by T A Williams
She had also been thinking long and hard about what Fliss had said about the upcoming movie. Although she was adamant that she wanted to put her five years of study to good use, there was no great rush. None of the universities to which she had sent her CV had been able to offer anything, and none of her other applications had resulted in any more interviews so far, so it was probably prudent to let Fliss put her name forward for the role. If the producers decided she was right for the part, there would then be time to make the final decision. The downside, of course, would be being catapulted once again into the public eye, with all the aggravation that would bring, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt it worth the risk. The big unknown, of course, was Matt and just how things might develop between the two of them. It would be ironic if she were to fall in love – and she now found herself actually using the word, albeit just in her head – with somebody who lived in Tuscany only to take a job that involved a move to the other side of the world.
Later on that morning, just in case there really was rain on the way, she decided to go for a leisurely stroll up the road and around the perimeter of the villa. She decided to take her sketch pad with her as well, in case anything caught her eye. Then maybe later on she might head up to Florence for a bit more retail therapy.
The walk past the now-deserted villa gates to the top was as lovely as ever, and the cloud increasingly covering the sun meant that it wasn’t too terribly hot, although she could feel it was becoming ever more humid. As she reached the woods near the turn-off for the tower, she had a rare treat. Hearing movement and sensing she was being watched, she stopped and scanned the trees, until a movement high up revealed the culprits. A pair of delightful little red squirrels were studying her from the safety of a gnarled old pine and, as she made eye contact with them, they turned and scampered off deeper into the trees, leaping acrobatically from branch to branch until they disappeared. She gave a happy little sigh as she watched them go. She turned left onto the track and spared a thought for Matt, as she approached his gates. He would probably be having his first meetings in Rome about now and she couldn’t help wondering yet again just what it was he did.
When she reached the highest point of the fence, not far beyond the gap that the wild boar had torn in the wire, she stopped for a rest in the shade, perching on a fallen tree, from where she had a wide-ranging view down across the villa and its grounds, and onwards through the Chianti hills. Although it was getting hazier by the minute, as the clouds continued to gather, the contrasting colours of the olives, the vines, the fields of ripening corn and the red roofs of the houses dotted about the landscape were glorious, and she felt genuinely lucky to be here. She could see just why Matt had chosen Tuscany for his escape – whatever it had been that had forced him to do so.
She was just about to open her sketch pad when the sound of footsteps attracted her attention and she leant forward to see better. To her left, a head was just appearing up the track on the other side of the fence and she recognised it straightaway. It was Zoë. As Alice looked on, however, it soon became clear that all was not well with the irascible director. She was swaying drunkenly from side to side as she staggered up the slope, and Alice was appalled. They had all had experience of Zoë’s tendency to go off on wild binges, from which she would emerge red-eyed, sore-headed and even snappier than normal, but Alice had hoped that these were now all in the past. Such would appear not to be the case after all and Alice shook her head sadly, reflecting that this didn’t bode well for Millie and the others in the new series. Then, just as she was considering making a hasty departure before she was spotted, she saw Zoë lurch to a halt and sink to her knees with her head in her hands. Two seconds later, she was flat on her face in the dust.
Alice leapt to her feet. ‘Zoë, are you all right?’
Although she shouted at the top of her voice, feeling sure that it would reach Zoë, there was no response as the crumpled form lay there, immobile. Alice looked around wildly but there wasn’t another human being to be seen anywhere so she ran back along the wire until she came to the gate she had used before and punched in the entry code, hoping it hadn’t been changed. She gave a sigh of relief as she heard a click and the gate swung open. She ran through and back up the slope to where Zoë was lying on the ground, mouthing jumbled words and moaning, her face bright red. It was immediately apparent that it was far more serious than too much to drink – maybe a heart attack – so Alice dropped her sketch pad, pulled out her phone and called the number of the villa to tell them what had happened. It rang and rang and then, just as she was getting desperate, it was answered.
