- 27 -
Ben realised later that he had probably only passed out for a short time. The first thing that he became aware of was that he was lying on cold stone and that his shoulder hurt like hell. However there was also the compensation of having soft, dark hair brushing his forehead and the touch of a gentle pair of lips on his cheek.
He opened his eyes and found he was gazing up into Francesca’s beautiful face. It seemed to be haloed by the light in the ceiling. Had the fiery young woman turned into an angel? Was she an emissary of heaven? But her eyes were troubled. Ben was touched by the fact that she looked genuinely worried about him.
“Oh, thank God,” she gasped as she saw him open his eyes and his few seconds of bliss were at an end as she jumped up. “Quick! We must get out of the building before the fire burns down the door.”
Ben dragged himself reluctantly to his feet. His right shoulder hurt enough to have been dislocated by the recent fall and he found it was difficult to do anything with his arm. Francesca helped him up, all attention to his comfort. Now they were away from the fire she seemed to have recovered her strength.
Clinging to each other, they stumbled down the four flights of stone steps to the ground floor. They pulled the great oak door open and at last they were out in the cool night and running for safety. As they breathed in the pure fresh air they had to stop. Then they both began to cough. It built up slowly and agonisingly as the smoke came out of their lungs. There was nothing they could do to stop it. They couldn’t even find the breath to talk or the strength to help each other.
At last the coughing died away and Ben turned back to look at the house. Francesca too was gazing with a terrible fascination at the fire which was now bursting out of the roof of the wing of the villa where they had recently been fighting for their lives. The windows were great torches of flame - glass and frames had gone in the searing heat. Elsewhere in the house the lights were on and voices were shouting. In the distance he could hear the braying sirens of the fire engines which betrayed that someone had at least been awake to raise the alarm.
“Was I the only one sleeping in that wing?” asked Ben.
“Yes. That used to be the guest wing. It is hardly ever used these days.”
The thought which had been nagging at the back of his mind suddenly came to the surface. “Then someone was trying to kill me,” he said in as matter-of-fact a tone as he could muster.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone had locked the door between the corridor and the main house. If you hadn’t let yourself in by the back steps, we wouldn’t have been able to escape. Of course, they didn’t know about you – so you would have been an unfortunate accident.”
There was a long silence. At last Francesca said, “I wondered why Sylvia did not put you in Toni’s room.”
Ben paused for thought. “Who do you think would find me such a nuisance that they would want to kill me?”
“Who? Well - Sylvia of course.”
“Sylvia? You surely aren’t serious?”
“Of course I am. She is like a viper. She would not be afraid to kill you if you got in her way.”
“But why on earth should she want to kill me?”
Francesca shrugged. “I do not know. But she will have a reason. I think perhaps she fears something about you. She was watching you very carefully this evening. There is something about you that she does not like. When she knows she has failed to kill you she will try again.”
“I can’t believe that Sylvia is a cold-blooded murderer. She seems so -.” Ben was remembering the suggestive comments she had made to him when she came to his bedroom. He shook his head. “I’m sure she has no need to go around killing people to achieve her aims.”
Francesca laughed flatly. “I see the charms she can lay on have also had their effect on you. But you do not understand her. She will not kill you herself. She will arrange for someone else to do that and then sound quite regretful afterwards.”
Ben suddenly felt an urge to leave this house and get as far away as he could from the dangers it presented. His whole plan in coming to Italy seemed to have been completely destroyed. He had expected to be having long and perhaps difficult negotiations with Alfredo. Instead he seemed to be in danger from some sinister family organization about which he knew nothing. He was beginning to wonder if the mishap which had occurred just after he landed at Naples airport had really been the accident which he had assumed until now. He decided it was time he returned Francesca to her family and removed himself from danger.
But before he could tell her this, the cacophony of sound from the approaching emergency services burst fully upon them. All of a sudden there were men with hoses running everywhere. Very soon streams of water were playing onto the roof from all directions.
“Come on,” said Francesca. “We must go.”
“You can leave me. Go and find Alfredo so that he won’t worry about you. Don’t tell them anything about me. Let them assume that the fire has killed me. and that you were woken up by the noise. That will explain why you’re dressed.”
“What are you going to do?”
Ben grinned sheepishly. “I think I’ll go somewhere where I’ll be made a bit more welcome.”
“Then I will come with you.” Francesca folded her arms in a gesture of finality.
“You can’t do that. You’re the only daughter of a high-class family. Your place is with them. You can’t go walking around the streets of Naples at night on your own.”
She gave him a pitying look. “You sound just like my parents. Besides I will not be alone. I will be with you. My family will have to accept that.”
“I think I’ve got some sympathy for them,” he muttered.
“Well you may think what you wish, but I am not staying here,” said Francesca firmly.
“Where will you go?”
“I know a place which will do very well for the two of us,” she said. “We will be safe there for a few days. I will show you the way.”
Ben shook his head. “You can’t leave your family without a word. They will be worried about you. You must go back to them while you can. You will be quite safe with them.”
“Ben, will you please listen to me.” Francesca gazed straight into his eyes from a few inches away. He could almost feel the extraordinary energy coursing through her body. “This is my one chance to escape from the Vitelli. If I stay I shall never again have any freedom. Women do not have freedom in this part of Italy. Do you understand this? I want to get away now. I will not walk back into the prison which they are making for me. If you will not help me I shall have to go by myself.”
In the face of her intense passion Ben found himself silent. What could he do with her? The most sensible thing would be to step back and let her make her own way. He suspected that she was going to drag him into all sorts of problems. But could he just turn away and leave a young, vulnerable girl on her own?
“Ben. Will you please help me?” Now her voice was soft, caressing, wonderfully pleading.
He hung his head. “Well, OK. I suppose so. But I think that you should at least tell them what you are doing.”
“I will write them a letter and post it to them tonight. Will that satisfy you?”
Ben sighed. “I suppose so.”
“Well, that’s it, then.” She seemed almost gay. “I think perhaps we should leave before someone starts to look for us.”
The Mafia Emblem Page 27