Secrets on the Italian Island

by T A Williams

  When they reached his gates, she pressed the button and waited, but she waited in vain. There was no response and for a moment she wondered if he might even be in there with another woman. She peered through the bars of the gate in case she might spot somebody in the garden, but didn’t see a soul. The house itself looked like a rather grand fin-de-siècle villa, quite a bit bigger than Mr Dante’s house, with faded cream walls and light blue shutters on the windows. It was charming and unexpectedly imposing, considering Marco was somebody who to all intents and purposes had initially, at least, looked to her more like a beach bum with his long hair, his faded T-shirt and his old car, than the owner of a luxury seaside villa no doubt worth a lot of money. Although it made no difference to her if he was rich, she felt sure this only added to his desirability as far as other possible partners were concerned.

  She checked her watch and saw it was almost six, so she turned and headed back up the track, shadowed by George as ever. But before she reached the path leading off towards her hotel, the sound of an engine cut through the quiet of the surroundings and a few seconds later she saw the bright red Alfa come cautiously down the track towards her, bumping through the potholes. Inveterate womaniser he most probably was, but she felt a thrill all the same. As Marco recognised her he stopped and as he did so George trotted across and stood up on his hind legs, leaning over the top of the driver’s door and poking Marco’s arm with his nose to greet him, tail wagging. Anna had to struggle to prevent herself from following suit – possibly with less tail-wagging.

  ‘Ciao, Giorgio, come stai?’ Evidently the Labrador was bilingual. Having persuaded George to drop back down onto all fours, Marco opened the door and climbed out. ‘Ciao, Anna. I see you’ve made another friend.’

  ‘Ciao, Marco.’ He came over and kissed her on the cheeks while she tried not to enjoy the sensation too much. Stepping back, she told him the saga of what had happened to Mr Dante earlier this afternoon and he immediately looked gravely concerned.

  ‘I’m so sorry to hear that. How amazingly lucky you were there. Where have they taken him? The hospital in Portoferraio?’

  ‘Yes, they’ve given me a number to ring this evening for news of how he’s getting on, but the good news is that the paramedics reckoned he should pull through. They said it was possibly what they called a heart event, rather than a full-blown heart attack. Would you like me to give you the number?’

  ‘I tell you what, why don’t you come up to the house and we’ll phone together from there. And that way I can give you a glass of something cold at the same time. Would you like that?’

  Sensible Anna was screaming at her to say no, but Naughty Anna had other ideas. Anyhow, she told herself, this was purely so they could make the call to the hospital after all, wasn’t it? It wasn’t as if he was inviting her into his bed.

  ‘Sounds great, thanks.’ She and the dog followed his car through the gates which opened automatically. By the time she and George had walked up the drive to the villa, Marco had already parked his car and was standing by the front door.

  ‘Come on in. And you, George, you know your way by now.’

  The inside of the house was delightful. The floors were marble, the ceilings high and the large lounge into which he led her opened onto a terrace that looked out over the valley to the deep blue of the sea beyond. He pushed open the French windows and they walked outside. Four wicker chairs were set around a low table. He must have pressed a button on a remote control as there was a humming sound and a striped awning automatically unrolled from the wall to provide shade. For a moment she even wondered if he had another button that would make a double bed magically appear out of the wall but then decided that this would probably be a step too far even if he turned out to be a committed philanderer.

  ‘Do sit down. I’ll go and get some wine. Or would you like a cold beer?’

  ‘I’ll have what you’re having. You choose.’ Sensible Anna was screaming at her to stay clear of alcohol but by this time Naughty Anna was firmly in control.

  He gave her a smile and a nod and headed back indoors. While he was away, the dog stretched out beside her, both big heavy paws resting on her foot, with his nose on top of them. As Charlie had observed, it really did look as though she had found herself a friend for life – maybe two, depending on how things developed between her and Marco, although Felice’s revelations had shaken her. Mind you, she reminded herself, she was a fine one to talk – it wasn’t as if she wasn’t concealing her own shady secret although, in fairness, it didn’t involve marital infidelity.

