The Mermaid Garden (42 page)

however, caused Dante’s game to decline as he had one eye on the gar-

dens, searching for Floriana.

“You see, there’s still life in this old dog,” Beppe taunted, as Dante

hit another ball into the net. Keen to finish and find Floriana, Dante

focused, pulled it together, and finally beat his father 6–4. Beppe was gracious in defeat because there was no shame in that score. He shook

hands with his son, patting him firmly on the back. “I hope you are as

impressive in the boardroom as you are on the tennis court.”

“I’ll do my best,” Dante assured him.

“I’m sure you will.”

Then Beppe noticed Zazzetta slinking through the olive trees to-

wards them. “What now, Zazzetta?”

Dante left them together, talking in low voices, their heads together

like a pair of thieves. He found the girls by the pool, but there was no 30067 The Mermaid Garden.indd 265

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sign of Floriana. “I came on my own,” Costanza explained when he

asked after her. Dante noticed a new confidence in her deportment, the

way she stood with her back straight and her gaze steady.

“Did she not want to come?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her,” Costanza replied carelessly.

Dante frowned. “Well, Good-Night wants to see her,” he said, strid-

ing off towards the steps built into the rock. If she didn’t come on her own, he would go and get her.

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24.

Dante climbed into his silver Alfa Romeo Spider, a present from

his father on his return from America. Good-Night jumped onto

the backseat and sat, tongue out, ready for another adventure. With the roof down and the wind raking through his damp hair, Dante roared

between the cypresses towards the gate. He was astute enough to no-

tice a change in the air around Costanza. It was no coincidence that

Floriana hadn’t come to the party and wasn’t invited with Costanza

today. She was being deliberately excluded. Well, he’d show them. He

gripped the wheel determinedly and drove down the coast towards

Herba. In a few minutes he was driving up the cobbled stones between

the ancient buildings, waving at the locals who stared at the beautiful car in wonder.

He parked right outside Floriana’s building on Via Roma and rang

the bell. When no one appeared, he rang it again. Finally, the doleful

voice of an old lady was heard on the other side. “All right, all right, I’m coming. Be patient.” The door opened, and the round face of the woman

Dante took to be Signora Bruno squeezed into the crack. When she

saw Dante, she recognized him at once. His eyes were, indeed, the color of a tropical sea. She opened the door wide and smiled sweetly.

“I’ve come for Floriana. Is she here?” His gaze strayed into the court-

yard.

“No, she left about half an hour ago.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“I assumed she went to see you.”

Dante’s face darkened with frustration. “I don’t suppose she walks

up the road.”

“Of course not. She takes the shortcut through the poppies.”

“Thank you,
signora
, you’ve been very helpful.”

“Signora
Bruno
,” she said, introducing herself. “I’m like a mother to 30067 The Mermaid Garden.indd 267

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Floriana. Have been ever since Loretta disappeared with the child’s

little brother.”

Dante was astonished. “Floriana has a little brother?”

“
Had
a little brother.”

“She never said.”

“Well, she wouldn’t. It’s too painful, and children have a way of blocking out the nasty things. God only knows what’s become of them now.”

“That’s unspeakably cruel to choose one child over the other. What

sort of woman could do that?”

“A very selfish one. I don’t suppose her tomato man wanted an older

child. Little Luca was very sweet, and Floriana worshipped him.”

“What was the name of the tomato seller?”

Signora Bruno noticed the determined glint in his eyes and put a

podgy hand on his arm. “Don’t go there, Dante. I know you want to put

it all right, but you can’t. They are long gone. If Loretta wanted to come back and find her, she could, at any time. She knows where she is. But

she doesn’t want to, does she? It is better that Floriana forgets about the past and concentrates on her future. She’s a bright, resourceful young

woman. It’s only a shame that her mother can’t see her now, because

she’d be very proud of the person Floriana has become, in spite of all

the obstacles.”

“She’s lucky to have you,
signora
.”

“I know.” She waved away the compliment. “I’ll reap my rewards in

Heaven, no doubt about that.”

Dante drove back up the road, his mind full of Loretta’s malice

and the tomato man who lured her away. He’d give anything to find

them. The truth was that he
could
find them. All he had to do was ask Zazzetta, and it would be done. He didn’t doubt the capability of

that shady man. But perhaps Signora Bruno was right. What good

would it do? Why rake it up and cause Floriana to feel rejected all over again?

As he drove up the road to the gates of La Magdalena Good-Night

began to bark. At first Dante thought he was excited to be home again,

but then he saw Floriana’s familiar figure walking slowly up the hillside towards the gates. She was wearing a floral sundress, her feet in sandals, her hair loose about her shoulders, carrying a handful of poppies and a 30067 The Mermaid Garden.indd 268

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269

small canvas bag. He tooted the horn and she looked up, shielding her

eyes against the sun. He waved and tooted again, stopping the car.

Good-Night leapt out and galloped down the slope to meet her,

nearly knocking her over as he crashed against her legs.

In a moment Dante was gathering her into his arms and kissing

her. “Where have you been?” he asked, burying his face in her neck.

“I went to find Costanza first.”

“She’s already here.”

“I suspected she was.”

He looked into her face. “Did she not invite you to join her?”

“I don’t care. Look at your fancy car!”

“Come for a drive?”

“I’d love to. I bet it goes really fast.”

“If it goes too fast, Good-Night might fall out.”

“Darling Good-Night.” She patted him fondly. “He became my best

friend while you were away. Look, he’s going gray around the muzzle.”

“He’s getting old.”

