What Happens in Tuscany... (12 page)

‘I should bloody well hope so!' Victoria smiled back. By this time Katie had stripped to her bikini as well. ‘Well, you look terrific!'

Katie caught her eye and pointed to the door. ‘Ready to go? And remember; he's more frightened of you than you are of him.'

As she swam lazily up and down the surprisingly large pool, Katie grinned to herself as she thought back to the look on Tom's face when Victoria emerged in her bikini. She had a wonderful figure and there was no doubt about it; whatever it had cost, that bikini was worth every single Swiss Franc. For her part, Katie was well pleased with her own appearance. One of the few benefits of all the worry of the last few months had been to burn off a few kilos, and she knew she looked good in her bikini.

The water was perfect and they swam around happily. After a while, Katie sat on one of the steps leading into the pool and Beatrice settled alongside her, keeping a maternal eye on Emma, who was splashing around in the shallow end. Across on the other side of the pool, Victoria and Tom were deep in conversation. Katie was delighted that she appeared to be fitting in so well.

‘They're getting on well.' Beatrice had her eyes on Victoria and Tom as well as her daughter. She lowered her voice. ‘I'm so pleased. It can't be easy to suddenly emerge from what was, in effect, a sort of prison.'

Katie nodded. ‘She's doing really well.'

Beatrice's expression became more serious. ‘She seems remarkably grounded, considering her weird background. So, you're her personal tutor, are you?'

Katie remembered the cover story they had used at Tom's party. ‘Sort of, but I think of her more as a friend now, really.' The sun was scorching hot and she slid down a few steps until her shoulders were under water. Beatrice followed her and took up position beside her again.

Katie shot her a glance. ‘She and Tom seem to be hitting it off.'

Beatrice nodded. ‘Between you and me, I think my brother's fallen for her, hook, line and sinker.'

Katie smiled. ‘Well, I know she likes him a lot. Who knows? Of course, for her, this is all new. You know, men…'

Beatrice smiled back. ‘To be honest, it's the first time I've seen Tommie so struck by a girl. He's had a number of girlfriends, but never anything serious. Like you say, who knows?'

By the time lunch arrived, Vicky appeared quite relaxed. She was sitting across the table from Katie, playing with the little girl. Tom, who had been in the back garden cooking on the barbecue, reappeared with a huge plate of meat. He was still stripped to the waist and Katie saw Victoria's eyes run over his body. If she were totally honest, she would have to admit that she had been checking him out herself. She grinned and remembered her decision to steer clear of men for a while. Victoria, on the other hand, had to make up for a lot of lost time.

‘God, Tom, we'll never get through all that!' Victoria sounded appalled. There were sausages, spare ribs and two huge steaks, which he speared with a fork and chopped expertly into vertical slices. It all smelt wonderful, but Victoria and Katie knew their limitations. Tom was unconcerned.

‘Don't you worry, girls. After months of army rations, I tend to enjoy real food when I can get it.' He pushed a bowl of mixed salad in her direction. ‘Here, Katie, take some and pass it round. Bee, I know she's driving, but a drop of red wine won't do Katie any harm. Victoria, pass your plate. Some of everything?'

The food was excellent. Partway through, Tom disappeared off to the barbecue again, to appear a few minutes later with slices of toasted bread that he proceeded to rub with garlic and smear with olive oil. ‘You've got to try the local oil. It's brilliant. And don't worry about the garlic. It's not as if you've got to kiss anybody after all.' Katie studiously avoided catching Victoria's eye.

Later on, after they could eat no more, Victoria decided she wanted a group photo, so they all huddled together while she demonstrated that she had learnt how to take a selfie. Tom then pulled out a camera and took a selfie with his arm around Vicky, and Katie giggled to herself as she saw the expression on Vicky's face. It was a mixture of awe and delight.

Chapter Eleven

When they got back from Tom's house the two of them spent the next few hours talking through the events of the day. Victoria was positively bubbling with excitement, chattering like a teenager. For her, the experience of being with a man her own age had been unusual, being with a man just wearing shorts, while she was just wearing a bikini, a novelty, and being on the receiving end of increasingly open flirtation very stimulating. She was still flushed and prattling on when the grandfather clock in the lounge chimed eleven and Katie felt she had to go off to bed.

