by T A Williams
As she spoke, Bee began to put two and two together, remembering what Amos Franklin had said about Mimi Robertson and her intention of hiding herself away. Gayle confirmed her suspicions.
‘Mimi wants to disappear and we were wondering if you’d like to disappear with her.’
‘What, me and Mimi Robertson?’ It sounded unreal. Beatrice Kingdom, the nobody, and a global megastar? And an irascible, spoilt one as well, if the tales told about her were true.
‘That’s right. All we’d ask of you is that you keep an eye on her.’
‘Keep an eye…?’
‘You know what they’re like, these film stars. They don’t carry money, they don’t lift a finger, they’re completely helpless without somebody to look after them.’ No doubt spotting the expression on Bee’s face, Gayle hurried on. ‘Don’t worry, the place we’ve found comes complete with staff who’ll do all the housekeeping, cooking, laundry and so on. We just wondered if you might be prepared to keep her company, stop her going stir crazy. Besides, you speak Italian and she’s gonna need an interpreter.’
‘And where’s this villa?’ In spite of the very scary thought of being asked to pair up with a global megastar, Bee could hear the animation in her own voice.
‘Here, not too far from Siena. Apparently it’s out in the wilds, well out of the way of the paparazzi.’
‘Do places like that exist here in Tuscany? Surely this whole area’s swarming with tourists.’
‘That’s what I thought, too. But our guys have found just the place. Or so they tell me.’
Bee wondered idly who these ‘guys’ might be. Gayle appeared to have a ‘guy’ for just about everything. Not for nothing was she referred to by the film crew as ‘The Fixer’.
‘So, are you interested, Bee?’
‘Of course…’ Her voice tailed off as she considered the ramifications of this offer. ‘It’s just… Mimi Robertson… I don’t know…’
Gayle nodded. ‘I hear you, Bee. I know her better than you and I know she has a reputation for being difficult. That’s the way so many of these big stars get to be. They’re spoilt rotten. But, underneath, she’s a good girl, believe me. I’ve known her since she was a young bit-part actress and we’ve always gotten on well. You’ll see. Once she’s away from all the glitz and glamour, she’ll be fine. Trust me.’
‘If you say so, Gayle…’ The more Bee thought about it, the weirder it felt.
‘More to the point, are you sure the idea of a month or even two in the wilds of the country doesn’t sound too scary or too boring?’
‘To be honest, Gayle, I’m not sure how I might handle being dumped in the middle of the country. I’ve lived in a big city most of my life.’ Even so, as she thought it over, Bee felt her spirits lift for just about the first time since the accident. ‘Mind you, for years now I’ve been dreaming of spending time in Tuscany. I came over to Florence on holiday with my parents years ago when I was just a little a girl and I’ve been in love with the area ever since. The idea of spending a month or two here is pretty wonderful, even if I have to do it from underneath a red wig.’
‘And trust me, I know you can hack it with Mimi, even if she can be pretty demanding.’
‘Well, all right then, if you say so. Why not? It sounds amazing and it’ll give me the time I need to get over all this, and hopefully find myself a new job.’
‘Great, if you’re sure I’ll tell Mimi and see what she says. How long do you think it’ll be before they discharge you?’
‘I don’t really know. I imagine they’ll keep me here as long as I have dressings that need to be changed. I’ll ask the doctors.’
‘So, maybe, another week or so?’
Bee nodded slowly. ‘I suppose so.’
‘Mimi should be able to survive here in Siena until then. How long she’ll be able to stay undetected when you both move out to the countryside is another matter. Her face is all over the local as well as the national papers, as is yours by the way.’ Bee must have looked surprised. ‘Reflected glory, Bee.’ She grinned. ‘Enjoy your moment in the limelight. I just hope my guys are right when they say the place they’ve found is really remote. If the paparazzi get word of where Mimi’s gone, there’ll be hell to pay.’
Bee turned the idea over in her head. As a confirmed city dweller, a prolonged sojourn in the wilds of the countryside sounded a bit scary, but, certainly, this would keep Mimi a good long way away from prying eyes and give them both a well-earned break. She had often dreamt of a long holiday in Tuscany, but had been thinking rather more of art galleries, museums and gorgeous architecture. Being stuck out in the middle of nowhere wasn’t quite the same but, still, Tuscany was Tuscany.
