The Tuscan Mystery Trilogy

by Margaret Moore

  They employed two lads to do all the weeding and keep the lawns well trimmed. They also moved the lemon plants into the lemon house in the winter, carried great sacks of feed for the chickens, and bales of hay for the horses. Then, in the spring, the horse manure from the compost heap was brought in wheelbarrows, to be dug into the fields as fertiliser. The culminating moment of the year was the grape harvest, the ‘vendemmia’ at the end of September, another family affair. The extensive vineyards had been improved over the last ten years since he had taken over and had added different varieties of grapes. They were self sufficient, having enough wine for the whole year and some to lay down.

  He looked towards the house hoping to see Ambra. She sometimes joined him in the mornings, but there was no sign of her today. He called to one of the lads to take the produce to the greengrocer, and took the crate he had prepared for the house up to the kitchen. He left it just inside the door as usual, but was called back by Signora Bianchi, who gave him a great list of vegetables for the next day. Ambra came into the kitchen while he was there and made herself some toast. He signalled her with his eyes and she nodded imperceptibly. He left and a few minutes later, toast in hand, she followed him.

  “Have you told her?”

  “No. Things are a bit dicey at the moment. She’s had a terrible row with Cosimo, and Francesca is being awful, so it’s not exactly a good moment.”

  “I see. How are you? How’s the nausea?”

  “Bearable, that’s not what’s worrying me. You see life in simple terms, and I’m telling you, there’s going to be hell to pay.” Her face crumpled and tears started from her eyes. “Damn it I mustn’t cry or I’ll throw up again.”

  “Darling, there’s nothing to cry about. I admit, she’ll probably not be very happy at first, but once she’s got over the shock, she’ll come round. She likes me; we get on very well together. I know you’re very young, and I don’t feel so good about that myself, and of course I am a lot older than you, but you’re nearly nineteen and Emily got married young to an older man, so it isn’t that terrible.”

  “My poor little innocent. She likes you, but she likes you here in the vegetable garden, you nit, not in my bed.”

  “I think you’re wrong. You don’t know that, you’re just frightened it will be that way. The only way to find out is to tell her.”

  “Yeah, and what if she says no way, and what if she sacks you?”

  “She won’t.”

  “What if she does? Go on answer me. What will we do?”

  “Ambra, I have a lot of experience, I’m good at my job. I don’t just grow vegetables, I do estate management. I’ll get another job.”

  “You make it sound so simple.”

  “Well I’m sure it won’t come to that. Don’t worry, just go and tell her.” He gave her a quick kiss and left.

  Diana came into the kitchen and saw Ambra eating her toast.

  “You’re feeling better, dear?” she asked

  “Much better thanks. I’m off; I’ve got a master class this morning with Otto Shropsky.”

  “Darling, have you seen Cosimo at all.”

  “No, sorry.”

  She left the room and went slowly upstairs to get her violin. She passed the girls on their way down, “Good morning, Zia Ambra,” they said in unison.

  “Good morning, little horrors,” she joked.

  Perhaps Riccardo was right, perhaps they could get Madre to agree to what they wanted, but she would wait and pick a better moment to tell her. It was true that Emily had got married young and there hadn’t been any fuss about that, but then she wasn’t Emily, and Riccardo wasn’t the ghastly but, at the time, more acceptable, Arturo. “Thank God,” she added, aloud. Arturo’s family had had some money, even if they lost most of it later. Riccardo’s family had nothing, just their little house in town, which they had inherited from his grandfather. She could just imagine how condescending Diana would be about them. “Good, hard-working people, darling, but hardly the in-laws I would have hoped for,” she mimicked her mother mentally. Diana, whilst professing to admire people who worked hard for a living, actually despised them, but it was more complicated than that, because she didn’t even know that she despised them. As long as they stayed on their side of the fence she could think she didn’t, but when they tried to cross the invisible line, ah.... well, that was a different matter, not that she would ever say anything straightforwardly derogatory about them, cloaking her dislike in a coating of terms like, ‘cultural deprivation’ or ‘educationally disadvantaged’.

