by Gill Vickery
‘And you hid the second one,’ Jade said. ‘He never had a chance to come for Elena.’
The Signora nodded. ‘I knew it but I denied it to myself and provoked him further. I said, At least Gaetano truly loves her. She’s better off with him than you; he’s even happy to raise your bastard child.’
Jade gasped. ‘How could you!’
Signora Minardi raised her hands as though protecting herself from Jade’s accusation. ‘I still thought Elena would be happier with Gaetano than with Roberto. I thought I could drive him away with words. But it was war and words were nothing when guns could speak. He stared at me with contempt for a moment, then left. I knew that he was going to report to the Black Brigade and that they would attack the farmhouse immediately. I also knew there would be more victims than they anticipated because of the Pasqua feast for the partisans and their friends. I didn’t even stop to tell my parents what I was doing; I went to the hills as fast as I could. I reached the farmhouse only moments before the Black Brigade; I had a bicycle and my feet, they had vehicles. There was no time for flight, only for fighting. Because of me, good men died – Gaetano’s family died. And there were reprisals afterwards – Elena’s parents were executed, as were mine, along with dozens of townspeople. The Black Brigade did it as an example to those who supported partisans and sheltered Allied spies.’
Jade felt numb and sick yet there was one more truth that needed to be spoken out loud. ‘Signora, like Alec said, nothing – nothing – can excuse what Nonno did.’
‘Nevertheless, if I hadn’t tormented him, scorned him, he might have left us alone. It was I who was responsible for those deaths.’ She turned to Alec. ‘And you, my friend – Roberto had heard rumours that you were at the farmhouse but he only knew for certain when he came face to face with you in the kitchen.’
Alec gave his twisted smile. ‘I think they call that collateral damage these days.’
‘How can you joke about such a thing! You were terribly hurt because of me and have spent all these years in torment trying to remember the truth, which I could have told you in a heartbeat. That is unforgivable.’
Alec took her hands. ‘We were young and foolish and the war was all around us. Yours wasn’t the only mistake we made, and it wasn’t the worst. Dear friend, there is nothing to forgive.’
Alec released Ilaria Minardi’s hands and smiled again. ‘You can tell me though, what I need to know to fill the gaps in my poor brain.’
‘Anything.’
‘How exactly did I get out of the house and onto the escape route?’
‘When Volpe shot you, I snatched up a meat cleaver and attacked him. I severed some of his fingers and he dropped the shotgun. I snatched it up and fired at his legs. He fell, screaming. Jerzy broke through the door and we dragged you out. Jerzy carried you into the forest where we were joined by other partisans. They and the contadini helped us to unite you with the Allies.’
‘You returned to fight again.’
‘Yes.’
Jade couldn’t bear to listen to any more. ‘Signora, thank you for telling us the truth. Now I know exactly what to think of my grandfather.’
‘You will tell your parents about me?’
Jade shook her head. ‘I’m not going to say anything to anybody.’ Not even Amber, she thought. Her sister, like the rest of the family, had made her peace with what she thought was the truth; there was no point in stirring up more pain.
‘And you?’ Ilaria Minardi asked Nico.
‘No,’ he said. ‘It’s over, really over, finished for ever.’
‘We’re going now,’ Jade said. ‘We’ll say goodbye before we go home tomorrow.’
‘Thank you,’ the old lady said. But she wasn’t looking at Jade; she was looking at Alec.
Nico took Jade for a meal at the cafe on the other side of the river. They didn’t speak much till Jade said, ‘At least I know how Nonno really lost his fingers and why he limped. He was such a liar. Just think, we were so keen to find out why Nonno’s relatives rejected him and why he thought he’d be killed if came back. Now we know and the truth’s horrible.’
‘Amber doesn’t know everything.’
‘She knows enough.’ Jade laughed.
Nico hadn’t expected that. ‘What’s funny?’
‘We made an album, The Book of Memories, for our Italian relatives because we wanted to show them what a lovely person Nonno was by sharing our memories of him. Instead of that, they showed us what he was truly like – a murderer. Amber threw the book into the Arno this morning.’
Nico didn’t know what he was supposed to make of that. ‘Don’t you think it was a bit drastic?’ he said cautiously. ‘Roberto did love you and Amber and from what you told me, he loved Grace and your mum too.’
‘Nah, the memories were all false. He didn’t love us enough to tell us the truth and say he was sorry for what he’d done. Signora Minardi’s sorry – properly sorry – for what she did, you can tell.’