‘I suppose it really has to be in the back of beyond, hasn’t it, Gayle? No shops, no cafés, no cinemas, no theatre. I’m pretty sure I can cope, but the question is whether Mimi can.’
No doubt seeing her hesitation, Gayle changed to a more encouraging tone. ‘It won’t be too bad. Don’t you worry. My guys say the place is very beautiful and very comfortable. There’s TV and broadband, but you’ll both need to find something to do to pass the time.’
‘That’s the least of my worries. I suppose it depends how demanding Mimi’s going to be. If I get some free time to myself, I can get down to some serious job-hunting and catch up on my reading. You never know; Mimi might even decide to write her memoirs. Although she’s a bit young for memoir writing, really.’ She caught Gayle’s eye. ‘How old is she, actually?’
Gayle winked. ‘She’s thirty-nine. Just like she was last year, and the year before…’
‘Wow, I thought she was my age.’
‘And that is?’
‘Thirty-one.’
Gayle’s smile broadened. ‘Mimi’s looking at forty-one in the rear-view mirror, let alone thirty-one. Anyway, you and she’ll get along fine, I’m sure. Just give it a bit of time. And you’d be doing us a big favour. We won’t forget it.’
Chapter 3
‘When your guy said the place was out in the wilds, Gayle, he wasn’t joking!’
Gayle had instructed the driver of the big black Mercedes to stop the car at the top of the hill to give Bee and Mimi a panoramic view of where they would be spending the next few weeks or even months. Gayle’s unspecified ‘guys’ who had managed to find this place had promised it would be suitably remote. From what Bee could see, they had been spot on. Virtually everywhere she looked, there were just woods, fields, trees and vines.
She glanced sideways at Mimi and another little shiver of apprehension ran through her. What was it going to be like, living with a highly strung actress out here in the middle of nowhere? She still hadn’t got over the fact of finding herself sitting alongside the megastar on the way here today. Goodness only knew how scary it would be when she found herself all alone with her. She struggled to get her head around the fact that she was in the presence of somebody whose face was known to millions and millions of people around the world. The knowledge that a large portion of those millions of people would love to swap places with her alongside Mimi should have helped bolster her confidence, but it didn’t.
She climbed gingerly out of the car into the stifling heat of the late June sunshine, stretching her sore leg as she did so. The bruising had reached the multicoloured stage by now and, although the doctors had told her she was doing fine, her thigh muscles and the whole area still ached. She leant against the side of the car and breathed deeply. After almost three weeks in hospital, it was good to be out in the open once more. The sun was shining brightly from a cloudless sky and after the air-conditioned interior of the car it was really hot out here, but she didn’t mind. It was a delightful day and the view was equally delightful.
‘What a fabulous place.’ She glanced across at Mimi Robertson, who had decided to come out from behind the anonymity of the tinted glass of the luxury car, and risked speaking to her directly for the first time. ‘What do you think, Miss Robertson?’
‘It’s pretty.
I’ll give you that.’
Gayle had warned Bee not to expect effusive comments from Mimi. That wasn’t her style. At least the fact that she had answered in a civil tone and hadn’t immediately found fault with the place was a positive start and Bee relaxed slightly. Beside her, she got the feeling Gayle shared her relief.
‘You know you were worried about the neighbours recognising you, Mimi? Not many of them around here.’ Gayle looked across at her hopefully.
Mimi made no comment. As Gayle represented Pan World, and as Mimi was still angry with them for letting the accident befall her, relations between her and Gayle were strained. The half-hour journey from Siena to here had been conducted in stony silence and Bee felt almost sorry for Gayle, although she knew her to have the thick skin of a rhinoceros.
