‘Where was I?’ Lydia frowned, then before Daisy could remind her, stared out to sea. Daisy could almost see the older woman’s past catching up with her. Her face took on a haunted look and she wondered if maybe asking her to divulge her history to her might not be the best thing she could have done.
‘If it’s painful for you to recall all this and you don’t want to tell me, I’ll understand,’ she said.
‘No, its fine. I need to remember. I forget sometimes and reminisce about Lorenzo, making him out to be the perfect gentleman, which he was not. He was my first and only love though.’
How sad, thought Daisy, for such a beautiful woman to have only loved one man and lost him. ‘When did you part?’ she asked, intrigued, but concerned at her direct question.
‘Francesca was two when I discovered he had a mistress.’ She looked at Daisy. ‘She was a beautiful Italian girl he’d fallen in love with. His first love.’
‘Like Bella is to Gabriel?’ Daisy asked almost to herself.
Lydia nodded. ‘Yes, like that.’
She felt a pang in her heart, but couldn’t blame Lydia for telling her the truth.
‘Sorry, but it is very similar,’ Lydia said, patting Daisy’s clasped hands. ‘Lorenzo loved his daughter, very much, but became more demanding of me. I think he loved me, but I began to believe that he loved the idea of me, more than me as a person. I’d been this untouchable actress, courted and photographed, someone to admire. When I was heavily pregnant and then afterwards he used to come home and I’d catch him watching me – no make-up, creased clothes, and definitely not being coveted by other men. I’d gone from being a goddess inhis eyes to his laundry maid and he seemed unable to hide how very let down he felt by me.’
‘But that’s so unfair,’ Daisy said, hurt on Lydia’s behalf. ‘You were bringing up his baby.’
Lydia nodded. ‘I thought so too, but he hadn’t wanted a baby with me, he wanted someone to adore. I think his mistress was always glamorous. I’ve often thought she’d have suited him much better than me.’ She wiped her eyes with her fingertips. ‘It was all rather a mess in the end.’
Daisy could feel the pain that these memories still stung Lydia. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No, it’s fine. It was so long ago and if I’d fallen in love with someone else after Lorenzo then maybe this wouldn’t still hurt me so much, but I didn’t and it does.’
‘Did he mind you leaving him?’ Daisy asked doubtfully. She’d found it hard enough to break away from her own past and emotional blackmail was always a difficult thing to fight, she’d discovered.
Lydia laughed, and a pained bitter sound came from her mouth. ‘It was horrendous. When he discovered I was planning to leave him, he locked me in the flat and wouldn’t let me out. Thankfully I’d made friends with a daughter of one of the neighbours. She’d been a fan of mine and so kindly posted a letter for me to my agent. He was furious with me for eloping with Lorenzo, but thankfully still had offers coming in for work for me. He had connections in Italy and sent two brothers round, who were heavies of some sort. They got me and Francesca away from Lorenzo.’
Daisy couldn’t help wishing she had backup like that. ‘That must have been traumatic.’
Lydia sighed. ‘It was terrifying at the time and he was furious and threatened me with all sorts, but I hid at a friend’s flat in London and eventually he agreed to let me stay in England with Francesca. He never agreed to divorce me and eventually I gave up fighting him for myfreedom. I’d got away from him and that seemed enough. It didn’t stop me being hurt when I discovered through the neighbour’s daughter that he was still seen with his mistress and eventually moved her into our home.’
‘Did you ever see him again?’
She shook her head. ‘He wrote to Francesca when he was a bit older and calmer, sending the letters to my parents. They met up once or twice, which I was relieved about.’
‘How sad.’
‘So, not as romantic as you’d expected, was it?’
Daisy shook her head. ‘No, it wasn’t.’
‘But I comfort myself with the fact that Gabriel inherited his grandfather’s good looks.’ She looked at Daisy and pulled a face. ‘Gabriel might have been in love with Bella and married the girl, but she isn’t his mistress and he would never treat a woman like his grandfather did.’
‘Good, I’m glad,’ Daisy said. Then she had a disturbing thought. ‘If anything, I’m the mistress in this scenario.’
‘You’re not sleeping with him, are you?’
Daisy widened her eyes, embarrassed to have been asked such a question by Gabriel’s own grandmother. ‘No, I’m not.’
‘Sorry, it’s none of my business really.’ She took one of Daisy’s hands in hers and squeezed it gently. ‘Give him a chance to sort this mess out with Bella. It would be a terrible shame if the two of you couldn’t be together when you obviously have feelings for each other. Give him time.’
Daisy nodded. She didn’t like to say that they didn’t have much time. She wouldn’t stay at the hotel longer than the end of the season and Gabriel was leaving in less than a month to go and return to his project work in South Africa. He might come back, but for how long?
‘You look troubled,’ Lydia said. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing,’ Daisy fibbed. She wasn’t going to put his grandmother in the difficult position of playing referee to them both. The last thing she needed was to have to make a choice between Daisy and Gabriel, because Daisy knew full well that she would always choose her grandson, and that was exactly how it should be. ‘Isn’t this the most glorious view?’ she asked, to divert Lydia’s attention.
