Page 23 of Far from Home
She was still thinking about the snake an hour later when there was a knock on the door. She opened it to find Rosa, holding a basket, with Coco the dog.
‘Rosa, how nice to see you. Do come in.’ Amy stood aside and the dog slipped past, followed by Rosa.
‘Ciao, Amy. It’s good to see you again.’
Amy stroked Coco and then pointed towards the sofa.
‘Come and sit down. Can I make some tea or coffee? I’m afraid the coffee’s only instant for now, but an all-singing, all-dancing coffee machine is being delivered tomorrow.’
‘A cup of English tea would be wonderful, thank you. I hope you don’t mind me popping round, but it’s the only way to get in touch. Martin used to say he was perfectly happy without a phone. He did almost everything by letter. I still can’t understand how he managed.’ Rosa sat down on the sofa and put the basket on the floor at her feet. ‘Do you like peaches? We’ve got three trees in the garden and there’s a limit to the amount of jam I can make.’ She removed a bag from the basket and handed it to Amy. Inside were a dozen gorgeous ripe peaches and the aroma wafting up from the bag was enticing.
‘How wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m afraid the garden here’s a bit of a wasteland.’
‘Martin used to enjoy gardening but it doesn’t take long for it to get out of hand.’
Amy went through to the kitchen, filled the kettle, and switched it on. As usual, the lights dimmed as she did so. She remembered the electrician’s words and kept her fingers crossed that the electrics would hold up for another few days. While the kettle heated up, she went back to the living room and found Rosa standing at the open French windows, peering out into the garden.
‘I remember coming here a few summers back. Martin invited us round for a glass of champagne to celebrate England winning some cricket match or other. It was a fine evening and we were all out in the garden. It’s been let go terribly since then. I suppose he did nothing to it in his last year or so. You’ll have your work cut out.’
‘Have you got a big garden where you live?’
‘Big enough. I’m always finding things that need doing.’
Just then, the kettle reached the boil and switched itself off with a loud click. Amy went back to the kitchen and made the tea and then she and Rosa sat and chatted. After a while it turned out that Rosa had come around with an invitation to lunch the next day.
‘Vincenzo so likes his roast on a Sunday. Do say you’ll come. It’ll just be us and a few other friends. I’m sure they’ll all be so terribly pleased to meet you. Do come.’
Amy realised that she would probably do well to try to get to know a few more local people. ‘That’s very kind, I’d love to.’
‘Excellent. Vincenzo said to tell you he can promise you some good wine. He knows his wines and he likes them.’
‘That sounds wonderful. I’ve been drinking the local wine and it’s really good. I found a couple of dozen bottles in the kitchen cupboards and I met Signor Montalcino the other day. He’s the man who rents the fields belonging to this property, and he pays the rent in wine. He’s told me he’s got two hundred litres of back rent for me and I can have it any time I want. I’ll bring a couple with me.’
‘Lucky you.’
Barely half an hour after Rosa had left, Amy had another visitor. It was Signora Grande and she had brought Amy’s four-legged bosom buddy with her. Unlike the Labrador, she was looking worried.
‘I wonder if I could ask a big favour of you, Amy. I’ve just had a call to say that that my sister in Livorno has had what sounds like a stroke and my son’s coming from Pistoia to collect me and take me to see her. I don’t suppose you could look after Max for me. I’ll be back tonight.’
‘I’m so sorry to hear about your sister, I do hope it isn’t too serious. Of course I’ll look after Max. In fact, I’ll take him for a walk now.’
She and the boisterous Labrador had a pleasant, if hot, walk and returned to the welcome shade of the old house. Amy gave Max a drink and a couple of biscuits – which disappeared down his throat in seconds. After he had stretched out on the cool floor and appeared to be fast asleep, she left him and went upstairs. She decided to have a go at clearing Martin Slater’s study before the tradesmen came in on Monday. Gradually clearing the worst of the clutter, she couldn’t help thinking back to the spring when she had found herself doing the exact same thing in her mother’s house. It was sobering to reflect that both her mum and Mr Slater had died so relatively young and she spared a thought and a tear for her mother as she worked. She hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye with her, but they had still been very close and she knew she owed her a great debt of gratitude for managing to bring her up all on her own. She was still coming to terms with her mum’s death now, even though months had already passed.
The floor of the study was littered with boxes, books, piles of paper and files. There were even pieces of a suit of armour and a rusty dagger in a tatty leather sheath. She had just about reached the far side of the room, her hands dusty and her fingernails black, when she made a discovery. Shifting stuff on one of the lower shelves – very gingerly after coming face-to-face with a whopping great hairy black spider – she saw something sticking out of the stone wall behind. She pulled half a dozen big books out of the way and found that what she had spotted was a dial, protruding from the front of a solid metal safe firmly cemented into the thick stone wall. Fascinated, she knelt down in front of it.
It wasn’t very big – probably no bigger than an average briefcase. There was no keyhole, just the brass dial, with numbers around the rim. She screwed up her eyes and peered at the numbers as she twisted the dial in both directions to see if it opened. After a bit, she tried using her ears. She turned the dial a few more times, listening closely to hear if it made any more significant clicking sound on one number rather than another, but to no avail. Frustratingly, it remained firmly locked.
She sat down on the chair and racked her brains for a solution. It didn’t take long.
‘The letter!’ She found herself shouting out loud. She ran back downstairs, startling the comatose dog, and together with him hurried out of the door and ran like a mad thing back to the hotel, with Max bouncing along excitedly beside her. While he sniffed around her room and wandered out onto the balcony to admire the view, she dug into her suitcase and pulled out the envelope that the notary had given her. She retrieved the letter and looked again at the riddle Mr Slater had set her. As soon as she read the first couple of lines, she realised she had to be on the right track. The wordskeyandsafeleapt out of the page at her.
My dearest Amy
Initially this may puzzle you, but you will find that these are key questions. Keep them safe.
1) On what day was your mother born?
2) On what day were you born?
