The Temptation of Gracie

by Santa Montefiore

  ‘Who is Giovanni?’

  ‘The man I love!’ Anastasia gushed happily.

  ‘How did you meet him?’

  ‘He’s the gardener.’

  Gracie thought of Donato and smiled. ‘You and I really are much too similar.’

  ‘It’s a secret so you’re not to tell Mum.’

  ‘All right, if you really insist. I won’t tell her.’

  ‘I do. She wouldn’t understand. She’d get all anxious about it.’

  ‘What’s there to be anxious about? Is he much older than you?’

  ‘He’s a gardener.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with that. He’s probably a very good gardener.’

  ‘That’s what I think. I don’t know how old he is. I haven’t asked him. In fact, we don’t talk much. He doesn’t speak English, except the odd word, like “beautiful”.’ Her grin broadened. ‘And “Come here”.’

  ‘I see,’ said Gracie, understanding very well what sort of relationship it was. ‘I think it’s lovely that you’ve found a nice Italian man. They’re very romantic.’

  ‘Giovanni is the most romantic man, ever!’

  ‘Tell me about him. Is he handsome?’

  ‘Oh Granny, he is beyond handsome. I mean, he could be a film star.’ Gracie recalled the boy cleaning out the rabbit hutches and realised it must be him. ‘I promise you, he’s better-looking than Dylan O’Brien!’

  ‘I’m afraid I don’t know who he is.’

  ‘Better than Cary Grant!’

  ‘I suppose he’s more my vintage.’

  ‘Granny, he is so hot. I don’t know how I’m going to leave on Saturday.’

  ‘Don’t think about that now. Enjoy the moment.’

  ‘But it’s more than a moment. He loves me.’

  Gracie smiled at the naivety of youth, but she didn’t contradict her. ‘I’m sure he does,’ she said instead. ‘I’m sure he considers himself the luckiest man in Tuscany.’

  ‘I love him too. I’m going to have to work out a way of coming back.’

  ‘I’m sure you’ll think of something. Your mother was saying only at tea that she would like to buy a house here.’

  Anastasia’s eyes brightened. ‘She did?’

  ‘Well, I’m not sure it’s possible. Houses in Tuscany are very expensive.’

  ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be lovely if we bought a house here. Then you could come back too. Oh, by the way,’ she added, as an afterthought. ‘Did you say you used to live in a house called La Colomba?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Gracie.

  ‘Do you think there’s more than one?’

  ‘Why do you ask?’ Gracie was suddenly short of breath. She put a hand on her throat.

  ‘I found a ruin, a really cool ruin, not far from here, called La Colomba. You didn’t live here, did you, Granny?’

  They both turned as the door opened and Carina appeared in a scarlet dress and high heels, her hair swept up in a ponytail. ‘Are you coming?’ she said.

  Anastasia jumped off the bed, oblivious of the bomb she had just dropped on her grandmother. ‘Mum, Granny tells me you might buy a house here!’

  Carina sighed. ‘If only.’

  ‘I’m going to talk to Dad about it.’

  ‘You do that. You’re more likely to persuade him than I am.’

  ‘He’d love it here.’

  ‘Of course he would.’ Carina turned to her mother who was slowly climbing off the bed. There was something odd about the way she was pushing herself up, as if she had aged ten years. ‘Are you all right, Mum?’

  ‘Just a little head-spin. I often get them, standing up quickly.’

  Carina reached out to steady her. ‘What you need is a glass of Ilaria’s home-made wine.’

  ‘Yes,’ Gracie replied flatly. But a glass of wine would not take the sting out of her memories. Anastasia had found La Colomba. Gracie wasn’t surprised that it was a ruin. After everything that had happened there she was not surprised at all. She thought of Uncle Hans and felt her throat constrict with emotion. She had loved him like a father. Oh, the shame, the terrible shame . . . ‘I don’t think I can come down tonight,’ she said, sinking back onto the bed. ‘I’m suddenly feeling unwell.’

  Carina knelt in front of her mother and looked into her ashen face with alarm. ‘What bit of you feels unwell, Mum? Is it your head?’

  It’s my heart, she wanted to cry out, but she put her hand on her forehead instead. ‘I’m just tired, dear. Nothing to worry about. Do you mind if I don’t come to dinner?’

