Do not ask why, Annabel. Trust me. It is necessary.'

Following our wedding in Wales we spent a blissful long weekend honeymooning in Paris. I was pleased to learn that Luigi had now arranged to hand over many of his business involvements to Ennio, his youngest brother. This meant he could stay for longer periods in England, devoting more time to me. To my relief, my periods resumed so I hadn't become pregnant after our initial lovemaking and I made quite sure there was subsequently never any risk again.

Luigi was happy to advise me where he could about my business and he came up with some excellent ideas.

'Why not introduce a perfume called
Silk Wrappings
?' he suggested one day. 'Other designers do it. It will help promote and spread your name even more and could mushroom into huge sales.'

We were in my office at the time and Lynda, who'd been delighted to hear of our marriage, was enjoying a glass of champagne with us.

'Why not, Annabel? It's a brilliant idea,' she said. 'You could even go a step further and even consider a range of cosmetics and beauty care products too; Quant and others have done it!'

'Why not, my darling? Lynda has the right idea! You can do anything!' enthused Luigi.

I agreed, and in no time, with his contacts and business know-how, things certainly got moving on the perfume angle.

*

First, the
Chantal
Laboratory in Lille, France, was visited and asked to produce a unique fragrance for me. After several attempts they came up with one I liked. Using hints of peach and apricot, mingled with citrus, amber and musk, the expert ‘nose’, Pierre Chantal, created the
jus
for
Silk Wrappings
.

'Peach,' he insisted, 'conveys the warm emotion you feel when you encounter the man of your dreams. Amber and Musk give it memory. Memory is vital, because if you do not remember it the
perfum
will not sell. Citrus will help the wearer to be uninhibited.' He then grinned confidently at me. '
Madame
, I promise, the
jus
we make for you will outsell all others!'

Monsieur Chantal certainly knew his job, explaining in great detail how the
jus
concentrate must be diluted in a special alcohol distilled in France from apples.

'By what percentage is it diluted?' I asked, thoroughly intrigued. 'I suppose it varies for the
perfum
and
eau de toilette
?'

‘
Oui,
Madame
, of course. It ranges from twenty five per cent
jus
to alcohol for the
perfum
, and between five and ten per cent for
eau de toilette.
Finally the alcohol is drained off, it is then bottled.'

The bottling side of things I left for Luigi to organise because his
Palio
glassworks in Milan were to produce the bottles for me.

'We have a beautiful new shade of green which I think would be perfect. You design a shape for the bottle, my darling, and I will arrange its production. Already we make perfume bottles for several Italian and French
haute couture
houses. With
Palio
producing yours too it will put you up there with the elite.'

I was beginning to realise the many advantages of having Luigi around, not just as a husband and lover, but as a business manager too.

Through my solicitor, Will Preston, I'd recently met a young, out of work packaging designer called Oliver Dickinson. Having lost his regular job, he was now looking to freelance so I mentioned to Luigi about approaching him to design the packaging for us.

'He's desperate for work and I think he would do a good job for us,' I said.

'Fine. Ask him to come up with some ideas first and if they are any good, snap him up. The packaging is most important with any product, and a freelancer is an excellent idea, I think. If this young man can do it, let us give him the chance. He can then work with a fine carton manufacturer I have in mind.'

Working alongside Luigi was brilliant. He was so amenable, and between us things were panning out so well. During this busy period I delegated quite a bit of the Ready-to-Wear designing to Lynda, which delighted her. It was impossible to do everything myself anyway and I thought it best to devote my own precious designing time to only my
Silk Wrappings
‘After Six’ range and the mini collection for the Far East.

Everything was going perfectly. An exclusive fragrance had been created and beautiful bottles were being manufactured to my design in Italy. If Oliver Dickinson could come up with elegant box packaging and point of sale displays it could hopefully all come together in time for a Christmas launch, the perfect time to introduce a new fragrance.

During one of my earlier conversations with Oliver, he'd reminded me that we'd met briefly once before in Singapore.

'You probably won't remember me Annabel, but we met when I called in after your last fashion show in The Goodwood to pick up my wife, Jo. She'd helped Allie James organise things for you. I seem to recall it was all very frenetic behind the scenes at the time.'