I arrived back in Tuscany and decided to find somewhere to eat. I found a nice little Italian restaurant. I ordered lasagne, and a glass of wine. The restaurant was very busy and because the weather was so nice I decided to eat outside.
“Why is a beautiful lady dining alone?” I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see a really handsome man with gorgeous dark eyes. He said his name was Claudio and asked if he could join me.
“Yes, of course.” I didn't mind, he was rather yummy. We sat chatting and I told him I had only arrived the day before; Claudio offered to show me the sights.
“Why not; it would be nice to have a bit of company.” I conceded.
After we ate, we went for a walk, the night sky was clear and the stars were out.
“ Tuscany is so beautiful. I’ve never seen a place like it.” I said.
“Yes I love it here too. Italy is a country with many breath-taking sights.”
After our long walk, I thanked him for a lovely evening and went back to my hotel.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After a good night’s sleep I went down to breakfast. I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice with scrambled eggs and bacon. Claudio had offered to drive me to Monterosso al Mare, he picked me up at eleven and we set off. I felt very comfortable with him; he had an open top Mazda car. When we got to Monterosso al Mare, I couldn't believe the beauty. Claudio told me Monterosso al Mare was a large region of Tuscany that spread all the way to Lazio. I could see the clear sea, long narrow beach, and block stone around the hills, thick woods and mountains. We walked along the beach; the sun was warm on my skin and felt really good.
After we went to a lovely quiet spot and had a picnic he had prepared. We had lovely fresh Italian ciabatta, with cheeses, ham, Vine tomatoes and salad. He pulled out a bottle of white wine which was a typical wine from Tuscany and poured two glasses and said.
“Salute!”
“Cheers!” I replied and we both took a drink.
“I love eating outside in the nature.” He laughed.
“There is always something beautiful to see.” And he was looking straight at me. There was a moment of silence between us then Claudio continued to speak.
“I have two beautiful things to look at right now.”
I blushed, and said thank you and told him I was having a wonderful time, with a lovely man. Claudio asked me why I was in Tuscany alone. I told him about my marriage to Marco, that I believed the marriage was a sham, and that I had found out that Marco had a wife here in Tuscany.
“Maybe I know of him, what is his name?” he asked.
“His full name is Marco Antionini and he is a chef.” I answered. I noticed Claudio deep in thought.
“I don't think I know him, but I can make some enquiries if you like?” I nodded.
“Thanks, that’s very nice of you.” I was relieved that at least someone was willing to help me.
I told him that I had visited Marco's family and they had revealed that he was married. I explained the situation about a so called woman I had seen him with before we got married and he had told me she was his sister which after all of these secrets turned out to be his wife.
“So really you are not married, because your marriage is illegal." He remarked.
“Well if he is a bigamist, then no, our marriage isn't legal but I have his daughter.” I showed him a picture of my children. He asked me if the little baby boy was also Marco’s child, I didn't reply and quickly changed the subject and told him about my home town in England.
You must come and visit sometime. You’ve been so kind to show me part of your country, I would love to show you mine.”
“You must come and visit sometime, and I can show you England.”
We went back to Tuscany; I told him I needed to change my clothes. Later after I had changed we walked around and he showed me the sights of Tuscany. He pointed out many interesting buildings to me. We had dinner later that evening at a lovely bistro.
“Claudio, I’m going to get fat, what with all the good food you’ve got me eating and the delicious wine you’ve had me tasting. Normally back home I don’t find time to eat. If I keep on like this I won’t be Bella.” I laughed
“In Italy we make time for food, and eat with our family and friends, I grew up with good food. I associate food with good wine and good company, we talk, and we eat, in Italy.”
He smiled and added.
“Also a woman with a bit of meat on her is always Bella.” His smile was very charming, just like his way with words.
He told me he travelled a lot with his work and seen so many beautiful places. I started feeling tired, after eating too much and drinking quite a bit of wine. I had to hold on to Claudio because I felt quite tipsy. He kindly walked me back to my hotel. We went into the bar, and had a night cap; we both ordered a small brandy.
“I will certainly sleep well tonight.” We talked for a little while longer. Before he left I wrote down details about Marco, as Claudio had been so kind to offer to help me find him. To be honest I wasn't holding my breath, surely Marco would have contacted me by now if he really wanted to. I really enjoyed Claudio's company and hoped I would see a lot more of him. He had become a good friend to me in such short time, I felt like I had known him much longer than two days.
He told me he had to work for the next three days, then had a few days holiday. He gave me a kiss on my cheek and we said goodnight.
The next morning after tossing and turning, I decided to visit Marco's parents again.
They were very welcoming, and invited me to stay for a barbecue. There was so much food, and they had invited a lot of nice friends.
I asked Anna, Marco's mother if she had spoken to Marco since I was there.
She told me if she had she would tell me. But I wasn't so sure she would, after all Marco is her son. His father Emilio didn`t say much, but I noticed his angry expression every time Marco's name was mentioned. Emilio took me to one side and said.
