hidden.’
‘You believe that?’
‘I believe it’s a very curious place. There are thirteen churches for a population of three and a half thousand, and the purity of the spring water is legendary. People come from miles around to fill up on it. They come to swim, too. It has its own beach down below, and the town is just above. In fact, there it is.’
She looked up and saw a medieval village rising steeply on the hillside in the distance.
‘I called ahead to the hotel where I normally stay,’ he said.
‘I hope you booked only one room this time?’
He grinned. ‘Yes, I did.’
Then she saw the beach.
‘It’s perfect!’ she breathed. ‘I’ve never seen such white sand or such blue sea-no, not blue. It’s practically violet.’
‘That’s a common trick of the light, especially this late in the afternoon. Shall we stop?’
‘Oh, yes, please. I’m dying for a swim.’
She felt sticky after the drive. Luckily the Badolato Marina was geared for bathers, and they were able to secure a hut. A run down the beach, a plunge into the surf, and all practical cares fell away as though the sea had washed them to oblivion.
She had discovered his body in the darkness, and knew the feel of every inch, but seeing it in sunlight was a new pleasure. She felt a guilty, almost voyeuristic pleasure in watching him as he plunged in and out of the water. It was like finding valuable treasure and securing it for her private enjoyment.
‘What is it?’ he asked, finally noticing her standing back and regarding him.
‘I’m just appreciating the view, thinking my thoughts.’
‘Tell me about those thoughts.’
She laid a hand on his chest, letting her fingers walk down a few inches.
‘Those kind of thoughts,’ she said.
‘Don’t do that,’ he said in a shaking voice.
She withdrew her hand and stood, giving him a challenging look, with her head on one side.
‘And don’t do that either,’ he begged. ‘This is a public place.’
She laughed, having fun. But suddenly she became aware that the light had faded and the air was rapidly growing colder. It had happened all in a moment.
‘Come on,’ he said.
Grabbing her hand, he dashed for the shore, while the sky darkened still, and growled until it exploded into a bang that almost deafened her. They changed in a hurry and reached the car as the first lightning flashed. She managed to get there first, and opened the driver’s door.
‘It’s better if I drive-’ he started to say.
‘Get in.’
He had to move fast, and then they were swinging out of the car park and up the hill. At once Della knew the task was harder than she’d reckoned. The road seemed to wind and wind, and it took all her attention to stay steady. Then the rain came crashing down about them, making the journey even more hair-raising.
Luckily it was only a brief drive, and within a few minutes they’d reached Badolato.
‘Turn left just there,’ Carlo said in a grim voice. ‘Then right.’
She did so, and drew up outside a modest but comfortable-looking hotel.
Carlo threw her a sulphurous look, but said nothing until she had switched off the engine. Then he exploded.
‘You stupid woman!’
‘I’m sorry,’ she said.
‘What on earth came over you? Do you think driving up a steep, winding road in a thunderstorm is-is-?’ He became speechless.
‘I honestly don’t know what came over me. It’s so unlike me to go mad like that. I’m usually so sensible.’
‘Sensible! Hah! More like five years old. Did I say something funny?’ he added sharply, because Della’s lips had twisted into a smile.
‘Well, I’m a lot more than five years old,’ she said wryly. ‘Carlo, I’m truly sorry for going crazy like that, but nothing happened. There isn’t a scratch on your car.’
‘Be damned to the car!’ he roared. ‘Do you think that’s what-?’
‘And I didn’t hurt anyone else.’
‘We’re lucky we didn’t meet anything coming down the hill.’
‘Hey, I’m a good driver.’
‘You’re a blithering idiot,’ he snapped, not mincing matters. ‘I’ve seen children with more sense. You-you-’
He jerked her roughly into his arms and held her close in a grip of iron. She could hardly breathe, but she could feel, with relief, that what drove him was no longer rage but a kind of hair-tearing distraction.
‘You could have been killed,’ he said in a muffled voice against her neck. ‘And don’t give me that nonsense about being a good driver. You’re not as good as that-d’ you hear?’
He drew back, holding her face between his hands so that she could see his eyes, dark with something that was almost desperation.
‘Don’t you ever dare give me a fright like that again,’ he said fiercely. ‘Mio dio!’
She was still partly in the grip of the wild mood that had seized her, and it was being driven higher by the lightning that flashed through the window, the thunder that almost seemed to be in the car with them. But most potent of all was the way he was trembling, as conflicting feelings raged within him.
‘If you ever dare do that again-’ he said hoarsely.
‘Yes-what-?’
‘Come here.’
‘Tell me what’ll happen if I do it again,’ she whispered provocatively.
‘I said come here.’
So she did. She did everything he wanted, laughing and singing within herself, so that her spirit soared and everywhere the world was full of joy.
‘I’m in love with you. You know that, don’t you?’
‘Hush!’
‘Why? Aren’t I allowed to say it?’
‘Carlo, be sensible-’
‘Not in a million years.’
‘But three days-’
‘Three days, three hours, three minutes. What does it matter? It was always there, wasn’t it? As soon as I saw you there at Pompeii, when I heard you laughing-’
‘When I saw you clowning around for those kids-’
‘Is that why you love me? Because I can make you laugh?’
‘Hey, cheeky! I didn’t say I loved you.’
‘But you do, don’t you? Let me hear you say it-please, Della.’
‘Hmm!’
‘Say it, please. Don’t tease me.’
‘Be patient. Three days is too soon.’
‘Say it.’
‘Too soon…’
They spent the day in Badolato, with Della making notes and buying up all the local books she could find. When evening came they ate in their room, preferring to hide from the rest of the world. But tonight only half her attention was for Carlo. What she had seen today had fired her imagination.
‘It’s promising,’ she said, flicking through her notes. ‘If I can only find a few more like this.’
‘Come and have a shower,’ he urged. ‘It’s time we were thinking of bed.’
‘Yes, but don’t you see-?’
‘We can talk in the shower,’ he said, beginning to undress her.
