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Ferne had known from the first evening that there was more to Dante than met the eye. How many men discussed The Divine Comedy with a woman they’d known only a couple of hours, even if they were named after the poet?
Hope had mentioned that he had three academic degrees, and from odd remarks he dropped in their conversations she realised that this was no idle boast. His brain was agile and well-informed, and she could easily guess his horror at the thought of losing his high-powered skills.
Since she’d learned the truth about the threat to Dante’s life, she’d come to see him as two men—one always standing behind the other, a permanent warning. When he was at his funniest, she was most conscious of the other man, silently threatening in the shadows, never allowing Dante to forget that he was there.
Sometimes it broke her heart that he must face his nemesis alone, and she longed to take him in her arms, not in the light-hearted passion that they usually shared, but with tender comfort. Then she remembered that he had chosen his isolation, however bitter it might be, and he wanted no comfort. Without her help, without anyone’s help, he was complete and whole.
One evening he was unusually quiet, but he seemed absorbed in a book, so she’d put it down to that. Later that night she woke suddenly to find him sitting by the window, his head buried in his hands. He was completely still and silent, in such contrast to his normal liveliness that she knew a twinge of alarm.
Slipping out of bed, she went to kneel beside him.
‘Is everything all right?’
‘Yes, fine.’ But he seemed to speak with an effort.
‘You don’t look well.’
‘Just a bit of a headache.’
‘Have you had it all evening? You haven’t said much.’
‘It’ll go away. Just give it time.’
‘Have you taken anything?’
‘Yes.’
‘And it doesn’t work?’
‘It will, in time.’
‘Come back to bed. A sleep may do you good.’
‘Later. Leave me now. I don’t want to talk.’
‘I’m only worried for you.’
‘Will you drop the subject please?’
Dante’s tone was light, but Ferne saw in his eyes something that reminded her of that other time. There was a steely anger, and a determination not to yield, no matter what the cost to himself or anyone else. Hastily she backed off, remembering Toni’s words that to persist would be to endanger Dante, not help him.
She returned to bed, pulling the covers over her head so that she could huddle down and be alone with her thoughts. She lay awake for a long time, telling herself that this must be just an ordinary headache, the kind everyone had.
It seemed that she was right, because the next day he was his normal self. Perhaps it was only her imagination that the ‘other’ Dante had been there, hostile, rejecting.
One evening they bumped into Mario, an old friend from Dante’s college days. The two men plunged into academic conversation, occasionally remembering their manners, apologising and drawing her in. She laughed, not at all offended, fascinated by this new angle on Dante.
When he went to fetch more drinks, Mario said, ‘We all thought he’d be head of the college by now.’
‘Is he really that clever?’ Ferne asked.
‘He could think and write rings around anyone else. I know they offered him a professorship, but he wanted to go off travelling.’
Next day she claimed tiredness, urging Dante to spend some time with Mario. He said she was the nicest, most understanding woman he’d ever known—which made her feel guilty, because she had an ulterior motive.
When she was safely alone she opened her laptop, accessed the Internet and looked up all she could find about his ailment. She had already done this once, on the day before they’d left Naples, but now she had a driving need to know far more.
A sudden bleeding into the space between the brain and an area of the lining that surrounds it; a weak blood vessel that suddenly ruptures.
Sometimes there are warning symptoms, such as headache, facial pain and double vision. This can happen minutes or weeks before the main rupture.
She read everything that she could find, forcing herself to understand every detail. The picture that kept returning to her mind was Dante going back into the burning building to rescue the dog, knowing that it might cost him his life.
When you lived with the possibility of death every moment, how much would you actually fear it? Welcome it?
There were three files that she needed to read again. Quickly she downloaded them, put them in a folder, titled it ‘ZZZ’, then shut everything down quickly. Finally she called Hope. Describing the headache, she said, ‘I was worried at first, but he’s been fine ever since, so maybe it was normal. He seems full of beans.’
‘Thank you,’ Hope said fervently. ‘I can’t tell you what it means to us to know you’re with him.’
‘I’ve got to go now. I can see him returning with his friend. I’ll call again soon.’
Looking out of the window, she hailed the two men, who waved back and pointed up the street to a restaurant.
‘Coming,’ she called down.
It took a moment to slip the printed file into her drawer, then she was ready to leave.
The three of them spent a convivial evening, but at the end Mario seemed to forget Dante and become more interested in looking at Ferne’s plunging neckline. After which, Dante said he needed an early night and swept her off to bed.
Mario departed next morning, but he left a legacy in Dante’s mind. Stretched out on the beach, Ferne was startled to look up and find him doing a crossword puzzle in Latin.
‘It’s not difficult if you’re Italian,’ he demurred when she expressed her admiration. ‘The two languages are so similar.’
‘What’s that?’ she asked, pointing at a clue.