“Marco is a very bad boy you know, he take much money from us, he never pay back, before he go to England.”
“Why did he need the money?” I asked him.
“He wanted to have a life in England, jobs are better there than here, he found work but he didn't repay us, we not have much money and we give him much of our savings. Our money is in this house.”
Emilio had tears in his eyes and I felt very sorry for them both.
I told him that Marco worked in an Italian Restaurant and that we had a guest house now, but Marco had never put a penny into the business. Neither did he give me any money for his daughter Violet.
“Basically I have kept Marco and he kept his own money for himself, but now I believe he has been sending it to his wife here in Italy, or keeping her in England somewhere. But the woman I saw him with could have been his sister.” I said. Remembering the picture Anna had showed me when I found out that Marco was already married, with a son. The resemblance of the women was exactly the same. I would have been a fool to believe that the woman I saw wasn’t the same as in the picture.
Emilio said Marco didn’t have a sister only two brothers.
Anna put her head in her hand, she told me that one of Marco's brothers was killed in a car crash; she showed me a picture of him.
“His name was Serge, he was a good boy, he was travelling back from work late at night, a lorry went out of control, the driver was drunk and my Serge was killed instantly.” She sobbed.
“I am so sorry, you must be heartbroken.” I asked her sympathetically.
“Yes I am. Also Antonio hasn't visited us since Serge's funeral, he took it so bad. But I am more hurt that Marco is a bad boy.
“Have you tried to contact Antonio?”
“We have, he don’t want to talk to us.”
“How did Marco take the news?" I asked her.
Anna laughed.
“Marco care only about himself, my husband isn't a well man she said, he has a bad heart, and all the pressure isn't good for hi
m.”
“Please let us see our granddaughter Violet?” She begged.
“Of course I will. Would you like to come to England? Is Emilio OK for travelling?”
“Yes he needs holiday, and will be good for him.”
“Well that’s settled when would you like to come?”
Anna decided Christmas would be a good time.
“Ok! Don’t worry about anything. I will arrange your travel and you don’t have to pay a penny.”
“Thank you, we are so grateful, you are a lovely woman.”
I said my goodbyes and went back to the hotel. I was really surprised to see Claudio sitting in the lobby..
“Hi Claudio! What are you doing here? I thought you had to work?” I asked.
“My last meeting was postponed, so I thought I would come and see you.”
“Have you been here long?” I asked.
“No, about ten minutes, that’s all. Where have you been?”
“I went to see Marco’s parents again.”
We had a drink in the bar and I invited him up to my room. We sat on the bed and talked for what seemed hours. Claudio moved closer and kissed me tenderly on the lips. I melted into his arms and kissed him back. We lay there hugging each other and dozed off. We were woken up suddenly
because we heard a disturbance outside the hotel and we heard my name being mentioned. We went onto the balcony, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Marco and his wife were arguing. Does Marco know I am staying at this hotel? I thought. Or is it just a coincidence. We stood there and listened to the conversation even though I couldn’t understand a word apart from my name.
“Sono sicuro di poter ripulire il nostro conto comune questa settimana. Il problema è la sua cassaforte. Io non conosco la combinazione per aprirla. Bella non mi ha mai permesso d’avere l’accesso.”
“Non m’interessa! Devi cercare di tenerti buona Bella finche hai ottenuto l’accesso al soldi. Capito? Sasha shouted.
I turned to Claudio. He looked fuming and was ready to go after Marco. I calmed him down and asked him what the conversation was about.
“Basically the whole conversation was about cleaning out your joint bank account and keep you sweet until he could get access to the money in your safe.” He said angrily.
I couldn't believe my ears. I wanted to shout something to them both. But I kept quiet, knowing then what a horrible man I had married, a liar and a cheat. I decided to play along with his horrible lies. I looked at the clock it was nearly midnight and wondered if Simon was still up. I had to call him. Thankfully he answered the phone. Claudio stood patiently by my side with his arm around me.
I burst into tears and told him everything I knew from start to finish. Simon was furious.
“I knew he wasn't right. but I didn't realise how bad he was.”
I told him that I had met his mother and father.
“They are such nice people. Marco has treated them very badly. He took money from them and never paid it back.”
“Don’t worry Bella, I will take the next available flight. I will probably arrive sometime tomorrow morning.” He said.
“Thanks Simon. How are the kids?”
“They are fine. Tammy is taking great care of them, but we have to sort this bloody mess out.”
Claudio stayed with me for the rest of the night because I didn’t want to be alone.
The next morning he received a call from a friend of his, regarding information about Marco.
“My friend says that Marco is a big crook and has swindled a lot of people out of money.”
I told Claudio how he took money from his parents, and never paid them back.
“Have you been to the bank recently Bella, to check whether any money has been taken out?” He asked.
“No I haven’t.” I answered. We thought it was better to go directly to the bank and check whether the money was still there. Luckily it was.
“It's not like he has put any money into our joint account, it’s actually all mine.” I said.
