Her father patted her knee. ‘Ever the romantic, Stephanoula!’
‘Bad blood,’ said Ma darkly. ‘I wouldn’t go near that family if I were him. Imagine, Cosima’s grandfather committed murder right here in this palazzo. The Marchese was slaughtered like an animal! Her great-aunt was murdered on the road to Naples having taken lovers and betrayed all of them. I’d think very carefully before dipping my snout into that trough!’
Caradoc shook his head. ‘We all have family we’re not proud of. But an individual shouldn’t be judged on the errors of his ancestors.’
‘Mark my words, Professor. You heard it here first. Nothing good will come out of that relationship.’
When Luca came up from the beach, his face red with exertion, his hair standing up in wet tufts, Ma put down her glass, determined to be the first to interrogate him. ‘Now, Luca. We’ve been laying bets on you,’ she shouted across the terrace.
He shot her a quizzical look. ‘Laying bets on what exactly?’
‘Who’s luring you into town all the time? It’s not just the coffee,’ said Ma. He grinned at them all, a schoolboy on the point of announcing he’d won a prize.
‘Ah, that smile says it all,’ commented Caradoc. ‘The cat that’s got the cream!’
‘You’re in love. The question is, with whom?’ said Ma.
‘Don’t tell her,’ laughed Nanni, smoking languidly. ‘A gentleman has no memory.’
‘It’s the widow,’ said Caradoc. ‘I’m right, am I not?’
Luca sat down. ‘Am I that transparent?’
‘Happiness is infectious. Your happiness is tickling us too,’ said Caradoc.
‘Or making us very envious,’ Ma added dryly.
He looked helplessly at Stephanie. ‘What do I do?’
‘Are you appealing to me for help?’
‘You’re a young woman. Would you want your love life discussed by this group of eccentrics?’
‘If they said positive things, I don’t see why not.’
‘Very well,’ he replied. ‘I am in love. I want to shout it to the skies, but she wants to keep it quiet.’
Ma narrowed her eyes. ‘Then I should be very worried if I were you.’
‘Worried? Why?’
‘What does she have to hide? Is she already married?’
‘She’s definitely not married,’ said Luca.
‘The widow!’ Caradoc clapped his arthritic old hands gleefully. ‘I knew it.’
At that moment Romina and Fiyona arrived back from town. Nanni straightened at the sight of the redhead. He was sorry to see that she wasn’t wearing fishnet stockings, but jeans. He felt himself grow hot, but the heat was strangely pleasurable. He took a gulp of Martini and leered at her.
Fiyona was as alert as a fox. She settled her long green eyes on him and licked her lips provocatively. ‘So, Nanni, do you fancy a little promenade before lunch? I’d love to dip my toes in the sea.’
As Fiyona disappeared inside to change, Ventura emerged with the telephone. ‘Signor Luca.’
He took the handset, expecting it to be Claire. To his surprise it was Freya. ‘Hi sweetheart, this is a nice surprise!’
‘How are you?’ She sounded tense.
‘Well. Heaven here. When are you coming?’
‘Perhaps sooner than you think.’
‘Oh?’
‘Do you remember last time we met, you thanked me for being there when you needed me?’
‘Of course. That’s what friends are for. You’re not in trouble, are you?’
‘Yes. Now it’s I who need you.’
He felt his head spin. ‘You do? What’s going on?’
‘Miles is having an affair.’
Luca wanted to laugh at the preposterous idea, but she sounded so upset, he maintained his composure. ‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m certain, Luca. What do I do?’
Now wasn’t the time to tell Freya he was in love with Cosima. ‘You come out here, now.’
‘But what about the children?’
‘They’ll be fine with the nanny for a few days. Tell Miles you’re giving him time to end it. He’ll deny it, of course. But if you’re sure, then you leave him once and once only. The second time, you don’t go back.’
24
Fiyona took off her flip-flops and dipped a foot into the water. Nanni noticed her toenails were painted black and he felt a frisson of excitement stir his sluggish loins. He was wheezing after their walk to the secluded beach, but concentrated on appearing as if it had cost him as little effort as it did her. ‘I have a weakness for foreign men,’ she said bluntly, lifting her sarong up her thighs as she walked a little further out to sea. ‘I don’t know whether it’s the language, or just the fact that foreign men are different. Italian men make good lovers. There’s poetry in the way they move, even if they’re overweight and lazy, and they take pleasure from giving pleasure. I like that. Men on the whole are very selfish. It’s all about getting their cocks in as quickly as possible.’ Nanni wiped his brow with a hanky. She looked at him sweating on the pebbles. ‘Why don’t you come in?’