  She bumped into Cosimo at the top of the stairs. “Her majesty was asking if I’d seen you.”

  “Well, you haven’t.”

  “If you say so.”

  Cosimo walked quietly downstairs and let himself out of the French windows. He went out onto the terrace and round, past the pergola, to the front of the house. He got into his car, closing the door gently, started the engine and drove slowly away. He wasn’t quite sure where he was going, but felt it best to get away, at least for now.

  Annabel looking out of the window said, “Oh there’s Zio Cosimo! I wonder where he’s going, he hasn’t even had breakfast.”

  Diana moved to her side and watched the car disappear. As she watched, Francesca and Zoë got into their car and drove off fast, making the gravel spurt up and raking it into troughs. Emily came to stand at her side and said, “Don’t let them upset you, come on, come and have breakfast.”

  She led her mother towards the breakfast table, where Arturo was already seated. As Diana looked at them the thought crossed her mind, “Is this what I’m going to be left with?”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Orlando’s cell phone rang. “Pronto”

  “Listen, you jerk, get me the money you owe me by tonight or you’re a dead man”. There was a click then silence. He paced up and down for a bit, and then dialled a number.

  “Ronnie?”

  “Yeah”

  “It’s me; I can’t get you the money yet. I told you. You’ll have to wait till I get my allowance in”

  “Oh we’re waiting for our allowance, are we, little Lord poncey boy? Well, I’m not waiting. I need it now. You shouldn’t play cards with the big boys if you’re not up to it, sonny. This isn’t a game of snap you know, with sweeties as the stake. Ask mummy for some more pocket money, or peddle your arse. I don’t care what you do, but get the money by tonight, or you’ll be sorry.” The phone went dead again. Orlando heard Ambra moving about in the room next to his and went to her door and knocked

  “Come in”

  “It’s me, Ambra. Look, er… This is a bit embarrassing, but have you got any money you could lend me.?”

  “How much?”

  “Five thousand euros.”

  “What! Well, tell me what for”

  “ I owe this bloke some money and he’s getting nasty.”

  “How were you thinking of paying him?”

  “Well I thought I’d give him two thou this month, just to tide him over, and then well, you never know, I might win at the races or something.”

  “What is it, gambling again?”

  “Yes.”

  “God, you really are a stupid bastard. How can you do this sort of thing? You don’t have a hope of paying him back. You’ll have to go to Madre, there’s no help for it.”

  “Well I can’t. I’m trying to get her to invest in this fantastic thing I’ve got going with Antonio, so I can’t possibly present myself in a bad light.”

  “There’s no other way to present yourself. I’m sorry I can’t help you. Sell the car and your watch or something, anything, or go and tell Madre, throw yourself on her mercy. She’ll help you; it makes her feel powerful when you crawl at her feet.”

  “Yes, I might have to. If it weren’t for this new investment, I’d have asked her straight away.”

  “You should have thought of that first, and anyway, I don’t think she’ll invest any more money in your little business ventures, not after l
ast time, so you’ve probably nothing to lose.” She checked herself in the mirror and waved goodbye to him “I’m off, or I’ll be late. Out of here, I need to go.” She ushered him out and followed him.

  “See you in jail, Baby”

  “More likely, see me dead,” he replied gloomily

  Chiara came into breakfast just as the others were leaving the room.

  “You’re late this morning, Zia Chiara “said Harriet. “I thought you were already at the stables.”

  “Oh I had a bad night. I couldn’t get to sleep for ages and, when I did, I slept like a log and then of course I overslept. They’ll be wondering where I am down at the stables.”

  “Chiara, after breakfast please come to my study. I need to speak to you,” said Diana, leaving the room without waiting for an answer. The girls followed in her wake and Emily, clearing away the plates said “Sounds like you’re for it Chiara.”

