Alice went home to change at half-past four, thanking the instinct that had made her pack her riding clothes. Simonetta picked her up in the Land Rover and they made the short journey down to the stables. Emilia was a friendly but no-nonsense sort of woman, probably in her fifties, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Daphne who ran the stable at the manor back in Devon. Ten minutes later Alice was on a handsome bay called Horace – well, Orazio really – and she and Simonetta were on their way. To Alice’s surprise, Simonetta headed up the far side of the valley opposite the castle. As they walked their horses up a stony track, she explained why she had brought Alice over here.
‘From this side of the valley we get a really good view of all our land and you can point out to me where you think the best areas would be for crops and for livestock.’
At the far end of a field to the right of them, Alice briefly caught sight of a figure on foot. Although he was only visible for a matter of seconds and too far away for her to make out facial features, what was clear was that he was a tall man with fair hair and broad shoulders. At his side was a black dog – and from here it looked very much like a Labrador. As they disappeared from sight behind a thick clump of trees, Alice found herself questioning whether she really had seen the two of them, or whether this had been some weird trick of her imagination. She was giving herself a silent talking-to when Simonetta turned towards her, and the expression on her face was one of embarrassment, guilt even.
‘Alice, would you mind if I met you up at the top? I’ve just seen a friend of mine and I’d like to pop across for a quick chat.’
Alice was quick to agree and they arranged to meet at the point where the track emerged from the fields onto open grassland, probably half a mile above them or so. Horace the horse carried on picking his way stolidly up the track while Alice found herself wondering about that guilty expression she had spotted on Simonetta’s face. Was this because the man was somebody that Alice shouldn’t have seen? Were Simonetta and this man in some sort of romantic relationship even? But if this were the case, Alice asked herself, why should this be a problem? Was there something here that people weren’t supposed to know? Was he somebody else’s husband, for instance?
While Simonetta spurred her horse into a canter and headed across the field towards the clump of trees where the man and his dog had disappeared, Alice and Horace continued their leisurely walk up the track. This gradually curved around the top of the field, and a few hundred yards further on she distinctly saw Simonetta rein in her horse and climb off. That same man emerged from the trees and, while his dog jumped excitedly at Simonetta to be petted, the man enveloped her in his arms, and Alice saw them entwined in a loving embrace.
Two things were immediately clear: the man was unmistakably the same man she had seen in the restaurant and, just as clearly, Simonetta was in love with him, or at least very fond of him. And he appeared to feel the same way about her. Even his dog appeared to share his feelings.
To the accompaniment of the gentle clip-clop of Horace’s hooves, Alice gradually tried to make sense of what she had just seen. This discovery automatically removed the mystery man from her own life and by so doing should stop her from fantasising about him. Besides, Simonetta was her boss and, apart from the fact that Alice felt she was developing a real friendship with her, she wasn’t the type of woman to intrude on another woman’s relationship, even if a good-looking man like that turned out to be attracted to her. So this meant that this man who had so mysteriously fascinated her was now forever out of her reach.
But that was probably for the best, wasn’t it?
To her surprise, she felt considerable disappointment at the thought that he had now been removed from her life – without ever really being in it in the first place, if she was honest. She did her best to be positive and to tell herself once more that he had served a valuable purpose in making her realise that maybe the time had come for her to try to overcome the pall of insecurity that had swamped her since the accident and consider looking for a man for herself. As she surreptitiously watched the happy couple until they were masked from sight by more trees, she told herself she was happy for the two of them, but she couldn’t help a feeling of regret at what might have been. Still, as her dad so often said, there was no point crying over spilt milk.
‘Come on, Horace. Let’s get a move on, shall we?’ In case he didn’t understand English, she gave him a prod with her heels and he obediently broke into a trot.
Fifteen minutes later they came out onto the open grassland and Alice slowed to give Horace a rest. While he reached down to help himself to some of the lush green grass at the side of the vestigial path, she swivelled around in the saddle and looked back down the hillside. It looked like the track she had been following had probably been skirting around fields belonging to the mayor and his family. His red brick farmhouse with its outbuildings was now almost directly below her and she could see that it was a sizeable property. A herd of fifty or sixty cows in a field near the farm were being brought in for milking and she could hear the barking of a sheepdog as it rounded them up. Standing by the gate was a man. It was impossible to tell from this distance, but it looked like an older man, maybe the mayor himself. And Simonetta’s friend, the man with the Labrador? He, too, had been on Montorso land; could it be he was something to do with the Montorso family? That might explain the guilt on Simonetta’s face. Alice smiled to herself. All very Shakespearean.
