Dreaming of Verona: An enchanting, feel-good holiday romance

by T A Williams

  She and Alexandra had arranged to meet downstairs in the hotel bar at seven o’clock and Suzie was surprised to find Alexandra already there, deep in conversation with a dark-haired Italian. A firm believer in first impressions, Suzie took an instant dislike to this suave, slick Latin lover with his stylish suit and his predatory eyes. He must have been at least ten years older than Alexandra, and Suzie didn’t like the look of him one bit. Alexandra, on the other hand, clearly did. A lot.

  In spite of Suzie’s best efforts, Alexandra refused point-blank to join her in the restaurant for dinner and marched out on the arm of her Italian without a backward glance. Suzie had a light meal on her own and went back to her room, hoping Alexandra wouldn’t do anything silly. The following morning over breakfast, up on the spectacular terrace overlooking the rooftops and waterways of the city, she did her best to warn her companion off and finally got the impression that her words might have got through.

  It therefore came as a great disappointment to find Alexandra sitting in the bar with her Italian again that evening, hand in hand, in what was unmistakably a romantic tête-à-tête. Suzie marched across and took a seat at their table, hoping that her presence would be enough to cool things off between the two of them. Alas, all that this intervention provoked was a spectacular scene and some harsh words from Alexandra, after which she and her Italian got up and left.

  Suzie spent another solitary evening and an uncomfortable night wrestling with her conscience before making one last appeal to Alexandra’s common sense the next day. When this, too, was ignored, she had no choice but to inform Lord Tedburn that his daughter appeared to have involved herself with an unsuitable man. She sent the message with a heavy heart, but the fact was that she genuinely felt there was something not right about the handsome Italian. Maybe if she had approved of him, she might have given Alexandra the benefit of the doubt and omitted informing her father, but not in this case.

  Her text message resulted in a phone call, not from Lord Tedburn, but from Alexandra’s big brother, Rafe. This sent a little shiver down Suzie’s spine when she realised who was on the other end of the line. Back when she was a teenager she had had a crush on Rafe, ever since first spotting him among the congregation of her father’s church. Needless to say, as so often with her and relationships, it had remained unrequited, not least because he most probably hadn’t even known she existed. Apart from his exalted position as future lord of the manor, he was probably at least three or four years older than her and evidently hadn’t been in the least bit interested in the vicar’s chronically shy daughter with her specs and the braces on her teeth. She hadn’t seen him for years and it felt weird to hear his voice now after so long.

  ‘Suzanne, we got your message.’ He sounded serious and definitely displeased. ‘Father and I have been speaking and I’ll be flying over to see Alexandra tomorrow. Father’s furious.’

  He didn’t sound any less angry himself and Suzie felt a pang of sympathy for Alexandra. ‘Look, Rafe, don’t be too hard on her. I had to tell your father, but she’s only just met the man. It may come to nothing.’

  ‘Father intends to make damn sure it doesn’t come to anything.’ Rafe’s displeasure was unmistakable. ‘Now, tell me as much as you know about him.’

  Suzie sighed and did as she was told. ‘He’s Italian and his name’s Carlo Moretti. He says he lives in Parma and he’s got a company that makes top-of-the-range leather handbags, belts and so on. He’s told Alexandra he’s thirty-three, but I reckon you can add at least ten years to that.’ She paused, searching for any other snippets of information. ‘They met in the bar of our hotel the other night, but he isn’t staying here. That’s about all I know, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Fine. I’ll text you when I know my ETA tomorrow. Tell Alexandra she’s not to see the man again until I get there.’

  And that, of course, had been the last straw that had resulted in Alexandra’s outburst at the dinner table and the shower of Prosecco.

  Even so, despite the tantrums and insults, Suzie still felt sympathy for her. Maybe the extravagant clothes and five-star hotels were an attempt to compensate for the happiness she had lost. And the succession of ‘unsuitable’ men in her life had quite probably been attempts to find some sort of affection after the death of her mother when she was barely into her teens. No doubt a psychiatrist would be able to read all manner of things into the fact that this man she had started seeing here in Venice was so much older than her. Although Suzie had felt compelled to rat on her, she felt sorry for this girl whose life had provided her with everything she could possibly want – except love.

