Hearts On Fire Episode 15
After lunch, Julia followed Marianna to her office feeling like she’d already received her first warning.
She’d been trying to extract from Mark where he planned to paint that afternoon, and he’d done likewise without giving any information away.
Marianna had made a light-hearted yet pointed comment about how Julia was supposed to be working, not socialising.
The room was small and modern, with a computer and little else other than paintings on the walls, all clearly Mariana’s.
Throughout Villa Davide hung everything from family portraits through countryside scenes to pet dogs painted in a variety of styles, all with a stylised MR in the bottom corner.
The hostess had a wealth of talent.
“How is it going?” Marianna asked.
“Why?” Julia replied. “Has someone said something?”
Her money would be on Charlie.
“No. In fact, I was expecting at least one guest to complain by now, but nothing.” Marianna shrugged.
Julia’s shoulders unwound.
“What did you do this morning?” Marianna asked.
Julia explained about the sketching session aimed at seeing what people would make of unassuming surroundings, to encourage their innate creativity.
“Charlie will love that!”
“She’s gone with the flow, so far,” Julia replied.
“Wizzy is enjoying herself, so hopefully she’ll back me up.”
Marianna laughed.
“We’ll see.”
Marianna’s tone cooled as she asked, “And the others?”
“Were you thinking of anyone in particular?” Julia’s pulse rate picked up a notch.
“I noticed sparks between you and Mark Lyons.”
Julia’s heart raced. If Marianna had noticed the tension between them, then the others must have, too.
“I plan to remain entirely impartial and divide my attention equally.”
Julia had totally failed to find out where he planned to be that afternoon so she could avoid bumping into him when they were alone.
Like the others, she planned to paint. But where?
Her balcony was the obvious choice, but what if he decided to paint on his?
Marianna paused.
“I’m glad to hear it. I want no more complaints of favouritism, Julia.
“Villa Davide used to get many secondary bookings from these art retreats – people coming back with their families in weeks when we did not have a retreat running.
“Also from recommendations to friends and so on. That doesn’t happen much now.”
Marianna glanced down at her hands.
“Hardly ever, in fact. I will be frank with you. Just one cancellation could mean I lose Villa Davide.
“My life, my home, my heritage.”
Without the look of despair in Marianna’s eye, Julia would have considered these words overly dramatic.
Her employer was serious.
“I assure you I will do my utmost to make this work.” Julia decided to be honest about how she needed the venture to succeed, too.
As a portfolio artist, she relied on several different sources of income.
One of these was freelancing for a greetings card company, but it had not sent her a commission for months.
She’d sent a polite query and received a reply that morning: Sorry, but the market is tough right now.
“I am in a similar position,” she admitted. “My portfolio career is currently challenging.
“Can you perhaps move Mark or me to another room?” she finished.
She would feel more confident if she didn’t risk gazing into those hazel eyes every time she went on to the balcony, running her eyes over his five o’clock shadow and having to refrain from running her fingers over it, too.
Marianna shook her head.
“We are full. I would need to move two people.”
“No, you can’t do that,” Julia agreed.
“You must be careful, but don’t distance yourself so much that he feels you are cutting him out,” Marianna warned her.
As Julia left, she saw Luca sitting outside.
He stood and smiled, but it wasn’t his normal exuberant smile.
He knocked and entered.
The tone of Marianna’s welcome was tinged with concern.
“Is there a problem?”
Julia didn’t need a translator to know what that meant, especially when he answered to confirm that there was, in fact, a problem.
Julia kept her fingers crossed that the problem was small and didn’t involve any money.
She pushed that worry away and picked up her bag ready for an afternoon away from Villa Davide.
The trails were delightful – soft dirt scattered with pine needles underfoot.
Stone walls so old they looked like they’d sprouted from the earth at the beginning of time flanked the paths.
The trees gave welcome shade from a fierce sun and scented the air with pine.
Julia followed the signs for Il Picco del Re – King’s Peak – and the viewpoint.
She’d decided taking a walk was the only way to avoid bumping into Mark at the villa this afternoon.
After an hour of climbing, with frequent stops to sip from her water bottle and listen to the birds calling and lizards rustling in the leaf litter, Julia emerged into a small clearing at the broad, flat hilltop.
She saw a wooden refreshment shack – closed because it was a weekday – a noticeboard, and wooden picnic tables.
The place was dull, deserted and not a ready source of inspiration.
“Perfect,” she said to herself.
Her brain ran through the reasons it was the perfect spot for painting outdoors.
She continued to think up ideas as she spotted another signpost for the lookout across the clearing and followed it.
After a minute of picking her way between the trees and carefully choosing her footing on a stony path that wound steadily downhill, she rounded a bend and emerged on to a large, flat outcrop with, it seemed, the whole of Italy spread out below.
And standing with an easel and paints and an air of quiet confidence was the man she was trying to avoid.
Julia froze. What on earth was he doing here?
More importantly, had he seen her?
With blood pounding in her ears, she tried to slip away, but it was too late.
Mark turned and smiled.
His lips parted, his eyes sparkled, and Julia’s good intentions evaporated.
To be continued…