‘I predict trouble ahead,’ said Caradoc.
‘I think Maxwell’s in enough trouble already,’ said Luca, taking the chair beside Ma and picking up the thread of their conversation.
The drama continued to build over lunch. Dizzy found herself at the opposite end of the table to Sammy and Maxwell. Luca made eyes at Ma as Maxwell flirted over the heads of the children, who were between him and the object of his desire. He lowered his voice every now and then, sliding his eyes to the other end of the table to check his wife wasn’t eavesdropping. His sudden interest in the children, making his napkin into a water lily for Coco and a caterpillar for Juno, was very out of character.
‘I can’t imagine why he doesn’t have children of his own,’ said Romina.
‘Dizzy doesn’t want to ruin her figure, I should imagine,’ said Ma. ‘Anyone who cares that much about what she eats is bound to be body obsessed. Sammy is a picture of health and sanity. I raise my glass to her.’ The more Maxwell flirted the more enraged his wife became. The only person who seemed not to notice was Sammy. Finally, Dizzy raised her voice so her husband could hear and spoke to Romina across the table. ‘It is such a shame we have to return to Vienna.’
Like a salmon he rose to the bait. ‘Oh, darling, the lunch table is hardly the place to discuss our travel plans.’
‘But we cannot impose on our good hosts a moment longer,’ she said with a pout.
Romina made no attempt to encourage them to stay.
‘The trouble with you, Romina, is that you make it so comfortable one wishes to stay for ever.’ Maxwell gave a nervous laugh.
‘We have commitments in Vienna, darling,’ said Dizzy. There was an unmistakeable edge to her voice.
‘Well, we’ve loved having you,’ said Bill. ‘I toast your good health and your safe journey home.’
Maxwell bowed, recognising he was outmanoeuvred. ‘Thank you, Bill.’
After lunch, when Maxwell and Dizzy had retreated inside, Caradoc, Ma and Luca could hear the most monumental row through the open upstairs window. Ma raised her glass. ‘To Dizzy,’ she said with a wicked grin. ‘Not so dull after all.’
Luca changed into a pair of pale blue Villebrequin shorts and dived into the pool to play with his daughters. Juno, who still wore arm bands, squealed with laughter when he chased her pretending to be a crocodile. He picked her up and threw her into the air so that she landed in the water with a splash, emerging, wiping her eyes and roaring with delight. Coco was harder to coax. She sat on the side in a pretty Melissa Odabash bathing suit, dangling her legs in the water, admiring her pedicure. Finally, Luca ignored her protests and put her upon his shoulders, then jumped up and down until her sullen face broke into a smile.
Dizzy emerged mid-afternoon, her eyes hidden behind large sunglasses, and lay listening to her music without a word to anyone. Sammy lay on her stomach watching the girls, her curvaceous body clad in a discreet yellow one-piece bathing suit. Luca drove his mother and daughters down the hill to the town. Sammy didn’t fit in the car and remained by the pool, reading Sophie Kinsella. The children giggled in the back while Luca and Romina discussed the episode at lunch.
‘I think it’s high time they went home,’ said Romina. ‘For the sake of their marriage.’
‘Don’t you resent people staying so long, sponging off you like parasites?’
‘Not if I like them. Caradoc and Ma are family now, I’ll be broken hearted when they leave, which they won’t, as long as I keep producing large bowls of pasta!’
Luca parked in the square and led the children down the hill to the quay. Juno held his hand while Coco walked beside her grandmother, her eyes peeled for pretty shops. There had been plenty of shops in St Tropez. When they reached the trattoria, Rosa was on the terrace to greet them. ‘Buona sera, ragazze,’ she said to the girls.
‘These are my daughters, Coco and Juno,’ said Luca. ‘And my mother.’
‘Welcome,’ she said cheerfully. ‘When did they arrive?’ she asked, showing them to a table by the geraniums.
‘This morning.’ He followed Rosa across the flagstones. She was wearing a pink dress the colour of Coco’s toenails.
‘What can I get you all?’ She winked at Luca and added huskily, ‘Well, I know what I can get you.’ Romina shot her son a disapproving look.
‘I think ice-cream and freshly squeezed orange juice for the girls,’ interrupted Romina. ‘Black coffee for me and . . .’
‘Coffee for your son, with hot milk on the side,’ said Rosa.
‘She’s nice,’ said Juno.