Under a Tuscan Sky

by Karen Aldous

  After the funeral, after she’d helped her organize the funeral and the wake, her mum had then told her nonna’s solicitors would be getting in touch and would she mind dealing with it all. Roz had then driven her and Chiara back to the airport, telling her she didn’t want anything to do with the estate.

  Olivia had asked why and her mum had looked across at her with a pained squint and told her it was her inheritance. Nonna believed she would be the best person to deal with it. She could keep it, sell it, do what she wanted, but she asked her to do her best to make sure Gabriella and Nico stayed.

  It was the first time the subject had ever come up. Naturally she’d assumed her mamma would just take over the farm. Move in. It had been a bit of a shock, and in truth, she was scared. She’d wanted more than anything for Will to help her cope. Tell her what to do. She had never even made her own way to the villa before, let alone owning it and having to deal with it.

  At the time she hadn’t even thought to take a phone number or address for her mother. She didn’t understand. She already had the house in London and some cash from her grandparents. Now, her mum was passing a thirteen-hectare wine estate to her. She wondered if her mother had any intention of getting back in touch. Perhaps she was intent on abandoning her completely. Shying away from one responsibility would allow her mum to concentrate on her siblings. Her other family.

  ‘What gets me is that all this time she’s actually been settled with her family. All the lying – do you know I forgave her because she was so young when she had me? And I suppose I even swallowed her hippy, free-spirited, whatever she calls it, but it’s all so clear now. She really didn’t want me, did she? She’s chosen to spend her life with her two other children.’ A knot tightened in her throat. She clutched her chest, fighting for breath, her head swaying.

  ‘My mum is just going to disappear out of my life completely. She intends to … totally … abandon me!’

  Chapter 12

  Olivia lay on the sofa, peering from the darkness behind her eyes. Hugh was just visible, his hand above her forehead, stroking it with a damp serviette.

  ‘You’re OK. Stay there. You’ve fainted, just take some deep breaths,’ he told her.

  Her heart raced as she tried to sit up. ‘I’m sorry. I need Chiara.’

  ‘Just lie there quietly. I’ll help you; don’t worry. You need to relax for a bit.’ He continued soothing her head for several more minutes.

  ‘I’m OK now, really. I’m feeling much better.’

  ‘Stay put. Don’t try to get up, not yet.’

  ‘I’m right, though: my mum has erased the farm and me from her life. It’s obvious.’ Running her fingers through her hair, she whimpered. ‘I wish Chiara was here.’

  Hugh suddenly remembered Boris outside. ‘I can’t bring Chiara but I can bring Boris in.’

  ‘Yes, Boris.’

  ***

  Boris lay in the shade by the rear wheel and jumped up excitedly as soon as he saw him.

  ‘Oh, good boy, Boris. Though not the right time right now, buddy. Calm down and you can come in.’ He stroked him for a short while, then turned and slipped quietly back in the house. He was concerned for Olivia but at the same time perplexed. How was he going to find out where her mother lived?

  ‘You OK?’ he asked standing at the sitting room door.

  ‘Yes, let him in.’

  Hugh held him by his collar. ‘Now, gently, Boris. Gently.’

  The dog headed directly to Olivia’s hand, waiting for her to stroke him. She shuffled forward and hugged his neck. ‘Hello, handsome.’

  ‘I’m going to make us a coffee, then, if you feel up to it, we’ll continue the search. Deal?’

  ‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ she said cuddling Boris. ‘You’ve cheered me up already,’ she told Boris, who was loving the attention.

  ***

  After a welcome coffee, Olivia and Hugh returned to the study. Olivia sat on the office chair and pawed through a tatty-looking brown leather book.

  ‘That looks like an old address book.’

  Olivia looked up at him, revealing wet lashes. ‘A book full of lists,’ she said flicking through it. ‘Now I know where I get it from.’ She gave a sigh. ‘This is so bizarre. Nonna must have written the details somewhere.’

  ‘Not if they didn’t want you to discover them.’