  “Oh shut up. Mind your own business for once, can’t you. I suppose you’ve already had a confidential little chat with Madre about what I said last night. No doubt you’ve both agreed that there’s nothing doing. Eh? Am I right?”

  Emily clattered the plates in the dishwasher and replied “If you must know, no-one has dared to mention your name. Isn’t it enough that mother has all this trouble with Francesca, and I suppose you know that Cosimo has had a row with her as well? Why did you have to start talking about your wretched riding school? Poor Madre. It really isn’t fair. Everybody always wants money from her, and nobody really cares about her.”

  “How touching. I suppose you exempt yourself from this ‘everybody’?”

  “Yes I do. I’m the only one that cares about her, and tries to help her. The rest of you are so selfish. You're all out for what you can get,” said Emily, getting heated. Arturo put down his newspaper and said, “Don’t upset yourself, my dear,”

  Chiara looked contemptuously at her sister. “Emily, do you know you talk like a novelette. Who do you think you are? Cinderella? You really are disgusting. Do you really believe what you’re saying? Do you even realise what you’re saying? Are you really as pure as you paint yourself? You and Arturo, and your two children live off her, just as much as we do. You don’t give a penny towards the running costs of the house, and you have an allowance, like the rest of us. Add to that all the little extras that Madre pays for, all the private lessons for your children, music, tennis and so forth, and all the pretty dresses she forks out for, and I think you’ll find it all costs a pretty penny.”

  Emily burst into tears and Arturo got up to put an arm round her shoulders, “I think that’s enough, Chiara.”

  “Yes, so perhaps she’ll keep her big mouth shut in future.” Chiara left the room, banging the door, and marched up to her room to splash her face with cold water to try and cool off sufficiently to be able to speak calmly and convincingly to her mother.

  Ten minutes later she knocked on the study door.

  “Avanti.”

  She went in and saw Diana looking out of the window.

  “It’s me, Madre.”

  “Yes Chiara, I wanted to talk to you about what you said last night.”

  “Yes, well, I wasn’t thinking straight and I just blurted out a garbled version of what I wanted to tell you, I mean, ask you. I was so excited and, well, I suppose, I still am. I hope you’re going to give me a fair hearing, because I’m not like Orlando. I have skills, and you know this is something I’ve always been interested in doing.”

  “Alright, let’s hear what you’ve got to say.”

  “Well, Piero wants to open a riding school down at that old house of his near the river. It needs some work on it to make enough stalls for the horses and so on. The thing is, he can’t do it alone, and he wants me to come in with him.”

  “In what way?”

  “As an equal partner. He puts in the house and I put in money to the equivalent value, and we become full partners, legally. We buy horses, paying half each, and so on. Now the idea is, to start off with private lessons for children, in groups, singly, whatever, and hopefully, some adults. We’re both qualified instructors and can handle riders at all levels, schooling for show jumping etc. We continue to show jump ourselves, as we always have done, but we’ll take some of the better riders with us, and build up more of an interest in riding for them. Then, and this is the good bit, we take groups out trekking, there’s loads of places to go to round here and we could even do long ones, you know, a week in the mountains sort of thing. We could see if it’s possible to get a grant from the European funding for tourism, to do up the house, and maybe do riding holidays at the house, very basic, bunk beds and so forth, and some people outside in tents.

  Then there’s the handicapped children, you know, Down’s syndrome etc. who are all supposed to benefit in various ways from hippo-therapy. We could contact the various Associations in the area; I believe they get some form of grant for beneficial activities. Well, that’s a rough outline. We do know what we’re doing and we’re both quite capable. It’ll mean lots of hard work, but that’s fine, I mean we’re both young and fit, and enthusiastic.”

  “Has Piero any money of his own?”

  “Some, not enough to do it alone. The house would have to be valued by an independent body, and you would have to lend me the same amount to invest in the school. I say lend, but I’ll be honest; I don’t know when I’d be able to pay it back. The thing is, it would be a means for me of making a living, doing something I love. You had music, with me it’s horses. Please say you will.”

