Deep and Silent Waters

She looked round involuntarily and found Sebastian watching them, a smouldering anger in his eyes, a darkness she had seen before.

Glancing back hurriedly at Nico she said, ‘Your mother told us you are a sculptor. I would love to see some of your work.’

‘Nothing easier. Come along to my studio now.’ He got to his feet and Laura did so, too, still holding the kitten.

‘I’m sorry. We don’t have time. We have to get back to the hotel for dinner,’ Sebastian said, abruptly.

Laura looked at her watch, sighed, put the kitten down on the sofa and said regretfully, ‘I’m afraid he’s right, I can’t be late.’ She smiled at the Contessa. ‘Thank you for letting me see your lovely home, and for the wine, it was delicious.’ Risking a little Italian she added shyly, ‘Grazie, tante grazie, lei e molto gentile.’

The Contessa smiled. Her son said, ‘Benissimo! So you do speak some Italian?’

‘A few words, that’s all,’ she said ruefully.

She began to walk towards the door and Nico caught up with her while Sebastian was saying good

bye to the Contessa.

He said quickly, ‘What about tomorrow? Could you come for lunch and see my studio? Would you pose for me? I have an idea – I won’t tell you about it now, we can talk tomorrow.’

She would have loved to, but she had to say, ‘I’m afraid I’m busy all day.’

‘Try. Come for lunch – we’ll eat out in the garden. You know Sebastian’s father was our gardener? His pride and joy were the lemon trees. We still have their descendants – the ones Giovanni planted all died during a very bad flood. They drowned in their pots, or withered with salt-burn, but luckily we had taken cuttings, which were inside, on the upper balcony, and they survived.’

‘Did you know Sebastian’s mother?’

They had reached the end of the long, shadowy hall and started down the marble stairs. Laura heard the Contessa’s dress rustling and looked back in time to see her coming out of the salon alone, walking across the hall into another room and vanishing. Sebastian came out of the salon, too, hurried after Laura and Nico. He looked angry. What had the Contessa said to him?

She suddenly caught what Nico was saying, and her eyes opened wide. ‘Didn’t Sebastian tell you? Gina was my wet-nurse when I was a baby. Sebastian is a few months older than me. My mother had a bad time in labour, she was ill for a while afterwards and her milk dried up. She couldn’t breastfeed me, but Sebastian’s mother had enough for both of us so she took care of me along with her own baby. She and Giovanni had rooms on the upper floor at the back, a private little apartment. One room was a nursery for me and Sebastian. I saw more of Gina for the first few years of my life than I did of my own mother. Mamma was always so busy running the house, visiting people.’

Standing at the door of the palazzo Laura looked out into the soft dusk at the gleaming waters of the canal. The gondola that had brought them was no longer tied up at the painted poles of the landing-stage. Sebastian was running down the stairs and Laura swung round to look at him, her head whirling with what she had just discovered. She had realised at last why Sebastian had always thought of Ca’ d’Angeli as home. He had spent his first six years upstairs in it, in his parents’ apartment.

‘Sebastian, the gondola has gone! How will we get back?’

‘The Contessa is ringing for a water-taxi now.’

They walked out on to the landing-stage. Nico said, ‘Will you come tomorrow?’

Sebastian looked sharply at her. She avoided meeting his eyes, and said, ‘I’m afraid my agent may have fixed up meetings for me. As so many important film people are here, you see, it is a chance to make valuable contacts. Can I let you know? I could ring you.’

‘I’ll ring you—’

Sebastian interrupted, ‘Why don’t you come to us? Have breakfast with us at the hotel, Nico, in my suite – around eight?’

‘But I wanted to show Laura my studio and some of my work.’

‘Of course, but tomorrow will undoubtedly be difficult for her. I have an idea I want to talk to you about, and it involves Laura.’

Nico stared at him. ‘Idea? What sort of idea?’

‘I’ll tell you tomorrow. Eight o’clock at our hotel, then.’

A motor launch chugged towards them, slowed, and drew up beside them. Nico took Laura’s hand and kissed it again, then helped her down into the boat. ‘Until tomorrow morning, then.’

She nodded, sat down, and Sebastian joined her. Laura waved goodbye to Nico as the boat moved away slowly from Ca’ d’Angeli and he waved back, his black hair ruffled by a faint breeze. She put her hand down into the water, as she had when they arrived; the sun had set now but there was still plenty of light, and the reflections of the palazzi floated along beside the boat.

Something else floated there, too. For a second she didn’t identify the wet black fir, and then she gave a stricken cry as she noticed the crimson leather collar around its neck.

‘Nico’s kitten!’ She leant over the side making the boat rock, and just managed to touch it, but the instant she did she knew it was dead.