  ‘Why would she have left the photos in the chest if I wasn’t to find them? If she lost the key, she could have burned the thing.’ Olivia sniffed loudly, letting out a loud yelp. ‘Urghhh, I don’t understand. I’m so angry. Why would any of them hide the fact that my mother had more children? God, how could she? How could she abandon a child and live with her others?’ She clutched her heart again momentarily. ‘And Gabriella, Nico.’

  Olivia was now grappling to breathe once more and holding up her hands as Hugh stroked her hair. ‘Sorry, I’ll calm down, but they must know too.’ She slumped in the high-backed chair, sinking her forehead into her hands. Locks of hair splayed across her arms. Hugh slid on the arm beside her, helplessly stroking it, remaining silent.

  Olivia continued. ‘And Gabriella will help. She must have a number for my mum. She would have called her home when Nonna was poorly. Oh, I bet she knows about a key too. Well, I don’t know if she would have known its contents, but she will know the twins. I just know it. I can only imagine she’s kept quiet out of loyalty to Nonna. Well, actually, maybe that’s why she wanted to talk. Oh, God, am I fair to ask? She has to have her address.’

  ‘We’ll go and see her then.’ Hugh stood up from the arm of the chair.

  Olivia hesitated for a moment. ‘No. I want to hear it from my mum. Gabriella is obviously uncomfortable with it. Her loyalty has been with Nonna. No, unless I have to, I want to find out the truth from my mum. I’ll carry on looking here. If I get desperate, I’ll go to Gabriella or Nico.’

  Hugh stared down at the flagstone floor. Instinctively he yearned to help, if only he could assure her that she was lovely and fully deserved to be loved. Would she consider him too familiar or intimate even? Of course, he could offer sympathy but that wasn’t particularly useful at the moment.

  Her predicament was a tad familiar. His own father had deserted both he and his mother when he was an infant. Barely eighteen months after he was born, his father relinquished responsibility and took off to build his business empire abroad. And apparently, another family. Luckily, two years later, his mother met and learned to trust her dream man.

  ‘Liv, it could be your only way forward. It’s something to try, rather than … I’m sorry.’ Hugh said at last. ‘Let’s keep looking for the address, here.’

  Obviously realizing his frustration too, Olivia raised her head from a drawer the other side of the desk and gathered some papers in her hand, then gazed up as if just acknowledging his presence. ‘No, actually, I am the one who should be apologizing. I’m so sorry about dragging you in to all this. God, what must you think? I’ve been bleating in your ear with my issues and you probably have a hundred and one things to do today. I’m really sorry and so grateful that you were here. Are here. And thank you for delivering the contents … and …’

  ‘Wasn’t such a great idea after all though, was it?’

  ‘What? Of course it was. Just imagine if I’d gone through life not knowing. I just have to know the truth now and if it is true, I want a bloody damn good explanation.’ Her voice tapered to a squeak and, fighting the tears, her lips trembling, she managed, ‘I only ever wanted Mamma home with me, for us to be a family – I didn’t want a house, a farm, or a payout. God, I thought I was an adult. It just goes to show how deep those demons get you.’

  Hugh gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. ‘If you let them. Come on, be strong.’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure the information is here somewhere.’ She stalled, staring at him briefly, as if something had clicked, but trembling still, and her tear-stained eyes were filled with distraction. ‘Actually, let
me check the drawer in the … Surely you must get on. I’ve eaten in to so much of your time.’

  ‘Stop worrying about me.’

  Jumping to her feet, with a renewed energy, she marched back towards the sitting room, still muttering her thoughts. ‘I’ll have another dig around in the sitting room. The console had some papers.’

  Relieved to see her determined, Hugh followed her back into the sitting room and made for the fireplace, seeking any slips of paper, however small. Turning as he heard Olivia groan, he observed the anxious expression etched on her face as she approached a console table, beautifully painted with gilt edging and typically more suited to a hall. On it was a tall baroque vase, but it was clear Olivia was on a mission.

