Page 9 of A Chance in a Million
‘And that’s where Signora Flora, Her Ladyship’s mother-in-law, lives. Maria told me.’
‘Yes, indeed, and she’s a fine lady. I’ve known her for ages and she has a heart of gold.’ He caught Jane’s eye and grinned. ‘Although she can hide it pretty well when she wants to.’
‘Maria said she was a feisty old lady.’
‘Definitely, and woe betide you if she hears you calling her “old”.’
He cast off and they motored sedately – he told her there was a very strict speed limit all over the lagoon – back up the Grand Canal and he pointed out a number of places of interest as they passed. By the time they reached the station Jane was almost overwhelmed by the succession of iconic buildings they had seen, from art galleries and museums to imposing palazzi and, of course, the magnificent arches and pillars of Venice Casino – according to Alvise, the oldest casino in the world – its main entrance opening onto a landing stage protected from the elements by a very classy red cloth canopy. Jane could imagine a succession of launches like theirs, laden with formally dressed ladies and gentlemen, jockeying for position on busy nights, and she wondered if the inside of the building was as impressive as the exterior.
They left the launch just past the station at a private landing stage behind which was a solid old red brick garage. Inside there was a big Mercedes 4x4 and a little Fiat 500. Dino leapt eagerly into the rear of the Mercedes and they set off up the causeway to the mainland. The grey-green waters of the lagoon stretched out on both sides. Ahead of them to the left was an industrial sprawl of factories and petrol refineries, while to the right was just water, the reed-edged shoreline, and a few distant islands. The view in that direction probably hadn’t changed much since the days of Marco Polo, although the roar of an aircraft coming in to land at the airport that bore his name indicated that things had moved on somewhat since then.
Jane spent almost half an hour and a considerable amount of her employer’s money at the office supplies store and emerged laden down. She called Alvise and he arrived five minutes later to collect her. After loading everything into the car they set off back along the causeway again and he made a suggestion.
‘Maria tells me this is your first time in Venice. If you like we could take the long way back and I’ll give you a bit of a tour. I can show you where I used to work.’
Jane had no doubts on that score and accepted gratefully. After returning the car to its garage they loaded the shopping into the launch and he set off. He steered the boat expertly through the traffic as the canal narrowed until they emerged into a wide-open waterway, hundreds of metres across. Here he turned right and slowed as they reached a series of massive quays, alive with boats of all shapes and sizes, from large naval vessels to the ubiquitous barges that were Venice’s delivery vehicles.
‘This is the port. I worked here for fifty years, from when I was a youngster until two years ago. It still feels very familiar.’
They chugged slowly in among the other boats and from time to time he was greeted by people who knew him, and Jane could sense the camaraderie he must still feel. It reminded her of her time in the regiment. They, too, had been a close-knit community, and deep and lasting friendships had been formed. Thoughts of the regiment reminded her of Fergus’s phone call last night and the wedding invitation. While her initial reaction had been to say no, she allowed herself to consider it. It would be good to meet up with her former brothers and sisters in arms in spite of the memories it would inevitably stir up. Maybe she should say yes after all.
Of course, Mark wouldn’t be there, but there was nothing anybody could do about that now.
She resolved to see how she felt when the invitation landed on her desk and surprised herself by actually entertaining the possibility of accepting. Oscar, the counsellor, would no doubt have identified this as another positive sign, although she knew that considering and accepting were two very different things.
From there Alvise took her down the broad waterway in the direction of the open sea. The water here in the open channel was no longer so smooth and there was a very welcome breeze. The dog roused himself from his sleep inside the cabin and came out to enjoy the cooler air, and Alvise wagged an admonitory finger at him.
‘You do not, repeat not, jump in the water, Dino. Got it?’ He looked over at Jane. ‘Like all Labradors he’s got a thing for water but Her Ladyship wouldn’t be too happy if we brought a smelly wet dog home to her. Will you keep an eye on him please?’
Jane kept one eye on the dog and one eye on the scenery as they approached the end of the island of Giudecca on their right. Alvise pointed out the impressive cupola and tower of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore on the next little island. Before they reached it, he spun the wheel and headed across to the other side of the waterway. He glanced across at her and pointed straight ahead at a scene she had seen many times in books and on the television but never before in the flesh. It was an unforgettable assortment of light cream-coloured stone buildings whose intricate maze of exotic Byzantine arches gave them an almost lacework appearance, while the pink and white bell tower and the massive dome of St Mark’s basilica beyond were unmistakable.
