Rosa smiled warmly and shook her hand. ‘It’s good to meet an old friend of Luca’s. Luca is now an old friend of mine!’ She sat down without waiting for an invitation. ‘So, how are you?’
‘Good,’ said Luca. ‘Mother’s in overdrive waiting for the Sunday Times journalist to show up.’
‘Tell him to come down and see me. If he wants to know the truth about Incantellaria and all its murders and scandals, I know all there is to know. I have kept all the press cuttings that relate to my grandmother’s murder.’
‘Won’t your mother murder you for divulging the gossip?’
‘Not gossip, Luca, fact. It’s not a secret. Everyone who was around at the time knows the story. My family tried to keep it secret, but how could they? People talked and journalists wrote it all up. Valentina was my grandmother and I have a right to do whatever I want with what I know. Besides, it was such a long time ago and it’s a great story. My mother should relax about it, like my father, and give everyone a good read!’
‘The famous Panfilo,’ said Stephanie. ‘I hope I’m around to meet him.’
‘You’re not staying long?’ Rosa asked, trying to look sorry. ‘Shame. My father’s a wonderful character. Everyone loves him. I’ll come up for the shoot,’ she said, turning to Luca. ‘I’d like to see the palazzo. It’s been a long time since I’ve been up there.’
‘The folly’s the only thing you’ll recognise.’
‘The folly.’ Rosa’s eyes lit up. ‘The Marchese’s secret love-nest. There’s something magical about that place.’
Luca thought of Cosima. ‘And there, Rosa, I have to agree with you.’
Luca was disappointed that Cosima didn’t come to the trattoria, but he wasn’t surprised. He had promised to be tactful in front of Rosa and meeting at the family restaurant was awkward. They had arranged, instead, to have dinner again that evening. He planned to take her to the folly afterwards. As the days passed and no further evidence of disturbance was to be found, he was certain that the mystery Goldilocks had either decided to sleep somewhere else or been frightened off by their sudden determination to find her.
After lunch at the palazzo, Coco and Juno said goodbye to their grandparents who embraced them fondly.
‘You’ll come again soon, my darlings?’ said Romina, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I’ve grown used to your voices ringing out from the swimming pool. I shall miss you both terribly.’
Bill patted their heads as if they were dogs, but his gaze was full of affection. ‘When you come back I will have completed my grotto,’ he said proudly.
Coco tried to look excited although she didn’t know what a grotto was.
‘I shall miss Greedy,’ said Caradoc, stroking the caterpillar.
‘You can’t have him!’ Juno cried, snatching him away and nuzzling him.
‘Divorce is a great sadness,’ said Romina, as the girls walked away.
‘It’s better than the alternative,’ said Caradoc. ‘Unhappiness, rows, uncertainty. At least this way they are cherished by both parents without having to watch the two people they love most at each other’s throats.’
‘But I hardly ever see them.’
‘You will see more of them, mark my words. Look at your son. When they arrived he didn’t know what to do with them. Now he’s a doting father. They’ll be back.’
Luca climbed into the car with Sammy and waved as he motored down the drive. They chatted for a while, then fell silent. He could tell from their faces that all three were sad to leave. He tried to cheer them up, but soon he too withdrew into his thoughts, surprised how close they had grown in just a week. Sammy turned on the radio and listened to Italian pop songs. He glanced at the girls in the mirror. Italy had done them good. They looked radiant and healthy, their eyes shining, their cheeks rosy. Coco caught him watching her.
‘Remember to telephone me every evening before bed, won’t you, Coco?’ She nodded, her eyes reassuringly responsive.
He turned his attention back to the road again but felt his heart swell with triumph. Their strengthened relationship had opened her up like a spring bud. Even though her eyes still betrayed too much knowledge of the adult world, she smiled with the innocence of a little girl. At the airport, the two girls stepped reluctantly out of the car. Juno took her father’s hand, clutching Greedy against her chest. Coco walked beside him, carrying her pink bag with great importance.
‘What have you got in there, darling?’
‘Lots of things.’
‘Like what?’