  Her eyes rolled hungrily as she reached for one of the two drawers. Pulling the first towards her, she swiftly ran a hand through the jumbled bric-a-brac items, then just as quickly pushed it back and yanked obsessively at the next. He froze as he watched the vase lose its balance.

  ‘If my memory serves me right, there were some papers in one of these when I went through them,’ she said, gathering a pile between her fingers and scanning eagerly through them. ‘I didn’t stop to read any … not that I was expecting to find such mammoth secrets lurking. Ah …’ She dropped the pile on the console table top, just missing the swaying vase, and tore at a letter, wrestling to unfold it. ‘This could be … this is Mum’s writing and has to be …’ She checked the date. ‘Dated April five years ago. Perhaps one of the last.’ Olivia squinted, her stomach churning with nausea ‘Her address. Oh what, where is …?’

  ***

  Hugh steamed over to stand beside her whilst seemingly measuring the disappointment on her face. ‘What? Is it far? Maybe I can help?’

  She glanced up from the letter. ‘It’s much further than I thought, north I think. Monte Baldo, Lombardy.’

  ‘I think that’s in the Alps, north of Verona. What’s the postcode? I’ll check it out on Google.’

  Olivia held out the letter as Hugh punched the address code in his phone. ‘I’ve no idea where that is or how far,’ she told him. The thought of challenging her mother was one thing, finding her, she’d thought, would be rather more straightforward. ‘Do you know how far it is?’ she asked watching his eyes squint and his lips tighten.

  ‘At a guess, two hundred and fifty, three hundred miles from here.’ His phone flashed. ‘Ah, here, yes, close to Lake Garda. Yes, I would say that mileage is about right. I’ll check in a mo.’

  Her eyebrows rose. ‘Oh God, I thought she lived closer than that. I’ll have to swallow my brave pills driving that distance, but I need to find out who those children are, and what the hell my mum is playing at.’ She bit her lip and felt her palms go clammy. She had found the courage to drive from the airport to here and had driven a pickup to Cesare’s on the other side of the village. She could do this. ‘I thought she would be half an hour away, so that’s several hours’ drive presumably?’

  ‘Four at least I imagine. That’s quite a drive on your own, especially if you are upset and aren’t familiar with driving mountain roads and don’t recognize foreign road signs. I can postpone my appointment this afternoon and take you?’

  Olivia took a deep breath as she fixed her focus on him. Did he mean it? Was he really prepared to give up his time? Chiara was the only person who had ever shown her such generosity. It was true, she wasn’t familiar or terribly confident driving alone for such a distance in a strange country. Living so close to London, she barely drove and relied heavily on public transport.

  ‘That’s very kind of you to offer,’ she said suddenly feeling the hypocrite. Hadn’t she vowed to herself she was going to be more independent and stop relying on others to sort out her problems? No Chiara, no Will. She’d been managing well so far.

  Hugh’s eyes appeared sincere, keen in fact. She gave him a grateful smile. Surely having company didn’t mean she couldn’t solve things herself. Hugh would be there solely for support and company. She glanced again at the writing on her mother’s letter and was promptly reminded how it felt to be betrayed. Alberto, she was sure, would help. ‘That’s kind of you. Thank you, Hugh, but I’ll manage. I’ll set off nice and early in the morning so that I can take my time.’

  ‘Fine, but I’m free tomorrow if you change your mind. Meanwhile, I’ll pop to the car. I have a call to make and I’ll get my road map. ‘I can show you where you’re going beforehand. That will help.’

  ‘That would help, thank you. I’m going back to my letters,’ she said, rushing back to the sofa as Hugh went to the car, Boris following him around. Truth be told, Olivia was tempted to take him up on his offer. She loathed the thought of driving all that way, alone.

  Like a hungry dog, she returned to the pile of letters.

  ‘Oh, I will need your help here again,’ she said holding up two of the letters as Hugh entered with his road atlas. ‘There’s more.’ Checking the dates, she opened them and put them in order.

  Hugh squatted once again beside her on the chair arm.

