Page 27 of Change of Heart
Next day there was a call from a woman at theGazzettain Parma who identified herself as the features editor. She said she had spoken to Luca and was interested in doing an article on the family’s bid to open the castle to the public and told them she would send a reporter the following day. Sure enough, at ten o’clock on Thursday morning, Alice and Simonetta were visited by a young man, probably a few years younger than they were, accompanied by an elderly photographer. After taking a number of photos of the two of them, the photographer went off to get some shots of the castle accompanied by Silvia, while Alice and Simonetta sat down in the lounge to talk to the reporter. In all, they talked for about half an hour and the journalist appeared particularly interested in the fact that the civic authorities seemed to be so firmly against the development. By agreement, neither Alice nor Simonetta mentioned the feud between the two families as there was no point in further infuriating the mayor, and by the time the reporter left, they felt confident there would be a positive article in this Saturday’s newspaper.
It was therefore with some anticipation that Alice went into the newsagents on Saturday morning and bought a copy of that day’s paper. She took it into the café and sat down to read the article over a cappuccino. It came as a considerable shock to find that the young journalist the paper had sent had dedicated almost half of page three to the story – and what a story! The banner headline that ran right across the page read:
BLOOD FEUD RESURFACES AFTER 500 YEARS
Alice barely noticed the arrival of her coffee as she read and re-read the article several times. Along with a number of very good photos of the castle and one of Simonetta and herself in the living room, the article immediately homed in on the feud between the families, and Alice found herself wondering how they had found out. She wondered if Luca had said something but then quickly discovered that he hadn’t been the origin of the leak after all. According to the article, it had emanated from none other than the owner of the establishment where she was currently drinking her cappuccino. She remembered that Luca had told her that there was no love lost between his father and Giorgio Chiesa here at the restaurant. Clearly, the journalist had headed for the café after Wednesday’s interview at the castle and Giorgio had been only too happy to dish the dirt.
The article made it quite clear that in the opinion of theGazzetta, a serious abuse of power was taking place and that this merited further investigation by higher authorities. It ended with a single line:
We approached the mayor of Varaldo, Cesare Montorso, for comment but he was unavailable.
Alongside it was a photograph of Luca and Tommaso’s father in his official regalia, no doubt taken from some ceremony he had attended in the past. Alice studied it carefully. This was the first time she had seen the face of the man she had come to think of as some sort of demon, and she was mildly surprised to see that he was a good-looking man sporting a friendly smile on his face. Unlike his sons, he had dark hair, but the family likeness in the cheekbones was clear to see.
She had just finished reading the article for the third time and was reaching for her now cold coffee when a shadow fell across the table and she looked up to see the restaurateur himself standing there.
‘I see you’ve read it. Rather good, I thought.’ There was a hint of a smile on his face.
‘Wow, this is going to put the cat among the pigeons.’
Giorgio’s smile was replaced by a scowl. ‘It’s about time somebody took him down. He’s been getting far too big for his boots.’
‘I just hope it doesn’t make him even more extreme in his behaviour.’
Chapter 18
By the time Saturday afternoon arrived, the temperature had climbed into the high twenties. Alice met Luca and Frank at the stables as arranged and the first thing she did, after petting the dog, was to ask Luca if he’d seen the article in the paper. He nodded soberly.
‘Tommi called me this morning. He said our father’s been ranting and raving, and he stormed off into themunicipioto call an emergency meeting of some kind. I must admit I wasn’t expecting theGazzettato pick up this side of the story, and I feel sorry for Tommi as he’s the one who’s going to have to put up with my father and his tantrums.’
‘What do you think your father will do?’
‘Whatcanhe do? The article may make unpleasant reading to him, but it’s only the truth. Everybody in the town knows it. Maybe getting it out in the open like this will be cathartic for him. Maybe it needs a jolt like this to make him realise just how crazily he’s been behaving.’ He shook his head regretfully. ‘But I honestly don’t know. I almost feel sorry for the man now after hating him for so long. I left home as soon as I finished school and I took a series of jobs to see me through university. There’s no excuse for his treatment of the two of us, particularly Tommi who could never stand up to him. And it was just as bad, if not worse, for my mother.’