From where the driver had stopped the sleek black car, the ground sloped steeply down through dense woodland that lined the hilltop until the trees gave way to a tapestry of vineyards further down, the regular, mathematically arranged rows giving the whole valley the impression of a knitted patchwork quilt. The countryside was a symphony of different shades of green, from the deep lustrous colour of the hollies and conifers to the more delicate shades of the deciduous trees and the bright green of the new growth on the vines. The verges were filled with striking patches of orange poppies, clumps of wild roses and a host of other wild flowers. The vineyards and fields were criss-crossed by the famous strade bianche, the ‘white roads’ of Tuscany, surfaced with white gravel. It was a stunning view.
Further down the valley, as it opened out more, a pyramid-shaped little hill rose up incongruously from the vines and on it, surrounded by a spectacular selection of cypresses and umbrella pines, Bee could just make out the unmistakable outline of an old Tuscan villa. It was a big building, light ochre in colour, with a pink tiled roof just poking up above even the highest trees. The house blended perfectly in with its surroundings and looked as if it had always been there.
Bee looked across at Gayle. ‘Is that the place?’
‘That’s right. That’s the Villa of Montegrifone. It was built about five hundred years ago, apparently.’
‘What a place! I wonder if there really was a griffon here. Miss Robertson, the name translates as Mount of the Griffon.’ She shot a quick glance across at the actress, but saw only a stony expression on the bits of her face not covered by a huge pair of sunglasses. Looking hastily away, she carried on. ‘In fact, the whole area’s amazing. And it’s so quiet.’
Just to prove her wrong, a woodpecker chose this precise moment to rattle off a series of hammer blows against a tree just down from where they were standing. But, when it stopped, Bee could hear nothing but the breeze rustling through the leaves.
As it wasn’t far from here to their destination, Bee reached for her bag.
‘I think I’d better put my wig on now. I don’t want to scare the locals when they see me for the first time.’
She did her best to keep her voice expressionless, but it wasn’t easy. She had now reached the point where she could look at herself in the mirror without welling up, but it had taken time. The doctors had told her the scars on her head were beginning to heal well by now and they had removed the last of the dressings a few days earlier. Her head looked a lot better than it did, but the combination of stubbly hair and scabs wasn’t exactly alluring. As for her face, they had all told her back at the hospital that this was also healing as expected, but it still looked more like a recently ploughed field than the smooth skin of her other cheek. She had started to get used to her lopsided appearance, but she was under no illusions that people unused to it would get quite a shock. At least the wig would cover her head, but there was no way of hiding her damaged face, short of adopting a burka.
‘They know there’s been an accident and of course they won’t mind, Bee.’ Gayle was sounding encouraging. ‘Besides, you’re improving every day. I hardly even notice it now.’
Bee gave her a sceptical look, retrieved the wig from inside the car and carefully pulled it on, trying not to let it sit too tightly against her scalp. She checked her appearance in the wing mirror and was relieved to see the red hair looking pretty convincing, even if it made her head very hot. She looked up and managed to summon a smile for Gayle.
‘Right. Agent Scully reporting for duty.’
Before Gayle could respond, they were both surprised to hear Mimi Robertson.
‘And you’re sure the people in the villa aren’t going to rush off to the tabloids to reveal the fact that I’m staying here?’
Bee and Gayle exchanged glances. These were just about the first unprompted words she had uttered all day. Gayle was quick to answer.
‘No, Mimi, it’s all taken care of. Our lawyers have drawn up a non-disclosure agreement and all the people who live here have signed it. They won’t utter a word to anyone.’
‘Including Beatrice? Has she signed?’
‘Including me.’ Bee did her best to keep any hint of annoyance out of her voice. Of course she wasn’t going to reveal anything, with or without a gagging order, but it would have been nice to be addressed directly.
‘And the driver?’ Mimi waved vaguely back in the direction of the car.
‘He’s a trusty. He comes well recommended. He’ll keep his mouth shut, I promise.’
The expression on Mimi’s face showed just what she thought of Pan World’s promises. Out here in the bright sunlight, Bee could see that her face, while scarred, was nowhere near as seriously injured as her own. And yet, from what Gayle had told her, Mimi and her lawyers were still breathing fire and fury. She sighed inwardly and hoped both she and Mimi would get back to normal as soon as possible.