The sound of hooves attracted her attention and she looked back to see Simonetta trotting briskly up the hill towards her. When she came to a halt alongside Alice, she was looking flushed, but whether that was as a result of the vigorous ride or her recent romantic encounter remained to be seen. Although Alice was intrigued, she knew that her employer’s personal life was no business of hers and so she resisted the urge to ask. As it turned out, she didn’t need to, because Simonetta had already decided to take her into her confidence.
‘Alice, can I ask you to keep a secret please, a big secret, a really big secret?’
‘Of course. I won’t tell a soul. What is it?’
Simonetta took a few moments to find the right words. ‘My friend back there, the man I’ve just been talking to, is Tommaso Montorso.’ She looked across at Alice and immediately saw that Alice had understood the implications of this information. ‘That’s right, his father’s the mayor, and his family and our family have been fighting for centuries. If his father saw me with him, he’d have a fit. I don’t know what he’d do, but he’s capable of anything.’
Alice reached over and gripped Simonetta’s arm for a moment, giving it an encouraging squeeze. ‘I was wondering if it might be something like that and I was just telling myself it sounded like something Shakespeare might have written.’ For obvious reasons, she didn’t attempt to liken Simonetta’s situation to that of Romeo and Juliet – after all, in that play both characters died.
Simonetta nodded miserably. ‘I know it sounds crazy in the twenty-first century and I’m sure you must find it incredible, but I’m in in such a terrible situation. Tommaso and I have known each other for years and I fell hopelessly in love with him ages ago. While I was working down in Parma it was OK. He and I spent most weekends together and nobody up here needed to know anything about it, but since I’ve moved back here after my mother’s death, we’ve had to be incredibly careful. Like I say, if Tommi’s father were to find out, it could end really badly.’
‘What about your father? How do you think he would react… if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘Papà would be shocked but, deep down, I know he’d want me to be happy.’ She shook her head regretfully. ‘But the problem isn’t with my father.’
‘And I suppose now, with all the work that’s going to be happening at the castle, you can’t just go off and elope. I see the problem. You’re stuck, aren’t you?’
‘I’m afraid I am – at least for now. I honestly don’t know how to get out of it and Tommi’s in a similar situation. He’s been running the farm for years now while his father’s been getting more and more involved with local politics. His mother couldn’t stand living with his father anymore and left him a few years ago, but Tommi felt he couldn’t just abandon the farm and run off to South America or somewhere with me, even if I could get away. Without him, their farm would grind to a halt and he has all the animals to consider, but more than that, he feels he has to stay to keep an eye on his father.’
‘In what way?’
‘Neither of us is a psychiatrist, but Tommi’s convinced his father’s suffering from some sort of progressive, deteriorating neurological illness. He says his father wakes up screaming in the night and his outbursts of anger and violence – he’s always been like that – are getting more serious and more frequent. Tommi feels he has to stick with him for his father’s sake and for the sake of the people around him, both at the farm and in the town, for fear that he’ll do something awful.’
‘How terrible for him… and for you.’
‘I know.’ Simonetta wiped the back of her hand across her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. ‘So Tommi and I are stuck having to tiptoe about like a couple of criminals, always waiting for somebody to see us together and tell his father. It’s like having the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.’
‘That’s absolutely dreadful.’ Alice reached over and gave her another comforting pat on the arm. ‘Anyway, look, thank you for telling me this, and if I can help out in any way, maybe by providing an alibi or something, don’t hesitate. I’m touched that you’ve trusted me with this news and I promise I won’t breathe a word to anybody.’
‘Thanks, Alice, that means a lot. I felt sure I could trust you and, to be honest. I just had to tell somebody. It’s been driving me crazy and of course, there’s nobody here I can talk to safely. I have lots of friends in the town, but I don’t dare take the risk of telling anybody local. Even in Parma hardly anybody knows about us. Tommi and I are forced to sneak around and we just can’t tell a soul.’
‘Not even your brother?’
‘Oh, Lord, no. I know he’d understand and he’d be very supportive, but ever since he was a little boy he’s been pathologically incapable of keeping a secret for more than a few hours. If I were to tell him, I know it would be all around the town by the end of the week.’ Simonetta summoned a weak smile. ‘Sorry to bother you with all my woes, but I just had to speak to somebody before I exploded.’
‘Well, just use me as a way of letting off steam. Like I say, anything you tell me won’t go any further.’
‘Thanks, Alice, you don’t know how much that means to me.’ Simonetta took another deep breath. ‘Now, I think it’s time you and I went for a proper ride. First one to the shepherd’s hut up there?’