‘He must be,’ Lucia protested. ‘He gets so upset if anything goes wrong. You don’t know what he’s like.’
‘Oh, yes, I do,’ Mandy said softly.
‘Heavens, he’s coming.’ Lucia was scrabbling around on the floor.
‘Leave it,’ Renzo said from the window. ‘I doubt it can be repaired. I’m sure you’ve backed everything up. If not, we’ll just have to do it again.’
‘But it’s brand-new,’ Lucia said in a cautious voice, as though suspecting that this was an impostor with Renzo’s face. ‘Everything up to date-it cost a fortune.’
Renzo shrugged. ‘Get onto the insurance.’ He gave a wry grimace at his son. ‘I’m going to seem like a fool when I tell them who did it, aren’t I?’
Danny looked up at him, and suddenly Mandy gave a choke of laughter.
‘I could swear he nodded,’ she said.
‘Of course he did,’ Renzo said proudly. ‘My son’s going to have
Mandy followed him out, just glancing back for a moment to relish the astonished look on Lucia’s face.
In the hall courtyard they found Sue, dressed to go out on a joint shopping expedition.
‘Are we taking Danny with us?’ she asked.
‘What do you want to do?’ Renzo asked Danny. ‘Go trailing round shops or stay here with me?’
‘You’ve had your answer, ladies. Have fun.’
They did have fun, so much so that they stayed out longer than they meant to and got caught in a traffic jam on the way home, arriving late. Renzo greeted them cordially but there was a edginess in his manner that puzzled Mandy. It was a fleeting reminder of the tense, uneasy man he’d been when she’d first arrived.
When Sue had gone upstairs she asked, ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No,’ he said in a slightly forced way.
‘Tell me.’
He gave an unconvincing shrug, and tried to speak lightly. ‘I thought you’d be here hours ago. I looked for you-’
Mandy groaned silently as she understood how she’d accidentally roused his demons.
‘I’m sorry, I should have called. Why didn’t you call me? I had my phone.’
‘I didn’t want you to feel that I was tracking your every movement, being suffocatingly possessive.’ He gave a slightly strained laugh. ‘Not until I’ve got you safely married. Then you might get a shock at how possessive I am.’
‘But, since I belong to you completely, what is there to be possessive about?’ she asked tenderly. ‘Oh, you dear fool.’
‘Yes, I’m a fool. I knew you were coming home; it’s just that-’ he gave a self-mocking shrug ‘-I don’t like it when you’re not there. Neither does Danny.’
‘I knew he’d be all right with you.’
‘But you’re the one he wants, and the one I want. He and I are agreed on that.’
She kissed him. ‘I’m going to have to be careful if my menfolk are in such perfect accord. In no time at all you’ll be ganging up on me.’
Renzo nodded. ‘You’d better believe it.’
He led her into the living room and closed the door.
‘I need to tell you something,’ he said. ‘I’ve read Nonno’s will and it came as a shock. He’s left every penny to me, not to my mother.’
‘Teresa told me he was angry with her for leaving you.’
‘Even so, she has three other children who should be considered. I don’t think I can accept all of it. I thought I’d take his share of the business, and some of the money for Danny. Nonno would have wanted that. The rest can be divided between her and her children.’
‘That sounds like a good idea.’
‘You agree?’
‘But it has nothing to do with me.’
‘If you’re going to be my wife, it has everything to do with you. I’m giving away money that I could have spent on you, decking you with diamonds.’
‘I don’t like diamonds. Too cold. Let them have it.’
‘Wait till you hear how much it is before you give it away.’
He told her the figure.
‘I knew he was rich, but not that rich,’ Renzo said. ‘Do you want to change your mind?’
‘No, I still think your idea is best.’
‘So I have your permission?’ he asked with an air of submissiveness that made her lips twitch.
‘I’ll thump you one in a minute,’ she threatened.
‘Nothing changes. Those were almost the first words you spoke to me.’
‘And they’ll probably be the last,’ she predicted. ‘Fifty years on, I’ll still be trying to keep you in line, still with no success.’
‘I don’t like the idea of fifty years,’ he said.
‘Too much?’
‘Too little. I want at least seventy.’
‘And you’ll probably get your way, then as always.’
After a moment she asked cautiously, ‘What about your mother? Will she come over for her father’s funeral, or our wedding?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Have you spoken to her?’
‘I called her in Australia to tell her of his death, and then again yesterday to give her the date of the funeral. Both times I found myself talking to her husband. He promised to pass the messages on, but I’ve heard nothing. Now I’ve agreed matters with you I’ll call the lawyer and tell him what we’ve decided. Then he can let her know.’
The lawyer arrived without warning the next day.
‘I’ve had your mother on the phone, demanding to know how much she’d inherited,’ he said distractedly.
‘How did she react when you told her?’ Renzo asked wryly.
‘Blasted my ear off.’ He rubbed his ear as though he could still hear the shrill rant. ‘I told her how you were going to share out the money and she just screamed louder. She says it’s hers by right and she wants it all.
‘I explained that if she challenged the will it would cause delays. She called you a few choice names, then slammed the phone down. I don’t think she’ll give any more trouble.’
‘Fine, I’ll leave it all to you,’ Renzo said. ‘Then please draw up the paperwork putting Danny’s share in trust until he’s older.’
‘With yourself as the trustee, presumably?’
‘Jointly with his mother,’ Renzo said.
When they were alone he glanced up at Mandy.
‘All I feel is pity for her,’ he said. ‘She could have met Danny, her first grandchild. If she’d loved Nonno, she’d have been happy to see that Danny is so much like him.
‘As it is, she’s missing so much happiness and she’ll never know. Let her go. And don’t worry about me. She has no power over me of any kind.’ He dropped his voice to add quietly, ‘Only one person has that power, and she may use it as she likes.’
Bruno’s funeral took place three days later in a church packed with everyone who had known him and loved him in earlier days. The only notable exception was his daughter, who neither came nor sent a message.
The wedding was scheduled for two days later. Ferrini, who had friends in high places, pulled strings to get it scheduled so fast. Teresa had hysterics at the thought of devising a wedding feast so soon after cooking the funeral meats, but was clearly enjoying the challenge.