As they drove down the narrow winding road, the valley gradually opened out on either side of them. Just as they reached a clump of trees near the bottom of the slope, the driver suddenly jammed on the brakes, hard enough for Bee’s wig to slip forward over her eyes and for a stab of pain to shoot up from her thigh as her injured leg was jarred. She pushed the wig back up just in time to see why he had stopped so abruptly: two little stripy creatures, the size of small dogs, were just disappearing into the undergrowth on the other side.
‘What’re those?’ She leant forward and spoke to the driver in Italian.
‘Wild boar, Signorina. Those were babies, but their mother must be around somewhere. I don’t think we’ll hang about, just in case.’ He accelerated away once more.
‘I had no idea they were so sweet.’
‘Yes, they’re sweet to look at when they’re little, but they do an awful lot of damage to the vines.’ He shot her an oblique glance. ‘And I know I wouldn’t want to meet one without a rifle in my hands.’
After translating what he had said to the others, Bee reflected on it. She didn’t much like the idea of living in a place infested with dangerous wild boar, but she kept her reservations to herself for now. She already knew that living in the country was going to be a challenge. And, from the severe expression on the actress’s face, living with Mimi was going to prove to be every bit as testing.
They carried on down the valley until the road curled round to the right and they got a better view of the villa ahead of them, perched on the conical hill, protected by trees. It was as imposing and as gorgeous as it had looked at first sight. The Mercedes slowed down as they came to a sign marked ‘VILLA MONTEGRIFONE’ and turned off to the left. Sturdy metal gates blocked their way and the driver pulled up alongside a keypad set in the gatepost and pressed the buzzer. Seconds later, the gates began to swing smoothly open. They drove through onto a white gravelled strada bianca that led up the hill with a couple of sweeping curves. The drive was lined on both sides with the iconic Tuscan cypress trees and, in spite of her concerns, Bee felt a mounting sense of excitement as they approached their destination. The views over the vines opened up on both sides as they reached the top and drove into the shelter of the trees. The shade, after the heat of the sun, was very welcome. Bee opened her window
fully and breathed in. A cuckoo somewhere nearby welcomed them with its distinctive call. She found she was smiling as she leant forward again and tapped Gayle on the shoulder.
‘What a place!’
From the front seat, Gayle smiled back at her. ‘Isn’t it? And it’s only taken us half an hour to get here from Siena, but it feels so very remote. It really is cute, and very definitely off the beaten track. You’ll be fine here, both of you.’
They both glanced at Mimi, but she made no comment.
At that moment they emerged from the trees into a broad parking area and drew up alongside a utilitarian-looking Fiat. As the Mercedes came to a halt, a dense cloud of dust swept over them from behind and Bee hastened to shut her window again as the driver advised them to wait for a few moments before getting out. When the dust finally began to subside, Gayle climbed out of the car, but the driver beat her to it, reaching Mimi’s door in time to hold it open for her with an obsequious bow.
‘Welcome to Montegrifone, Signorina Robertson.’
He was rewarded by a half-smile and a light touch on the forearm. Bee felt sure she recognised this gesture from last year’s blockbuster where Mimi had played the part of the young Queen Victoria. She managed to make it look both regal and sincere, but then, of course, she was royalty herself – Hollywood royalty, but still royalty.
For her part, Bee was still enthusing about the villa. ‘I’ve seen some gorgeous houses in my time, but this is one of the most spectacular. Do we know who owns it?’
Gayle shook her head. ‘I’m not really sure. All I know is that you’re going to be looked after by an elderly couple who live here. The bad news is that they don’t speak much English, so you’ll have to act as interpreter.’ She shot a glance across at Mimi Robertson. ‘Shall we go and see what they’re like?’
Gayle led them up the path towards the villa while the driver busied himself unloading the mountain of luggage. As Mimi emerged from the car, Bee saw her tie a scarf over her head. It did little to disguise her and, if anything, with her dark glasses, it made her look even more furtive. Mind you, Bee thought to herself, the only watching eyes probably belonged to the birds in the trees or maybe a squirrel or two. There was no sign of any other human presence anywhere around them.
