Hearts On Fire Episode 17
“Mamma?”
Marianna looked up to find Jacopo standing in the doorway.
“Yes?”
“You wanted to talk?”
“Yes. Come and sit.”
Jacopo entered and sat as instructed.
“How are things with Mark Lyons?” Marianna asked. “You took him to the belvedere at King’s Peak today, didn’t you?”
Jacopo nodded.
“He wanted to see Lake Trasimeno. I told him about the viewpoint where he could view the lake and sit and paint, too.”
“And?” Marianna encouraged.
Jacopo shrugged.
“That’s all. I drove him there, I dropped him off, and I picked him up later.”
“How was he? He’s not still thinking of leaving?” she asked.
“No, I don’t think so. He remains a little tense, but much less anxious. I gave him my mobile number in case of an emergency.”
“Emergency?” Marianna repeated. “What happens up there? No-one goes in the middle of the week.”
Jacopo grinned.
“You are forgetting about wildfires, Mamma. The breeze was from the north today.
“If he spotted a fire, he could phone me, get out fast and alert everyone here, too.”
Marianna shook her head.
“He’s still worried about being roasted alive?”
Jacopo paused.
“I’m not sure it’s just that. He worries about having no control.
“When I explained how the warning system works, how we would know where the fire was coming from, and in which direction we should drive to be safe, he seemed to calm down.
“Also, I explained the measures we take to safeguard the house,” he continued. “He agreed that what I said made sense, as though he should have known this himself.
“He also contributed the part the guests themselves would play.”
“It’s odd, don’t you think?” Marianna asked. “He doesn’t look like an anxious type.”
“What does he look like?”
Marianna considered.
“A capable executive. I see him running his own company, or being on the board of some multinational corporation.”
Jacopo looked surprised.
“You can tell all that from just looking at him?”
Marianna nodded.
“What’s your assessment of him?”
Jacopo considered this for a moment.
“He’s frightened,” he said. “I suspect he lost someone close to him in a fire.
“That would make sense. Particularly if he escaped, leaving loved ones behind.”
“Should we ask?” Marianna wondered. “So we can try to help?”
Jacopo shook his head.
“Definitely not. He had the opportunity to open up when I was showing him around that first day.
“He would have told me then if he wanted to share. We should leave him be.”
Marianna nodded. Jacopo was a good judge of character.
“We are perilously close to breaching our overdraft limit again, and you know what that means,” she told him, changing the subject.
Jacopo nodded.
“We’ll be fine, Mamma. These guests love it here. They love Julia. I’ve seen great feedback on social media already.”
Marianna did not understand social media, other than that posts could dent their reputation.
“Thank goodness,” she breathed.
Jacopo stood.
“Is there anything else?”
He seemed keen to get away. To see Océane, no doubt.
Marianna had caught Jacopo and her chef with their heads together, giggling over something earlier.
They were of a similar age and he seemed closer to her than their previous cooks.
But Océane was ambitious. There was no way she would stay at Villa Davide.
“That reminds me,” she said before she realised he had no idea where her thoughts had wandered. “I didn’t thank you.”
“For what?” Jacopo asked.
“You and Océane did well today.”
“We did?”
“The shopping I normally do myself,” she explained. “You were right that she would make a good job of it. I should trust you more.”
Jacopo grinned.
“Yes, you should,” he agreed. “I understand it’s difficult for you after Papà wasted so much money, but I am not Papà.
“I am not like him that way, and I never will be, Mamma. You need to trust me on that.”
Marianna nodded.
Jacopo was the spitting image of her husband, and now that the future of Villa Davide was in doubt, she had been worried he would have the same flaws.
“Did you hear about Luca?” she asked.
His expression became grave.
“I did. It is sad news about his son-in-law.”
Marianna nodded.
“He and his wife must go to support their daughter and family until he recovers, but that might take months.
“What will we do? We can’t afford to pay anyone to take over from him while he is away.”
She had been doing the sums all day. They paid Luca an allowance for the upkeep and insurance of his car, plus a fee per trip.
If they failed to replace him, it would mean paying taxi fees, and likely the new driver would want more money.
That would take them beyond their overdraft limit, causing the bank to foreclose on Villa Davide.
Jacopo stood.
“Leave it with me, Mamma. I’ve heard of a minivan going cheap. It might be our answer.”
His expression softened and his eyes intensified as he held her gaze.
He rested a hand lightly on her shoulder.
“Do you trust me?”
How well he knew her.
She weighed up her options. They were pitifully few.
In fact, she could only think of one.
She nodded.
Jacopo smiled and left.
She moved to the window, which overlooked the terrazza.
All the guests were present with their work, engaging happily with Julia.
Marianna bit her fingernails – a bad habit.
Everything seemed to be going well.
For now, she had nothing to worry about there, so Marianna revisited the paintings hanging about the walls of Villa Davide, looking yet again for ones that might sell and provide a financial cushion.
She couldn’t bear to part with them.
Finally she returned to her desk and logged into the bank.
This had become an obsession, checking if the worst had happened yet, watching the balance hover above that critical level.
When she arrived at the transactions page, her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide.
To be continued…