She sighed as she forced the stiff pedals around yet another time, sweat breaking out on her upper lip at the effort.
‘Vialli villain!’ a youthful voice called out from the grass verge as a rock flew past her ear.
She flinched and wobbled on her bike, but somehow managed to keep it upright. She turned her head to see who had thrown the rock, but whoever it had been had run off.
It wasn’t the first time she’d encountered missiles along this section of the road that led to the cottage; over the last few months some of the local youth had taken it upon themselves to regenerate the hostility of the past, more from mischief, she imagined, but it didn’t make it any easier to cope with.
She pedalled on, gritting her teeth for the next hill when another rock flew past her head. This time the bike tilted and she lost control, tumbling off to land in the gravel on the side of the road.
It was all she could do not to cry. She got to her feet with an effort and righted her bike, but the fall had punctured the front tyre. She looked around but there was no sign of anyone to help. She was at least ten kilometres from the cottage and it was uphill all the way.
She brushed at her dusty face and plodded on, the parcel containing the dress Alex Hunter had given her strapped to the rack on the back of the bike.
After fifteen minutes or so she heard the sound of a powerful car coming up the hill behind her. She moved to the side of the road, her shoulders hunched as she pushed the bike through the loose gravel, the perspiration stinging as it streamed past her eyes.
‘Hey there, little elf.’ A familiar voice spoke from the open window of the car as it pulled up alongside her. ‘You look like you need a lift.’
Amelia’s bottom lip wobbled dangerously as she turned to look at Alex Hunter. ‘I—I’m fine, thank you,’ she said, somehow summoning up a tattered remnant of pride.
His playful smile disappeared to be replaced by a frown. He killed the engine and got out of the car to take the bike from her. She tussled with him for a moment before finally letting it go, her hands going up to her face to cover the shame of her tears.
‘Oh no,’ he said softly, and, putting the bike to one side, gathered her up against his broad chest, his deep voice rumbling against her breasts where they were crushed up against him. ‘What on earth is the matter?’
‘I—I have a p-puncture…and s-someone threw a rock at me,’ she sobbed.
She felt him tense against her. ‘A rock? What sort of rock?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know… It was probably just a pebble…’ She gave a little sniff. ‘It happens now and again…’
He held her from him to look down at her, his expression serious. ‘What do you mean it happens now and again?’
She brushed at her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘It happens a lot. They’re just kids making mischief. It’s because of my family’s history…. It’s too hard to explain.’
‘The Vialli bandits?’
She looked up at him in surprise. ‘You’ve heard of them?’
He nodded. ‘I’ve been reading up on the history of the island. It’s quite a colourful past.’
A shadow came and went in her eyes. ‘Yes, well, if only people would leave it in the past where it belongs.’
‘So you’re a relative of the original Vialli gang?’ he asked.
‘Yes and no. My father was only on the fringe of the operation. He wasn’t directly responsible for anything that happened,’ she explained.
‘So who was the ringleader?’
‘One of my uncles,’ she said. ‘He was killed during the takeover bid, along with several other relatives. My father has been made the scapegoat for the last thirty-four years. He virtually lives the life of a hermit to keep away from the past.’
‘That’s tough,’ Alex said. ‘What about your mother?’
Amelia bent her head to stare at the front of his shirt where her tears had left a damp mark. ‘She died when I was eighteen. It broke her heart living up here away from all her family who had turned their backs on her.’
‘So what actually happened?’
‘It’s a long story.’
He gave her an encouraging smile. ‘I love long stories.’ He led her to the grassy verge away from the dusty gravel. ‘Here, sit down and tell me all about it.’
Amelia sat next to him on the cushion of grass so they could face the view as she related the story, hastily covering her scratched and dirty knees with her uniform. She could feel his broad shoulder close to hers and her nostrils flared again to breathe in the alluring scent of his maleness.
She took and a breath and began, ‘Well…the Vialli bandits were originally ex-Barbary corsairs.’
‘Pirates, huh?’
‘Yes, amongst other things. Anyway, they formed a resistance to overturn the monarchy. They kidnapped one of the king’s twin grandsons and demanded a ransom. The king refused to pay it.’
Alex frowned. ‘Why did he do that?’
‘I don’t know.’ She glanced at him briefly, her teeth capturing her bottom lip for a moment before she released it and turned back to look down at the lush valley below. ‘Maybe he didn’t want to be seen being manipulated or something.’
‘So the kidnappers killed the little prince?’
She hesitated for a fraction of a second. ‘Yes…his body was found after an undercover rescue attempt failed. He had been blown up by a bomb.’
She felt Alex wince. ‘Hard to live down that sort of stuff,’ he said.
‘Yes.’
‘So what was left of your family has had to live with that ever since?’ he asked.
‘Yes. It’s been hard…you know…everyone looking at you as if you have murder and insurgence on your mind,’ she said with a dejected slump of her shoulders.
‘Poor little elf,’ he said, turning her head so he could cup her face as he looked into her eyes. ‘It sounds to me as if you need to be taken away from all this drama for a while. Are we still on for dinner?’
‘D-dinner?’ She looked at him with a shadow of uncertainty in her green-flecked hazel eyes.
‘Yes, that’s why I came up here in the first place. One of the nursing staff said you lived up here in the foothills. I was taking a chance on finding you at a loose end so I could take you out to dinner somewhere.’
‘There aren’t any restaurants up here.’
‘I know, but what about down at Porto di Castellante?’ he suggested.
Amelia lowered her gaze, frightened of the temptation he was dangling before her and even more terrified she wouldn’t be able to resist it. ‘I have to cook my father something…’
‘I heard he’s not well and not keen on seeing anyone professional,’ Alex said. ‘I thought if I came up to take you out it might be a way of breaking the ice in case there’s anything I can do for him.’
She raised her gaze back to meet his, a look of surprise flickering there momentarily before she looked away again.
‘Did I say something wrong?’ he asked.
‘No…it’s just that he asked me to ask you to visit him, but I just didn’t get around to