Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany Book 1)

by T A Williams

  ‘It’s a decision only you can make, Bruno, but if you really want my advice, here goes. You just told me the two of you got on really well when you were on the Island of Elba and you were about to ask Virginia to marry you. That’s a huge step, so surely you can be in no doubt that you love her, or at least you did then. Do you want to throw all that away because of her one moment of madness?’

  The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that Virginia deserved the benefit of the doubt. She reached across the table to give his hand a little squeeze.

  ‘We all do stupid things, Bruno, but the main thing is that she owned up, apologised, and meant it. Let’s face it, she could have said nothing to you, married you, and taken her secret with her to the grave. All right, we all know it would have been better if she hadn’t done it, but having the courage and the integrity to own up indicates to me that she’s serious about her remorse and about wanting to stick with you. Like I say, it’s your decision, but if it were up to me, I’d give her another chance.’

  ‘You would?’ He looked up from his plate. ‘Really?’

  ‘Really.’ She squeezed his hand once more before releasing it. ‘Now eat up. You look as though you could do with a square meal. When’s the last time you ate?’

  ‘Um, not sure. Yesterday, I suppose.’

  ‘Then eat.’ She gave him a smile. ‘Go on. Doctor’s orders.’

  Chapter 26

  The next few days were wonderful as far as Lucy was concerned. She spent almost all her free time with David and he even started giving her some tennis lessons in the evenings. Although she was very rusty, she managed to get the ball back over the net to him most of the time and he gallantly told her she had talent. Best of all, she saw he managed to move around the court without too much obvious difficulty, although her shots didn’t exactly put him under any stress. They ate together, swam together, walked the dog together and spent their nights together. The last paparazzi finally packed up and left, and peace descended upon the villa once again.

  One evening, David insisted upon inviting Guido and his Labrador for dinner at the villa and this time Guido brought something much better than a bottle of grappa. Upon arrival, David and Lucy led him round to the side of the villa to show him the vestiges of the castle, and as he stood there, surveying the ruins, he turned towards them and revealed what he had brought: information, fascinating information.

  ‘I have some interesting news. We now know all about the Castelnuovo.’

  Lucy gawped at him. ‘You do? You know who built it, who owned it? What’s the story?’

  He leant against a bit of ancient stonework and smiled as he broke the news to them. ‘It was started, but never finished.’

  David looked as astounded as Lucy felt. ‘What? The castle? I don’t get it. I mean, the foundations are still here.’

  Guido was still smiling. ‘Ah, yes, the foundations – but not a lot more. We were right in our guess about William Thornton, the treasurer. My researcher found a reference in the Siena archives to a bill of sale for a plot of land on the hill here. It was bought by a W. Thornton in 1399, five years after the death of John Hawkwood. So it really was an Englishman who intended to build the castle here.’

  ‘Intended to…?’

  ‘As far as we can ascertain, building started almost immediately after the sale, but it all stopped barely a few months later. A contemporary chronicler reports the death of William Thornton in the summer of 1400 and it emerges that the building work finished with his demise. The White Company either disbanded or moved away from this area shortly after that and gradually disappeared from the annals of history.’

  ‘But why call it a castle if it never was one?’ Lucy was hanging on his every word and felt sure David was similarly enthralled.

  ‘That’s the interesting part and it was Giulia, my postgraduate research student, who hit upon the answer. She thinks it was called Castelnuovo because that’s where William Thornton came from. You’re English, think about it.’

  ‘Castelnuovo… New Castle… Are you telling me William Thornton came from Newcastle and he gave that name to his new home in Tuscany?’

  Guido nodded. ‘She tried Newcastle-upon-Tyne but found nothing, but then she tried the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England, and found a record of his birth in 1350. It all fits.’

  ‘So the castle never was a castle…’ Lucy was fascinated. She looked across at David who had a similar expression on his face. ‘But you told me many of the houses round here are made of stone from the castle, how could that be?’

  David nodded. ‘That’s what I heard, and certainly there are similar bits of stone all over the village.’

  Guido had an answer. ‘I imagine after building work stopped, the locals helped themselves to any materials left lying around and pulled down some bits of what walls had already been erected. So, David, you are indeed living next to the foundations of a castle built by an Englishman, but it died along with William Thornton.’

  The rest of the evening was spent talking history and when, at one point, David happened to mention that he was thinking about going for a doctorate in medieval history, Guido was very supportive.

  ‘Please come and talk to me about it. We would love to have you.’

  Lucy glanced across and couldn’t miss the delight on David’s face. She grinned at him and squeezed his fingers.

  ‘How about that, David? You could study in Florence and stay living here.’ Which would also keep him conveniently close to her and her place of work. It sounded perfect.

  The next evening she invited David, along with Daniela and Pietro, to her house for dinner so they could all meet up, and she got the distinct impression that her friends approved of her choice of man. David told them what Guido had said about the castle and they looked fascinated. Piero in particular had even played among the ruins as a youngster and knew them well. As for Lucy, she couldn’t have been happier – apart from a nagging worry, deep down, as to where this all might be leading. Could she have a future with somebody as wealthy as him without sacrificing her principles? Sooner or later something was going to have to give but, for now, she did her best to relegate that to the back of her mind and just concentrate on enjoying the moment.