  She spent the following morning walking around Venice on her own, gazing with awe at one irreplaceable architectural gem after another, and it wasn’t until lunchtime that she received a text message from Alexandra.

  See you in the hotel lobby at one. I need to talk to you. A.

  Suzie went down to the lobby at ten to one and waited twenty minutes before the now familiar figure of Alexandra appeared from the lift. Today she was wearing the skimpiest, shortest, most revealing summer dress – yet another from her seemingly inexhaustible collection of designer clothes – and the elderly man who emerged from the lift behind her had his eyes out on stalks. Alongside him, his silver-haired wife’s expression of disapproval was unmistakable. As the lift doors swished silently closed behind them, the old lady took a firm grip on her husband’s arm and frogmarched him to the exit. Apparently unaware of the effect her choice of clothing had produced, Alexandra came across to where Suzie was waiting close to a large pot plant she intended to use as a primitive means of defence in the event of assault.

  ‘You’ve heard that my brother’s coming tonight, I suppose?’ No greeting, but this didn’t surprise Suzie. ‘This is all your fault, you know.’

  Suzie nodded, but felt she should clarify things. ‘What was I supposed to do? I had to tell your father. That’s what he’s paying me to do and I promised him. You knew that. And I warned you enough times before calling him.’ Making sure she kept the plant between them, she hurried on before Alexandra could retort. ‘Listen, Alexandra, put yourself in my shoes. He specifically employed me to look after you, and one of the things he insisted upon was for me to inform him if you got involved with any unsuitable men. You heard him say it.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And, to be totally honest, I thought… think Carlo is unsuitable. Maybe if it had been a different man, but I’m sorry, there’s just something about him that isn’t right.’

  Alexandra didn’t start screaming or launch herself into an all-out assault. Instead, her eyes dropped to the floor and she said nothing for a full minute before finally looking up again. This time there were tears in the corners of her eyes.

  ‘Have you eaten, Suzie?’

  Taken aback at the unexpectedly gentle tone, Suzie found herself shaking her head as Alexandra pointed across to the bar.

  ‘Shall we go and see if they can do us some sandwiches? Rafe will want a full-blown dinner with all the trimmings tonight, I’m sure, but I haven’t eaten since yesterday lunchtime and I’ll fall over if I don’t have something.’

  Suzie nodded and followed her across the lobby. The elegant bar was nearly empty and they sat down side by side on a leather sofa, well away from anybody else. No sooner had they done so than a waiter arrived, and Suzie recognised him as the same one who had given her a napkin to mop her face in the restaurant. If he was surprised to see the two of them sitting together pacifically after last night’s pyrotechnics, he didn’t show it. Alexandra ordered ham and cheese sandwiches and a bottle of mineral water and Suzie did the same before sitting back in silence and waiting for several minutes before her companion began to talk.

  ‘I’m sorry about throwing my wine all over you, Suzie. That was inexcusable.’ Alexandra sounded as if she meant it. ‘I was just so furious, but it wasn’t really with you. It’s with everything.’

  Suzie got the impression Alexandra didn’t do a lot of apologising, so she
did her best to shrug the incident off.

  ‘Don’t worry about it. It was white wine anyway and it washed straight out.’ She hesitated. ‘So, what happens when your brother gets here? Is he going to go ballistic?’

  Alexandra nodded. ‘Maybe not ballistic – that’s my father’s prerogative – but he isn’t going to be happy.’ Her expression was sorrowful rather than angry – for now. ‘I know you had to tell him about Carlo. My father made himself completely clear before we left. The thing is…’ She paused and took a couple of deep breaths, the old familiar spark of annoyance flashing in her eyes. ‘I’m twenty-five, going on twenty-six, for God’s sake. Why does my father have to treat me like a child? I’m not a child.’ Her voice rose in volume and pitch and a few heads turned towards them. Suzie gave her a little smile of comprehension. To her relief – and surprise – it appeared to do some good, as her companion’s voice dropped back to normal volume. ‘I’m sure your father doesn’t tell you who you can and can’t see.’

