Page 22 of Change of Heart
The baron was looking astounded. ‘He really said that to you? After everything that happened during the war?’
‘Forgive and forget, and if you can’t forget, Lodovico, at least forgive.’
The baron subsided into resigned silence and, after waiting for a minute or so, Alice went on with the meeting, working through the various agenda points relating to fields to be used, rooms to be opened to the public and other proposed changes. She ended with the new castle museum, hoping against hope that this would shake the baron from his sullen, uncommunicative state. To her considerable relief it did, and she managed to start him talking about his plans for the various exhibits and about the new artefacts he had unearthed during his treasure hunt at the weekend. The others joined in with their own suggestions and when the baroness, in particular, mentioned diaries belonging to her husband which she had been keeping safe, the baron’s eyes positively lit up. As a result he was in a more buoyant mood as lunchtime approached, so deciding that the time had come, Alice drew the meeting to an end and asked the million dollar question.
‘Can I take it that I have your approval to engage the services of Luca Montorso? The sooner we can get an architect on the job, the better.’
All eyes turned towards the baron, and even the old grey cat raised its head from its position sprawled across Simonetta’s lap. There was a pregnant pregnant pause before Simonetta’s father gave a resigned nod of the head. ‘So be it, but don’t blame me if the mayor launches an all-out war.’
To the cat’s chagrin, Simonetta stood up and went across to give him a hug. ‘Well, if he does, we’ll be ready for him. Don’t forget we live in a castle, after all. Next time you go hunting for old artefacts, see if you can find a few muskets, or even a cannon or two.’
When Alice got back to her office, she sent a text message to Luca Montorso. It contained a short message telling him that the baron and the rest of the family had agreed to engage him, and asking him to contact her when he had a day and time for his first visit to the castle. His reply came through an hour later asking her to pass on his thanks to the baron and arranging to come on Wednesday morning. He told her he had things to finish before then but that he had earmarked the whole of Wednesday morning so he could take a good look around. She felt a little stab of disappointment that she was going to have to wait thirty-six hours to see him again, but she was quick to shake that off. He was coming on business, she told herself firmly, and she should stop behaving like a character in a fairy-tale romance. They hardly knew each other and, besides, she had a feeling that when he found about her prosthetic leg he would probably lose any possible interest in her he might be harbouring – just like Maurizio.
That evening, after she’d stopped off to buy provisions at the general store in the piazza and was emerging with a bag full of groceries, she spotted Silvia from the castle sitting at a table outside the bar, sipping what looked like a cooling lemonade. The sun had been shining non-stop all day and Alice felt sure the temperature must already be in the high twenties so she decided to stop for a cold drink as well. She had never liked the idea of sitting outside a bar by herself but, seeing as there was somebody here that she knew, she walked across to where Silvia was sitting.
‘All right if I join you? Or are you waiting for somebody?’
Silvia blushed and made as if to stand up, but Alice laid a hand on her shoulder and pressed her back into her seat. ‘Don’t get up, please. I’m not the baron, you know.’ She sat down alongside Silvia with her back to the wall, looking out over the square. ‘Had a long day?’
Gradually the two of them started to talk, and once Alice had impressed upon her that she was just an employee rather than a member of the family, she sensed that Silvia began to relax a bit. Inevitably, the question of Simonetta’s newfound – or at least newly revealed – boyfriend came up. It was clear that Silvia was dying to know who he was, but as Alice hadn’t heard any more from Simonetta about when she intended to go ahead and tell her father all about it, she just shrugged her shoulders and pleaded ignorance. Instead, she enquired whether Silvia had a special somebody in her life and, once again, the woman blushed.
‘Sort of…’
She was looking acutely uncomfortable and, remembering the exchange of glances between Silvia and Achille that she had intercepted, Alice had a feeling she knew why, but for now she was quick to jump in and move the conversation on with a platitude. ‘Relationships can be difficult, can’t they?’
‘They really can. What about you, Alice? Have you left some man behind in England?’
Alice shook her head. ‘No, I’ve had a few boyfriends over the years, but I still haven’t found a keeper.’
‘Simonetta said you used to work up north in the Dolomites. Surely there must have been a few handsome ski instructors up there?’
Maurizio had been an expert skier but because his family owned a hotel, he had worked there. Thought of him and the hurt he had caused her darkened Alice’s mood, but she was delighted to find that she soon rallied. Progress indeed.
‘There was one man, but he turned out not to be as good as he looked.’
Silvia must have heard the emotion in Alice’s voice and she reached across with her hand and patted her on the arm. ‘You’ll find the right man, I’m sure. You’re so pretty.’
Alice managed to smile back at her. ‘Thank you, but nothing like as pretty as you. Somehow I doubt I’ll ever find the right man.’ She could have told Silvia the real reason why she had convinced herself she would never find the right man, but she chose to keep that to herself. The titanium and carbon prosthetic limb below her left knee was nobody’s business but hers. But Silvia was no fool.
‘I heard about your accident, but that’s all in the past now, isn’t it? You just wait. You’ll find someone special soon.’
Alice almost blurted out that she might even already have found him but she decided it was best not to even think of Luca Montorso in that light – at least for now. ‘Why don’t you tell me about your man instead?’ Alice changed the subject away from herself and tried giving Silvia another little prod about her own relationship status. This time she got a fuller answer, not complete disclosure, but a step in the right direction.
‘There is a man.’ Silvia glanced around apprehensively and lowered her voice. ‘I’ve known him for years and I’ve probably been in love with him almost since the first day I saw him, but there’s nothing going on between us and I know that nothing ever can happen.’
‘How come? He’s not married or something, is he?’
She saw Silvia blush again. ‘No, he’s not married, it’s just that it’s very complicated.’
If Silvia didn’t want to mention Achille by name, Alice knew it wouldn’t be right to press her any further, despite her suspicions. After all, she reminded herself, Silvia wasn’t the only person here reluctant to divulge a secret. She did, however, offer a piece of advice. ‘Why don’t you tell him how you feel, or at least ask him out and see how you get on together? We’re no longer in the dark ages, you know.’
Silvia shook her head. ‘I couldn’t possibly… Like I say, it’s complicated.’
And that was all Alice could get out of her.
On Tuesday morning she had a visit in her office from Alfonso who brought interesting news.
‘I’ve spoken to some of my farmer friends and apparently there’s a man just on the other side of Salsomaggiore who keeps alpacas. His names’s Silvestri and here’s his phone number if you want to get in touch. He might have some animals to sell or, if not, he might know somebody else who has. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to get some tips from him about keeping them.’