‘Pronto.’ It was Paolo and she had never been so happy to hear his voice.
As quickly as she could, she blurted out what was happening, giving details of where they were, and was greatly reassured to hear him respond in a calm voice.
‘Leave it to me, Alice. I’ll get onto the emergency services and they’ll be along shortly, I’m sure. Stay with Zoë and we’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.’
As the line went dead, Alice tucked her phone back into the pocket of her shorts and returned her attention to Zoë. By now, her lips had stopped moving and she was lying on her side, breathing rapidly, eyes closed. Dim memories of first-aid classes when she was a teenager told Alice that this was already pretty close to the so-called recovery position, so she didn’t attempt to move her. Instead, she crouched down at her side, gently cradling her head in her hands. She was relieved to see Zoë’s eyes open, as she felt her touch, and saw what might have been recognition dawn upon her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out and Alice did her best to reassure her former tormentor.
‘Just take it easy, Zoë. We’ve called the ambulance and help is on its way. They’ll be with us shortly.’ She read what could have been comprehension in Zoë’s eyes, before they closed again.
Alice crouched there, softly stroking Zoë’s hair and hoping the medics would arrive soon. Zoë’s breathing, apart from being rapid, was shallow and Alice didn’t like it one bit. From time to time she leant down to check that Zoë was still breathing and was surprised not to smell even a hint of alcohol on her breath. Presumably, the staggering had been caused by the onset of the heart attack or whatever it was, rather than booze. That, at least, was one positive to take away from this incident, when it was all over.
A few minutes later she became aware of the sound of a vehicle approaching up the narrow track from the vines and was mightily relieved to spot a quad bike racing up the hill, driven by Paolo, with Conrad perched precariously behind him. As the little vehicle drew up in a cloud of dust, Conrad leapt off surprisingly nimbly and came running across. He dropped to his knees beside Alice and she could immediately see that he was distraught. He reached out and replaced Alice’s hands supporting Zoë’s head, bending towards her as he did so.
‘Zoë, sweetie, I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.’ His voice was low and charged with emotion. ‘Can you hear me, Zoë?’
‘I don’t think she can, Conrad.’ Alice stretched her arms gratefully and stood up again. ‘I think she’s unconscious. When I got to her, I’m pretty sure she recognised me and I told her help was on the way, but she’s lost consciousness since then. Try not to worry.’
He made no comment but just dropped his head even closer to Zoë’s, rocking gently to and fro, and Alice saw tears fall from his eyes onto the stricken woman’s cheek. She was frankly astounded. It had been clear at the dinner party the previous week that he and Zoë got on well, but she hadn’t been expecting such an outpouring of totally genuine emotion. Any further conjecture was interrupted by Paolo, who came up alongside them and gave Alice an encouraging look.
‘Pierangelo’s waiting for the ambulance by the main gate. He’ll bring them up here to the side gate and we’ll carry her down on a stretcher.’ He patted Alice’s shoulder. ‘Thanks for reacting so quickly, Alice. The medics will be here soon.’
At that moment his phone
rang and he answered it. After a short conversation, he flicked it off and returned his attention to Alice and Conrad. ‘That was Pierangelo. The ambulance will be here in five minutes. That’s remarkably fast, considering where we are.’
As he spoke, Alice already began to hear the distinctive wail of a siren in the distance, and it wasn’t long before a cloud of dust and the crunch of gravel announced the vehicle’s arrival along the track. Three minutes later Pierangelo came running up from the side gate, followed by two paramedics in uniform, carrying a stretcher. They knelt beside Zoë and took over from Conrad, who slowly rose to his feet and stared vacantly around, as if in a daze. Alice caught hold of his arm and gave him an encouraging squeeze.
‘Try not to worry, Conrad. She’s in good hands now.’ She saw his eyes gradually focus on her and he gave a hint of a nod.
‘Yes, yes, of course.’ He rallied. ‘And thank you, Alice. Thank God you were here.’
