Page 64 of The Secrets of Ashmore Castle (Ashmore Castle #1)
The Villa Isabella was set in lavish vegetation on top of a cliff, with a view from the terrace over the Bay of Naples that literally took Kitty’s breath away.
She couldn’t believe the sea could be so blue – it almost ached in the afternoon sunshine.
The air was fragrant with pine and myrtle, and in the dense green there were splashes of colour from bougainvillaea and hibiscus, and the starry white flowers of jasmine.
It was, she thought, as close to Paradise as one could probably get.
The villa was an old building, the rooms simply but pleasingly furnished.
Life mostly took place on the verandah or the terrace: there they took their meals, and there they sat in the shade through the heat of the day, cooled by gentle breezes.
There were winding walks along the clifftop, the Roman ruins to visit, boat trips around the island, and to see the Blue Grotto; and best of all, from Kitty’s point of view, sea-bathing.
The Isabella had its own small beach, sheltered at the foot of the cliff, with a zigzag path, intercut with steps, leading down from the terrace.
She had been nervous on her first venture into the water, but once she had got used to it, she could hardly bear to get out.
She bathed every day, going down in the cool of the morning through the scented trees, hurrying to the water as to a lover.
Lowering herself into its supporting arms was the greatest bliss she had known, except for Giles.
The next house along, the Villa Caprini, was occupied by Lord and Lady Latham, their son David and daughter Louisa, who were twenty-five and twenty-three, and David’s friend Matteo, with whom he had been at university in Oxford.
They and the Lombardis knew each other from previous visits, and the two parties intermingled frequently.
Now that most of the conversation was in English Kitty did not feel left out.
That, plus being away from the stifling heat, lifted her spirits.
Matteo spoke very good English, as good as Lucia’s, but he reverted to Italian for some conversations with Giulia – long tête-à-tête talks, which pleased Kitty.
Matteo was darkly handsome in the Mediterranean way, and if his interest in Giulia did not entirely separate her from Giles, it broke them up a little.
With her reviving spirits, she wanted Giles more than ever.
For the first few days he was attentive to her, took her to see the most interesting ruins, explained some of the island’s history and told her the names of flora and fauna.
When everyone gathered on the terrace for conversation, he chose the seat at her side.
He did not seem particularly interested in the Lathams, whose conversation was light and general.
Kitty liked it – it was easy and unchallenging, and reminded her of the five-o’-clocks she had enjoyed during her come-out, the unimportant chatter of the fashionable set.
Giles usually sat silent at these times, joining in only when addressed.
Kitty and Giles did not have adjoining bedrooms – his was across the passage from hers.
On the first few evenings they went up to bed at the same time, and she was able, through looks and a few hesitant words, to indicate that she would like him to visit her – and he did.
She was happy: she felt that things had come right again, and Florence was fading into a bad dream.
But then Giles and Flavio went on an expedition together to one of the ruins, and Giles, kissing Kitty lightly goodbye, said, ‘You wouldn’t enjoy it.’
Well, perhaps she wouldn’t have. But she missed him.
And that evening, when he and the professor talked about it, it seemed as much to Giulia as anyone that Giles spoke.
They had all been talking English, for the benefit of the general company, but Matteo, changing his place to sit beside Giulia, began addressing her in a low voice in Italian.
Giles frowned, and said sharply, ‘In English, if you please. Remember, not all here are fluent in Italian.’
Lady Latham, who did not speak any Italian, said, ‘Oh, yes, please, let us all hear.’
Giulia looked uncomfortable. ‘We were talking of secret passages,’ she said, in her soft, hesitant accent.
‘Is it true,’ Louisa asked, ‘that there’s a secret passage to the Blue Grotto, and the Emperor used it as his private swimming pool?’
‘Quite true – is it not, Giles?’
Kitty listened absently. She was more interested in watching: Giulia’s eyes were fixed on Giles, and Matteo’s were fixed on Giulia.
And Giles: where did his interest lie? He was talking about secret passages, and dividing his looks now between Lady Latham and Louisa, but where was his mind?
Kitty knew every inflection of her husband’s voice, and she didn’t think he was giving his whole attention to the subject, even when it progressed to Etruscan catacombs.
But whatever he was thinking about, she knew it wasn’t her.
David, changing places to sit beside her, murmured, ‘You seem to be miles away, Lady Stainton. Roman ruins not quite catching your attention tonight?’
She made an effort, and smiled. ‘One can have enough of them.’