  ‘I’ve brought some cold white. I hope that’s okay with you.’ He was carrying two glasses and a bottle of white wine, tears of condensation running down its sides. ‘It’s local wine that I buy from a farmer in the hills above Campo. If you’d like to do the pouring, I’ll go and get a phone and we can call the hospital.’

  He disappeared back into the house again and when he reappeared, he had the phone in one hand and a bowl of peanuts in the other. He sat down beside her, close enough for his bare knee to graze her leg. ‘I don’t do a lot of entertaining here and all I could find were some nuts. I promise I’ll get some better stuff before you come back next time. Anyway, cheers.’ He clinked his glass against hers and took a big mouthful before picking up the phone again. ‘If you’ve got that number, I’ll give the hospital a call.’

  Doing her best to ignore the sensations the warmth of his body alongside hers were arousing inside her, she dictated the number to him and then took a sip of the wine and had to agree that it was excellent. She made appreciative noises and took another, bigger sip, while her mind was debating whether she could believe what he had said about not entertaining much. It sounded more than a bit unlikely. All the same, she reminded herself that Toby had said the very same thing and she had doubted him as well at first. Maybe she, Charlie and Felice were just too suspicious.

  Meanwhile, Marco was speaking to the hospital and after a minute or two, during which he mostly just grunted and kept saying ‘sì, sì’, she was suddenly astounded to hear him break into English. So far he and she hadn’t exchanged a single word in English but what was immediately evident was that he spoke it almost like a native, with barely a hint of an Italian accent.

  ‘Jack, how’re you feeling? You gave us a real scare.’ He gave Anna a thumbs-up and exchanged a few more sentences with the person on the other end of the line, presumably Mr Dante. Then he handed the phone across to her. ‘Here, he’d like to talk to you.’ He put his hand over the receiver and whispered. ‘Best to keep it fairly short. The nurse said it wasn’t a major heart attack but we shouldn’t tire him out.’

  Anna took the phone from him. ‘Hello, Mr Dante, you can’t imagine how glad I am to hear your voice.’

  ‘Hello, you must be the good Samaritan who saved my life. Thank you so much.’ He sounded a bit breathless, but his voice was stronger than she had expected. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.’

  ‘It’s Anna, Anna Porter. It was just so lucky my friend and I were there, but it’s all down to George. If he hadn’t attracted my attention, things might have been a lot different. He’s here with me now and I’m happy to keep him with me tonight if you want?’

  ‘They tell me I should be coming home tomorrow so if you could look after George tonight – or give him to Marco to look after – I’d be even more in your debt.’

  Remembering that she had to be brief, Anna just gave him a short reply. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him. Look after yourself and I’ll hope to see you tomorrow.’

  ‘Thanks again, Anna. You’re so very kind.’

  She handed the phone back to Marco who exchanged a few more words with Mr Dante and then rang off. As he dropped the phone on the table and reached for his glass, Anna pointed an accusing finger at him and addressed him in her own language.

  ‘After making me struggle to speak Italian the entire time last night you now reveal that you speak English miles better than I speak Ita
lian.’

  He grinned and shook his head. ‘Don’t you believe it. You’ve got a lovely Italian accent – from your mother presumably. Was she from the north by any chance?’

  ‘Yes, how did you know?’

  ‘There’s a hint of a Turin accent when you speak Italian. Complimenti, as we say.’

  ‘Care to tell me how come you speak such great English?’

  ‘I spent ten years working in London. When you spend so long in a country you can’t help learning the language.’

  ‘Whereabouts in London were you? I’ve got a flat in Dulwich.’ She stopped and corrected herself. ‘Or rather, I have a very small room in a very small flat that I share with two other girls on the rare occasions when I’m back in the UK, that is.’

  ‘I was living just along from Canary Wharf, halfway up a damn great tower.’ As he replied, his thigh brushed against hers again – either by accident or design – and she had to struggle to control her voice.

  ‘Was that to be close to your work?’

