Page 6 of Change of Heart
Alice saw Simonetta cast another glance across at her father and this time there appeared to be a pleading look on her face, but the response was the same as before: a blank wall. Was it the expense of the conversion? This would confirm Alice’s speculation that the family might be running short of money. She had seen no sign of any great expenditure since her arrival and it was clear the whole place needed serious modernisation. Of course, she told herself, that had to be it: the Varaldo family were broke, or close to it. After all, why throw their home open to the public and risk losing so much of their privacy unless they were being forced into it? And if this was the case, maybe they weren’t going to be in a position to fund all the expense. The other thing that was emerging ever more clearly was that while Simonetta looked and sounded enthusiastic at the project, her father appeared to have little or no interest in it. Simonetta finally stood up and glanced at her watch.
‘It’s almost half past five. I’m afraid I have to go out at six, otherwise we would have invited you to stay for dinner.’
It was looking more and more as though her trip to Italy had been an expensive waste of time. Well, not really a waste of time, she corrected herself; it had been refreshing to come back to Italy after so long. She stood up and addressed both of them.
‘That’s very kind of you, but I need to get off. I’m flying home again tomorrow and I’ve booked into a hotel in Parma tonight. I’ve never been to Parma before, but I saw that it was voted Italy’s City of Culture a couple of years ago and I promised myself I’d try to spend a couple of hours looking around the place before going to bed.’
‘I’m sure you’ll find it a charming city. Don’t forget to take a look at the Teatro Regio while you’re there. It’s one of the most famous opera houses in Italy. You maybe know that Giuseppe Verdi was born not far from here.’
Alice nodded. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing it. Thank you both very much for taking the time to see me. It’s been fascinating, and I feel sure your home can be turned into a spectacular tourist attraction. Could I just ask when you think you might be able to let me know one way or the other about the position? It’s just that I’m applying for other jobs back in the UK, though none of them are anything like as appealing as this one could be.’
‘Very soon indeed,’ Simonetta cast another despairing glace across at her father, ‘Papà, Alice is going now.’
As if waking from a dream, the baron roused himself and offered Alice his hand. ‘Good to meet you… Salt of the earth.’ Alice suppressed a smile. It appeared that the baron was not a man of many words.
Simonetta accompanied Alice down the stairs, out through the gatehouse, and across the drawbridge to the car. When they got there, Alice held out her hand, but Simonetta clearly had something to say first.
‘I promise I’ll be in touch early next week. There’s something you need to know about my father. He’s not himself these days, I’m afraid. My mother died two years ago, but he still hasn’t come to terms with it. Memories of her and the history of the family seem to be his only interests nowadays. He’s always been very conscious of the family and its traditions, and it’s been an uphill struggle to get him to even start talking about opening the castle to the public.’
‘Do you think he’ll go along with your plan? Was it your idea?’
‘Yes, it was my idea. I don’t see that we have any alternative.’ Simonetta gave a helpless shrug. ‘I really hope he’ll agree. My brother’s been away but he’s coming back tomorrow, so hopefully between the two of us we’ll be able to convince Papà… and then of course there’s Nonna.
‘Your grandmother’s the elderly lady I saw when I arrived?’
Simonetta nodded. ‘Nonna turned ninety earlier in the year, but she still thinks she rules the roost – and she’s probably right. If I can convince her that it’s a good idea, I know she’ll be able to convince Papà. He always listens to her.’
‘And as far as the project’s concerned, do you think your brother will agree?’
‘I know how to handle Achille. He’ll be okay.’
‘Is he your little brother?’
‘No, he’s thirty-five, five years older than me.’
‘That makes you and me about the same age. I’m thirty-one. Well, I hope they all like the idea. I’m sure it’s the right thing to do. The place has a terrific amount of potential.’
‘As you can imagine, it’s an enormous undertaking for us, and it’ll mean borrowing money, which is always a risk. I know Papà’s terrified of losing the castle after the family have been here for so many generations, but if we don’t do something soon, we’re going to be in severe financial trouble.’ She caught hold of Alice’s arm. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that. Please keep that to yourself.’
