The Temptation of Gracie
Page 36
And then the third concern was revealed: ‘I think I’m going to move here,’ said Edda with the assurance of a woman whose ideas always manifested.
Flappy was appalled. ‘Move here?’ she repeated in a strangled voice.
‘Yes,’ said Edda, smiling as she swept her eyes over the garden. ‘I think Badley Compton is divine.’
‘Yes it is, but—’
‘Harry loved it here and I can see why.’
‘But where would you move to?’
‘I’ll find a lovely house. Really, after London I could do with a quaint country community of quaint country people such as you and Kenneth. The sophistication of London has become much too much. I’m longing to leave and I’m sure my husband Charles will agree with me once he’s seen it.’ She sighed happily. ‘It’s just the place. I feel at home already.’
Then if that wasn’t enough, a few weeks later Flappy noticed an envelope in the post, written in Gracie’s neat hand. She opened it in a fury for Gracie had now been gone a month. She withdrew the letter and unfolded it. Tucked into the middle was a photograph of Gracie, radiant in a dusty pink dress, standing beside a tall, handsome man with wavy grey hair and a captivating smile. Her fury evaporated, replaced by curiosity and a strange feeling of admiration. She quickly shifted her eyes to the letter, impatient to read what Gracie had to say.
Dear Flappy
I would like to share my happy news with you and my friends of the Badley Compton Ladies’ Book Club. Tancredi and I are married and starting our lives together here in Tuscany, at Castello Montefosco. I hope you will one day find the time in your busy schedule to visit us.
With affection, Gracie Bassanelli
(I know it will amuse you to learn that I am now a countess. Who’d have thought it!)
Flappy put the letter and photograph back in the envelope and took a deep and expectant breath. She wanted to be furious, she anticipated she would be, but fury never came. Instead, she smiled to herself and went to the telephone. She picked it up and dialled Mabel’s number. It rang once before Mabel answered.
‘Mabel, Flappy here. I have something very exciting to share with you . . .’ and to her joy she was the first person with this earth-shattering piece of information. The first person to know it, the first person to share it, and the fountain from which all knowledge of it would be communicated. ‘And would you guess, she’s a countess,’ she added after revealing Gracie’s surprising news. ‘I must say, for a small woman, that title is a little too big for her, don’t you think?’
Epilogue
Castello Montefosco, a month before
‘So, where have you hidden the Bartoloni?’ Gracie asked.
Tancredi pushed himself off the bench and took her hand. ‘Let me show you.’
They walked along the path towards the castle. The sun was now high in the sky. The dog had retreated inside, finding it too hot even in the shade. Gracie noticed how Tancredi knew every contour of his property. He didn’t walk with a stick and he didn’t lean on her. He had taken her hand because he wanted to hold it.
They reached the castle and he led her upstairs into his private apartment. Behind the door his rooms were cosy and humble. The few paintings that hadn’t been sold hung on the walls but the furniture was shabby, the rugs threadbare. Gracie wondered how long it had been since he could see.
He showed her into his bedroom. She saw it at once, his favourite painting, in pride of place on the wall behind the brass headboard. ‘What happened to my forgery?’ she asked.
He shook his head and reached out to touch her. She shuffled closer so he could put his arm around her. ‘That is your forgery,’ he said.
She squinted, bewildered. ‘That’s the fake?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘The real one is in the bottom of a cupboard somewhere. This is the one that means the world to me. The value of a painting is in the artist as well as in the picture, therefore, to me, this is the most priceless painting in the world – even if I can no longer see it.’
‘Oh, Tancredi. I’m going to cry again.’
He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. ‘I hope they are tears of joy, Gracie.’ Then he buried his face in her neck and hugged her tightly, as if determined never to let her go again. ‘Because mine are.’
Acknowledgements
For this novel I travelled with four girlfriends to Italy’s Amalfi coast for research. We stayed in a small pensione overlooking the sea and booked into a cookery course, which had been highly recommended. We were not disappointed. Mamma Agata’s Cookery School is like no other cookery school on earth. It is a gem built into rock on a hillside in Ravello, with the most extraordinary view of sky, sea and the famous Amalfi coastline. The sun is hot, the smells are sensual and the food, which is all home-grown, home-made and home-reared, is out of this world. But what is even more wonderful is the family who owns it. They are warm, funny, charming, loving, big-hearted people. Old Mamma Agata cooked while her daughter, Chiara, explained, entertained and laughed; there was so much laughter! I want to thank them for a wonderful experience and for inspiring Mamma Bernadetta’s cookery school in my novel. Although Bernadetta and Ilaria are my own creations, they are a tribute to Agata and Chiara and written with love and gratitude. Along life’s path one occasionally has the privilege of meeting the odd jewel: these two beautiful women are two such jewels. Go to Ravello, book in to Mamma Agata’s Cookery School and meet them for yourselves! You will be very pleased that you did.
