‘For what?’
‘The usual.’
‘Drunk and disorderly?’
‘Things like that, yes. Innocent fun. Leo was always there with me, and that’s when the firmest bonds were formed. With anyone else I’d have been on my guard, but when he guaranteed my safety I believed him. And when he turned out to be wrong, even then I’d have forgiven him if he hadn’t vanished and left me to face everything alone. I was easy prey for the creditors because I knew nothing. He’d taken the books with him. All that was left was a mess.’
Vittorio threw himself back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as though he could see his life being played out there, and Angel lay down beside him, with her head against his chest so that she could hear the deep, soft thunder of his heart. When he spoke it caused a soft vibration against her ear.
‘What happened today has happened before. I see him all the time, in crowds, at the end of streets, going into shops, only he’s never there when I follow him. Because he never is there, except in my mind. Sometimes I think I’ll spend the rest of my life chasing down endless roads that lead to nothing, or round and round in a maze that has no centre, and no exit.
‘But even if I did find him, what good would it do? The money’s gone. I’ll never get it back from him.’
‘You could hand him over to the police,’ she suggested.
‘For what? He didn’t commit a crime. He just arranged things so that the debts fell on me. It was legal. I’ve got no comeback.’
It was true. For the first time Angel understood the sheer blank nothingness that faced him.
She was all he had to defend himself from that nothingness. And suddenly she was afraid for him.
CHAPTER TEN
IN THE morning Angel made Vittorio breakfast in his minute kitchen, and they sat drinking coffee like an old married couple. They had passed the night in each other’s arms, not making love, but being comfortable.
‘Oh, by the way, we forgot these,’ she said, rummaging in her purse and producing the lottery tickets. ‘I’m not sure which one is yours any more.’
‘It doesn’t matter.’ He took one without looking. ‘When will we know if we’re millionaires?’
‘Tonight, I think.’
‘What do you want to do today?’
‘I don’t mind, as long as it isn’t energetic,’ she said, smiling. ‘And you’re there.’
They spent the morning on the beach, doing nothing much except being sleepy and content. In the afternoon they bought rolls and wine and took them back to his shabby home, where they spent the afternoon in sleepy contentment.
‘I could stay here for ever,’ she murmured.
‘So could I. But I suppose we have to go.’
‘Back to the world,’ she sighed. ‘I hate the world.’
He kissed her forehead. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
They arrived at the villa to find Sam in good spirits and Berta about to serve the evening meal. Watching Vittorio across the table, Angel was happy to see that he seemed relaxed, as though their peaceful time together had wiped out the despair of the day before.
‘Sam seems to have enjoyed his weekend,’ she observed quietly to Roy. ‘You were right about him needing his television.’
‘He’s got all tonight’s programmes marked out.’
‘Well, I want to watch the lottery programme.’
‘Have you had a flutter?’
‘You bet. I’m probably a millionaire by now.’
‘Let me get you another coffee,’ Roy said with comic deference.
‘Maybe a multi-millionaire,’ she teased.
‘In that case, two coffees and some cake.’
‘Vittorio’s got a ticket too,’ she said, laughing. ‘It would be a shame for you to waste your energies buttering me up if he’s going to be the millionaire.’
Frank’s eyes gleamed. ‘Vittorio, old friend,’ he declared, ‘why have I been neglecting you?’
Vittorio grinned, enjoying the joke, and everyone laughed. Sam declared that they would all watch the programme together, and at nine o’clock they gathered in front of the television. Even Berta and the maids crept in, refusing to miss the excitement.
‘What numbers are we looking for?’ Sam demanded.
They obediently read out from their tickets, and the opening credits of the show came up.
‘Quiet everyone!’ Sam insisted.
Almost at once it was clear that Vittorio had no hope, but Angel grew tense. The first number was hers, then the second, and the third, the fourth…
‘What do you need?’ Sam demanded in a stage whisper.
‘Fifty-four and eighty-seven,’ she said, hardly able to speak.
And the last one…
‘Get on with it,’ Sam begged in agony.
‘Eighty-
The intake turned into a groan of disappointment.
‘So near and yet so far,’ Frank mourned.
Berta was the first to recover. ‘But signora, you will still be a winner-not millions, but you have five numbers. The last man who had five received twenty-thousand euros.’
‘In that case,’ Sam yelled, ‘let’s have some champagne.’
‘Twenty thousand,’ Angel murmured.
The next moment she grabbed Vittorio’s hand and dragged him out into the garden.
‘Twenty thousand,’ she said ecstatically. ‘You can get out of that dump where you live.’
‘But this money is yours.’
‘No, it’s ours. We bought the tickets together.’
‘You bought them.’
‘But you paid for your ticket,’ she argued.
‘It was your ticket that won.’
‘Who’s to say? I don’t even remember which numbers I picked for yours or mine, and then the tickets got dropped in the carriage, and there’s no way of knowing which one belongs to who. You’re probably the real winner.’
The look he gave her was as gentle as it was implacable, and she knew that she’d done this all wrong.
‘We divided the tickets and the winning numbers are yours,’ he said quietly.
‘But I want you to have this money. You need it.’
His voice was suddenly iron-hard. ‘Understand me once and for all, I will not take your charity.’
‘It isn’t charity. I told you.’
‘Yes, you were very clever in finding excuses to make me a gift of money, and if I had no pride I would let you.’
‘Look,’ Angel said, beginning to be desperate, for she could see she was against a brick wall. ‘I do understand about your pride-’
‘No, my dearest, you don’t understand at all. You think you do, but there’s no way you can even begin to