‘Of course. To be honest, I thought that might be the case. It’s all too common with old properties of this size. Just the upkeep from year to year can be financially crippling.’
‘Thank you, Alice. I’m very keen to go ahead and I promise I’ll press Papà to make a decision.’ She transferred her grip to Alice’s hand and shook it warmly clasped in both of hers. ‘What I can tell you is that we’ve seen six other potential candidates for the position and, to my mind, you’re by far the strongest. If we do decide to go ahead, I would very much like it to be with you.’
Alice drove down the hill with conflicted emotions. She had been delighted to hear Simonetta’s parting words but she was still dubious as to whether the baron would go along with the plan. His expression throughout had been far from supportive and she had a horrible feeling that even though Simonetta was clearly keen to go ahead, there was a very real possibility that he might veto it. This at least made Alice realise one thing: if the family did decide to embark on the project of opening the castle to the public, she knew she would very much like to be part of it. The castle was a stunning piece of architecture and she knew that she would relish the challenge of opening it to the twenty-first century.
When she got down to the piazza she parked outside the hotel and sat down at one of the tables outside and stretched her legs. She knew what she needed: a nice cup of tea.
A waitress came out a minute later and Alice asked for a cup of tea with a drop of cold milk. She knew from experience that here in Italy if she didn’t specify the milk, the tea would probably arrive with a slice of lemon. As she sat and waited, enjoying the remaining warmth of the late afternoon sunshine, she looked around. The piazza itself was deserted apart from a couple of kids doing their best to use their skateboards on the uneven surface of the square. Alongside her, only two of the other tables were occupied; one by two elderly ladies and the other by a young couple. The atmosphere was calm and not dissimilar in many ways to rural Devonshire. She felt remarkably at home and had a good feeling about this place.
There was a momentary hiccup when the waitress brought the tea and Alice spotted that the tea bag in its little packet on the saucer alongside the cup of hot water was some kind of herbal tea. Luckily Alice had come prepared and dug into her handbag for the proper English teabags she had had the foresight to bring with her. She was sitting there drinking her tea and thinking about all the work that would need to be done to the castle when two men emerged through the door of the bar. One was wearing a white chef’s uniform and the two had obviously been talking. They shook hands warmly before the other man turned away. As he did so his eyes briefly met hers and he gave her a hint of a smile. He then walked across to the other side of the road, climbed into a silver sports car and drove off.
Alice watched the car disappear around the corner, all thought of the castle suddenly banished from her mind, now replaced by bewilderment and something more. She was bewildered because she couldn’t deny that she had felt a little thrill of attraction as his eyes had met hers. This was bewildering and unexpected because men hadn’t been on her radar since the accident four years earlier. She had kept telling herself that this was because down in the wilds of rural Devon the choice of eligible bachelors was severely restricted, but deep down she knew it was because of the accident and what had happened with Maurizio. She was all too conscious of her prosthetic limb, her limp, and the way her self-confidence as far as men were concerned had all but disappeared. Now here she was, only just arrived in the little town, and some random man had already attracted her attention.
Was this a good thing or bad?
Chapter 5
Alice enjoyed her brief stay in Parma – although she got well and truly lost trying to drive into the city centre. Her flight back was uneventful, and she arrived home on Sunday afternoon. After dropping her things at the cottage, she headed to the Dower House with a goodie bag of parmesan cheese, Parma ham, and a bottle of the good, dry Lambrusco for Ronald and Fenella. As she drove through the Devon lanes, she reflected on how different life might be for her if she were to return to Italy. The few hours she had been able to spend looking around Parma had been fascinating. It was a vibrant city with a large population of university students and there was obviously a lot of historical, artistic and architectural interest in the city and in the surrounding area, as well as a wealth of industry. It would certainly make a change from rural Devonshire – although on a pleasant spring evening like this, Devon definitely had its own charm.