  ‘I’ll tell Ilaria to bring something up, if you like.’

  ‘That would be nice. Anything at all. I’m not really very hungry.’

  ‘But you must eat. I’ll tell her to bring up some soup and bread. Perhaps it’s the sun. It’s much stronger than it looks.’ She helped her mother lie down. All the while Anastasia watched in bewilderment. Only a moment ago she had been telling her grandmother about Giovanni and she had been fine. Surely it wasn’t because of what she said about La Colomba? She bit her lip, feeling guilty. Who was she kidding? She knew intuitively that it had everything to do with La Colomba. ‘I’ll come and check on you later,’ said Carina.

  ‘You don’t have to,’ Gracie replied.

  ‘I know I don’t have to, but I want to.’

  ‘I want to as well, Granny,’ Anastasia joined in. She moved past her mother and bent down to give her grandmother a kiss. ‘We need to talk,’ she whispered, then squeezed her hand. ‘You need to tell me the end of the story.’ As Anastasia looked into her grandmother’s eyes she was shocked to find that they were filling with tears. She squeezed her hand again, a firm, meaningful squeeze, and then left the room with her mother.

  All through dinner Carina and Anastasia were unable to stop thinking about Gracie. Carina worried about her health, while Anastasia wondered about Gaetano and La Colomba. If Gracie had indeed lived here then Gaetano’s house couldn’t be far away. She had to find out if Gaetano was still alive, but she didn’t know how to. After all, perhaps it was a common name and there were loads of Gaetanos in Colladoro. It was pointless asking after a man whose last name she didn’t know. On reflection her grandmother had been very happy to talk about him, in fact, her face had positively glowed when she’d talked about Gaetano. It was the mention of the villa that had turned her, and not just the mention of it, but the discovery of it. What had happened there that had so upset her? Gracie had said that the story ended sadly – had it ended tragically? Anastasia thought of the chair in the middle of the room and shuddered.

  Rex was very disappointed that Gracie had chosen not to join them for dinner. He asked after her more than once and when Carina returned from going to check on her, he asked after her again. Ilaria took soup and warm bread to her room and reported that she was feeling a little better. They all agreed it was the sun. For a woman of Gracie’s age the sun could be overwhelming. ‘She’ll feel better in the morning,’ said Ilaria confidently. ‘Mamma Bernadetta’s soup has magical properties. You will see.’

  Anxious about her mother, Carina awoke in the middle of the night. She looked across to see a lump in the next-door bed. She hadn’t heard Anastasia come in after going for a midnight swim with Alex. She must have been sleeping very deeply, she thought. Probably aided by the few glasses of wine she had drunk. After tiptoeing to the bathroom so as not to wake her daughter she sat on her bed and tilted her watch into the moonlight. Moving it slowly back and forth she could just make out the time. Soon the birds would tweet and dawn would break. She hoped her mother was sleeping well and that she’d feel better in the morning. There was something troubling about Gracie that Carina couldn’t put her finger on. She hoped she wasn’t unwell, not because she didn’t have the time to look after her, but because she didn’t want to lose her. The sudden realisation that her mother meant so much to her was shocking. She felt winded, as if someone had driven their fist into her stomach. She stood up and went to the window and gazed out in agitation. The moon was an
enormous silver globe suspended above the hills in a deep indigo sky. It was strikingly beautiful. She closed her eyes and breathed in the cool air. If she lost her mother she would never forgive herself for neglecting her all these years. She’d never forgive herself for putting her aspirations above the woman who had raised her and loved her unconditionally. She’d never forgive herself for not bothering. And she hadn’t bothered, she admitted that now and was full of shame. Alone at the window she saw herself as she really was, as if the moon was a giant eye reflecting her faults right back at her. She could hear Rufus telling her to calm down, that one’s anxieties are always amplified at night and that she would laugh about them in the morning. But she couldn’t calm down. On reflection her mother had been acting strangely since the very first day. She remembered her hesitation on arrival and the way her hand had trembled as Carina had helped her out of the taxi. Hadn’t she wanted to go straight to bed? Then there was the time she had felt unwell after lunch and taken to her room, leaving Rex to explore on his own. The more Carina thought about it the more her fear grew, like a shadow across her heart. What if she had been diagnosed with something terrible and hadn’t told her? What if Gracie had decided to spend her savings coming here because she knew she was dying? Hadn’t Flappy said she had spent all her savings, in which case she wasn’t thinking about going back. Carina was mortified. Perhaps that silly Flappy woman had been right to worry about her friend. It was very out of character for Gracie to want to come to Italy. Only something like a dying wish could explain it. Carina began to cry; a dying wish that hadn’t included her.

