Hearts On Fire Episode 20
Julia startled awake, her eyes wide in the dark, her heart thumping. She’d heard a scream.
Or had she?
It could have been a fox – they made unearthly, bloodcurdling noises.
Her ears strained for clues, but caught nothing except the faint rustle of trees in a cool night breeze.
She heard footsteps in the room next door, hurrying to the balcony door. Then silence again.
Mark had got up and gone outside, presumably disturbed by the same noise.
Julie flicked on her bedside light, padded over to her own balcony door and stepped outside.
The night air chilled her bare arms, and she rubbed them as she stepped forward to find out what was happening.
In the light of a half moon, she saw Mark barely outlined against the dark forest.
His shoulders were hunched as he gripped the railing.
“Mark?” she said softly.
Even that sounded like a shout in the dead of night.
He turned to face her.
“Can you see anything?” His voice was frightened.
Julia peered into the darkness, uncertain what she was looking for.
“Did you hear it, too?”
“Hear what?”
“I thought I heard a scream.” It sounded silly when spoken aloud, so she added, “Or something.”
He turned back to the view, his eyes raking over the forest before them.
“That was me. I smelled smoke.”
Julia began to understand. This was about his fear of fire.
“I can’t smell anything,” she told him. “And I can’t see any smoke. Perhaps it was a nightmare?”
His grip on the rail loosened.
He ran one hand through his hair, leaving it ruffled.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not sure I can smell anything now, either.”
Julia smiled gently.
“You’re very anxious about this, aren’t you? Would you like to talk?”
He looked at her.
“I’d like that. But . . .” His gaze returned to the trees.
“You need to check?”
He nodded.
Julia hesitated then turned.
“I’ll put on a sweatshirt and some shoes. You shouldn’t be alone for this.”
He gave her a half smile.
“Thank you.”
As she dressed, Julia debated the implications of what she was about to do.
It was the exact opposite of what Marianna wanted.
What option did she have, though? She couldn’t let Mark suffer alone.
They went out on to the terrazza first, bathed in an odd twilight, the forest stretching to the east and south as a uniform black beneath an inky blue sky.
Odd lights signified houses and street lights, but nothing flickered like fire, and no smoke rose.
Their rooms looked north, which left the west unchecked – the direction of the long drive.
“I’m sure it was nothing,” he said, but Julia could hear his doubt.
“You need to check the driveway, though?”
He nodded.
“It’s so long. If a problem started there, we’d be trapped.”
Julia nodded and hooked her hand through his arm.
“Come on,” she whispered. “It’s only a kilometre. If we step out, we can make the road and back in under half an hour.
She felt his elbow grip her hand against his firm side, then loosen again.
He smiled down at her.
“I don’t deserve this. Thank you.”
They set out in silence, drinking in the sounds of the forest: things snuffling in the undergrowth, the hoot of an owl, the smell of fresh pine.
“I’m a good listener,” Julia told him. “If you want to share why you’re so worried about fire, I’m all ears.”
His body tensed again, then gradually relaxed.
“I owe you that. I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for your calming effect, your teaching skills.
“And Marianna’s son, Jacopo, too. That young man is very impressive.”
He blew out a breath and turned his head away from her, towards the dense bushes and trees that grew north of the drive.
“The last six months have been one long nightmare,” he began. “My doctor recommended I start painting again to relax.”
“Yes, you mentioned that,” Julia replied.
“I’m off work with stress.” He took a deep breath. “Something bad happened.”
“A fire?”
“Yes.”
Suddenly Julia realised where she’d seen him before – on the news.
“You’re the fire chief who was on duty when the Cremona factory exploded, aren’t you?”
He didn’t seem surprised that she’d made the connection and he nodded.
“I’ve been dealing with fires my whole working life, and I did it well. Then . . . that happened.” His voice was low, his face averted.
“Five of my men died,” he continued. “If I’d told them not to . . .”
He hung his head and his feet stopped.
Julia turned to face him.
“But there was an inquiry. The deaths were caused by the factory owners illegally storing hazardous substances.
“You couldn’t have known they were there. It wasn’t your fault.”
“No,” he agreed. “But if I’d made a different decision, those men would be alive today.
“Dominic,” he added, his voice cracking, “would still be alive.”
“Who is Dominic?” Julia asked. “Your son?”
Mark seemed to have forgotten the reason for the walk.
He sat on a log at the side of the dusty track, his head in his hands.
Julia sat next to him, listening.
“He might as well have been.”
Mark related the story of his next-door neighbour, a single mum who worked hard to give her son, Dominic, a decent life.
In his mid-teens, Dominic had fallen in with the wrong sort and begun making unwise decisions.
Mark had taken the lad under his wing and become a surrogate dad.
“He became the son I never had.” He stole an awkward glance at Julia. “I’ve always been so dedicated to my job that relationships didn’t last.”
Julia nodded.
“Dominic looked up to me. I was his role model, something to aim for in life, to emulate. He became a firefighter, like me.
“That day, I couldn’t think of an excuse to keep him from his first major blaze,” Mark explained. “I’d been holding back, keeping him safe.
“But he was fully trained and desperate to go.”
Now Julia understood: Mark felt responsible for betraying Dominic’s trust.
She put her arm around his shoulders and held him.
They talked until his story was told and he’d shared his guilt and doubts.
Then they set off back towards Villa Davide.
As they reached the house, still talking in muted voices, they veered right to reach the front door.
But as they rounded the fence that surrounded the livestock area, they heard a noise.
They stopped and looked at each other.
“What was that?” Julia whispered.
Mark shook his head and whispered back.
“We should check. Someone is up to no good.”
They tiptoed towards the gate, which was on the opposite side of the enclosure.
As it came in sight, someone slipped stealthily through and disappeared into the olive groves.
Mark and Julia exchanged looks.
What was going on?
To be continued…