  ‘My dad rarely raises his head from his reading – or the cricket – these days, but my mum always gives me the third degree when I come home, even though I’ll be twenty-nine next birthday. And you know what comes after twenty-nine.’ She was remarkably impressed at the way Alexandra’s attitude had started to show signs of mellowing – although she had no doubt the fuse was still smouldering somewhere inside her – so she allowed herself to ask the question that had been on the tip of her tongue for the last three weeks since first meeting her, surreptitiously crossing her fingers behind her back as she did so. At least, she thought to herself, there were no drinks on the table yet to be thrown around. ‘So why don’t you just tell your dad to mind his own business? You’re an adult. Surely you can do whatever you like.’

  ‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you, but it doesn’t work like that in our family, for a variety of reasons.’ Alexandra ran her fingers through her hair and sat back in frustration. ‘Apart from anything else, the trouble with having money is that you get used to having it. My father has decided that I need to marry somebody “suitable”.’ Her acidic tone made clear what she thought of her father’s choice of adjective. ‘In the meantime I get my allowance, but only if I play by his rules. And that means effectively having all my friends – male and female – vetted by him. Why do you think you were employed? It’s because he doesn’t trust me.’

  At that moment, the waiter returned with the drinks and two plates of immaculate triangular white-bread sandwiches without crusts, arranged with mathematical precision and accompanied by some decorative sprigs of watercress. Suzie gave him a smile and a ‘Grazie.’ Alexandra totally ignored him. As he retired again, Suzie tried to give her a bit of support.

  ‘Maybe it’s not so much a lack of trust as the desire to protect you. Maybe this is just because he worries about you.’

  Alexandra snorted and took a big bite of a sandwich. Suzie did the same – but without snorting – realising she, too, was hungry in spite of having had a big meal the previous night. The next thing Alexandra said came as a considerable – and welcome – surprise.

  ‘To be honest, I’m not going to see Carlo again anyway.’

  Suzie looked up from her plate. ‘Is that you just being pragmatic, or is there some other reason?’

  Alexandra gave a heartfelt sigh. ‘After I left you last night, I phoned him and he came to meet me. I thought he’d take me out for dinner somewhere, but he took me to his hotel. We were halfway up the stairs when I came to my senses. I like… liked him a lot, but there was no way I was going up to his room so soon after I’d just met him.’

  Suzie nodded approvingly. ‘Quite right, too.’

  ‘That’s not what he thought. In fact, he got quite objectionable and then he caught hold of my arm and I didn’t think he was going to let go until, luckily, a couple came down the stairs and he had to release me. It was really quite scary for a minute or two. As the other people came past, I turned and walked out alongside them and made a run for it.’ She looked up with an attempt at a smile. ‘When I got back here, I imagine you were still in the dining room, but I didn’t want to bother you with my troubles.’

  ‘But you should have. Besides, the food was very good.’

  ‘I’m sure it was, Suzie, but I didn’t feel in the mood for food.’ Her lips were trembling as she fought back tears. ‘Now, as a result, my father’s furious with me, and my brother’s been sent to read me the riot act – all because of some man I’m not even seeing any more. But you were right, Suzie. There was something wrong about Carlo.’

  Suzie felt genuinely sorry for her and reached out to lay a hand on her arm for a few seconds. ‘Look, Alexandra, I’m sorry you’ve got into this mess, but we’ll get you out of it.’ The beginnings of an idea occurred to her. ‘Rafe and your dad don’t need to know what happened last night with Carlo. What I think you should do when your brother gets here is to apologise profusely and tell him you immediately dumped him as soon as you heard your dad didn’t approve. You know – roll over and play the obedient little girl, and they’ll both be so pleased, they’ll let you get on with your life. It doesn’t always have to be confrontation, you know.’

  Alexandra didn’t reply for a while, concentrating on her sandwich. When she finally raised her face towards Suzie once more, she was looking perplexed. ‘But surely you’re duty-bound to tell them what happened between me and Carlo. Aren’t you…?’ Her voice tailed off helplessly and Suzie grinned at her.