  Her impulse was to run into her mother’s room and wake her. To tell her she was sorry and to ask her whether she was really dying, but she would only wake her when she needed so badly to sleep and worry her when she needed to be tranquil. Carina realised she had been selfish all her life; she wasn’t going to be selfish now. She’d wait until the morning. In the meantime she’d pray to any God who was listening for her mother’s health, and she’d pray for herself too, because if her mother was ill, Carina was going to need all the help she could get.

  Appreciative of love now more than ever before, she went to her daughter’s bedside to watch her sleeping. As she bent down to look into her face she realised, to her surprise, that the lump in the bed was not Anastasia at all but a pillow stuffed beneath the blankets. She pulled them back briskly. Her suspicions were confirmed. Typical schoolgirl, she smiled to herself. Sneaking off to be with Alex, no doubt. Hadn’t she done the same when she’d been Anastasia’s age? She shook her head, half cross, half amused, because her daughter had made a fool of her. She wondered how many nights she’d been stuffing pillows down her bed and creeping out. Had it not been for the wine Carina might not have slept so deeply. She could blame Ilaria for that, she thought, seeing the funny side. She wondered what Lauren would make of it. Alex was just the sort of young man Carina wanted for her daughter. He was kind, intelligent, polite and clean. He wasn’t going to hurt her and was mature enough to be a good influence. He was the perfect first boyfriend. The perfect gentleman to introduce her into the world of romance. Carina climbed back into bed and laid down her head. She’d pray for her mother; Anastasia, it seemed, didn’t need prayers, she was doing extremely well for herself all on her own.

  The dawn chorus awoke her at a quarter to five. It seemed louder than usual. Sunlight was just beginning to brighten the sky. She turned to see that Anastasia had not yet returned to her bed. Perhaps she and Alex slept beneath a tree or something, swam and then returned to their rooms, claiming they’d risen early to go to the pool. Well, Carina had been threatening to head out for an early morning swim all week but hadn’t yet managed to drag herself out of bed. Now she was awake, she decided she might as well give it a go. Maybe she’d surprise the two love-birds, she thought with a smile. She’d make fools of them and get her own back.

  She shrugged on a dressing gown and slipped her feet into flip-flops. As she passed her mother’s room she put her ear to the door. There was no sound. Hopefully she was sleeping deeply and would wake up refreshed. Hopefully, she wasn’t ill, just struck down temporarily by heatstroke. Carina thought of Rufus and how he’d roll his eyes at her overreacting. She hoped to God that that was all it was.

  Once outside Carina was enveloped in birdsong. It seemed that birds in every bush and tree were singing their little hearts out to be heard. The discordance of it delighted her and she paused on the grass to enjoy it. In the golden light of the emerging sun the shadow in her heart dissolved and was replaced by a feeling of expansion and joy. She set off down the path, a jauntiness in her step, a childlike wonder on her face. She stopped every now and then to admire a flower, to bring it to her nose and sniff. Occasionally, she wiped a bead of dew off her nose. She took the time to watch industrious bees foraging about the lavender and their drunken flight and friendly buzzing only enhanced her pleasure. By the time she reached the swimming pool she was in an exceedingly good mood.

  She swam a few lengths, relishing the feeling of being awake at this early hour of the morning, and ready for the day ahead. She looked forward to Ilaria’s cookery lesson, to talking with Lauren and Madeleine who had become good friends, and to spending time with her mother and daughter. How happy she was that she had taken the trouble to come to Italy. To think she might have missed all this because of a misguided desire to work. The idea seemed extraordinary to her now. How could anyone put work above the simple pleasures of being in a beautiful place with family and friends? She thought of Rufus and wished he were here too, then her happiness would be complete.

