Page 59 of A Chance in a Million
Veronica’s face cracked into a gentle smile. ‘But not in the same way as David likes you. Tell me, what do you think of him? I promise I won’t say a word.’
To Jane’s own surprise, she answered immediately and honestly, without any attempt at diplomacy or caution. ‘I think I’m falling in love with him… In fact I think Ihavefallen in love with him.’ The smile on her employer’s face only broadened so she took heart and carried on. ‘The thing is, your mother-in-law’s been telling me about Scarlett and I’m scared stiff he’s going to shut me out for fear of the same thing happening again. And of course, the last thing I would ever want is to compromise my relationship with you if you disapproved.’
‘Falling in love with my son is the most wonderful thing you could ever do for me.’ Veronica reached over and squeezed Jane’s hand tenderly. ‘I really mean that.’ Her expression then became much less affectionate. ‘As for Scarlett, David was a very good soldier but a seriously bad judge of women. We could all see she was wrong for him but he wouldn’t see reason – right up to the bitter end.’ Shaking her head to clear the sad memories, Veronica began to smile once more. ‘I’m delighted his taste in women has improved so spectacularly. I couldn’t ask for better.’
Fortunately the waiter returned with their coffees at that moment and Jane’s blushes were able to subside before she responded. ‘It’s not just me. From what I heard at the wedding, his men thought the world of him as well. Special Forces don’t do gallantry medals but it sounds as though he’s far more deserving of one than I was.’ She reached into her bag and brought out Taffy’s note. Without a word, she pushed it across the little table to Veronica, who took it, opened it and read it. It took a couple of minutes before she commented and her voice was heavy with emotion.
‘That’s so good to read. His father would have been immensely proud.’ She looked up and Jane could see the tears sparkling in her eyes, but a little smile also appeared. ‘I’m pleased to see that this chap shares my feeling that you and David should be together.’
‘I just hope David does.’
At exactly seven o’clock they went into the hospital, and after checking in at the front desk, they climbed the stairs to the second floor. All the time Jane was bracing herself for what she was going to see. For days now she had been doing her best not to think of the horrific images she had seen of disfigured soldiers from the First World War – some with no jaw bone or with appalling scarring to their faces. Nevertheless, she had convinced herself that she didn’t care what he looked like and she told herself firmly that she had fallen in love with the man beneath the beard – whatever he looked like. But that didn’t lessen her anxiety.
A nurse met them and accompanied them to a side room separated from the corridor by a glass screen. In there, propped up on two or three pillows was David and as Jane caught sight of him a massive wave of relief flooded over her and her heart went out to him. He was looking good – in fact far better than she had imagined. All right, he was pale, but of course, she told herself, it was probably because the skin of his face had been buried beneath inches of bushy beard for years now. The hair on his head was now little more than half an inch long and it suited him far better than his unruly thatch. The clean-shaven right side of his face was every bit as handsome as in her photo, while the left side was covered by a white dressing, as was his left ear but the shape of the jawbone beneath didn’t look abnormal. Veronica had told her that this would hopefully be the final bout of reconstructive surgery he would undergo and from what Jane could see so far, it looked like it had been successful.
The nurse pointed to a button on the wall below the window which, when pressed, allowed two-way communication. After she had gone off, Jane pressed and held the button and indicated to Veronica that she could speak to him.
‘Ciao, David, how’re you feeling?’
‘Physically fine, thanks, Mum. Just a bit frustrated. I’m hoping they’ll let me out before long.’ He waved. ‘Hi, Jane, thanks for coming.’
That also sounded positive so she waved back and kept it light. ‘How much did you have to pay the barber? Removing all that hair can’t have been a quick job.’
He smiled and then grimaced. ‘Ouch. They tell me it’s good to keep my face muscles moving but every time I smile it hurts. As for the barber, I gave him a hefty tip. He deserved it. I imagine he’s got enough to stuff a pillow.’ It was good to hear him sounding cheerful.
He chatted to them for some minutes until a masked nurse appeared with a tray of food for him and Jane slipped the note from Taffy onto the tray, adding a few words of explanation through the window.
‘Your friend Taffy gave me a note for you. I suggest you read it after we’ve gone.’ Hastily changing the subject, she pointed to his tray, on which she could see a bowl of minestrone soup and what looked like a crème caramel. ‘How’s the food?’
He grimaced. ‘I’m on liquids and soft foods only for the time being. The food here’s okay but it isn’t a patch on Marcello’s. Remember thefritto misto?’ He sounded positively nostalgic.
‘How could I forget? It was amazing.’ She glanced across at Veronica. ‘In fact we’re taking the Hollywood people there on Friday.’
She nodded in agreement. ‘Yes, indeed. David, do you think you’ll be able to make it? The meeting’s at home at ten and then we’re all going to Burano.’
‘I’ll do my very best. The medics say it’s all healing up fast.’
‘I do hope so.’ Veronica pointed at the tray of food. ‘The nurse said not to make you talk too much so we’ll leave you to your meal. You don’t want it to get cold. We’ll see you tomorrow.’
Jane gave him a big smile and a wave but she felt the same sense of frustration he had mentioned. The sooner she could sit down and have a serious talk with him the better.
Chapter 32
Next day Diana took Jane over to the Lido along with Linda and the dog. Arriving at the island they motored up a narrow canal amid noticeably more modern buildings with cars parked all along the sides of the roads. Coming from the car-freecentro storico, this was quite a shock to the system. They moored up at a pontoon just behind the Palazzo del Cinema, a modernist building of the Fascist era with flags of all nations along the edges of the flat roof and hung with banners advertising the upcoming event. For now, it was all still closed up and they walked past it and headed for the beach. There were many fine residences with flourishing gardens all around, but most looked as if they dated back a century or two at most, rather than to Renaissance times like the old part of the city they had left behind.
Diana took Dino for a walk while Jane and Linda went for a swim. David was never far from Jane’s thoughts and she had just settled back on her sunbed to dry when she received a call from him and her heart leapt. She glanced down at the little girl and mouthed the words ‘It’s Uncle David’.
‘Hi, David, still locked up?’
‘Not for much longer. I should be out tomorrow, and apparently I can even start receiving visitors from this evening. I’ll be all bandaged up for a while but they tell me they’re happy with the progress I’m making.’ There was a pause before he spoke again, this time sounding more serious. ‘Thanks for bringing me Taff’s note. I’m glad you met him. He’s one of my closest friends.’
‘He told me you saved his life, and the lives of all the others that day.’
‘All I did was to call off the attack. Any normal person would have done the same – you said it yourself. I bet Taff didn’t tell you he was the guy who carried me off the battlefield under fire.’
‘I thought you said you were walking wounded.’
‘Well, maybe that was a bit of an understatement, but at least I was conscious.’ There was another pause. ‘I couldn’t help noticing what he said about me and you. I think we’d better have a talk, don’t you?’
