Page 44 of Change of Heart
On the way down to the house she gave him more detail of the remedial works being undertaken as well as the various changes imposed by the planners in order for them to be able to open to the public. Any further discussion of practical matters was interrupted when they got home and her mother came running out of the front door, gave her a warm hug and dragged her inside. The Aga in the kitchen was pumping out the heat and there was a wonderful smell of roasting food in the air. Pushing Alice into a chair, her mum set about making tea and the ‘inquisition’ began. Although she had given most of the news to her mum during their regular phone conversations over the past few months, this didn’t come as a surprise.
‘Tell me about Luca. Is everything still all right between the two of you?’
Alice answered honestly. ‘Everything’s wonderful. Things really couldn’t be better.’
‘I’m so pleased for you. When are we going to meet him?’
‘As you can imagine, he and I are up to our eyes at the moment with all the work at the castle but we’re planning the grand opening at Easter, and you really have to come over for that, if you can’t come over before.’ She glanced across at her father. ‘Do you think you could get away for a few days?’
She was delighted to see him nod. ‘We’ve been talking about a holiday for a while, and now that I’ve got Stan trained up and working well, I’m sure I should be able to get away at least for a few days or maybe even a week.’
Alice smiled back at him. She knew that farming was a full-time job, and getting time off one of the biggest problems for anybody in the business. Animals still needed to be fed, crops still needed to be planted, nurtured and harvested, and there were all the hundreds of other things that needed to be done to keep a farm working happily.
‘That sounds wonderful. I know Luca’s looking forward to meeting you.’
‘What about his parents?’ There was a more serious look on her mother’s face now. ‘How’s the father? Did you say he might be able to walk again after all?’
‘He’s lost one leg up to the thigh and he’s had a new knee and reconstructive surgery on the other one, but from what I hear, he’s already having physio and beginning to move around on it. He’ll never befullymobile again but, if you’d seen what happened, you’d realise just how lucky he’s been.’
‘Is he still the mayor?’
Alice shook her head. ‘No, after everything that happened, he resigned his position and his place has been taken by his one time arch-enemy, Giorgio from the local restaurant.’
‘And how about his other problems…? Is he still shouting and screaming at people?’
‘No, it’s been amazing. Luca and Tommi say their father’s calmed down completely as a result of the new drugs he’s now on. He’s been diagnosed with something called IED, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which had plagued him – and those around him – all his life.’
‘And how are things between the two boys and their father? From what you’ve told me they had a terrible time growing up.’
Alice nodded. ‘I can only imagine how grim it must have been. Tommi has now taken over running the farm and I think he and his dad have pretty much buried the hatchet. Tommi knows full well that his father was a sick man and that he didn’t mean to mistreat them. It was just what was going on inside his head. Now that that’s been fixed he says his father’s a changed man.’
‘And what about Luca? After all, he spent ten years or more without ever seeing or speaking to his dad, didn’t you say? Do you think he understands and can forgive?’
‘He definitely understands that it was an illness and although they don’t see much of each other yet, I have a feeling things will gradually work out between them.’
‘And the mother?’
‘She’s moved on. She’s met a guy where she now lives and they’re getting married in the new year. She still sees a lot of the boys but I don’t think she’ll ever be able to forgive and forget as far as her husband’s concerned.’
‘Well, at least it sounds as though she’s happy now.’
Dinner was roast beef with all the trimmings. Her mum had prepared roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding and, inevitably, sprouts. Alice had never been a great fan of sprouts but she made an effort and thoroughly enjoyed the meal. By the time she had put away some of her mum’s home-made bread and butter pudding with custard and clotted cream, she felt absolutely stuffed and happy to be home.
If she had thought the questioning was over, she was to be disappointed. While her dad filled all of their glasses with some good claret, her mum brought the conversation back to Varaldo again.
‘And what about the family at the castle? I think it’s wonderful that you and Simonetta have ended up with a twin each. Are things working out well for her and Tommi?’
‘Things are working out very well. He proposed to her only a few days ago and they’re planning to get married next summer. And, as if that wasn’t enough, her brother, Achille, is also now engaged to his beloved Silvia, so that means there’ll be two weddings coming up next year.’
Her mother looked up from the remains of her pudding and gave her an inquisitive smile. ‘Or maybe even three…?’
Alice smiled back. ‘Who knows?’
Her father tactfully changed the subject and soon he and Alice were discussing the merits of dairy as compared to beef cattle and technical questions like the gestation period of the alpaca.
On Christmas Eve, Alice was invited over to the Dower House for lunch with Fenella and Ronald. Lord F-C had insisted on driving over in person to collect her. He turned up in his beloved 1927 Rolls Royce that Fenella had told Alice he only used for very, very special occasions. Alice was flattered and most impressed, and as she admired it on the drive back, she told him the story of the Mercedes that Luca had discovered at the castle.
‘It was sold at auction last month for just over half a million euros. I shudder to think how much your Rolls Royce must be worth.’