  The rattling sound of a motor alerted her to someone on the track below. It got louder as it approached, then stopped. She heard voices, laughter and a squeal of delight that was unmistakably Anastasia’s. Carina climbed out and padded to the edge of the slope from where she could see the track through the trees. Anastasia was standing in a miniskirt and cropped top, kissing a man who was definitely not Alex, sitting astride his scooter. Carina stared in disbelief. Her stomach lurched, throwing the shadow across her heart once again.

  She grabbed her towel and hurried back up the slope towards the castle before Anastasia discovered her. All the joy now turned to fear. There was absolutely no way that that young man was going to have his wicked way with her daughter. But as she rushed inside she realised that in all probability he already had.

  Chapter 20

  Carina did not return to the bedroom she shared with Anastasia. Instead, she knocked on her mother’s door. To her relief a voice that did not sound like it belonged to a dying woman responded. ‘Come in.’

  ‘I hope I’m not waking you?’ Carina entered and closed the door softly behind her.

  ‘Not at all. I’ve been awake for a while, listening to the birdsong.’

  ‘Are you feeling better?’ she asked hopefully.

  ‘Much better. I just needed a good night’s rest.’

  ‘Good. Listen, Mum, I need to talk to you.’

  Gracie could tell from her daughter’s stricken face that something dramatic had happened. ‘What is it, dear? What’s happened?’

  ‘I’ve just seen Anastasia with an Italian man I’ve never seen before. He has just dropped her back on his scooter. Down by the pool. They must have spent the whole night together. She didn’t come back. She stuffed a pillow down her bed. Does she think I was born yesterday?’

  ‘Sit down, dear,’ said Gracie gently.

  Carina paced the room in agitation. ‘I don’t think I can.’ She put a hand to her forehead and let out a sob. ‘I’m really, really worried, Mum.’

  ‘About what?’ Gracie asked calmly. She looked a picture of tranquillity sitting there propped up against the pillows in her floral nightdress.

  ‘About what? I can’t believe you’re asking that!’ Carina huffed loudly. ‘How does she know him? I mean, he could be anyone: a rapist, a murderer . . . It’s not safe.’

  Gracie smiled sympathetically. ‘He’s the gardener
here,’ she informed her coolly.

  Carina’s face fell. ‘You know about this?’

  Gracie nodded. ‘Anastasia told me yesterday.’

  ‘And you didn’t tell me?’

  ‘Anastasia made me promise not to.’

  ‘Why? Why not tell me? I’m her mother!’ Carina began to pace again. ‘God! Why doesn’t she ever tell me anything?’

  ‘Because she knows how you’ll react.’

  ‘And how’s that?’

  ‘Like this,’ said her mother with a sympathetic smile.

  Carina’s jaw stiffened and she folded her arms defensively. ‘Well, she’s my responsibility. I can’t let her run around the countryside with a man she doesn’t know.’

  ‘Now that doesn’t make sense. How is she to get to know someone then?’

  ‘Well, she could choose a boy like Alex. Someone we’ve all met.’

  ‘You mean someone from your world. But she’s fallen in love with Giovanni,’ said Gracie as if it was perfectly understandable.

  ‘Is that what he’s called?’ Carina walked to the window and leant back against the sill. ‘She thinks she’s fallen in love. In reality, she’s fallen in lust.’

  ‘Of course, and she’s enjoying an exciting romance. Love or lust, at her age the two are very easily confused.’

  ‘God, Mum, you’re the one who should be disapproving, not me. I’m meant to be modern and laid-back.’

  ‘You were never laid-back, dear,’ said Gracie with a grin.

  Carina did not find any of this remotely amusing. ‘Old people are meant to be judgemental and “In my day . . .” blah blah blah.’

  ‘But in my day we fell in love with Giovannis too.’

  ‘And had your hearts broken?’

  ‘Of course. Come and sit down.’ Gracie patted the bed. Reluctantly Carina sat beside her. ‘It’s okay to have your heart broken,’ said Gracie and Carina was surprised by her confident, authoritative tone, as if she had survived a broken heart herself. ‘It’s not the end of the world, Carina. In fact, I would say it’s an essential part of growing up. A broken heart teaches you wisdom, compassion for others and understanding. It digs another layer into your being, making you more worldly and aware. It is a part of the great experience of life. It’s not going to kill her.’