Nico agreed. ‘I get that.’ He paused. ‘Will you be able to live with what you know? You haven’t got anyone to share with.’
‘There’s you! Or are you going to go home and forget about me?’
‘No!’ Nico grinned. ‘Anyway, I haven’t got a choice – your mum’s already invited my mum to your farmhouse in the summer, even if it’s not finished.’
‘Charming.’
It was getting dark. ‘Let’s walk,’ Nico said. ‘We can watch the lights along the riverbank.’
They went hand in hand towards the Arno. ‘What about you?’ Jade asked. ‘Did you get what you came to Italy for, apart from outing E. J. Holm I mean? You said it was to find out if you and your mum can get on with James long term. Can you?’
Nico hadn’t thought of James as the muppet for some time. He shrugged. ‘He’s not that bad. He likes Mum and she likes him. They’re good for each other. I can put up with him for her sake I guess. It does get her off my back.’ Italy had made Mum stronger too, Nico thought. Things didn’t scare her as much any more – she hadn’t texted him once this evening even though it was late, and dark.
I’ve found my place, Nico realised. I know exactly what I want to do with my life; Italy’s given me that. He thought with excitement of his plans for the future and was glad that Jade was in them.
‘Oh look!’ she said.
‘What?’
‘My first fireflies!’ Jade was rapt.
Nico laughed. He leaned his arms on the parapet of the bridge and the two of them watched the darting lights flickering above the night-black water until the evening turned chilly and they walked back to Via del Corno for the last time.
By the time I moved permanently to Italy Emily was four. She was a happy child who had never been afraid of my appearance and she loved her new home. She quickly endeared herself to my friends, particularly Ilaria who spoiled her scandalously. I bought a place in the hills and settled down as a farmer of sorts growing olives and grapes and later kiwi fruit, which surprisingly flourished.
Emily eventually spent some time at school in England and later at university. After a brief marriage she returned to Italy and worked on the farm. She also became my helper when I decided to begin writing the Alessandro Lupo novels. She was forthright in her comments on the stories and was invaluable as a secretary: I have no truck with IT and certainly not with social media. The success of the books took us both by surprise. I was unwilling to reveal myself but, unfortunately, this only seemed to inflame the curiosity of fans still further. However, times have moved on and there are now several reasons for coming clean at last.
Firstly, I had hoped that, as Alessandro doggedly pursues the serial killer who is systematically murdering ex-Fascists and informers, I would begin to make sense of what had happened to me during the war. Now Alessandro has solved his last case yet I know little more than when I began the books. Besides
, writing them became much more important to me than mere therapy and I have been gratified at their reception.
Secondly, I no longer care about my appearance or how people might react to it. I have made new, young friends who are not in the least concerned with my looks. Their only interest is in the books and, by extension, the nature of the person who wrote them.
Thirdly, I wanted to write this memoir to pay tribute to the men and women of all nations who fought valiantly against such overwhelming odds to free Italy from the horrors of Fascism. I couldn’t do this and continue to hide my face away.
Finally, I had hoped that in taking some of the characters through my own experiences I would find my way to that last, lost memory: what did the Black Brigade boy say just before he shot me? I have discovered that the question is no longer important.
The future is not mine; it belongs to the young. All I ask of them is that they do not forget the terrible things that happened during that dark period of history and work to ensure that they are never repeated.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
IN 2005
Nico Collier, on holiday in Florence with his mother, Hattie, and her boyfriend, James Crozier
Jade Thompson and her twin sister, Amber, on holiday in Florence with their parents, Luisa and Kevin
Signora Minardi, landlady of the apartments where Jade, Nico and their families are staying
Ornella, companion to Signora Minardi
Caterina and Carlo Biagi, who live near Borgo Sant’Angelo, a small town in the countryside
Lia, Valentina and Dario, Caterina and Carlo’s teenage children
Davide and Sofia, Caterina’s parents
Matteo, Caterina’s brother
Nonno, Caterina and Matteo’s grandfather
Nonna, Caterina and Matteo’s grandmother
Emily Baxendall (Mrs Bax), an expatriate Englishwoman who has lived in Italy for most of her life. She lives with her elderly father, Alec, in a grand house in the countryside.
