Page 49 of A Chance in a Million
A single tear ran down her cheek, but she made no move to wipe it away. Just like the feather, Mark had gone and she was left here to continue with her life. She savoured the months she had spent with him but she now knew that the moment to move on had arrived. By the time the breeze and the heat had dried the tear on her cheek, she felt the beginnings of a smile forming on her face. She didn’t know what the future might hold for her, but she knew she was not only ready for it, she was looking forward to it.
Chapter 27
The night before her flight to the UK, David surprised her and the rest of the inhabitants of the villa by announcing that he was going to do a barbecue and they were all invited. Because of Linda he made it an early evening event, and the setting sun was still warm on Jane’s back as she walked up past the villa to his house. The shade provided by the ancient trees surrounding it came as a welcome relief from the August heat. Following her nose, she walked around to the side of the house and found David already busy at the grill. By his side, predictably, was his dog. Dino wagged his tail when she appeared but the enchanting aroma of grilling meat kept his nose firmly pointed at the main attraction.
David looked up and she saw his eyes smiling. ‘Ciao, Jane. Help yourself to a drink. I daren’t take my eyes off the meat or we’ll be eating cinders.’
She shot him a big smile. ‘What about you? Can I get you a drink while I’m at it?’
‘There’s cold beer in the fridge in the kitchen. If you don’t mind, I’d love one.’
By the time Jane came out with two bottles of beer, the others had arrived and Maria ignored David and Jane’s protests and insisted on taking over as waitress, pouring Prosecco for the grown-ups and her own home-made lemonade for Linda and herself. Jane went over to join the group and stood with them, looking out over the village and onwards down the valley. Today the plains beyond were almost completely shrouded in heat haze and she felt sure the temperature and humidity down there must be uncomfortably high. Beside her, Diana was thinking the same thing.
‘I was talking to Silvana this afternoon. It’s thirty-six degrees in Vicenza today.’ She glanced at Jane. ‘Was it terribly hot in Iraq?’
‘The summer months were absolutely boiling.’ She was delighted to be able to talk increasingly freely about this now. ‘One time I had to reprimand a couple of my men for frying bacon and eggs on the bonnet of their Land Rover – that’s how hot it was. Trouble is, it ruins the paintwork.’
‘My men?’ Diana giggled. ‘What was it like being in command of a bunch of hunky men? It must have felt strange.’
Jane grinned. ‘They weren’t all hunky by any means but, yes, it was a bit weird at first but I soon got used to it – and them to me.’
‘David, did you ever get bossed about by a woman?’ Diana went over to see how the food was coming on and Jane went with her.
‘Apart from Mum, Nonna, Maria, and you and your sister, you mean? No, I don’t think that ever happened.’ He flicked that little internal switch and addressed Maria in Italian. ‘I’m just saying how you used to boss me about.’
Maria smiled back at him. ‘And I still do. Now concentrate on what you’re doing and look out for those sausages or they’ll burn.’
He glanced back at Diana and Jane and winked. ‘See what I mean.’
He didn’t burn the sausages and the meal was excellent. It was all very simple – meat, spicy sausages, grilled cheese and salad – but it was exactly what they needed on a sultry evening like this. They ate seated around a long table made from a pair of diagonal slices taken from what must have been a massive tree trunk. It was mounted on hefty trestles and positioned beneath two chestnut trees, from where there was an unimpeded view across the hills. It was a delightful evening in good company, and it would have been very peaceful if a pair of red squirrels hadn’t chosen to put in an appearance in the branches high above them just as the sun went down.
The humans were all instantly deafened by Dino’s furious barking as he scrabbled ineffectively at the tree trunk in a vain attempt to climb up and see the squirrels off, and it was only when David handed him the T-bone from the grilled steak to eat that he finally subsided. While the charming little animals continued to play in the branches above, sinister growls came from under the table, accompanied by even more sinister cracking and crunching sounds as the dog took out his pent-up aggression on the bone.
Silence once more descended on the table and Jane heard David give a heartfelt sigh. ‘Thank the Lord for that; a bit of peace and quiet.’ He disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with three candles which he lit and set on the table. There wasn’t a breath of wind and they didn’t even flicker. A few minutes later he returned to the kitchen and brought out a strawberry tart and a big tub of ice cream. As he served dessert, he explained that he had got both from the shop in the village.
‘I’m all right at grilling meat and that sort of thing, but I’ve never tried baking.’ He switched seamlessly into Italian. ‘You’re the best baker I know, Maria. Maybe I should ask you to teach me. What about you, Jane? What are you like in the kitchen?’
‘Sponge cake and chocolate brownies are about my limit. Maybe we should both take lessons from Maria.’ She was delighted to see him looking and sounding so relaxed and communicative. Maybe he had been telling the truth when he had told her he was coming out of whatever had been troubling him. She certainly hoped so.
When the meal came to an end and he and Maria served coffees and teas, Diana groaned theatrically and glanced down at Linda whose eyes were closing. ‘This little one needs to go to bed, so I think I’ll head back to the villa as well. It’s the heat, saps your strength… mind you, the Prosecco probably doesn’t help.’
Luciana pulled herself to her feet and reached for her sticks and Flora followed. ‘We’ll come with you. I’m asleep on my feet.’
Veronica was following suit when a thought struck her. ‘Jane, what time are you off in the morning?’
‘The flight’s late afternoon. I’ll head off after lunch. In fact, I was going to ask if somebody could give me a lift.’
She saw David look up, but Veronica beat him to it with a sensible suggestion. ‘Just take one of the cars and leave it at the airport. If you take the Fiat, that leaves the Mercedes and David’s got his car as well. Just take it.’
David looked almost disappointed and Jane wondered if he had been about to offer to take her. Certainly, another hour of his company would have been nice, but the car suggestion was eminently sensible so she thanked Veronica and accepted the kind offer.
After the others, including Maria and Alvise, had started to leave, Flora hung back and caught Jane by the arm. Lowering her voice, she glanced over to where David was clearing up the dirty dishes. ‘Why don’t you stay and give David a hand? I’m sure he’d like that.’ She accompanied this with a little wink before turning and following the others.
She left Jane feeling nonplussed. First her mum, then Paolo and now Flora appeared to have worked out that she was falling for David. Was she really that transparent?
‘Jane, help me finish this bottle of Prosecco, will you? It’s a shame to see it go to waste.’
David’s voice roused her from her daze and she turned back towards him.