  “Look Chiara, I’ll talk it over with Avvocato Marchini and see what he suggests. I don’t want to have to land up paying your bankruptcy debts, because that’s what will happen if it all goes wrong. Piero hasn’t anything behind him, but you have. If the lawyer can work out something, then he will see you and Piero together and set it up. I’m not a complete monster. I do want you to be happy. Obviously I would have preferred you to continue your studies, maybe become a veterinary surgeon or a biologist, but you have told me quite clearly that you don’t want that, so what I would have spent on your studies will go toward this venture. I wasted money on Orlando, but I have a feeling that it won’t be wasted on you.”

  “You mean we can do it. Really?” Chiara looked stunned. “I thought you were bound to say no. Emily practically told me so. Oh, I can’t believe it. Thank you, thank you Mummy, sorry, I mean Madre.”

  “It was you children who gave me that name. To tell you the truth, I’ve never really thought it suited me, but you all did, so I kept quiet about it.”

  “Really? I thought you liked it.”

  “No, I don’t, not a lot. Don’t tell the others or they’ll all be stuck trying to think of what to call me, and I can’t think of an alternative.”

  “I am absolutely staggered. I can’t believe it. “

  “Well it will be a secret between us, and Chiara, so will the riding school venture, until it is all signed and sealed and legal. Is that clear, you are not to tell anyone, except Piero of course, and ask him not to either. I don’t want to hear anything, from anyone, about it.

  “It’s a promise. Thank you.” She left the room and nearly jumped for joy. It was going to be hard not to say anything. Ambra was bound to guess, she always knew what Chiara was feeling. This made her stop and think for a moment. What was wrong with Ambra at the moment? She didn’t look well, said she had a tummy bug, and was keeping well clear of her twin. Usually when she felt ill, it was Chiara who looked after her, but this time Ambra was avoiding her. Perhaps she was to blame, as she had been so involved in this business with Piero for the last few days, while they had tried to work out if their idea was economically viable, that she had been less aware of her twin than normal.

  She went back up to their bedroom. Ambra had left before her so presumably she was feeling better. There was a plastic bowl under her bed, which could mean, either that she had been sick, or that she only feared she would be. She would try to talk to her later
in the day. Now she was off to talk to Piero. They could really start to plan in earnest.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Cosimo drove down the winding road that led to the main town in the province. From there he took the motorway to the coast and drove on to the little beach town he preferred to the larger, and more well-known, towns along the coast. This place always reminded him of a shanty town. It had a very temporary look to it, probably because there were no houses, only the bagni, or bathing establishments. The beach was separated from the town, by a vast expanse of pine forest, notorious as a haunt for sexual encounters of all kinds, unlike Viareggio and the Versilia coast in general, which had hotels on the sea front.

  When he got there, he parked the car in the shade of a straw mat covered parking area and took himself over the road to a “bagno” on the dunes, where he paid for a beach umbrella and two deck chairs. He went along the paved walk to his allotted place. It was set well back from the sea. The best umbrellas, those nearest to the sea, had been booked for the season and had little name tags fluttering from them. At this time of day the beach was full of children and their mothers and grandmothers. Towards lunch-time they began to leave, the youngest first, and then the reluctant older ones.

  He felt empty. He was unable to think at all, and merely plodded from his beach umbrella to the sea, to have a swim and then return to his deck chair. He stayed in the shade, afraid of burning his pale, red-head's skin, but the heat was oppressive and by one thirty he decided to go into the bar and have a snack. They served him a mozzarella salad at a table under shade outside, where there was a light breeze. A youth, sitting alone at a nearby table, kept looking at him and he became very conscious of this, although he affected unawareness. He ordered a coffee, paid for his meal and turned to look at the sea. Then heard a voice say, “Excuse me, do you have a light?” It was the youth, who was very tanned, and, although not exceptionally handsome, certainly attractive.