She wondered how many other women had been beguiled into his arms, and what had happened to them when it was over. She suspected that Dante would always be the one to say goodbye, treating love easily, never lingering too long. But there was more to him than that; instinct, too deep to be analysed, told her so.
His tone changed, becoming what he would have called ‘prosaic’.
‘While I think of it-’ he reached into his wallet and handed her a wad of notes ‘-you can’t walk around without any money.’
‘But you just said you wouldn’t-’
‘We’re back in the real world. You must have something. Here.’
Staggered, she looked at the amount. ‘So much? No, Dante, please-I can’t take this.’ Accepting some of the notes, she tried to thrust the rest back at him.
‘You don’t know what you may need,’ he said firmly, pushing her hand away. ‘But what you will definitely need is your independence, and with that you’ll have it. Put it away safely.’ He sounded like a school master.
‘But what about keeping me in your power?’ she asked, tucking it into her bag. ‘Making me independent isn’t going to help your evil purpose.’
‘True,’ he mused. ‘On the other hand, nothing gained by force is really satisfying. It’s better when she knocks on his door and says she can’t live any longer without his wild embraces. Much more fun.’
‘And do you think I’m going to do that?’
He seemed to consider this. ‘No, I think you’ll go to the stake before you yield an inch. But, as I said before, a man can dream.’
They regarded each other in perfect, humorous understanding.
Afterwards they drove back to the villa slowly, where supper was just being prepared.
‘Some people only turn up just before a meal,’ Francesco jeered, giving Dante a friendly thump on the shoulder.
He’d gone home and returned with his wife, Celia, whom he now drew forward.
Ferne would hardly have guessed that Celia was blind. She was bright and vivacious with a way of turning her head, clearly aware of what was happening around her. They fell easily into conversation, sitting on the terrace and chatting about their work. Celia’s career was making the world accessible to the blind.
‘I’m working on a scheme to make theatres more friendly,’ she said. ‘It involves an ear-piece with a description of the action. Francesco and I were in London a couple of months ago, going to lots of shows so that I could get some ideas, and we went to a performance where everyone was going crazy over the star, Sandor Jayley. They said he looked incredibly sexy in a little Roman tunic.
‘But Francesco wouldn’t tell me that, and I had to find out afterwards when apparently there were some deliciously scandalous pictures of Sandor in the papers. Why, what’s the matter?’
Dante had drawn a sharp breath. The sight of his appalled face made Ferne burst out laughing.
‘Have I said something wrong?’ Celia begged.
‘No, not at all,’ Ferne choked. ‘It’s just that…’
Briefly she told the story and Celia covered her mouth in horror.
‘Oh no! What have I done? I never meant-Please, please-’
‘It’s all right,’ Ferne hurried to say. ‘I saw the funny side of it ages ago. Oh heavens!’ She went off into gales of laughter again, then calmed down and tried to reassure Celia that she wasn’t in a state of collapse. It took a while, but at last she managed it.
When she looked up Dante was observing her with a strange smile and a look in his eyes that might have been admiration. From inside the house they heard Hope’s voice.
‘Ferne, dear, are you there? I need your help.’
‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ Ferne said, hurrying away.
Celia listened as Ferne’s footsteps faded, then turned to Dante.
‘She’s gorgeous,’ she said. ‘You’re a lucky man.’
‘What makes you think she’s mine?’
‘Francesco says you can’t take your eyes off her.’
‘And with reason. She’s worth looking at.’
‘I think her face is gentle and kind, like her voice, when she went to so much trouble to reassure me. She sounds lovely.’
‘She is lovely,’ Dante murmured.
‘Is she really all right about that man-the one they call “sexy legs”?’
‘Would you mind not saying that?’ Dante said in a strained voice.
‘You’ve really got it bad, haven’t you?’
‘I decline to answer,’ he said after a moment. ‘Shall we go in to supper?’
That evening was one of the most pleasant Ferne had ever spent. As the sun faded, lights came on in the garden and at last everyone drifted away from the table to drink their wine under the trees.
‘I think your family has found the secret of happy marriage,’ Ferne murmured. ‘They all look like courting couples-even Hope and Toni, after all these years.’
Dante nodded. ‘Hope says that’s all down to Toni, the sweetest-natured man in the world. He’s always been very kind to me. I’m glad he has happiness now, even if it’s in the sunset rather than the sunrise.’
‘I wonder if that could be better.’
‘I doubt it. Who can ever tell what their own sunset is going to be?’
‘Perhaps wondering about it is one of the pleasures of life?’ she suggested.
He gave a little shrug. ‘Perhaps. Let’s go where we can watch the Naples sunset.’
Totally content, she let him lead her to a place where they could stand beneath the trees and watch the miracle that was happening over the bay. For a dazzling moment the light was deep red, seeming to set the sea on fire, and they watched it in awed silence.
‘No matter how often I see that,’ he murmured, ‘it never fails. As long as there’s so much glory in the world…’ He fell silent.
‘Have you spent much time here?’ Ferne asked.
‘Since my parents died I’ve kind of moved around the family, living with aunts, uncles, grandparents. This was where I came in the summer, and I loved it. It felt more home than anywhere else.’
‘But it sounds sad to be moving around the family, not really having a settled base.’
‘I like having a big family. There’s nothing to compare with the feeling that you have the whole tribe behind you.’
‘Isn’t there one member of the tribe you need more than the others?’
‘Hope and Toni have been like second parents. Apart from them, no. Like you, I’m an only child, but I thrive on having plenty of cousins.’
At last everyone drifted back to the house. There were children to be put to bed, and Hope wanted an early night. Ferne was glad of the chance to go to her room to be alone and think about everything that had happened to her.
To think about Dante Rinucci.
He was attractive, amusing, sexy and clearly in the mood for a diversion. Since she felt the same, there was really no problem, except for the little voice in her head that kept saying, Beware!
But beware what? she asked herself.
There’s something about him that doesn’t add up.
Nonsense. I’m just being fanciful.
She put on a night-gown, took out her laptop and connected it to her digital camera. In a moment she was looking at the pictures Dante had taken of her, trying to recognise herself.
Who was this woman with the come-hither look, giving the man that teasing smile because she was basking in his attention? It was an illusion. Dante had summoned that look from her in the joking spirit that seemed natural to him, and somehow he’d persuaded her to glance sideways, smiling, to intrigue him as he intrigued her. This man was a natural showman with the gift of luring everyone else into the show. There was no more to it than that, and she mustn’t forget.