‘Yes, for over twenty years, but he isn’t coming this weekend.’
‘Funny that Miss Graceland should choose to invite her former agent, but not her current one.’
Mary nodded again. ‘I thought the same thing, but maybe she’s on a nostalgia trip. Who knows? She didn’t tell me.’
I stood there and took stock. ‘From what I can see of this list,and from what you’ve been telling me, if a bomb were to drop on this island tomorrow, the movie industry could potentially be crippled.’
‘They’re certainly all major players. No question about that.’ She stroked Oscar’s head and then stood up. ‘Would you like me to show you to your room? And then I can show you around the island in a bit more detail than last time, if you like.’
I agreed willingly, and we set off along the brick path that circled the gardens. As we walked past the single-storey buildings set against the walls, she pointed out the guest bedrooms and told me that if I wanted, she would be able to give me a printout in the morning of which had been allocated to which guests. I’ve always had a curious streak, so I said yes, please. She took me right along the line of bedrooms to the very last door and opened it.
‘Room twelve, this is yours. You should be very comfortable, but if there’s anything you need, just ask me or Valentina. Let me give you my phone number and hers.’
After exchanging phone numbers with her, I stepped inside and had to agree that the room looked most comfortable. It was bigger than I had expected and somebody – probably Valentina – had even been kind enough to lay out a big, folded blanket alongside the bed for my four-legged friend. The floor had been freshly tiled with light-grey marble slabs, and hefty wooden beams supported the pristine, white-painted ceiling, giving the room an almost rustic air. The conversion had obviously been done with considerable taste, and a quick glance into the bathroom showed me yet more marble and glistening white bathroom furniture. I looked back at Mary, who was standing by the door.
‘This looks wonderful. Thank you so much and do, please,say thank you to Valentina. With a dozen guests coming – plus me – she must be working all hours.’
‘Gabriella, her daughter, was here working with her all day yesterday and she’s back today along with Guido, their boy. Miss Graceland says they make a most efficient team.’
‘Do Valentina and Diego live here on the island?’
She nodded. ‘They have a cottage over there on the far side, alongside my apartment.’
‘And their son and daughter?’
‘They both live in Mestre, on the mainland.’ She elaborated. ‘They’ve been telling me that most ordinary Venetians have been squeezed out of the city because property values and rents have gone through the roof.’
I left my bag in the room, followed her out and we continued our tour. A bit further along was the gym and, beyond it, a large, old greenhouse filled with plants. So luxuriant was the vegetation in there, I could hardly see from one end to the other and I couldn’t recognise even half of what looked like exotic plants. I decided if I had a bit of spare time, I would come back with my new plant identification app and see just how true its boast of being able to identify 95 per cent of the world’s flora really was.
As I turned away, Mary gave me a few words of explanation. ‘Miss Graceland spends quite a lot of time pottering around the garden. She’s very interested in plants and flowers. You maybe noticed that she’s got a whole shelf of books on plants and gardening in her study.’
I looked across towards the central part of the island and had to admire the variety of trees and plants on display in the gardens. Although the Venice region can get very cold in winter, presumably the surrounding water meant that the island benefitted from its own microclimate, and this accounted for thepresence of palm trees, cactus and a charming little grove of lemon trees, heavy with fruit.
We walked across the luxuriant lawn until we reached the swimming pool, and I was relieved to find that this was fenced off. I felt sure that the lure of the water would have been too much for Oscar to resist, and having a soggy, wet dog around the place probably wouldn’t have endeared me to Alice Graceland.
Mary pointed out what she called the cottage, inhabited by Diego and Valentina. This was a good-sized building, also built up against the perimeter wall, and alongside it was the smaller construction where Mary told me she had her quarters. As I looked around, I could see no fewer than eight different sets of stone steps leading up to the ramparts and I decided to go up and investigate. At this point, Mary excused herself, telling me she felt she had better check in with Alice on the off chance that she might have something for her to do before lunch. This reminded me of something I’d been meaning to ask.
‘Last time I was here, I had lunch with Miss Graceland in the dining room, but I wouldn’t want to disturb her again. Is there somewhere else I can get something to eat?’
‘Yes, of course. I’m sorry, I should have said. Valentina told me to ask you to join her, Diego and me in the kitchen. I sometimes have lunch with them and we normally eat at twelve-thirty.’
‘What about Miss Graceland? Does she normally eat alone?’
‘Occasionally, although she often asks me to join her – not for work, just to chat, mainly about me rather than her. I enjoy her company but I always come away hungry. Her normal diet is what she calls “rabbit food”. You can probably imagine what that consists of.’
‘When I was here earlier in the month, she mentioned that big meals were an exception for her.’
‘She interrupts her diet in exceptional circumstances, likehaving lunch with you or, I’m sure, with her guests this weekend, but, otherwise, it’s all carefully calorie controlled. She’s told me that all her adult life, she’s had to follow a strict dietary regime in order to keep looking good for the cameras.’ She caught my eye and smiled ruefully. ‘This celebrity business can have its downsides.’
She pointed out where the kitchens were situated, just along from the dining room, and then headed back in the direction of Alice’s office, while Oscar and I climbed the nearest set of steps onto the top of the walls. From up here, it was clear to see just how massive the fortifications were. There was a walkway at least two metres wide with a brick wall taller than me on the seaward side, punctured every few metres by diamond-shaped portholes, some higher, some lower, no doubt designed for bow, cannon or musket fire. On the inside, there was no perimeter wall at all, just a three-metre drop to the ground below. I kept a watchful eye on Oscar, but he didn’t demonstrate any inclination to fling himself off, so I relaxed and put my face to one of the portholes. The view was exceptional.
I found myself looking back towards Venice. The smooth waters of the lagoon were a light grey-blue, the sky not dissimilar in colour, and Venice itself was a long, low pink and white line bisecting the scene. Through the heat haze, I thought I could even just about make out the peaks of the Dolomites in the far distance. Rising up among the red roofs of Venice, I counted no fewer than five belltowers and the domes and roofs of six churches, including the white mass of the cathedral with the Palazzo Ducale alongside it.
To my surprise, the view was punctuated by numerous trees and patches of greenery. I couldn’t remember seeing more than an occasional shrub on the way over, but obviously, I hadn’t been looking in the right direction. I stood there and tried to imaginemyself as a soldier on the lookout for enemy ships belonging to Venice’s mortal enemy, the other great Italian maritime power, the Republic of Genoa, back in the fourteenth century when the fortress had been constructed. Anna had researched the island for me; having a historian as a fiancée can be useful.
I did a complete circuit of the ramparts with Oscar and by the time I got back around to my original starting point, I had a pretty clear idea in my head of the geography of the fortress. Roughly half of the interior wall space had buildings butting up against it, with their sloping roofs starting just below the level of the walkway. The largest of the buildings, where Alice had her office and living quarters, was closest to the main entrance, while the dining room and kitchen were just a bit further along from there.
Apart from Valentina and Diego’s cottage alongside Mary’s place on the far side, all the principal accommodation roughly formed a banana shape, while the rest of the island was taken up with the garden with the pool in the centre.
