Page 39 of Far from Home
‘And what about over here? A little bird tells me that you might have made a conquest.’
Amy couldn’t help smiling, yet again marvelling at how efficient the bush telegraph was here in Sant’Antonio – although she had a feeling its source was likely to be Pierpaolo, who knew everybody. ‘Your little bird might be a bit premature. I’ve met some very nice people, one man in particular, but I’ve no idea how it’s all going to develop.’ She decided against naming Adam, but she needn’t have worried.
‘We were all very pleased to hear that he’s safe and well. He goes to some terribly dangerous places, doesn’t he?’
All Amy could do was keep smiling.
Chapter 22
Amy went shopping on Saturday in readiness for her dinner party the next day and when she returned, she was met by an apologetic-looking Signora Grande with Max at her side.
‘Good morning, Amy, I don’t suppose you could do me another big favour, could you? My sister’s been taken back into hospital and I’m really worried for her. Could you possibly take Max for today and tomorrow, maybe even until Monday? I really need to stay over to be with her and the rest of the family.’
‘Of course, I’d be happy to. He and I get on really well.’
After wishing Signora Grande’s sister a speedy recovery, she carried her shopping bags into the house and prepared a quick sandwich for herself while the dog sat beside her feigning starvation. Used to his ways by now she gave him a big bone-shaped biscuit from a packet she had bought specially for him this morning and decided she had better go shopping again in the afternoon for more dog food. After that, she intended playing around with the new oven and hob until she felt confident enough to cook for her guests the next day.
The afternoon passed quickly and her efforts in the kitchen were reasonably successful, once she had burnt away the new oven smell. At the end of the afternoon, she took Max out for a walk and when she got back to the house, she met Danny and Pierpaolo coming in through the gates, and Danny had news.
‘Ciao, Amy, Adam’s just called me from Florida. He’s flown into Miami from Manaus and he’s booked on a flight to Rome arriving tomorrow morning. He should be back here mid-afternoon.’
Pierpaolo gave her a cheeky smile. ‘And he asked about you.’
‘He did?’ She could feel her cheeks colouring as if she were a teenage girl, and she hastily ushered the two men into the house, but Pierpaolo hadn’t finished.
‘I told Danny to tell Adam you missed him, but he didn’t want to say anything.’ He looked positively mischievous.
Amy shot Danny a grateful look. ‘Thanks, Danny, I would prefer it if you boys try not to do any matchmaking. All right, Pierpaolo?’ Danny grinned and Pierpaolo gave her a reluctant nod of the head.
She grabbed a bottle of wine and three glasses and they all sat down around the kitchen table. This was her father’s old table that the builders had sanded down and waxed and it fitted perfectly into this old environment. After bringing out the batch of chocolate brownies she had made that afternoon, she asked if Adam had said anything else – not about her, she hastened to clarify, but about him and what had happened in Brazil. Danny nodded.
‘We didn’t talk for long, but apparently their boat hit an underwater obstruction when they were miles up a little-known tributary of the Amazon and it started to sink. They managed to get to the shore before it did, but there was no way they could fix it. They had no signal so had a seven-day march through the jungle to get back to some sort of civilisation. He didn’t give any details, but it sounded pretty daunting.’
‘Your brother’s so brave, isn’t he, Danny?’ Pierpaolo had a dreamy look in his eyes.
Danny rolled his eyes. ‘I know Adam all too well. Knowing they were going to have to chop their way through virgin jungle, what do you think he did? He and Sammy the cameraman filmed the whole journey, and he told me he’s going to turn it into a half-hour piece, of course. We’ll probably be able to see it for ourselves before too long.’
The chocolate brownies met with immediate approval and Amy had to admit that they tasted pretty good. The Labrador stationed himself at her side and fixed her with an imploring stare until she looked down and tapped his nose gently with her finger. ‘Chocolate’s bad for dogs, Max. Even I know that.’ Taking pity on him, she got up and dug out another of his big biscuits and he subsided onto the floor with it and for the next few minutes there were sinister crunching noises at their feet.
‘Have you decided to come and live here full-time, Amy?’
Danny’s question came out of the blue, but at least she had had time the previous evening with Domenica to come up with a non-committal reply. ‘I’m still trying to work that out. What worries me is that if I give up the job in London, I’m going to get very bored over here. I need to find something else to do if I’m to stay here, but whatcanI do?’
Pierpaolo gave her a cheeky wink. ‘You could have babies for Adam. Danny and I would love to be the naughty uncles.’
Amy’s cheeks flushed again but Danny came to her aid. ‘Leave the girl alone, Pierpaolo. You’re embarrassing her, don’t be a pest.’
Grudgingly, Pierpaolo nodded. ‘All right, I promise I won’t mention babies again – although we really would be great uncles – but if not that, then you could always try pottery, though you’d need to up your game.’
Danny was quick to intervene again. ‘Amy’s dishes look lovely now they’re glazed, and as a first attempt they’re impressive.’ He returned his attention to her. ‘By the way, I meant to bring them today but with the excitement of Adam’s call, I forgot. As far as an occupation for you is concerned, have you thought about getting some chickens and maybe creating your own vegetable garden? After all, you have lots of land sitting here doing nothing.’
‘That’s a great idea,’ Pierpaolo interjected enthusiastically. ‘Or you could get some horses and set up a riding stables. There isn’t one around here.’
Amy shook her head. ‘I’m a city girl, don’t forget. No, I don’t think I could make a go of it as a farmer. I need something that occupies my brain, rather than my arm muscles.’
‘You’ll think of something,’ Danny said with conviction, but Amy wasn’t so sure.
They chatted some more and the subject turned to wine, with Amy soon realising she could use these two to solve a practical problem for her. At her request, one of the last things the builders had done before going off had been to bring up one of Signor Montalcino’s containers of wine. This huge, bulbous glass container in a wicker basket, that probably weighed as much as she did, was now sitting in the corner of the kitchen and she couldn’t even lift it. She knew she needed to syphon the wine into bottles but she didn’t have much idea about how to do it. Apart from anything else, although she had spotted a lot of empty bottles down in the cellar, she wasn’t keen on venturing down there if she could help it, so she asked Danny and Pierpaolo if they felt like going down to bring a whole load of bottles upstairs.