  She saw nothing of Bruno or Virginia at work on Monday, but that afternoon she ran into Charles, who had some surprising – and welcome – news.

  ‘Hi, Lucy, I want you to be one of the first to know – I’m leaving.’

  ‘What, permanently?’ Lucy looked up in surprise.

  ‘Yes, I’ve been offered a position with MSF in Chad. I thought, if you can do Africa, so can I.’

  ‘Good for you, but why leave now?’ Although she felt pretty sure she knew what he was going to say. She wasn’t wrong.

  He dropped his eyes. ‘I need a change, and it’s sort of to do with that thing I told you about.’

  ‘That thing or that woman?’

  ‘That woman. I need to put some distance between me and her.’

  As far as Lucy was concerned, this proved it. And his decision to leave was the best thing that could happen. For once in his life, Charles was doing the right thing and she was pleased to see this sign of positive personal development in him. She didn’t press him for any further information and went off feeling relieved. She heard later that day that Bruno and Virginia had returned to the Island of Elba to continue their holiday for another few days and she crossed her fingers, hoping they would be able to resolve matters between them.

  On Wednesday evening she and David went down to Siena for the Palio. This four-day event had been running since Monday with practice sessions, processions and ceremonies, including the all-important drawing of lots to see which contrada got which horse. Thursday was the main event when jockeys from ten of the seventeen contrade would race bareback around the main square. Siena was packed out with locals as well as tourists. Even though she and David took her little car, they still had to park a long way from
the centre and as they walked into the old town, the crowds became thicker and thicker. It was a tight squeeze to get down the main street towards the piazza and Lucy was very glad that the access to their drinks reception wasn’t from inside the square as she knew from experience that this would have been packed out since lunchtime or even before. The hefty doorman immediately recognised David and they were ushered up three flights of stairs and into a fine old apartment overlooking Piazza del Campo.

  It was a suffocatingly warm night and although the windows were wide open, it was still sweltering in there. Lucy was glad she had put on her lightest dress and open sandals, but she was still hot. Definitely no place for a heavily pregnant woman – Daniela was well out of it. The voices of the crowd in the square reached up to them and added to the noise as they entered the apartment. Bands of drummers down below were making the glasses on the bar rattle. David was greeted enthusiastically by a horde of elegantly dressed people, among them a number of famous faces, including a very well-known Hollywood actress whose plunging neckline threatened to distract attention from the race.

  Lucy would happily have hung back, but David insisted she accompany him as he did the rounds, shaking hands, hugging and kissing the people he met. He introduced Lucy to everybody, but she hardly caught any of the names because of the din. Flashlights popped and she found herself photographed alongside him. There was little doubt their relationship would now become public. There was also little doubt in her mind that this glitzy environment felt wrong. How could they be here, sipping expensive French champagne, while millions of people around the world didn’t know where their next meal was coming from? She glanced across at David and saw him smiling. Of course, he was used to this lifestyle, but that didn’t help her. She liked him a lot, but coming face-to-face with his world was challenging.

  Finally, clutching their glasses of champagne, they stationed themselves by one of the windows to watch proceedings. There were thousands of people crammed into the centre of the square and a racetrack of hard-packed clay had been laid down around the edges. The traditional pageant had already been in full swing for over an hour with men and women in brightly coloured medieval costumes riding horses and on foot, bullocks pulling carts, people marching, twirling and tossing flags into the air. It was a stunning spectacle and Lucy and David watched it in fascination.

  As they did so, waiters came round with canapés, and Lucy suddenly got a surprise. A silver platter of delicious-looking nibbles appeared at her elbow and she saw that it was being carried by none other than Rahel. As they recognised each other, Rahel’s face broke into a smile that broadened all the more when Lucy gave her a hug, taking care not to tip the platter over in the process.

  ‘Rahel, how are you? You look great.’ In spite of the operation barely a week earlier, she really did look good; a whole lot better than the last time Lucy had seen her. ‘I didn’t know you were a waitress.’

  ‘Hello, Lucy. Tonight I’m a waitress, tomorrow morning at seven o’clock I’ll be a cleaner again. Like I told you, I need all the work I can find.’

  Lucy introduced her to David and she looked at him in awe.

  ‘I’ve never met a real celebrity before. I know your name and I’ve seen your picture in the papers. I’m so very pleased to have met you.’ She glanced around. ‘Please excuse me, but I have to keep moving or my boss won’t be happy.’

  After Rahel had left, Lucy told him all about the emergency appendectomy the previous week and he listened to the story with considerable interest. ‘Just like I said, Lucy, you’re a very caring person. It’s ironic that I’m supposed to be the celebrity when all I can do is to hit a ball over a net. For my money, you’re the real star.’