‘Yes, a lucky coincidence. I was just walking around the perimeter.’ She glanced down at the two paramedics, who were speaking quietly between themselves. After another few moments they reached for the stretcher and gently rolled Zoë onto it, securing her with straps. Finally, assisted by Paolo and Pierangelo, they lifted her up and set off down the hill towards the gate. Alice released her grip on Conrad’s arm, retrieved her discarded sketch pad and followed on.
As Zoë was loaded into the ambulance, Paolo explained to Conrad and Alice that it had been by sheer lucky chance that this ambulance and its crew had been in Greve, barely a few kilometres up the road, which explained why they had got there so quickly. Now they would take her back to the main hospital in Florence. Although Conrad wanted to go with Zoë in the ambulance, only one person could travel with her and Paolo volunteered, as he could speak both Italian and English. As the ambulance reversed back down the track, Pierangelo went to get the quad bike, while Alice accompanied Conrad down the path to the villa on foot. As they walked, he barely said a word and Alice could tell how upset he was. She was still at a loss to understand why, though. Clearly, he and Zoë were good friends, but what made their connection strong enough to bring tears to his eyes?
Back at the villa, Alice offered to go to the hospital with Conrad to help with translating – and just to keep an eye on him. His wife, Amber, was tremendously grateful and even kissed Alice before they set off in a car driven by Pierangelo. During the drive, Conrad continued to stay silent, lost in his thoughts. It was a relief when the car screeched to a halt outside the hospital and they hurried inside. They found Paolo waiting for them by the door with the news that Zoë had been wheeled in for examination and tests, so they would have to sit in the waiting area until called.
He went off to get them all some coffee, while Alice took a seat alongside Conrad. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before she risked a direct question.
‘How’re you doing, Conrad? Try not to worry. They’ll sort her out, I’m sure.’
He jerked his head up and looked at her, as if surprised to find she was there. His eyes were red and watery. ‘Alice, hi. Yes, thanks, I’m sure they’ll take good care of her.’
He lapsed into silence again but only for a few moments before beginning to talk, softly and quietly, his eyes once more directed down at his feet.
‘She’s very, very dear to me. I’d hate it if anything happened to her.’
Alice took the plunge, hoping to get him talking which should, hopefully, raise his spirits. ‘Have you known her long?’
‘All my life.’ His voice tailed off again. As Alice was still wondering what this might mean, she heard his voice again – if anything, now even lower and weaker. ‘She’s my sister.’
Alice struggled hard to stop an expression of amazement flooding across her face. Even for an experienced actress, it was a tough ask. Suddenly, the whole Zoë enigma was explained. The reason Conrad always stood by his controversial director was because she was family. It all fell into place. But why didn’t anybody know? As if reading her mind, Conrad raised his head and looked across at her.
‘Nobody knows because that’s the way she wanted it. Alice, I shouldn’t have told you, so please will you promise me you won’t tell anybody else? I know I can trust you.’
Even through her mystification, Alice felt a little surge of satisfaction that he thought highly enough of her to trust her with this secret. She nodded. ‘I promise, Conrad. What happens in the hospital stays in the hospital.’ She was pleased to see him summon a glimmer of a smile in return.
‘Thanks, Alice.’ His eyes returned to his feet, as he picked up the story once more. Clearly, he needed to talk. ‘She’s my little sister. Our mother died while we were still young and Zoë never quite recovered. She was a wild thing, growing up, and she and my father were always fighting. In the end she ran off when she was still in her teens. I didn’t see her again for ten years. In that time she got married and divorced twice, and she collected some serious mental scars as a result. When she came to me for help, it was as a last resort, and she was a mess.’
‘And so you helped her.’
‘Of course, I helped her – she’s my sister.’ Conrad looked up again. ‘I started her off in the business and she did really well. She turned out to be a brilliant director – except for the way she treats people.’ Alice saw him shake his head sadly. ‘I tell her to go easy on them, she agrees, but it seems to be something she can’t control. The results she produces are always great – just look at the success of Pals – so what can I do? The thing is, I know what she’s been through, what’s made her the way she is, and I feel sorry for her.’ He shook his head ruefully. ‘And, like I say, she’s my sister.’