‘True. And on a night like this – did you ever see such a moon? – one can’t help thinking a nightingale would be more worth listening to than human voices.’
‘I’ve never heard a nightingale,’ Kitty said.
‘Really? You should get Lord Stainton to take you to the San Michele gardens one evening. You can always hear them there.’ They were silent for a moment, both staring at Giulia.
Then David said, ‘Don’t you think Italians have an unfair advantage over us?
All that lustrous black hair and such—’ He broke off, and said awkwardly, ‘I beg your pardon. I meant no comparison – so clumsy of me!’
‘Don’t apologise,’ Kitty said, in a low voice. ‘Every reasonable person must agree that Giulia Lombardi is beautiful.’
‘I’m not sure,’ David said, looking moodily at Matteo, ‘that reason comes into it.’
That night, after the Latham party had left, and Kitty got up to go to bed, Giles did not rise with her, but smiled vaguely and said, ‘I’ll be up soon.’
And he didn’t come.
Kitty hadn’t slept well. When Marie came in, she asked, ‘What time is it?’
‘Half past nine, my lady. I didn’t wake you when I came in the first time, you seemed so deep asleep.’
Kitty sat up, trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head. The intensity of the light on the blinds told her it was a hot day out there. Even in here it was warm enough to make her skin unpleasantly damp. ‘Is his lordship up?’ she asked.
‘He’s gone out, my lady.’
‘Out?’
‘To look at some ruin or other. It was thought it’d be too hot later so he wanted an early start. I believe he said they’d be back by midday.’
‘I think I’ll go for a bathe,’ Kitty said.
She found her host and hostess sitting in the shade of the verandah reading, and looked at the professor with surprise. ‘I thought you’d gone to look at a ruin.’
He glanced up and smiled. ‘Good morning, my dear. Going for your swim? No, it was too hot for me this morning.’
‘I think there might be thunder later,’ Lucia said.
‘Giulia went with Giles,’ Flavio went on. ‘She knows the way – and she knows as much about it as I do. Not much left above ground, but there are some interesting tesserae – nothing complete, of course, just fragments, but—’
‘Flavio, caro , she doesn’t need to hear all the details,’ Lucia interrupted smilingly. ‘I told them to be back by midday, so they’ll be quite all right. The storm, if it comes, won’t be until later, around sunset. Will you have some breakfast, my dear?’
They seemed so at ease about Giulia and Giles going off together that Kitty felt ashamed of her own inward reaction of anger and surprise. But she had seen, as perhaps they had not, the way Giulia looked at him.
The thought of food sickened her. ‘No, thank you. I think I’ll sea-bathe first. I don’t feel hungry.’
‘Shall I come with you?’ Lucia asked.
‘There’s no need. The sea’s calm and I only want to lie in the water. I shan’t swim out.’
‘Well, see that you don’t,’ Lucia said, too comfortable to get up. The thought of the walk down the path in the heat, and then up again …
Kitty was sitting on one of the sofas on the verandah when Giles and Giulia came back.
David and Louisa had come over from the Villa Caprini, though without Matteo, who had gone to visit Italian friends elsewhere on the island.
All five were having a desultory conversation about nothing in particular; the heat had become oppressive, and the sky in the distance looked congested, the blue faded to grey, then darkening to pewter on the horizon.
The returning explorers looked hot, but happy, as though they had spent a stimulating morning. ‘You see, we’re back before your storm, Lucia,’ Giles called cheerfully, as they came up to the verandah. ‘Is that lemonade? I’m terribly thirsty.’
‘Did you see the horse’s head mosaic?’ Flavio asked. ‘It is thought to be part of a mounted image of Tiberius. He was a fine soldier, you know,’ he added to Kitty, ‘before he went to the bad.’
‘A noted general,’ Lucia added. ‘After the campaigns of his brother Drusus—’
‘Oh, more history lessons,’ David interrupted. ‘Dear madama , it’s too hot!’
Giulia ignored him. ‘We didn’t find any fossils,’ she said to her father. ‘Not even animal bones. I’m sure there were wild goats once.’
Giles had poured himself a glass of lemonade, and came and sat heavily by Kitty.
He smelt hot and dusty. ‘There’s some dispute over whether the name of this island came from the Latin for “goat” or the Etruscan word for “rocky”,’ he said.
Kitty supposed he was speaking for her education, but he had not so much as looked at her yet.
‘You know there’s no evidence for Etruscan connections with the island,’ Giulia said, with mock sternness. It sounded like an argument they had had before.