Married Under The Italian Sun

From down below she heard a woman’s voice, sounding worried, almost tearful, then Vittorio Tazzini’s, seeming to comfort her. She just managed to get to her feet and brush her clothes down before the door opened and a powerfully built middle-aged woman entered, with Vittorio’s arm about her shoulder.

‘This is Berta,’ he explained in English. ‘She looks after the house and does a wonderful job.’ He translated this for the woman before reverting to English to say, ‘Unfortunately, she understands very little of your language, and she’s worried in case this counts against her.’

‘Why should it?’ Angel asked. ‘We can speak in Italian.’ She crossed her fingers and spoke slowly. ‘Berta, I’m sorry that I did not warn you I was coming. It was rude of me.’

To her relief, Berta understood, and a smile broke over her broad face. She too spoke slowly.

‘If the signora will come down to the kitchen I will prepare coffee while the room is made ready.’

As they descended the stairs, Angel could see that the household was already alive to her presence. All the staff were buzzing around her bags, beginning to take them upstairs, but not before they’d given her quick looks of curiosity.

She could sense the other woman’s unease, and it touched her heart. She hadn’t come here to hurt anybody.

When Berta served up coffee, Angel thanked her with her warmest smile and said in slow, clear Italian, ‘This looks delicious. I’m sure we’re going to get on really well.’

Berta nodded, looking happier.

‘By the way, is this what you were looking for?’ she asked Vittorio, holding out the little book.

‘Yes, it was. Thank you. Where did you find it?’

‘It had fallen through a hole in the bottom of one of the wardrobes.’

Berta tut-tutted. ‘There now! Such a state some of the furniture’s in! But you’ll be able to see to it, won’t you?’

To Angel’s surprise, this was addressed to Vittorio.

‘Why should you say that?’ she asked. ‘Now that Signor Tazzini’s property has been found I see no reason for him to come here again.’

Berta’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Oh, dear! You haven’t said—’

‘Haven’t said what?’ Angel asked, her eyes kindling.

‘It’s only—you knowing nothing about the estate,’ Berta faltered, ‘and the padrone knowing so much…’

‘Perhaps you’d better leave us for a moment, Berta,’ Vittorio said quietly.

‘Si, padrone.’

It was the word ‘padrone’ that reduced Angel’s patience to danger level. Berta had called him ‘master’ because that was how she still saw him. And the way she scuttled out underlined the unwelcome fact.

‘Do you mind telling me what’s going on?’ Angel said coolly. ‘Because everyone seems to know, except me. In fact, you seem to have made quite a few decisions that I know nothing about. Perhaps it’s time you informed me.’

‘All right, it’s very simple,’ he said in a hard voice. ‘You need an estate manager, a real expert, and that means me. You haven’t a hope of doing it on your own, you’ve already proved that.’

‘Damned cheek!’

‘Well, face facts. You don’t know the first thing about the lemons you grow, not even what type they are. How often do they need watering? How long between planting and harvesting? How often do they flower? The whole prosperity of this place depends on intensive knowledge, or your harvest will fail. And I didn’t spend years working myself to a standstill to see you throw it away.’

‘If that’s your way of asking me to hire you, you’re making a very bad job of it.’

‘Don’t waste my time with that sort of talk. I’m not asking you to hire me. I’m telling you. You don’t have a choice.’

‘The hell I don’t!’

‘That’s right, you don’t. You need me, that’s the plain fact, so why waste time?’

‘And you did it all on your own, did you? Without you there’s no one except the “workhorse” you mentioned?’

‘No, I had a staff of three gardeners, but they’ve gone except for that one. The other two left when the place was sold.’

‘How interesting! They both made the same sudden decision, did they?’

‘They did.’

‘And both left on the same day?’

‘In the same hour.’

‘What a remarkable coincidence! I wonder exactly how it came about.’

Her ironic tone left no doubt of her meaning, and Vittorio’s eyes darkened.

‘You mean, I take it, that I encouraged them, in order to harm you?’

‘It seems pretty clear.’

He moved towards her so suddenly that she couldn’t stop herself from taking a step back, although it maddened her to yield so much as an inch. She found her back against the wall.

‘Listen to me,’ he said, in a soft, deliberate voice, full of menace. ‘You are very confused about what is clear and what is not clear, so I am going to make several things clear to you.’

‘This conversation is over,’ she said, trying to move sideways and away from him.

But he stopped her by placing both hands on the wall, on either side of her.

‘No, this conversation is not over until I say so, and I have decided that there are things you must hear first.’

‘And I say I don’t want to, so you will move away and let me go right now.’

‘Will I, indeed? And who is going to make me? You? Try it.’

She would have been mad to try. Even though he wasn’t actually touching her she had a fierce sense of the wiry strength in his body, and knew that she was no match for him. To fight would merely be undignified.

His eyes were fixed on her face, following her thoughts exactly. He grinned, and it was an alarming sight.

‘Nor will any of the others help you against me. Do you think they will?’

Dismayed, she knew the answer. In the eyes of the household, he was still the master.