After we left the bank Simon called.
“Hi, just to let you know I’ve just arrived at the airport. My flight leaves in a couple of hours, so I will arrive at the hotel sometime this evening.
Claudio took me out for the rest of the day to take my mind off the situation. But I couldn't concentrate on anything. I just couldn`t believe how stupid I had been.
Simon called me when he landed and told me he would take a taxi straight to the hotel.
When he arrived I was so happy to see him. I introduced him to Claudio and he thanked him for looking after me.
We decided that I was to go back to England, and when Marco arrived I wasn’t to let him know anything. I was to leave a note hanging out of the guest house accounts book with the combination to the safe on it and wait for him to open the safe. As soon as he made a move I was to call the police. That was the only way we thought to trap a crook like him. I just didn't like the thought of putting his parents through any more heartache.
Claudio took me and Simon to a lovely restaurant for some dinner; we ate a lovely seafood risotto, drank a nice bottle of wine and chatted about our lives.
“I miss mother and father so much. Its times like this I need my parents.” I said.
“Bella you will always have me no matter what.” He said reassuringly.
“We should fly back to England soon; I miss the kids so much.”
Simon decided we should stay for another two days, then fly back.
Claudio went back to work, but said as soon as he had a few more days off he would fly to England.
I decided to take Simon to meet Marco's parents; they greeted him with open arms.
Emilio told us they had heard from Marco that morning.
“We couldn't believe it.”
I then told them how I’d heard a disturbance the night before outside my hotel and it had been Marco and his wife shouting and mentioning my name.
“What did he say?" Emilio asked me.
“He said that he was going to take money from our hotel safe. “Anna looked upset.
“Why he do this? “He is a bad boy!"
Anna told me he had asked them again for money.
“You didn't give any did you?” I said.
“No we didn't, he won’t get another penny of us.”
Simon noticed they had a guitar and asked if they minded him playing it. We sat and listened for a while, then Anna offered us some freshly baked bread, with a lovely minestrone soup and for afters we ate chocolate fudge cake. After we had eaten I told them before we left for England we would take them out to eat in Tuscany to say thank you for all the lovely food they had given us and the warm welcome.
I took Simon to a lovely ancient church that Claudio had pointed out, We then drove around the small narrow roads, there were little farmhouse's dotted around. Simon said that he’d never seen such beautiful scenery before. After we went back to the hotel because I needed a nap; I was tired and felt stressed.
Simon decided to share my room with me; we laid there talking about our parents and everything that had happened.
“Simon I feel like we haven’t had much luck lately. Surely it must be our turn for some.”
Simon put his arm around me and gave me a squeeze.
“Bella, I wish I could make everything right for you.”
I kissed Simon on the cheek.
I know you care very much Simon, but I should have realised what Marco was like.”
We must have drifted off to sleep. I woke up and looked at the clock; it was six in the morning. Obviously we must have been shattered. I got up, had a quick shower and got dressed before Simon woke up. When he was ready we went for a walk and stopped off for some breakfast. We had a plate of cheese and salami with some bread, and drank freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast.
Later that morning I decided to have my hair done while Simon did a bit of sightseeing. After we met up and went to pick up Marco’s parents.
Anna s
aid Emilio wasn`t feeling very well.
“It too much stress for him.” We walked around Tuscany for a while, and then took them to a restaurant called
Il Latino, a very rustic place, with lovely home cooked food. I had Spaghetti Alla Corte D'Assise which is a really spicy dish. Simon had pizza al fungi and Emilio and Anna had cannelloni. We all had a big portion of tiramisu for dessert.
I told Emilio and Anna about our parents, and our lives as children. Simon told them I was his little shadow as a child.
“Bella and I are very close.” He told them.
“Marco was such good child, so helpful. We never had problems with him until he was about twenty.” Anna said sadly.
After lunch we went for a drive out, Anna and Emilio said they wanted to show us a nice town called Massa Town. It was situated in a area with a wide variety of landscapes: in fact there wasn`t far to go before you reached the sea, the cultivated countryside, the hills, the rising rocky mountains of very pure waters, and what was one of the most precious things present in this region; the marble that has been dug and worked on since the Roman epoch in the quarries of the near Carrageen. I had never seen such beauty. In the evening we went to another lovely restaurant, it was a lovely end to a perfect day.
We drove Anna and Emilio home. The weather had been glorious, but after the heat we’d had, the weather wasn't looking very promising. I could hear a rumble of thunder in the distance, I hated storms.
“Bella I think we’re going to have hurry back to the hotel.” Simon said.
The rain was coming down heavily and the window screen wipers were not making much difference.
“Let’s pull over for a while and see if the rain subsides.” We both sat there in awkward silence for what seemed ages watching the rain.
Simon broke the ice, and stated talking about Tuscany and how beautiful it was.
The storm was getting worse; all I wanted to do was get back to the hotel.
“Bella the rain isn't going to stop so I will have to risk driving us back to the hotel.”
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