‘So, Vicky, I think we can safely say that you're well on the way to the sort of exciting social life you've been missing.'

‘I had a really great time.' Her eyes were still shining.

‘And did you enjoy being the centre of Tom's attention? It's amazing how a sexy little bikini can do that.' She was smiling.

‘It was amazing.' A look of concern crossed Victoria's face. ‘Was my bikini obscene? You said sexy?'

‘Sexy is sexy, obscene is obscene. Sometimes sexy can be obscene, but the best is when sexy is just sexy. Take it from me, that bikini is sexy, not obscene, and I've seen a good few obscene bikinis in my time. No, you looked like a film star.'

Victoria appeared relieved. ‘That's good. But you're right, it was an amazing feeling.' She looked up at Katie who was standing by this time. ‘You could sense the attraction. It was like the bull when he gets wind of a field of cows.'

Katie giggled. ‘Yes, I think our Tom has got the hots for you all right. Even his sister thinks so.'

‘Got the hots for me? What an excellent expression! Another one to add to my list.' She looked up sharply as a thought crossed her mind. ‘What about Tom? You don't think he's already got a girlfriend, do you?' She looked worried.

‘No way. I reckon Tom's all yours, if you want him.' Katie decided to inject a note of caution into the conversation. ‘But don't forget, Vicky, Tom's just about the first eligible man you've met. There are millions more of them out there.' As she said it, she found herself wondering just how true that was. Certainly, in her experience so far, she hadn't found the world overflowing with Mr Rights. So Tom was the first man Vicky had come across. That didn't mean he couldn't turn out to be The One. She decided to be a bit more positive. Just because she had struck out with Dean, didn't automatically mean that Vicky would be equally unfortunate. ‘But Tom's pretty damn good for starters.'

Victoria was nodding. ‘I do think he's really rather appealing.'

Although she was tired, Katie couldn't let that go uncorrected. ‘Vicky, we don't describe men as appealing any more. You could try saying you find him dreamy or, if it's more than that, you could always say you fancy the pants off him.'

Victoria gawped and then dissolved into a fit of giggles. ‘Katie! I couldn't possibly say anything like that.'

‘Just you wait, young lady. You'll be thinking it and saying it before long.' Katie glanced at her watch again and yawned. ‘Now, I really must go to bed. I'm exhausted.'

Katie looked at the clock as she came out of the shower next morning. It was only a quarter to seven, but she felt wide awake. She dressed and went downstairs, taking care not to let her bedroom door slam and wake Victoria, who was presumably still fast asleep. She went through to the kitchen, which was deserted at that time. The back door was locked, but Rosina had shown them where the spare key was kept. She located it, unlocked the door and went outside. After relocking the door behind her – after all, Vicky was all alone in the house – she set off up the drive towards the vantage point. As if by magic, a black shadow appeared and fell in alongside her.

‘
Ciao
, Dante. How are you today?' Katie smiled as she realised she was talking to the dog in Italian. He appeared not to notice anything strange in that and wagged his tail in reply. She gave him a pat on the head and they walked up through the trees together. At this time of day it was still cool under the trees and it felt so very refreshing after the heat of the previous days. A glance at the cloudless sky told her that this cool temperature wouldn't last more than a few hours.

The view from the stone bench was less hazy, but this time she was looking directly into the rising sun, so could see little of Florence. She and the dog continued up the hill until the gravelled drive veered off to the right, towards the farmhouse where Rosina and Nando lived. A track continued straight ahead through the olive trees, so she set out to follow it and see where it led. It soon deteriorated into a narrow path until it reached the end of the olive grove. Here it joined a more major dirt road coming up the hill from the direction of the river. Ruts and potholes testified to it being used by cars and agricultural machinery. She turned left and followed the road uphill, towards distant gates set in a high wall that no doubt hid another lovely villa within its tree-filled park.

