“Your parents are Italian?” Marina asked.
“So many Argentines are Italian,” he replied. “My father left Italy for Argentina after the war. My mother’s family have lived in Argentina for generations.”
“They say it’s a wonderful melting pot of cultures,” said Grey.
“It is,” Rafa agreed. “But we don’t have the culture you have in Europe. It’s fascinating to walk through the streets of London and imagine what it was like in the days of the infamous Tudors. I confess I went to the Tower and just stood and soaked it up, this rich history of yours, for most of a morning. It was time well spent.”
They talked on. Clementine joined in, slowly warming up as Rafa seemed deliberately to include her, though he seemed more interested in Marina. She wondered whether her father ever noticed his wife’s flirting, or whether he was so used to it as not to be bothered. She suspected he was just happy that she was happy, at any cost. Marina’s contentment was of paramount importance to him.
“Clemmie, why don’t you show Rafa around?” Marina suggested. “You’re not doing anything today, are you?” She turned to Rafa. “You’ve already seen the Black Bean Coffee Shop, which is clearly one of the highlights of Dawcomb, so it might be nice to explore a little of the countryside with a guide who knows her way around.”
“One who has no interest in Devon,” Jake added mischievously. “Clemmie makes no secret of the fact that she hates everything about Devon.”
“That’s not fair,” interjected Marina. “Clemmie doesn’t hate Devon. She’s just got her mind on India.”
“Perhaps my enthusiasm will be infectious,” said Rafa, and his eyes twinkled at Clementine as they had done in the Black Bean Coffee Shop. She felt her chest inflate with happiness. “What do you say? Will you be my guide?”
Clementine smiled in spite of herself. It was impossible not to respond positively to Rafa’s uninhibited geniality. “Sure, if you like.”
Marina watched her face open like a sunflower and wished she would smile more often; she was really very pretty when she did.
11.
After they had finished their coffees Grey suggested Clementine begin her tour in order to be back in time for lunch. “Take him on a drive, that way he can get his bearings.”
“Do show him the beach,” said Marina. “It’s such a lovely day, you can walk up and down with your feet in the sea.”
“Make sure you take him to the Wayfarer,” Jake added.
Clementine huffed irritably. “I’ll make my own arrangements, thank you very much.”
“You can borrow my car,” said Grey.
“What’s wrong with my Mini?”
“Well, it’s a little small.”
Clementine turned to Rafa. “Do you think a Mini is too small?”
He shrugged. “You’re the boss. If you were all cooks, you’d have spoiled the cake.”
Marina laughed. “You’re so right. Come on, let’s leave them to it. We’ll see you back at one.”
“Whatever. I’m going to change, Rafa. I’ll meet you in the hall in five.”
Clementine left them on the terrace and found that once she was alone in her bedroom she was able to breathe again.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed into the bathroom mirror. “He’s delicious. He’s even more delicious than I recall. And he remembered me.” She painted her lashes with mascara and covered up the dark circles beneath her eyes with concealer. “I don’t know why I bother, really. I mean, he’ll never look at me. Why would he? And he probably has a girlfriend already. Men like that are usually taken.” She squirted herself with Penhaligon’s Bluebell eau de toilette. Sighing melodramatically, she watched the excitement stain her cheeks pink.
What will Sylvia say when I tell her that the Argentine I never thought I’d see again has come to spend the summer with us? Is it Fate? Am I destined to fall in love and live happily ever after?
She exchanged her white jeans for a pair in blue denim and chose a blue Jack Wills check shirt which she wore over a white T-shirt. She hadn’t yet painted her toenails for flip-flops, so she wore blue Nike trainers instead, which were very casual. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, so she left her hair as it was. However, when she appeared in the hall, Marina wasn’t fooled and she smiled at her knowingly. Clementine noticed that her stepmother’s cheeks were also glowing with the same brand of pink, and she pitied her for her delusion. If Rafa was a little higher than Clementine on the food chain, he was on a totally different food chain from Marina, being so much younger. She didn’t mean to feel smug, but smugness crept upon her all the same.