  ‘Exactly. I worked in finance.’

  Anna remembered what he had said the previous evening. ‘So, that was the life you were escaping from when you came here. Why? Was it the job or the place?’

  ‘The job. I love London and I love England, sorry, the United Kingdom. No, I just got fed up of peering at a computer screen and playing with money all day and decided I needed a complete break.’

  Anna motioned towards her surroundings. ‘Well, you couldn’t have done much better than this. It’s a gorgeous house in a wonderful location.’

  ‘Thanks, I’m glad you think so. Unfortunately my wife didn’t share your opinion.’

  Anna was amazed. ‘What could she possibly have against a place like this? It’s heavenly.’

  ‘Although she appeared to be all for it at first, within a few months the very things that drew me to it were the things she hated the most. It was too isolated, too close to the sea – she said the noise of the waves kept her awake at night – and there were no bright lights, fancy shops or glitzy parties to be had. She was too far from all her friends, her favourite gym, her yoga instructor.’ He took a sip of wine and appeared to be addressing himself to the dog who was now stretched out on the floor between the two of them. ‘She stuck it out for three years and then she left. We’ve been divorced for two years now.’

  He sounded so despondent Anna very nearly gave him a hug, but she remembered what Felice had said about him playing around and being difficult to live with – whatever that meant – and held back. As her father would say, there are always two sides to everything.

  ‘I’m so sorry for you but there are surely plenty more fish in the sea – if you’ll forgive the pun, considering where we are. With this beautiful villa, your windsurfing talent—’ she gestured towards him ‘—and you aren’t exactly ugly, you should have no trouble finding someone else to share your life with.’

  She spotted a cheeky glint in his eye again and this time his hand dropped down to rest briefly on her thigh. Even after he had removed it, she could still feel the impression of his fingers on her skin and it felt good.

  Apparently unaware of the impression he had made, he continued. ‘You’re too kind. The thing is, you’re just about the first person, apart from my parents, Jack, and a few neighbours, to have come to the house since Belinda, my wife, left. I’ve been pretty antisocial for a while now – until you came along.’

  Considering the fêting he had received at the beach bar last night, this was hard to believe, but much as Sensible Anna felt like calling him out, Naughty Anna let him get away with it, and picked up on his ex-wife’s name. ‘Belinda? Was… is she English?’

  ‘Irish. Oh yes, and that was the other thing she hated about this place – the sun. She has red hair and freckles. In the sun she doesn’t tan, she strokes. Add to that the fact that she barely spoke a word of Italian and I suppose it was destined for disaster from the start.’

  Anna was beginning to think his choice of a villa in the sun might have been insensitive, if not downright inconsiderate, given his wife’s obvious reservations. Maybe this was what Felice had meant by difficult to live with. But before she could say anything, he provided the answer to her unspoken question.

  ‘And before you start thinking I’m a monster for dragging her over here against her will, it was her idea. We came here on holiday a few times and when I told her I’d had enough and wanted to get away from London and my job, she was the one who spotted this place for sale on the internet. It was love at first sight for both of us when we came here and viewed it for the first time.’ He caught Anna’s eye. ‘Really, she was as keen on it as I was… to start off with. Anyway, let’s change the subject. How come you ended up saving Jack’s life?’

  Although she still felt uncomfortable at lying to him, Anna gave Marco the official story about renting a boat with Charlie and taking a tour of the island to see the sights, and recounted what had happened when she had spotted Mr Dante and his dog. Then, as fast as she could, she deflected the conversation away from herself and towards the Canadian.

  ‘Tell me about Mr Dante. Does he live here all on his own as well?’

  Marco nodded. ‘I don’t think he ever married. He’s Canadian, but he’s travelled all over, and he spent quite a bit of his life living and working in France before retiring and coming here.’

  ‘So is he French Canadian? With an Italian name?’

  ‘He told me his family was from Tuscany originally and that’s why he chose to come back here to settle down. I’m not sure which part of Canada he’s from but he’s effectively bilingual. I’ve heard him speak French and Italian and he’s absolutely fluent in both.’