After about ten minutes' energetic walking she found she was warming up. Sweat was already forming on her forehead and she decided some shade was in order. Ahead of her, by the huge wrought iron gates, there was a massive tree trunk. The wall behind it had recently been repaired, so presumably the damage had been caused by the tree as it fell. More importantly, the tree trunk had been sawn up and a particularly hefty chunk was resting against the wall, just out of the direct rays of the sun. She crossed the road and sat down on it in the shade. The dog joined her, flopping onto the grass at her feet.

They had only been there for a couple of minutes when the hum of an electric motor told her the gates were opening. A few seconds later she heard the noise of a powerful engine and a battered Land Rover appeared through the gates from the park within. Dante the dog suddenly jumped to his feet and headed for the vehicle, tail wagging. Katie reached out for his collar, but it was too late. The dog trotted straight over to the driver's window and stood up on his hind legs, front paws against the door, his nose sticking into the cab. Katie jumped up and ran after him, ready to apologise to the driver.

‘Hi there, Dante, it's very good to see you this morning.' Katie stopped in surprise. The man was speaking English. The man noticed her and greeted her in turn, this time in fluent Italian.

‘
Buongiorno, Signorina. É davvero una bella mattinata per una passeggiata.
' All she could see of him was his face and hands as he stroked the dog. He was maybe a few years older than her, tanned, with a closely cropped head of blond hair. She gave him a smile and replied.

‘
Bellissima davvero
. But, if I heard you right, you're English. Or are you and Dante just practising your foreign languages?'

His face split into a grin. ‘Like all Labradors, the only language he really understands is food.' He glanced down at the dog. ‘Let's see what I've got in here for you, Dante. Yes, this'll do.' He produced a banana from somewhere beside him and peeled it open. He broke off half and held it out to the dog. Dante sniffed it with interest and then, very delicately, took it in his teeth and dropped back onto all fours to eat it. The man held out the remains of the banana. ‘Would you like the other half?'

She smiled back at him. ‘No thanks, I'm going back home for breakfast in a minute.'

‘So you're staying round here?' Seeing her nod, he continued. ‘Ah, so you must be one of the two beautiful girls with the sports car that my friend Marco was talking about. You were spotted driving up the road yesterday.' He nodded to himself. ‘
Due bellissime fanciulle,
is what he said
.
Well, he wasn't wrong, at least as far as one of them's concerned. I'd better reserve judgement until I see your companion.'

Katie could feel her cheeks burning, but she did her best to brazen it out. ‘We did arrive in a beautiful sports car, I'll give you that.' She indicated the Land Rover. ‘No sports car for you, I see.' He smiled.

‘Nothing so posh. I'm a farmer, so I need something that can get me about, even when this road is six inches deep in mud.' Seeing the expression on her face, he added. ‘Really. You should see it when it rains around here. Last winter we had to get a bulldozer to repair the road three times. This soil turns into porridge like nobody's business. Next thing you know, you've got landslides and the road has started heading down the hill to the Arno' He watched as the dog finished his half of the banana. ‘Well, if you're sure you don't want a piece, I'll finish the banana. If I leave it in the truck for a few hours in this heat, I'll have a colony of ants in here.' He took a bite and sat back, his eyes on Katie.

‘Is this your farm here?' Katie pointed through the gates which had now closed once more. He shook his head, swallowed and explained.

‘No such luck. This villa belongs to a friend, or at least it did. She died last month. I'm just keeping an eye on the place until they decide what's happening to it.'

‘Oh, I'm so sorry.'

‘Not really. She was well into her nineties. That's a pretty good age. She was a very well known opera singer in her day. She's been living there alone for almost thirty years. I knew her because my mum and she used to work together.' He took the last piece of banana and chewed it pensively. ‘Now they're both dead.'

‘I'm sorry.' Katie didn't know what else to say. She cast about for something more cheerful, but he got there first.

‘So, to what do we owe the pleasure of the arrival in our midst of two sirens from the frozen north?'

Katie laughed. ‘I was talking to a friend back home yesterday and she told me it's pullover weather up there. Not like here.' She looked up. While she had been chatting to him, the sun had moved round until the meagre shade provided by the wall had disappeared. It was already very hot. ‘And we're not sirens. I'm Katie and I'm here with my friend.'