Page 7 of Change of Heart
As for Varaldo itself, the countryside around the castle had looked delightful, and Simonetta had told her that the estate extended to over a thousand hectares, so there would be ample opportunity maybe even for horse rides if there was a riding stable nearby. However, there still remained a big question mark over whether or not the family would choose to go ahead with the project. The other thing that had been going through her mind for the last twenty-four hours was her unexpected reaction to seeing the fair-haired man. She was still trying to work out what this might mean to her. The odds were that she would never see that man again but she drew considerable consolation from the fact that she had felt that spark of attraction. Maybe the shadow of her accident and the equally grim shadow of Maurizio were finally beginning to melt away. She certainly hoped so.
Doing her best to relegate this fleeting encounter to the back burner, she found herself hoping that the baron and the rest of his family would decide to go ahead with the project. In so many ways it sounded like the perfect job for her.
This was just about the first question Fenella asked her. ‘Well, did they offer you the job, and did you say yes?’
‘No, they’re still making up their minds, but they promised to let me know very soon.’
‘And if they do offer you the job, what’s your answer going to be?’
Alice had had time to debate this by now and, in spite of her fears, she had reached a decision. ‘I would say yes like a shot. I was only in Italy for twenty-four hours, but I had time to wander around Parma on my own and I enjoyed myself, apart from getting lost a few times. Later on, I went to a restaurant where I had a wonderful meal, and it all felt familiar and comfortable.’ She looked across at the two of them and shrugged. ‘If they do offer it to me, I just hope I’ll be up to the task. It certainly isn’t going to be easy. Apart from everything that’ll need to be done and all the bureaucratic complications that I’m sure will come up, there’s a serious question mark over whether the baron’s heart is in it.’
She went on to tell them all about the area, the little town and the castle itself. She was still in full flow, describing the building in minute detail and showing them the photos she had taken, when her phone bleeped to tell her she had a message.
Dear Alice. My father and brother have agreed. We’re going to go ahead with the project, and we would like you to be our new Castle Manager. We do hope you’ll say yes. I’ll send you an e-mail with a detailed offer. Simonetta Varaldo
Alice rattled off a quick translation for Ronald and Fenella and then looked up from the screen, beaming at them. She could feel a wave of excitement rising up inside her and she had to suppress a little yelp of delight. Simonetta had managed to talk her father around and she felt herself grinning like an idiot.
‘That’s it. They’ve offered me the job, and unless there’s something significantly different in the offer when I get it, I’m going to say yes.’
Fenella turned to her husband who was standing by the sherry bottle. ‘I think this calls for champagne, Ronald, don’t you?’
‘I certainly do.’
He headed for the kitchen to get a bottle from the fridge and, while he was away, his wife reached across and caught hold of Alice’s hand. ‘I know you’re doing the right thing, Alice. Just you wait and see. It’s a whole new life opening up for you. I envy you, I really do.’
Alice gave her a smile and waved her hand at her surroundings. ‘You wouldn’t ever want to leave all this, would you?’
‘I love this house, and I love this part of Devon, but the idea of being able to get my teeth into a new project would be very appealing. I tell you this: when Varaldo castle opens to the public, I promise we’ll be among the very first visitors. You’re going to have a lot of fun, I just know it.’
Over glasses of champagne they chatted about Italy, Parma, and how Alice’s life was going to change as a result of this new job. Alice invited them to come and visit her once she had got herself settled. She knew she would miss these lovely friendly people but, hopefully, she would stay in touch with them as well as making new friends in Italy.
As it started to grow dark she went back home and just as she got there she received the promised e-mail from Simonetta. Before clicking on it, she realised that she was feeling apprehensive; she knew that this wasn’t fear of taking the job, but fear that something in the e-mail might result in hernottaking the job. If she had needed any proof that this was something she really wanted to do, her nervousness provided it.
She took a deep breath and opened the e-mail. Scanning through it, she was pleased to see that it looked as though they were offering her a lot of freedom to do what she felt she needed to do, rather than being too prescriptive. Yes, big decisions about expenditure would have to be approved by the ‘whole’ family which sounded a bit ominous, but for the day-to-day, they were giving her a refreshingly free rein. It came as no surprise to see that they hoped she would be able to get things moving quickly, so that they could open the castle to the public as soon as possible, but she was relieved to read that they acknowledged that this would depend on a number of factors, many of them out of Alice’s hands. The experience Alice had already gained of Italian bureaucracy made her fear that delays were going to be inevitable, but she felt sure the family would already be aware of this.
To her delight, she saw that the starting salary they were offering was bang in the middle of the range they had previously mentioned and so would represent a considerable increase compared to what she had been getting as assistant manager here at the manor. Even better, they would provide a car for her. Simonetta kindly indicated that this would be an automatic and Alice was touched that she had remembered. They stated that they would like her to start as soon as possible and stressed that this job wasn’t just about organising the conversion of the castle into a tourist attraction but was a long term offer of employment. They hoped that Alice would settle down and put down roots back in Italy again. The last paragraph was very welcome and resolved one of the things which had been worrying Alice.
As far as accommodation is concerned, a lady in the town has a small, furnished, ground-floor apartment that she would be happy to rent to you at a reasonable rate. You may have other plans but if you would like me to get more details about this, please let me know, and I’ll get this back to you as soon as possible.
Alice slumped onto a chair and breathed deeply. The gloom she had been feeling ever since that meeting with Helen from HR disappeared without trace and she felt a smile forming on her face. The job was hers if she wanted it.
And she did. Yes, it was going to be a real challenge and she hoped she would be able to justify Simonetta’s confidence in her, but she knew it was something she wanted to do; for them and, above all, for herself.
First thing on Monday morning, Alice gave in her notice to Marjorie who told her she would be sorely missed and then came up with an excellent suggestion. A friend of hers had been looking for a little cottage to rent in the area but without success. Alice worked out that if she rented her house to this lady when she left the country, the regular monthly income would allow her to keep up the mortgage payments. She had no idea at this stage whether her new life in Italy might be going to last weeks, months or years, so it seemed prudent to hang on to a toehold on the UK property ladder, in case she came hurrying back with her tail between her legs.
She then spent hours on the phone sorting out all sorts of practical matters ranging from cancelling utility contracts to arranging for her mail to be forwarded to her mum and dad at the farm. She went to see her parents at the end of the week and told them all about it. They were both very supportive and her mum asked all sorts of questions, principal among which was this one: ‘It sounds like an exciting job, are they nice people?’
‘Very nice, particularly the daughter.’
‘Who else is there in the family? Did you say the mother died some time ago?’
‘Yes, two years ago, I believe. There’s Simonetta, the daughter, who’s probably about my age, the father who’s a bit vague – not doolally, but definitely a bit woolly and from what Simonetta told me, a stickler for tradition – and there’s a brother as well, but I haven’t met him yet. Oh yes, and there’s also the ninety-year-old grandmother, a housekeeper and a maid. Even assuming there are a few more living or working there as well, it’s still not that many people to be rattling around in a huge property even bigger than Fitzgerald-Chagleigh Manor.’
‘How much land have they got, and do they farm it?’ It came as no surprise to Alice to find that her dad was more interested in that side of things.
‘On the information sheet they sent me, it says the total area of the estate is twelve hundred hectares. I make that about three thousand acres, right?’
Her father’s eyes opened wide. ‘That’s a lot of land.’ He produced a wry smile. ‘You could get this farm and half a dozen others like it into that area. What stock do they keep or are they arable?’