‘There’s the Doge’s Palace. Alongside it is St Mark’s Square, the Basilica and the Campanile. If you like I could drop you here and you can walk back by yourself. It’s not too hard. Just follow the signs for Rialto.’
Crowds flocked the area so Jane thanked him but said she would come back some time a bit quieter and just took a couple of photos to send to her mum. Alvise gave her an understanding nod of the head and turned the boat to the left, heading back into the Grand Canal again, but this time approaching the palazzo from the other end.
By the time they got back, Jane had seen so many stunning old buildings that her head was spinning. As a place to live and work, Venice certainly took some beating and she could feel her spirits rise.
Chapter 5
The next days flew by as Jane gradually settled into her new job, her new flat and this amazing city. She set up the new laptop and printer and made a start on the huge pile of fan mail, some of it going back several years. Most of the envelopes hadn’t even been opened and she deliberately kept some of the better letters to one side to show her employer – although the usual reaction when she did so was little more than a casual glance. She also emailed the literary agent and publisher in London to introduce herself as the new PA and received almost instantaneous replies, both saying very much the same thing: when was Miss Leonard going to start writing again? When Jane referred the question to her employer, she was unsurprised to be given fairly terse instructions to tell them to get off her back. Jane replied in less corrosive terms, saying that they would be the first to know once the pall of depression that had settled on her employer began to lift – assuming it ever would.
She took over her boss’s email account and sifted business from personal messages. In so doing, she came across a huge file of emails from readers, almost all of which had never received an answer. One thing was for sure: it didn’t look as though she was going to be bored in this job. Rather surprisingly, she discovered that Miss Leonard had no social media presence and she queried whether this was something she should get onto. The reply was a determined shake of the head and a five-minute rant on the evils of the internet. She soon discovered that Miss Leonard had a horror of technology in general and computer screens in particular. She refused to carry a phone and, according to Maria, she apparently still wrote her books on the same old Remington typewriter she had used for decades – or at least she would do if she could ever get her mojo back. She obviously liked paper and the printed word. What her publishers thought of receiving a manuscript in the form of a hefty pile of typed sheets didn’t bear thinking about, but this was Veronica Leonard, after all, and no doubt they had adapted their working practices to accommodate her.
Jane also made a point of going for a walk accompanied by the dog every morning before Miss Leonard stirred and before the crowds built up. She and Dino explored the backstreets and alleyways of Venice and she gradually began to get her bearings. Soon she got into the habit of stopping at a cafe in a little piazza just behind the Rialto bridge before returning to the palazzo. She would sit outside in the shade, sipping an espresso and scanning the headlines in the newspaper while the dog wandered around the other tables sporting his ‘She doesn’t feed me’ expression that almost always resulted in a piece of croissant or doughnut coming his way.
She gradually began to recognise a few of the regulars and was soon on chatting terms with the owner. He, like Alvise, was a Venetian through and through, although he and his family lived on the mainland because of the prohibitive rents here in the old city. He was a mine of information on everything from upcoming events to scandalous goings-on in the local council. On more than one occasion Jane was even able to surprise Maria when she got home by relating some snippet of juicy local gossip before the housekeeper had heard of it. Yes, Jane told herself, she was definitely beginning to settle in and, as she did so, she could feel the memories of her military past slowly starting to fade.
It was while checking emails one morning during her second week that she came upon one asking whether Miss Leonard would be at a charity auction to take place at Venice Casino the following weekend. When she read this out to her employer, Jane received a shake of the head in return.
‘I have no interest in socialising these days, but this is a major charity event and the family needs to be represented so I’d like you to go for me. This’ll be the first function where you’ll be representing me.’
Jane felt a shiver of apprehension even though this meant that she was going to see the interior of the beautiful old casino building sooner than she had expected. ‘If that’s what you want.’
‘Yes, you go. I can’t be bothered with all that.’ Miss Leonard glanced across at her. ‘You’ll have to dress up a bit. How are you off for evening gowns?’
‘I’m afraid I’ve only brought a couple of what you might call cocktail dresses with me, but no long dress. I’ve got a red velvet one back home in my parents’ house, but I’d die of heatstroke if I wore it in this weather even if I could get Mum to send it over in time. I think I’d better go and buy something.’
‘I see…’ Miss Leonard didn’t say anything for a few moments. She just sat there, subjecting Jane to one of her searching stares. Finally she hauled herself to her feet. ‘We’d better make sure you’re suitably dressed for the occasion but there’s no need to go shopping. Come along with me and let’s see what I’ve got. The crème de la crème of Venetian society will be there and, as the family’s official representative, you need to look the part.’
