The Italian Matchmaker(32)

‘You have a very pretty smile.’

‘Thank you, signore,’ she replied. ‘If you need anything else, just shout.’

Luca observed Cosima’s little boy and thought of his own daughters. He felt a wrench of guilt. He wasn’t the most attentive father. Oh, they had the best education money could buy, beautiful homes, and holidays in the most exclusive resorts. He spoiled them with presents and treats when they came to stay every other weekend. Now he realised that he was just buying their forgiveness for all his failings. He resolved to make it up to them.

The little boy stood on the bollard and threw a white feather into the air. Then he jumped after it, catching it before it fell. It was a solitary game. Other children played nearby, but he didn’t seem to want to join in. Eventually he stopped and wandered over to the trattoria. Luca looked to see if his mother was coming out of the restaurant, but she wasn’t so he turned back to the child. He was standing a short distance away, watching a large blue butterfly that was sitting on his hand, basking in the sunlight with open wings. He looked up and saw Luca. He froze with surprise and caught his breath, staring at him with big brown eyes.

Luca gave a little wave. The child approached tentatively. ‘Hello,’ said Luca quietly so as not to alarm him. ‘That’s a very beautiful butterfly.’ The child stopped a few feet away, a frown lining his young brow. Then he blew on the butterfly and it fluttered into the air, circling the geraniums a moment before settling on Luca’s hand. Luca was astonished. ‘You should give this to your mother,’ he said, but the little boy had run off, back to the bollard. Luca was left watching the extraordinary butterfly, which settled on the table, its wings like oil, reflecting all the colours of the rainbow.

He ate his lunch and drank a second glass of Greco di Tufo, then remained at the table with an espresso. The butterfly fluttered into the geraniums and the child grew bored of his game and mingled with the other children, pottering around the boats like street urchins. Finally, Cosima appeared and stood talking to Toto. The older man looked at her with tenderness and Luca deduced that they were father and daughter. Then he said something that made her smile. The sight gave Luca a jolt. There was a gentle beauty in her smile.

As she turned and began to walk towards him, the butterfly fluttered off the geraniums and into her path. She stopped in her tracks and watched its erratic flight a moment. She was still smiling and Luca felt emboldened to speak to her again.

‘That’s a very friendly butterfly.’ She turned her dark eyes to him as the butterfly settled on her shoulder, striking against the black of her dress. ‘It likes you.’

‘I think it does,’ she replied. ‘I shall wear it as a brooch.’ She began to walk away.

‘Your son has a real gift with insects.’

Her shoulders stiffened and she turned around to glare at him with stunned disbelief. ‘What did you say?’

‘Your son brought it to me. It belongs to him,’ Luca explained.

She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, as if his words had caused her pain. Luca’s heart lurched at her reaction and he frantically tried to work out what he had said to cause offence. He made to speak but she dismissed him with a sniff, muttering ‘Foreigners!’ under her breath. Then she turned and strode off without a backward glance. Her son broke away from the other children and hurried after her. The butterfly remained on her shoulder.

Luca finished his coffee, his good mood evaporating. He waved at Toto for the bill, but it was Rosa who brought it. ‘I think I offended your cousin,’ he said, handing her some notes. ‘Keep the change.’

Rosa waved her hand dismissively. ‘She is easily offended. Think nothing of it.’

‘I didn’t mean to upset her.’

‘You’ll get used to it. I upset her all the time. Join the club, it’s very large.’

‘Tell her . . .’ he began, then stopped himself. There was no point. He was nothing to her, just a tactless foreigner. Maybe he shouldn’t have mentioned her son. He hoped he hadn’t got the child into trouble.

‘Don’t bother to apologise, signore,’ said Rosa with a grin. ‘If you have offended her, she’ll never forgive you.’





9



Luca returned to the palazzo and lay by the pool, so disgruntled he could barely concentrate on his book. Dizzy and Maxwell came to join him, which irritated him all the more. Finally, in order to escape them and lift his mood, he called Freya.

Freya was at her desk writing letters when the telephone rang. Mildly irritated by the intrusion, she picked it up and hooked it under her chin. She had a village fete meeting at four and she had wanted to get all her admin done beforehand. ‘Hello,’ she said briskly.