  Lucy shook her head. ‘No, Rahel’s the real star. She has a dream and she’s already suffered so much just to get here and, God knows, it isn’t going to be easy from now on. She’s not only got to look out for herself, but for her parents as well. I have nothing but respect for her and, I suppose, a lot of guilt. Why her, why not me?’

  ‘You mustn’t think that way. At least you’re doing something that helps mankind. What about me? Just lazing about, without lifting a finger to help the less privileged.’

  ‘That’s not…’

  Their conversation was interrupted by the boom of a cannon that scared the pigeons for miles around and made most of the people in the room jump. They later learnt that the Hollywood starlet had been so startled by the noise, she had emptied her glass of champagne down her front – luckily there wasn’t much dress there to stain. The cannon announced the arrival of the horses and riders, and all necks craned for the first sight of them as they paraded around the square. Before long, the track was cleared and the jockeys lined up behind a hefty rope. An expectant hush fell across the tens of thousands of spectators. After a brief delay while the horses were all mustered into position, the rope was dropped and the race was on.

  The noise levels rose to a crescendo as the competitors circled the square three times at the gallop, skidding around the bends. At one of the early corners, the rider for the contrada Selva, dressed in orange and green, was thrown off his horse into the barrier but, amazingly, the horse kept on going, making its way up the order until it even overtook the leader right at the very end and won by a whisker, in spite of being without its rider.

  ‘How about that? They say it’s the horse, not the rider, that counts.’ David had to put his mouth close to her ear in order to make himself heard. He then took the opportunity to kiss her neck and she was smiling as she replied to him.

  ‘I’m not sure it would work that way in many other horse races. I’m just glad no horses or riders were injured too badly.’

  As the fans mobbed the victorious horse, and the unhorsed Selva rider found himself a hero – admittedly a seriously bruised hero – David’s phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket, glanced at the caller ID and she saw his face become more serious.

  ‘Sorry, Lucy, I need to take this.’

  He gave her an apologetic shrug and headed back towards the door and then through it, presumably to get as far away from all the noise as possible. Lucy stayed by the window, still clutching her untouched glass of champagne, feeling like a fish out of water in the midst of all this opulence. Glimpses of Rahel, hard at work, didn’t make her feel any better. She wondered if Nicole and Geneviève back home in France were having similar crises of conscience. She had spoken to Nicole recently to confirm that she would be coming with her plus one and had been very pleased to hear her sounding untroubled – apart from wedding planning. She was still thinking of her two nurse friends a few minutes later when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  ‘Hi, are you here alone?’

  She turned to find herself looking up into a familiar face. It took her a few seconds to remember his name. It was this year’s biggest Hollywood heartthrob, no less, and she felt sure millions of women around the world would have been prepared to sell their souls to the devil – or worse – just to be able to get this close to him. But movie star or not, she was very happy with the man she already had.

  ‘Hello. No, I’m here with a friend.’

  ‘A boyfriend?’ There was something predatory in his eye, not dissimilar to the looks she had caught from Tommy for time to time. She shivered, but did her best to remain civil.

  ‘Yes, my boyfriend. He’s just gone out to take a call.’

  ‘Pity. You’re so beautiful.’ The look he gave her was no doubt designed to charm the proverbial – and actual – pants off the women in his sights and she felt sure it probably worked more often than not. Just not with her tonight. Resisting the temptation to tell him what she really thought, she just murmured a less than genuine, ‘You’re very kind.’

  To her surprise, he reached into the top pocket of his linen jacket, produced a card, and pressed it into her hand. ‘If you get tired of him, do give me a call. I’m filming in Rome for a month. Could be fun… Ciao.’ With that he turned and walked off
into the crowd, leaving her with an unpleasant taste in her mouth.

  David didn’t come back for quite some time. In fact, the winning contrada had already shouldered the silk banner of the Virgin Mary and set off in triumph with it towards the cathedral before she saw him again. She gave him a smile.

  ‘That was poor timing. You missed the last part of the show.’

  ‘No problem. At least I got to see the race. That was my lawyer on the phone. The divorce papers are all going through and Rosy’s legal people have finally finished arguing about money.’ He gave her a shrug. ‘It’s all so distasteful.’

  Lucy nodded. She had been harbouring similar thoughts about her actor ‘friend’, as well as the crowd surrounding her here, all decked out in their expensive finery. She caught hold of David’s forearm and gave him an encouraging squeeze.

  ‘But at least it’s all settled now.’

  ‘Here’s hoping. Hey, shall we get out of here? After two years as a hermit, I’m finding the crowds a bit heavy going.’

  Lucy was equally pleased to get away.

  Together, they did the rounds of the room once more, shaking hands and saying goodbye. The Hollywood starlet with the revealing neckline, now wiped down and dried off, gave David a far from casual kiss and Lucy felt her hackles rise. The actor who had propositioned her was nowhere to be seen and she shuddered again as she wondered if he had already found himself some other woman for a tryst. As they left the apartment, she dropped the visiting card into a waste bin. She was relieved when they were back out in the street following the crowds, as they made their way towards the main gates of the old town and then from there to the Fiat.