The Wedding Arrangement

‘Bless you,’ she said, emerging in a towelling dressing gown to sit down before muesli and fruit juice. ‘Don’t worry. Charlie’s going to be all right.’

‘I know. You’ll take care of him like you’ve done before. And also of that nice young man.’

‘Nice-you mean that brute with him? You know nothing about him.’

‘Rico let me into the cell to see Charlie, and we all had a talk. I’m glad you are helping him, too.’

‘Don’t be fooled, Netta. I can see that he’s been to work on you, but you needn’t feel sorry for him.’

‘But of course I must be concerned for the man who saved Charlie’s life,’ Netta said, scandalised.

‘Saved his life, my left foot!’ Minnie said with frank derision. ‘I don’t believe he did any such thing.’

‘But Charlie says so,’ Netta persisted.

‘After what Charlie’s taken on board I wouldn’t rely on him for the time of day. And I wouldn’t rely on this other character for anything. He’s our new landlord. The enemy.’

‘But he’s not our enemy, cara. He explained to me how it happened, how he did not want the Residenza-’

‘That isn’t going to make him a better landlord,’ Minnie pointed out.

‘He told me that he thought he had offended you, and how he feels most desolate-’

‘Did he, indeed?’ Minnie said with grim appreciation of these tactics.

‘And I said I was eternally grateful to him for saving my Charlie, and he was welcome in our home at any time.’

‘You might well say that, since he happens to own it.’

‘Then everything is all right.’ Netta beamed. ‘We are all friends, and he will make the repairs-’

‘And double the rent.’

‘You will talk to him, be nice, make him nice.’

‘Netta, listen, this is one very clever man. He’s been to work on you, and achieved exactly what he wanted. You’re putty in his hands.’

‘Twenty years ago, I would have been,’ Netta said with a sigh.

Minnie refused to allow her lips to twitch. ‘Don’t think like that,’ she said with an attempt at severity. ‘It’s just giving in to him.’

‘OK, you give in to him. Such a man was made for a woman to give in to. Or many women.’

‘Then they’d be very foolish. He knows what to say and do, but it’s all meaningless. I’d love to know what really happened in this fight.’

‘He was defending Charlie and the little puppy-’

‘I think he was probably just fighting the puppy,’ Minnie said cynically. ‘I expect it bit him. Good for the puppy!’

‘Why are you so unkind to the poor man?’

It would have taken too long to explain, so Minnie just said, ‘I’ll get dressed and we’ll go.’

CHAPTER THREE

TWO hours later she presented herself before the Justice of the Peace, Alfredo Fentoni, clad in the voluminous black robe of the advocate. Fentoni, who knew her, smiled benignly, addressed her as Avvocato, and they began.

Minnie had to admit that Luke was much improved. The suit spoke of sober respectability, and a shave had transformed him into something resembling an ordinary man.

But only resembling. Now that she saw him at his best, she realised how far from ordinary he was. In the cell she’d been aware of brute force. Now she was even more intensely aware of the skill with which he disguised power. That made him a cunning man as well as a forceful one, and all the more dangerous for that.

It seemed odd to be regarding him as dangerous when his fate was in her hands, but he was no longer the down-and-out she’d met that morning. In fact, that had been an illusion. The reality was this other man who strode into the court as though he owned it, and took up position in the dock with an air of impatience, as though he were doing them all a favour.

She was his advocate, and obliged to do her best for him, but the temptation to bring him down a peg was almost irresistible.

The trial began. What happened then, Minnie could only ascribe to a malignant fate, making her life as difficult as possible. By dubious means Luke had contrived to wrap himself in a halo, at least as far as Netta was concerned. Now events conspired to give that halo a new brilliance.

The four oafs from the night before were also in the dock, grinning and scowling by turns. They had their own lawyer, ready to challenge Minnie on every point, and it soon became clear that they were trying to establish themselves as innocent victims.

They were all small and wiry compared to Luke’s impressive size, and at one point their lawyer flung out a hand in his direction, inviting comparison. A sensible man would have let his shoulders sag, or at least done something, no matter how useless, to shrink himself.

Luke, to Minnie’s total exasperation, stood up straight and folded his arms in an attitude that contrived to be aggressive. She could have torn her hair.

She redoubled her efforts, concentrated all her forces, managed to trip the oafs up, made them contradict themselves and showed them up for what they were.

Everyone relished the moment when the ringleader stumbled into silence while Minnie simply spread her hands as if to say, You see! The massed ranks of Pepinos began to applaud, and were firmly shushed by Netta.

More than a lawyer, Luke thought, unwillingly impressed. A consummate artist, a force of nature.

And he was going to be her next challenge. He was beginning to enjoy the prospect.

At last Fentoni declared that he was fed up with the lot of them, and imposed hefty fines all round.

One of the oafs, incensed at this ‘injustice’, made a lunging movement at Charlie, but found himself facing Luke, who stepped in quickly and took hold of his ear. While he twisted and yowled with pain Luke raised an eyebrow in the direction of the police, as though asking what he should do with this object. An officer hastily intervened. Fentoni promptly doubled the oaf’s fine, and the session was over.

Netta beamed at Luke, then beamed some more when he insisted on paying Charlie’s fine as well as his own. Charlie’s brothers crowded round, slapping Luke on the back. Minnie groaned.

‘Netta, he is not a hero,’ she tried saying firmly. ‘Charlie would probably never have been in trouble if he hadn’t met him.’

‘You’ve quite decided that I’m to blame,’ Luke said, appearing beside her. ‘Aren’t you at least supposed to believe in your client?’

‘You are not to blame,’ Netta told him firmly. ‘Tonight we have a big party at our home, and you will be the guest of honour.’

‘You’re too kind, signora,’ Luke said impressively.

‘You’ll have no trouble finding the Residenza Gallini,’ Minnie said darkly. ‘You’ll know it by all the bits falling off the building.’

‘And if I don’t notice them, I’m sure you’ll point them out to me,’ he said smoothly.

He was about to turn away when Minnie remembered something and stopped him. ‘You need to call your mother,’ she said in a low voice. ‘She called you this morning while I was in your hotel room. I took a message.’

As she turned he stopped her with a hand on her arm. ‘You will be there tonight, won’t you?’

‘Of course I will, if only to stop you deluding my poor family any more.’

His grin jeered at her. ‘You haven’t had much luck so far.’

‘I’ll improve with practice. Don’t forget your mother,’ she said in a voice that put an end to the conversation.

He took out his cellphone, which she had returned to him earlier, switched it on and dialled. Hope answered at once.