Edoardo Rossi, a picture restorer
E. J. Holm, a reclusive crime writer living in Tuscany
1933–1944
Roberto, Gaetano, Elena and Ilaria, four close friends
Jerzy and Henryk, escaped Polish prisoners of war who joined the resistance movement
‘Il Lupo’, a British SOE officer working with the resistance in Italy
Books by E. J. Holm
The Shattered Mirror
The Leopard’s Kill
The Coloratura Assassin
The Prince without a Country
Murder in the Fifteenth Tower
Revenge unto the Fourth Generation
HISTORICAL NOTE
The SOE and the war in Italy
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret organisation founded in 1940 to ‘set Europe ablaze’ (Winston Churchill). The agents of the SOE – all volunteers – had a two-part mission: to carry out acts of sabotage, such as blowing up bridges and factories, and to help support rebel groups fighting against the enemy. The SOE became very active in Italy after its government agreed to an armistice with the Allies at war against Germany. The armistice was signed in September 1943 and Italy surrendered to the Allies. Germany retaliated by occupying Italy. The country then fell into civil war, with some Italians siding with Germany and some with the Allies.
The infamous Black Brigades were created after the armistice to rout out anyone caught supporting the Allies, including partisans and SOE agents. They were feared for their extreme brutality. The story of Tosca Buccarelli and her torture in the infamous Villa Triste is true. The building is now an apartment block.
The Primavera
The Primavera (Spring), the picture which features in this book, was painted by Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, c. 1445 d.1510) in about 1482. It depicts a mysterious woodland glade where approximately 190 species of flowers flourish; roughly 130 of these are recognisable and half of these are spring flowering. There are eight figures and a flying cherub in the glade. No one is exactly sure who the figures represent but one of the most likely interpretations is that they are Mercury – messenger of the gods – the three graces dancing, Venus, Flora (the goddess of spring), Chloris (a nymph), and Zephyr, the gentle west wind associated with spring.
The picture may have been commissioned by, or for, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici (1458–1503) in celebration of his wedding to Semiramide Appiani in 1482.
Other artworks
All the artworks mentioned in the book, except for the Esther cycle, are real and can be seen in the locations mentioned.
The Vincenzo Danti (1530–1576) exhibition took place in 2008, three years later than in this book. I have moved it to fit in with the plot. Likewise, the restoration of Donatello’s David, which was undertaken from 2007–8. I have tried to ensure that all other dates are accurate. Any mistakes are entirely my own.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to Arts Council England, East Midlands Arts, for their generous grant which enabled me to visit Italy and carry out valuable first-hand research.
Journalist Veronica Horwell first sparked my interest in Botticelli’s masterpiece, Primavera, with her witty and perceptive article, ‘Oh no it isn’t’, which she wrote for the Guardian.
Several friends with expert knowledge have given me valuable assistance: David Boulton advised me on medical issues and the uses of shotguns. The late Clive Beer-Jones of Black Widow told me many lively stories of roadie antics. Jane Weller was a fount of information about the military and modern military history. She also directed me to ANPI, the National Association of Italian Partisans (Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d’Italia). Joan Parker gave me many unique insights into daily life in Italy.
I am also indebted to friends and colleagues who were kind enough to read and comment on the manuscript. These include Mary, Jane, Fran, Lynne, Miriam, John, Patricia, Linda and Helen Louise. My young beta readers were especially forthright! Thank you for your insights, Gary, Bea and Katie.
Italian friends were always warm and welcoming, especially Paolo and Cristina Badiali and Tina Avola. In Florence, Marco Germinale and Valentina Barbero kindly shared their knowledge of scooters while the experts at Florence by Bike were generous with their time and expertise.
In the town of Villagrappa, Dottoressa Elissa Massa and Bruno Conficioni organised a wonderful reception. The people of Villagrappa kindly shared many memories and stories of wartime. Thank you also to Bruno for his tour of abandoned farmhouses.
Naturally libraries have proved indispensable and I would like to thank the following: The British Library; The London Library; University of Leicester School of Education Library; Rugby School Library; Lutterworth Library.
My son-in-law, Chris Allen, has been a stalwart in ferrying me back and forth in search of information.
Finally: the person to whom I owe the most is my daughter, Elizabeth Allen. Thank you.
About the Author
Gill won the Kathleen Fidler First Novel Award with her book The Ivy Crown(Hodder). Her later books include the DragonChild series and the Franklin’s Emporium series for A & C Black. She currently teaches Writing Fiction to adults in Rugby.
She has loved Italy ever since her rst visit there in 1973 but it was 25 years later that she became fascinated by stories of the partisans who formed the WW2resistance to Fascism.
Read more at Gill Vickery’s site.
About the Publisher
The Greystones Press is a small independent publisher, based in Oxfordshire, UK. We specialise in quality adult and YA fiction and in adult non-fiction in areas such as Art, History, Literature, Music, Myths and Legends and Fairy Tales
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