  ‘So, with English, that makes him trilingual.’

  ‘And the rest. He lived in South America for quite a few years and he told me he picked up Spanish and Portuguese while he was at it.’

  ‘Wow, impressive. What was he? An interpreter or an academic?’

  Marco shook his head and then dropped a bombshell.

  ‘No, the enemy… at least he used to be.’

  ‘The enemy?’

  The answer sent a shiver down her spine.

  ‘He was in mining; everywhere from the Rockies to the Andes. He’s probably been responsible for as much environmental destruction of the planet as a couple of nuclear devices.’

  Anna took another hasty gulp of her wine and reached for the bottle to top up his glass so as to give herself time to recover from the acute discomfort she was experiencing. ‘More wine?’

  ‘Thanks, Anna, but just a drop as I might be driving later.’ Marco gave her a broad smile, unaware of her inner turmoil. ‘But Jack’s become a close friend now. In fact, he’s been a great help to us at Save Elba when dealing with mining companies. You know the old saying; it takes a thief to catch a thief.’ To reinforce his point, he laid his hand on her bare thigh again and gave it a little squeeze, but by now Sensible Anna had regained control.

  ‘Indeed.’ She decided it was time to get out of here before the conversation got any closer to home or his hands lowered her resistance any further, so she glanced at her watch, swallowed the last of her wine and stood up. ‘I’d better leave you, Marco. Charlie’ll be expecting me for dinner and I don’t want to worry him. His wife’s about to give birth and he’s a bit on edge. I’ll take George. The people at the hotel say it’s okay for him to stay with me. He’ll be fine. I’m sure… really.’ She knew she was jabbering, but she couldn’t help it.

  He got to his feet and the expression on his face might have been one of disappointment. ‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind taking George, that would be easier for me. I’m waiting for a phone call from the Save Elba group and I’ll probably have to dash off. If that happens, I’ll be late back and I wouldn’t have wanted to leave George on his own.’ Anna wondered just how ready to dash off he might have been if she had opted to stay, but made no comment except to reiterate what she had just said.

  ‘I
t’s really okay. I’m happy to take him.’

  ‘Thank you, that’s great. I’m off to see my old grandmother in Bergamo tomorrow, but I’ll be back on Sunday night. How would Monday suit you for a sail and a picnic somewhere quiet if you’re still up for it?’

  Today was Wednesday and Anna realised she would be sorry not to see him for a few days, although, all things considered, it was probably for the best. At least, she told herself firmly, this would give her time to get her cover story absolutely watertight before she saw him again, but also – her sensible side reminded her – to gather further evidence about his character, damning or redeeming. Besides, she reminded herself, whether he was a womaniser or a saint, he and she were on opposite sides of an unbridgeable divide when it came to her job versus his love of the environment, so it hardly mattered what his intentions towards her were.

  ‘Monday would be great, thanks. Let me give you my number and you can send me a text when you get back.’

  Before leaving, he leant in, encircled her with his arms, kissed her hard on the lips and her resolve almost faltered. She tore herself away, but she could still feel the touch of his lips as she got back to the hotel. It had felt far too good, and Sensible Anna reminded her that he probably had a lot of experience at doing that sort of thing.

  Chapter 8

  Anna, Charlie and the Labrador ate at the hotel that night. The hotel staff made sure that George got a big dish of meat and pasta for dinner and he wolfed it down in next to no time. Anna had a mixed salad and an ice cream sundae in the restaurant and spent a large part of the meal checking out Loretta, the owners’ daughter. Apart from the overdone makeup, Anna couldn’t really fault her. She was friendly, knowledgeable and efficient and she stopped to chat to all the guests. It was hard to tell her age, but she was probably in her mid-thirties, although she could even have been younger, and she was very elegant. Yes, Anna had to admit that Loretta had probably been a pretty good candidate for the windsurfer’s affections. The question was whether her relationship with him was really in the past or maybe still ongoing.