‘What made you decide to leave home, if you don’t mind me asking? That’s a major step.’
His expression hardened. ‘There’s a limit to the number of times you can stand being shouted at and threatened. As boys we had to work harder than the farmhands and for no pay. He was just permanently in a foul mood.’
‘He treated you that badly?’ Luca just nodded silently and Alice didn’t know how to respond. ‘I’m so sorry to hear that, Luca. No child should have to go through that.’ Seeing the pain in his eyes, she tried for a more positive note. ‘Well, like you say, maybe airing the whole subject will make him see reason. Now, it’s a beautiful day and the sun’s shining, so where are we going for our ride?’
He suggested they go in a different direction this time and she agreed willingly. To be honest, she didn’t mind where they went as long as she was with him. The good news was that he appeared to be happy in her company so maybe he really had been very busy and hadn’t been avoiding her. He led her out of the stables and onto a narrow track between two fields, heading back down the valley for a change. When the track widened enough for them to be able to ride side by side with the happy dog trotting ahead of them, Luca explained what he had in mind. Alice was pleased to see him smiling again. Hopefully the dark cloud cast by talking about his father had passed, at least for today.
‘I thought you might like to see the Blue Lake. That’s what we call it because of its intense colour. As kids, Tommi and I used to come down here very often in the summer to go swimming, but I haven’t been back for a few years now. I hope it’s still as beautiful as it used to be.’
It was.
After twenty minutes or so, a fast-running stream emerged from a steep sided gorge and joined the river they had been following down the valley. Luca led the way and turned onto a narrower path, heading up the gorge. They climbed steadily for about five or ten minutes, and the horses had to pick their way up what was little more than a goat track in single file, but they took the rocky terrain in their stride – literally. Just as it looked as though the gorge was about to close in on them, Alice heard the sound of rushing water and they emerged from the trees into a clearing. The Blue Lake was right in front of them and Alice reined in and stared at it in awe.
It wasn’t very big – barely half the size of a tennis court – and almost completely circular. Hemmed in by steep rocky walls, it was fed by a narrow ribbon of water that emerged from the rockface ten metres or more above them and plunged down into the pool, sending countless tiny droplets of water into the air to sparkle in the sunlight, creating a multi-coloured mist of tiny rainbows. The water was crystal clear and she could see right to the bottom of the surprisingly deep pool, maybe three or four metres below the surface. A tiny gravel beach, just wide enough for the two horses to stand side by side while they leant forward to drink, was the only access, short of diving off the surrounding cliffs.
Following Luca’s example, Alice dismounted, looped the reins around a low hanging branch and walked to the edge of the pool where she crouched down and scooped up a double handful of water. It was so cold, she almost squealed. At the same moment there was a thunderous splash and she looked over to see the dog’s head emerge from the water with a big smile on his hairy face as he paddled happily about, looking more like a seal than a dog, and clearly in his element. Alice glanced up to where Luca was standing behind her with a relaxed smile on his face and she held her hands up towards him.
‘The water’s so cold I can feel it freezing my fingers. It’s all right for Frank, he’s got a fur coat, but are you telling me you really used to swim in this? You must be crazy.’
He grinned. ‘I didn’t say I still do. As kids, you don’t feel the cold so much. Nowadays I come up here from time to time, but I wouldn’t dream of going in the water again.’ He pointed upwards. ‘The water pouring down that waterfall comes straight out of the mountainside and it’s the same low temperature all year round, two or three degrees above freezing. Even in the depths of winter, the flow never stops. Still, it’s a lovely place, isn’t it?’
Alice straightened up and looked around. He was right. This really was a beautiful spot and she couldn’t help thinking that it was also a very romantic one. As the realisation dawned on her that she was here completely alone, apart from two horses and a dog, with a handsome man for whom she could easily develop feelings – maybe already had – her throat suddenly dried. Apparently unaware of her state of heightened tension, Luca slipped off his backpack and set it down on a boulder smoothed by millennia of rushing water. From the bag he produced a bottle of the same local Lambrusco she had tasted at the restaurant, two plastic wine glasses, and a little cardboard package that he opened to reveal a selection of delicious looking pastries. He held the bottle in the air.
‘Feel like a drink?’