  Rosalba Bianchi

  London

  Nov 76

  Dearest Mamma and Papa,

  Hope this letter finds you both well. I’ve been praying I would receive a letter from you but as you are not yet ready Steve and I want to share our exciting news. We have booked our wedding. It will be on Friday 30th December, so over the New Year. The small service will take place in our local registry office, which although it isn’t a church, is in a beautiful old building and there is a garden outside. But the important thing is, we will be married and I have a lovely dress.

  Of course you are both invited. Papa, I would dearly love you to give me away. We will be celebrating afterwards at a local pub. In case you don’t know, pubs are bars in England, but they can also have rooms that can be hired out for private parties. We will have a private dinner there.

  I really hope that you will come and join us and spend some time with us until the baby is born. You will be able to visit some of the sights in London. Bermondsey is in what I’m learning is a rather run-down part of London, but the house and the street we live on are lovely and it would be easy for you to travel into the city. Please say you’ll come?

  More good news: as you know, Steve was looking for work. Well, he was offered a job at the bank he used to work at this week, but he was also offered a job with an architectural firm as a quantity surveyor, which he has decided to accept. As it’s more project based, he says it will allow him to get out on occasion to building sites rather than being stuck in the office all day. He starts next week. The money is better too.

  I have registered with the local doctor’s surgery and am attending hospital appointments with the gynaecologist. He says that everything is as expected and the baby’s arrival date should be around the 14th of January. I can’t wait and pray every day that you come.

  Love and miss you, your loving daughter,

  Roz xx

  Opening the next, and impatient to know more, she raced through realizing it was shorter.

  Rosalba Bianchi

  London

  Feb 77

  Dearest Mamma and Papa,

  Here is your new granddaughter: Olivia Elena Montague. Isn’t she beautiful? At least you have a photograph even though you can’t be here to meet her. She was seven pounds and one ounce and she was born on the 18th of January at eleven twenty-five in the morning. She is the sweetest thing. We are all over the moon.

  I thought Steve might have been disappointed it wasn’t a boy, but he was so chuffed. We took her to be registered last week. Steve got a few hours off. As Steve has just started his job, he can’t take more time off but Nora has taken a week off to help me.

  I hope you like the photograph of the wedding too. Nora and Ronnie are either side of us. It was sad you weren’t there to share it but we made it special nonetheless. Nora and Ronnie had some family who came, and some of Steve’s friends were there. I invited the
girl next door but one, who I have become friends with. She gave me away. She has a baby girl of six months and we have been chatting.

  Every time we plan a walk to the park with the babies, it rains. I hate the British weather. Sorry this is short but I don’t have much time to write, so I will write again when I have more time.

  Love Roz xx

  The thought of this arriving at her nonna’s home brought a tear to her eye. Was she really so disappointed in her daughter that she wouldn’t visit London? Nonna must have felt excluded too with Roz living with Dad’s family in London.

  Things must have been so different then. Of course, her nonna was Roman Catholic too and she was likely to have been horrified at her daughter’s pregnancy. Was that why she was hidden from friends and neighbours in Italy? She was an embarrassment? She glanced at Hugh, and is if reading her thoughts, he soothingly massaged her spine with one hand.

  ‘I’m sure this isn’t easy,’ he said, bringing her the assurance she was craving.

  Forcing a smile, she bent her head down to the next letter.

  Rosalba Bianchi

  London

  Mar 77

  Dearest Mamma and Papa,

  Here is our little beauty, starting to smile and in the camicino della fortuna you sent her. Thank you. It is very pretty. And thank you for the bundle. It means so much. The coral bracelet looks lovely too; red really suits her.

  We painted the little room pink and white and so the bedding you sent her for her cot will blend beautifully. I hope you two are well. I haven’t had much sleep since this little girl arrived in this world but I am enjoying her so much and I’ve been taking walks with Helen, the girl who lives close by.

  Nora and Ronnie have been so helpful and supportive. Steve is enjoying his job but we won’t be able to buy a house as soon as we would have liked. It would have been easier to arrange if he was working at the bank. However, we are saving hard so that we can buy a house next year and Nora won’t take much rent off us. She tells us to save it.