  ‘I’ve done my duty by telling them about his existence. How he disappeared from your life is totally up to you. No, Alexandra, you tell them you dumped him because you didn’t want to displease them and I promise I’ll back you up all the way. Okay?’

  Alexandra began to look happy for the first time that day. ‘You would do that for me?’ Her smile broadened. ‘And do please call me Alex. That’s what all my friends call me.’

  Chapter 4

  When Rafe arrived, he was immaculately and formally turned out in a dark suit, collar and tie, and Suzie had to admit that he fitted into the five-star surroundings perfectly. As Alexandra had predicted, he wasted no time in taking them to the upstairs dining room for dinner. From there they had panoramic views out over Venice as the sun set and the lights gradually came on below them. Under other circumstances it would have been a charming and romantic view, but not tonight. Suzie braced herself for the explosion to come as they were shown to their seats alongside a huge picture window.

  However, prepped by Suzie, Alexandra attacked first to deflect his anger. Also on Suzie’s advice, she had replaced the revealing dress she had been wearing at lunchtime with a rather conservative – but still most elegant – dress with a modest neckline and hemline. Suzie sat back and did her best not to smile as Alexandra launched into a fulsome apology and told her brother quite clearly that nothing had happened between her and Carlo and, out of deference to their father, she had already dumped him. She assured him she only intended to do what her father wanted and he could trust her to behave sensibly.

  Rafe’s expression went from confrontational, through surprised, to pleased. However, as Alexandra brought her apology to a suitably emotional conclusion, he looked over at Suzie for confirmation.

  ‘Is this all true, Suzanne? Is it all over between Alex and this Italian?’

  Suzie adopted a suitably trustworthy expression as she replied. ‘Absolutely. He’s history.’

  Rafe nodded, unaware of the surreptitious smile that Alex flashed across the table at Suzie. ‘Excellent.’ He returned his attention to his sister. ‘Well, I’m glad you saw sense, Alex, not least as I’ve had somebody looking into Mr Carlo Moretti. I’m sure his wife would be very happy to know that you’re not interested in him.’

  ‘His wife?’ Alexandra looked genuinely gobsmacked and Suzie felt for her.

  ‘Yes, Alex, his wife.’ Rafe sounded rather pleased with himself. ‘And his three daughters would also be relieved, I imagine.’ Seeing the expressions on both their fac
es, he elaborated. ‘I contacted a private investigation agency yesterday and I got their report on my way here from the airport. You may be interested to hear that he’s forty-five, not whatever age he told you.’

  Suzie glanced across the table and couldn’t miss the expression on Alexandra’s face. She looked shaken to her roots and Suzie’s feeling of sympathy grew.

  The atmosphere improved as the meal progressed and Suzie had to admit that it was without a doubt one of the best meals she had ever had. All three of them opted for the restaurant’s antipasti selection and the different dishes on offer were exceptional, ranging from all manner of different salami and hams on a massive wooden platter, to homemade Russian salad, hot garlic prawns and porcini mushrooms in olive oil. Suzie helped herself to a little of each, but tried not to let herself get drawn into eating too much as she felt sure there would be a lot more to come.

  As they ate, they chatted and Suzie was delighted to see both Alexandra and her brother loosen up and start to enjoy themselves. While the two siblings talked, Suzie had the opportunity to study them more closely. There was a definite family resemblance, mainly around the mouth and high cheekbones, and she remembered what it was she had seen in Rafe all those years ago when she had been a spotty teenager, peeking at him from the anonymity of the rear pews. His hair was darker than his sister’s but, like Alexandra, his eyes were a light hazel colour, rather like a wild animal’s eyes. Even the lines around them added to, rather than detracted from, his overall good looks.

  Yes, she thought to herself, they were two very lucky people – good-looking and as rich as Croesus. Not a bad combination, not bad at all. She gave a little sigh to herself as she sat back and wiped her mouth with her napkin.

  ‘So how long are you girls planning on staying in Venice?’ Rafe took a sip of wine and swilled it round in his mouth as Alexandra answered for both of them.