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watched the screen. She hadn't seen such hungry desire on Dieter's face for a very long time, not since he'd first set eyes on Marietta at that wretched ball in Venice, and it had taken five long years for Marietta to vanish from the scene. Five years and her death. She had no intention of letting Cassandra stay around that long.
    'You'd better get down to lunch,' the baron reminded her. Katya watched him roll onto his back, and her eyes moved down so that she could see for herself the visible sign of how Cassandra had aroused him. She moved towards the bed, watching him carefully for any sign of irritation or boredom, but there was none, simply an expression of amused tolerance.
    'You really want her, don't you?' she asked quietly, sitting herself on the edge of the bed.
    'Of course I do! Why else would I have employed her?'
    'Tell me what you want to do to her.'
    He shook his head. 'That would give too much away. Remember, this is a competition for you as well.'
    'But you want to spoil her, don't you? Admit that at least. You want to change her, turn her inside out until she doesn't even recognise herself.'
    The baron shrugged. 'If you say so.'
    Katya ran a hand up his trouser leg and let her fingers move softly over the bulge at his crotch. 'This tells me you do.'
    It was a mistake. He took her hand tightly in his and moved it away, crushing her fingers painfully together as he did so. 'Leave me alone and go down to lunch. I have to see Lucy.'
    'Why?' Katya demanded.
    'She and I have some unfinished business to attend to. Run along, Katya. I dislike it when you keep asking questions.' She had no choice but to leave.
    Katya was in a very bad mood when Cassandra finally came into the garden to join her and the girls for lunch. She tried to disguise it, well aware that Peter, who was helping to serve the lunch, would report everything to the baron, but it was difficult to smile at the younger woman as she approached.
    'I'm afraid I'm a few minutes late,' Cassandra apologised. 'I got lost and ended up in the library.'
    'It doesn't matter to me, but the baron's obsessed with punctuality. You should remember that in future,' Katya said, signalling for the maid to pass round the plates.
    'Of course. I expect I'll soon find my way around. The trouble was, there wasn't anyone to ask. Where do the staff hide away? I never see anyone!'
    'They keep to their quarters. Helena, sit up straight and put your plate on your knees. Didn't Abigail teach you anything?'
    The four-year-old glanced at Katya from beneath lowered lids. 'Not much,' she said quietly. 'She was always disappearing into your room.'
    Katya turned to Cassandra. 'I'm afraid Abigail was rather taken with my clothes and makeup. I often caught her in the bedroom on some flimsy pretext or other. I suppose you have to feel sorry for someone like that but it wasn't nice. That's why she had to go.'
    Cassandra's eyes widened. 'Really? The baron said something about her not being keen enough on discipline.'
    'Well, there was that too, but really she was thoroughly untrustworthy. The agency chose her for us. This time the baron insisted on doing the interviewing himself. So much wiser I think.'
    Cassandra nodded. 'You do need to meet people before you can ...' She stopped as a strange cry pierced the air. It wasn't like the one she'd heard on her previous visit; there was no suggestion of pain in the sound, but it disturbed Cassandra. She glanced at Katya to see if she'd heard it. The other woman's face had gone very white and for a second she was quite motionless, but then her hands busied themselves with her food and her colour returned.
    'Yes, I agree,' she continued smoothly. 'It's always better to meet people face to face. You can learn so much from expressions, don't you think?' Her green eyes stared straight into Cassandra's. The effect was hypnotic. The younger woman felt unable to look away, and as she stared at Katya she began to feel strange. Her limbs started to feel