I would also like to thank Aliai Forte whose stunning home in Tuscany inspired the Castello in my novel. We had the most wonderful four days there last summer, during which time I lay in the sun, soaking up the inspiration. It was hard leaving but I have relived the experience in this book, savouring every scent, sound and sight all over again.
Thank you to my mother, Patty Palmer-Tomkinson, for doing the first read and edit – she is so generous with her time and is always honest and wise. Thank you also to my dear friend, mentor and agent, Sheila Crowley, and her brilliant team at Curtis Brown: Abbie Greaves, Alice Lutyens, Luke Speed, Enrichetta Frezzato, Katie McGowan, Anne Bihan and Mairi Friesen-Escandell.
Thank you to my boss, Ian Chapman. My wise and talented editor Suzanne Baboneau, and her superb team at Simon & Schuster who give my books wings and allow them to fly! Dawn Burnett, Emma Harrow, Gemma Conley-Smith, Gill Richardson, Dominic Brendon, Laura Hough, Sara-Jade Virtue and Sian Wilson.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank booksellers everywhere from the bottom of my heart. Where would I be without them!
I would also like to thank my parents, Charles and Patty Palmer-Tomkinson, my mother-in-law April Sebag-Montefiore, my brother James, sister-in-law Sos and my nephews and nieces, Honor, India, Wilfred and Sam, for their incredible support during this really tough year. After Tara died I just didn’t think I’d have the strength to get this book written, but thanks to my incredible family, I did.
My love and gratitude to my husband, Sebag, our daughter, Lily, and our son, Sasha.
Revisit the first story in the Deverill Chronicles
Songs of Love
and War
Their lives were mapped out ahead of them. But love and war will change everything . . .
Castle Deverill, nestled in the rolling Irish hills, is home to three very different women: flame-haired Kitty Deverill, her best friend and daughter of the castle’s cook, Bridie Doyle, and her flamboyant English cousin, Celia Deverill.
But when war breaks out, their lives will change forever.
Wrenched apart by betrayal and swept to different parts of the globe, their friendship will be tested a thousand times over. But one bond will keep them together forever: their fierce and unwavering longing for Castle Deverill and all the memories contained within it . . .
Fall in love with the penultimate story in the Deverill Chronicles
Daughters of
Castle Deverill
It is 1925 and the war is long over. But mu
ch has been lost, and life will never truly be the same again.
Castle Deverill, cherished home to the Deverill family in the west of Ireland for hundreds of years, has burned to the ground. But young and flighty Celia Deverill is determined to restore the sad ruin to its former glory. Celia married well and has the wealth to keep it in the family . . . and she cannot bear to see her beloved home stand neglected.
But dark shadows are gathering once more, as the financial markets start to shake. And everything that felt so certain is thrown once again into doubt . . .
Don’t miss the epic conclusion to the Deverill Chronicles
The Last Secret
of the Deverills
It is 1939 and the dark clouds of war are building over Europe. In Ireland, much has changed for the Deverill family, and a new generation is waiting in the wings . . .
Bridie Doyle is now Countess di Marcantonio and mistress of Castle Deverill, far surpassing her humble roots. But when the eyes of her dashing husband begin to stray, his identity is called into question, putting Bridie’s happiness at terrible risk.
Once Bridie’s best friend, but no longer, Kitty Deverill lives nearby with her devoted husband Robert. Her world is suddenly rocked by the unexpected return of Jack O’Leary, her never forgotten first love. But, this time, might Jack’s heart belong to another?
Martha Wallace arrives in Dublin desperate to track down her birth mother. Her efforts are thwarted, she has no one to turn to – until JP, scion of the Deverills, catches her eye.
Also by Santa Montefiore
The Affair
The Italian Matchmaker
The French Gardener
Sea of Lost Love
The Gypsy Madonna
Last Voyage of the Valentina
The Swallow and the Hummingbird
The Forget-Me-Not Sonata
The Butterfly Box
Meet Me Under the Ombu Tree
The House by the Sea
The Summer House
Secrets of the Lighthouse
The Beekeeper’s Daughter
The Deverill Chronicles
Songs of Love and War
Daughters of Castle Deverill
The Last Secret of the Deverills
First published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd, 2018
A CBS COMPANY
Copyright © Santa Montefiore, 2018
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
No reproduction without permission.
® and © 1997 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
The right of Santa Montefiore to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
1st Floor
222 Gray’s Inn Road
London WC1X 8HB
Simon & Schuster Australia, Sydney
Simon & Schuster India, New Delhi
www.simonandschuster.co.uk
www.simonandschuster.com.au
www.simonandschuster.co.in
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-4711-6958-8
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4711-6959-5
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4711-6960-1
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Typeset in Bembo by M Rules
Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY
Simon & Schuster UK Ltd are committed to sourcing paper that is made from wood grown in sustainable forests and support the Forest Stewardship Council, the leading international forest certification organisation. Our books displaying the FSC logo are printed on FSC certified paper.