“But he’s still agile and swift.” As if to prove she was right, he trotted up the slope to the car.

Inside it smelled of new leather, warmed by the sun. Good-Night

jumped onto the backseat again, wagging his tail expectantly. Floriana

slipped into her seat and ran her fingers over the wooden dashboard.

“It’s a stunning car, Dante.”

“Father bought it for me.”

“How generous of him.”

Dante grinned cynically. “Generous, yes. But he sees me as an exten-

sion of himself, so it’s rather like giving
himself
a new car.” He started the engine. It growled like a lion, then the car sped off up the road, leaving the gates of La Magdalena far behind. Good-Night cowered on

the backseat as the car lurched forwards. Floriana laughed above the

rumble and threw back her head as the wind seized her hair and tossed

it about. After showing off its speed, Dante slowed down so they could

talk.“You were invited to the party last night,” he said solemnly.

“No, I wasn’t,” she replied. “But I don’t mind, really.”

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“No, you misunderstand me. You
were
invited. Mamma sent you an

invitation, but she gave it to the countess.”

Floriana grew serious. “You mean, there was an invitation for me all

along?”

“Yes. I suspect the countess forgot to give it to you.”

“I bet she did,” Floriana replied in a tone that suggested she didn’t

believe it at all. “That woman has never liked me.”

“She’s jealous, that’s all.”

“She looks down on me. But I’m used to it, and I don’t care. What

harm can she do me?”

“She can’t do you any harm at all.” He took her hand across the

gear box. “You’re with me now, Floriana, and no one will ever hurt you

again.”

Costanza was surprised when Floriana came down to the pool with

Dante. She was suddenly beset with guilt, wishing she hadn’t been so

fickle and unkind in excluding her.

“Look who I picked up on the road,” said Dante, smiling trium-

phantly. He wandered into the changing room to put on his swimming

shorts.

Costanza hurried over to her, desperate to excuse herself. “I’m sorry,

Floriana,” she said in a low voice. “I expected you to be here already.”

Floriana tossed off her apology with a shrug. “How was the party?”

Costanza frowned. “It was wonderful. I so wish you could have been

there.”

“I was invited, you know, but your mother forgot to give me the in-

vitation. Easy mistake.”

“My mother?” Costanza stared at her in disbelief. “Are you sure?”

“Perfectly. Signora Bonfanti said she gave it to your mother to

give me.”

“I don’t understand. Then why didn’t she give it to you?”

“She obviously didn’t want me to come.” Costanza looked horrified,

and Floriana took her hand to reassure her. “It’s okay, I understand. I’m not from your world, Costanza. I don’t blame you, but I won’t pretend

I like your mother.”

“Do you want me to say something to her?”

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“No.”

Costanza was relieved—the thought of confronting her mother ter-

rified her.

“Leave it alone. It doesn’t matter anymore. What’s done is done.”

Floriana smiled, and Costanza was pleased to see her fighting spirit

restored.

“Come swimming. Giovanna and I are seeing how many lengths we

can do underwater.”

“How many can you do?”

“One and a half.”

“And Giovanna?”

“Two.”

“So, I will do three.” And Floriana marched off to the changing

room to slip into her bathing suit.

Dante dived into the pool and swam a couple of lengths of front

crawl. When Floriana emerged in a pale blue swimsuit, Dante stopped

swimming and trod water to watch her. She had developed curves in

the five years that he had been away. Her waist was narrow, her hips

wider, thighs fuller, and her breasts were plump and round. She was

no longer the child he had said good-bye to, but a girl hovering on the brink of womanhood. He felt the familiar stirring of excitement in his

loins and swam over to meet her.

Floriana jumped into the water. When she came up for air, Dante

was right beside her, grinning broadly. He wanted to gather her into

his arms and kiss her wildly, but he restrained himself for they weren’t alone. Instead, he whispered his desire into her ear then pulled her underwater again to steal a kiss where no one could see.

Damiana came down to sunbathe with a couple of friends, and soon

the pool was full of young people, splashing in the water, drinking juices on sun loungers, and chatting in the sunshine. Costanza played with

Giovanna. They tried to include Floriana, but after proving to everyone that she could hold her breath under water longer than anyone else, she swam off to be with Dante. This didn’t surprise Costanza; Dante had

always been fond of Floriana, and she knew Floriana was in love with

him. It didn’t occur to her that Floriana’s feelings were reciprocated.

When they went up for lunch, Violetta was overjoyed to see

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l’orfanella
, as she was now known in the family. She swept her into her arms and kissed her happily.

“I’m so sorry there was a muddle over your invitation, Floriana,” she

said, looking genuinely unhappy about it. “I gave it to the countess because I didn’t know where you live. My fault entirely, I should have

asked you—or given it to you directly. I’m mortified that you might

have thought we didn’t want you.”

“I would have loved to come, but I’m happy I wasn’t forgotten,”

Floriana replied truthfully.

Dante put his arm around her shoulder. “She’s here now,” he said,

and only his mother detected the unfamiliar tone in his voice.

She watched them sit down together and could almost see the vibra-

tions quivering between them like heat evaporating off a hot road in

midsummer.

Beppe presided over the lunch table. He made a great fuss of

Costanza. Floriana was down the other end, but he wouldn’t have paid

her any attention had she been seated on his right-hand side. Costanza

was the daughter of a count and the niece of a prince, and that was all there was to it. Dante and Floriana might as well have been on a table

of their own. With their heads together, chatting and laughing like

old friends, they had no interest in anyone else. Violetta watched her

son with interest, and a little sadness, because there was no possibility of this young love maturing into anything greater. She considered her