‘Victoria, Victoria, how very good to see you after all these years.’ She was a large lady half-submerged beneath a hat apparently made from discarded fruit. Katie’s eyes widened and she took a surreptitious step backwards in case the weight of the thing caused it to collapse on them. ‘You look absolutely marvellous. You have no idea how happy I am to see you out and about after all this time.’
She grabbed Victoria’s shoulders, kissed her on both cheeks and they started chatting, or at least she carried on talking while Victoria supplied occasional monosyllabic responses. The subject of her enforced isolation from the world was soon brought up by Mrs Drake.
‘Every time I saw your father I used to bully him about you, you know. I told him it wasn’t natural to keep a little girl shut up like that, but it was no good. He had got it into his head that something awful would happen to you if you stepped off his land and nothing would shake him out of it.’ She took Victoria by the arm. ‘Now come along with me. I’ve got so many people you simply have to meet.’
Victoria cast Katie a look that told her not to worry and let herself be led off into the crowd. Katie found herself all alone with the handsome army officer.
‘So, how do you know Victoria, then, Katie?’
Victoria and Katie had discussed this eventuality before setting off and had come up with a suitable answer. Katie gave him a smile and launched into it. ‘I’m a teacher and I’ve been giving her some private tuition.’
‘Oh, yes? And what’s your subject?’
‘French and Italian.’
‘Ah, si, davvero? L’italiano é una lingua che mi piace moltissimo.’ He was grinning. She felt obliged to reply in kind.
‘Certo che lo parla molto bene, signore.’
‘Soprattutto quando posso parlare con una signorina cosí bella.’
Katie registered the compliment and decided it was better to return to their native language. ‘You’ve got a very good accent. How did you manage that?’
‘We’ve got a place in Tuscany. We’ve been going there every summer for goodness knows how many years. As kids, Bee and I just picked it up from the local kids.’
‘Oh how wonderful. So that’s where the lemons come from? I spent a year in Florence as a student and I’d love to go back.’
‘Well you know Sir Algernon’s got a place over there, don’t you?’ This was news to Katie.
‘I didn’t know that. Whereabouts is it?’
‘Not that far from us. Just on the hills to the west of Florence. Does Monte a Signa ring any bells?’
‘Vaguely. I’m sure I’ve been through it on the train. It’s quite close to Florence then?’
‘Fifteen minutes on the train or an hour by car through the traffic. In fact, I’m off over there next week with Bee and Emma.’ He caught her eye. ‘I know, why don’t you suggest to Victoria that you and she go over there for a few weeks? I’d be delighted to show the two of you around.’
‘That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’ll be sure to suggest it.’
‘Excellent. Now, let me introduce you to a few people.’ They set off across the garden. She found she rather liked the sensation of being on the arm of a soldier.
As Victoria’s first foray into the big wide social world, it had been an indisputable success. Victoria had chatted to most of the other guests and, when they returned to the car at almost six o’clock that Saturday afternoon, she was looking and sounding happy and animated.
‘I don’t think I’ve done so much talking in the space of a few hours ever in my life. It was non-stop. I’ve even got a bit of a sore throat as a result. I’ve met people I’ve only ever heard of before, and people I last saw in short trousers. Like Tommie… Tom, for example. So grown up.’
‘And so good-looking.’ Katie couldn’t resist flashing a glance across to the passenger seat. She saw that Victoria was blushing and she couldn’t resist adding another comment. ‘There’s something about a man in uniform!’
There was silence for a while before Victoria replied, choosing her words carefully. ‘It’s very funny when you meet somebody again like that. I’ve carried a memory of him in my head for years and years, but it was just of him as a little boy. It’s silly, really. Logically, of course I must have known that he’d be a man in his twenties by now, but it came as a surprise all the same. And, yes, I suppose he is rather good-looking, isn’t he?’ She sounded unsure and embarrassed.
Katie and Victoria hadn’t had The Talk yet. Although they had skated round the subject a few times, neither of them had brought it up directly. Sex was something that had yet to enter their conversations. Katie had, of course, been wondering about it since she and Victoria had met, and it seemed pretty obvious to her that the girl had to still be a virgin. Considering that the youngest man she had seen on the estate was Mr Mackintosh, there would appear to have been little opportunity for Victoria to experiment, even if she had wanted to. The thought crossed Katie’s mind that the lack of young male blood in her vicinity had no doubt been pre-planned by her over-protective father.
She had no doubts that The Talk was long overdue. For the first time in her life, she began to feel the discomfort many parents feel when the time comes to broach that thorny subject. She decided to let Victoria take her time. She obviously knew about the birds and the bees; after all she had lived all her life on a farm. The complex world of emotions would have to be explored gently and cautiously.
‘So, are you going to see him again any time soon?’
‘He tells me he’s going to Italy next week.’ Katie could hear that Victoria was trying hard to keep her voice expressionless. ‘My father bought a property over there, in Tuscany, years and years ago. He used to go over five or six times a year, sometimes more, but he never took me with him.’ The regret was all too clear in her voice. ‘Tom was telling me it’s not too far from their house. I’ve been thinking for some time now of going to see it. I thought that would be a good first experience of overseas travel.’
Katie remembered the wording of the original advert in The Lady. ‘Well, if you feel like a trip to Tuscany, I’d love to come with you. I spent a year there when I was at university and I fell in love with the place’ As she spoke, she felt a charge of excitement. Tuscany was Tuscany, after all. ‘So what’s your father’s house like?’
‘I’ll show you some photos when we get home.’ Victoria was on safer ground here and Katie could hear relief in her voice at the change of subject. ‘It’s rather nice; very old and surrounded by cypresses and umbrella pines.’
‘Sounds amazing. But has it just been sitting empty for years?’
‘I was talking to Mr Evergreen about it a few weeks ago. You know he manages our affairs for us, don’t you? It’s a farm really, a tenuta. They’ve got olive trees and vines mainly. The oil we use and the red wine we drink at Iddlescombe are sent over from there. It’s run by a man called Nando Rufina and his wife. They live in the old farmhouse and keep an eye on the villa for us.’
‘I can’t wait to see it.’
‘If you like, I could ring him up and ask him to get the house ready for us. We could even go over there next week if you like. Shall I do that?’
Katie had no doubts at all. ‘That sounds awesome. Great idea.’
Victoria glanced