He translated for her and said, ‘The answer is quam celerrime. It means “as quickly as possible”.’
‘Quam celerrime,’ she mused. ‘It has a nice, flowing sound, doesn’t it? What a pity I was always useless at languages. What’s the Italian version?’
‘Il più rapidamente possibile.’
‘No, I definitely prefer quam celerrime. Not that I could do anything with celerrime at the moment. I’m half-asleep.’
‘Bad night?’
‘No, it was a wonderful night, thank you. I just didn’t get any sleep.’
He laughed, and she settled down. She was deep in happy slumber when the sound of her mobile phone reached her from a distance.
‘Someone wants you,’ Dante said, reaching into her bag for the phone. ‘Here.’
It was a text:
Never thought you were the one to turn down the chance of a lifetime. The offer’s still open and this time I want the right answer. Money, money, money. Mick.
‘Who’s Mick?’ Dante asked, reading over her shoulder.
‘Can’t you tell?’ Ferne asked sleepily. ‘He’s my sugar-daddy. He wants to cover me with diamonds and buy me an apartment in the West End, but I told him no. That stuff is old-fashioned.’
‘Now I remember; he’s your agent, isn’t he? You mentioned him on the train the night we met.’
‘Uh-huh!’
She was trying to sound half-asleep, but inside she was alert and wary. She didn’t want Dante asking questions about why she’d refused a big job, in case he stumbled on the truth. Diverting him was going to be tricky.
‘Why is he mad at you?’ Dante asked. ‘What have you turned down?’
She sighed as if it was too boring to be discussed.
‘He wanted me to go back to London and do another theatre shoot with a big star who’s condescending to do a live play. Sandor Jayley with knobs on. No way!’
‘Who’s the star?’
She told him. Dante stared.
‘You rejected him? Just think what you might have—’
‘He’s bringing his fiancée with him,’ she said, trying to sound petulant. ‘No chance for me to be vulgar and unprincipled there.’
Dante grinned, slipping an arm around her.
‘Can I flatter myself that you prefer to be vulgar and unprincipled with me?’
‘I can’t stop you flattering yourself,’ she observed indifferently. ‘Some men are so conceited.’
‘Not me. I can’t believe you’d choose me over the chance to make a lot of money.’
‘You forget,’ she said languidly. ‘I already made my fortune with Sandor.’ She drew a light finger down his bare chest. ‘Now I’m in the mood to spend some of it on, er, the pleasures of the moment.’ She uttered the last words in a seductive whisper.
‘Oh, really?’ he said, speaking with some difficulty, she was pleased to note.
‘Lagrande signorina gives her orders?’
‘Definitely. And she’s very demanding.’
‘So I’m here only for your pleasure?’
She surveyed him with wicked glee. ‘Well, what else did you imagine you were here for? I expect my every whim to be obeyed.’
‘I’m your willing slave.’
‘And my first whim is to swim. Into the sea with us.’
‘I was hoping for something better.’
‘Hmm! Being my willing slave didn’t last long, did it? Come on.’
She wriggled free of him and ran down the beach, hearing him just behind her. Once in the surf, he seized her and drew her further in, until the water was up to their chests; nobody else could have seen the way his hands were wandering.
‘Just what do you think you’re doing?’ she challenged.
‘Only my duty. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you.’
‘But you can’t do that in public.’
‘It’s not in public, it’s under water. Perfectly respectable.’
‘There is nothing respectable about what you’re doing,’ she gasped.
After that she became incapable of speech and could only cling onto him, digging her nails into his shoulder in a way that left marks for days.
When they finally returned to their loungers, she asked him to fetch her a drink. While he was gone she texted Mick with shaking hands.
Sorry, can’t change my mind. Am out of action for a while.
She switched off the phone and hid it away safely, silently thanking a merciful providence for helping her get away with it this time.
Hopefully Mick wouldn’t trouble her again, whatever he might guess.
Oh, to blazes with Mick and what he might think! To blazes with everything, except getting Dante back into her bed quam celerrime.
CHAPTER NINE
THE ‘willing slave’ fantasy kept them entertained for a while. Unlike many men, Dante was totally relaxed with it, his masculine confidence too powerful to be disturbed by such a joke.
They played it out in the bedroom, with her indicating her requirements and him following to the letter, both enjoying the challenge, laughing, not thinking any further. That was how they both preferred it.
One morning as they were preparing to go out the phone rang, and it was Gino.
‘The film crew have left,’ Dante informed Ferne when the call was over.
‘Already?’
‘There was some sort of a kerfuffle; Sandor threw a fit and everyone was out in an hour. Now we’re needed to sell the place.’ He looked at her, smiling. ‘Ah, well, I guess it was too perfect to last for ever.’
‘Nothing lasts for ever,’ Ferne said lightly.
‘That’s what I say.’ Then he sighed and added ruefully, ‘But sometimes it would be nice if it did.’
