They sat outside with big mugs of tea and picnicked on crusty rolls, cheese, ham, apples and grapes.
‘This is so good,’ Luca said, wolfing down the food hungrily.
Claire was enjoying it too. All the flavours tasted bright and alive, and she had more of an appetite than she’d had all week. ‘Everything tastes so much better outdoors,’ she said. ‘Especially at the sea.’ She breathed deeply, suffused by an enormous feeling of well-being.
‘It’s beautiful here.’ Luca sighed, turning his face to the sun. ‘So peaceful.’
She was pleased that he appreciated it as much as she did. ‘Mum would be glad we’re doing this,’ she said. ‘She loved it here.’
Later they trailed down the wooden walkway that led to the beach, cresting over the grass-covered dunes. Claire pulled off her sandals, her feet plunging into the warm, powdery sand as they stepped onto the beach. She turned and looked back at the dunes. It was hard to believe that once they had seemed so huge, and it hadfelt daring for her and her brothers to jump from the top into the soft sand beneath, like launching yourself off a cliff.
They spread their towels on the sand, stripped down to their togs and made for the sea.
It took Claire a while to ease herself fully into the water, gradually acclimatising to the cold, but once she did it was wonderfully invigorating, awakening all her nerve endings and bringing her senses to life. Claire looked at Luca beside her, his hair tangled and curly from the salt water. He was so beautiful she wanted to cry. Why had their lessons had to end, she wondered sadly. If only she could have had a few more weeks when he was hers to kiss and touch. Why couldn’t Mark have waited just a little bit longer?
Later, as they lay on the sand, she pushed on her sunglasses, and took her book out of her bag.
‘Did you bringPride and Prejudice?’ Luca asked, propping himself up on an elbow and holding out his hand for it.
‘You don’t have to read to me,’ Claire said.
‘Hey, I don’t want you to go on without me.’
‘Okay,’ she said, handing him the book. She had to admit, she loved being read to – it was all the pleasure with none of the effort, like receiving oral sex. She lay down and closed her eyes, relaxing to the deep tone of Luca’s voice. She found herself drifting in and out of consciousness as the words washed over her…
‘“… for the young man wanted only regimentals to make him completely charming. His appearance was greatly in his favour; he had all the best part of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing penis.”’
‘What?’ Claire reared up with a jolt and turned to Luca.
‘Just checking you were still listening,’ he said, with a cheeky grin.
She laughed and lay down, closing her eyes once more. ‘I’m listening. And Jane Austen is spinning in her grave.’
‘“… a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address,”’ Luca continued. When he got to the end of the next chapter he closed the book.
‘Do you think Mr Darcy is really well-hung?’ he asked.
‘You should so be in a book club,’ Claire said drily, turning to face him. ‘I have no idea! What makes you think about that?’
‘Well, all the girls go nuts for him, but he seems like a bit of a git to me. He must have something going for him.’
‘Well, he’s loaded.’
‘Yeah, I got that.’
‘And he’s handsome.’
‘And tall.’
‘Very tall. Anyway, he’s not a git. He turns out to be really nice – you’ll see.’
‘When are we going to get to the bit where he goes skinny-dipping?’
‘I thought you didn’t know anything aboutPride and Prejudice?’
‘I don’t. But I remember all the girls going on and on about that scene,’ he said, rolling his eyes.
‘That didn’t happen in the book. It was just in the TV series.’