‘But why doesn’t she want people to know?’
‘Pride, I suppose. After everything that’s happened to her in her life, she’s incredibly low in self-esteem.’ This didn’t really tie in with what Alice had seen over the years, but maybe it had just been an artificial veneer of confidence. ‘She doesn’t want people to think she only got where she did because she’s the sister of the boss. I get that, so I’ve always gone along with it. Going off the radar, marrying a couple of times and changing names muddied the waters sufficiently, and so nobody’s picked up on it.’
Alice sat back and let this bombshell sink in. It explained so much, but it also firmly dashed any hopes there might have been that the new series might have a change of director. She nodded sagely to herself – no question she had done the right thing in walking away from Pals Forever.
Just then Paolo appeared, carrying a plastic tray with coffees and croissants, and he handed them round before sitting down alongside them. They sat and chatted about everything from vineyards to Amerigo Vespucci for almost an hour, before a nurse appeared and announced that one of them could see Zoë, but only briefly. Conrad stood up, braced himself and followed the nurse through a door with a ‘No Entry’ sign on it. When he came back five or six minutes later, he had a look of relief on his face.
‘It wasn’t a heart attack, thank God. She’s suffering from heatstroke. It was a serious attack and she’s badly dehydrated, so they’re keeping her in overnight, but the doctor says she’ll be fine tomorrow or, at worst, in a day or two.’ Then he surprised Alice. ‘She asks if you can go in and see her, Alice. Would you do that?’
‘Yes, of course.’
He caught her eye for a couple of seconds. ‘And, Alice, I’d be grateful if you didn’t mention anything about my little indiscretion.’
She gave him a reassuring nod of the head and, not without some trepidation, followed the nurse back through the door and along the corridor. She found Zoë hooked up to a drip, eyes closed and with a weary expression on her face, but looking a whole lot better than she had done out there on the hillside.
Alice went over to the bedside and leant towards her. ‘Hi, Zoë, how’re you feeling?’ She saw the eyes open and readied herself for a caustic reply, but it didn’t come. Instead, Zoë reached out and caught hold of her wrist, p
ulling her gently down until she was able to kiss her on the cheek. As she looked up at Alice, there was genuine gratitude in her eyes.
‘Thank you so much for saving my life, Alice. The doctor says if I’d been left there for long, I’d have died.’ For a moment there was a flash of the cynical Zoë that Alice had come to know so well. ‘Why didn’t you leave me to die? That way, you could have joined the others in the new series.’
Alice straightened up in shock. ‘Why didn’t I do what? What are you saying? Of course, I came running and, of course, I called for help.’ She shook her head in disbelief. ‘Zoë, you and I have had our differences on set, but when it’s a matter of life and death, all that goes out the window. No job’s worth a human life and that’s for sure. No, I’m pleased I could help and I’m delighted to hear that you’re going to make a full recovery.’
‘You’re so sweet. Thank you, really, thank you.’ As Zoë’s eyes closed again, the nurse gave a little shake of the head and Alice headed back to the others. She was astounded by Zoë’s tender tone, but also appalled by her insinuation that she might, even for a moment, have considered turning a blind eye and leaving her to her fate. If it hadn’t been for Conrad’s account of Zoë’s troubled past, she would have screamed in frustration – instead, she walked out feeling happy, knowing she had done the right thing.
Chapter 23
By the time she got back home it was late afternoon and she was feeling unexpectedly tired after the stress of the day. She went upstairs, lay down on the bed and dropped off to sleep within minutes.
She was woken a good while later by the sudden onset of a torrential deluge outside the open window, thankfully this time not accompanied by thunderclaps. Along with it came a breath of blissfully fresh air, wafting into the room.
