‘I want you to have a proper break before you return to running the bakery. It would also be good to go out occasionally and not have to worry about childcare.’
Disconcerted by that statement from a man who acted like it would take a hurricane to separate him from his desk and his phone, Violet simply nodded again and sped upstairs. She rang her sister first to tell her about the approaching move and heard about how flirty the Italian baker Tore had hired was being with her. After that she called her mother, who was at the clinic and had left her phone behind. Instead, she spoke to her mother’s friend, who told her that her parent’s blood count was showing promising signs of a positive response to the new medication. After saying she’d call back later to speak to her mother, Violet began to pack.
They left thecastellomid-afternoon when the helicopter arrived to collect them. Stella was brimming with excitement at getting to leave home for a couple of weeks. The helicopter landed in a grassy clearing surrounded by trees. An SUV awaited them and their luggage and once the transfer was made, they drove through the woods and up a driveway lined with cypress trees towards a sturdy classical house of substantial size.
‘This is much bigger than I was expecting,’ Violet admitted.
‘The Villa Renzetti is used for other purposes as well. The Summer Ball will be held here next month and the proceeds will go to the prison rehabilitation charity that was selected this year. We’ll be attending and you’ll meet my friends and executive colleagues at it. Our company headquarters is based in Siena, which isn’t far from here,’ Tore explained. ‘I live at the villa six months of the year now that it’s habitable again.’
Violet said nothing because there was too much to unpack in those statements. She knew that she had assumed without evidence that Tore spent most of his time in London and that she would easily be able to continue running the bakery. Now she was finding out different and wishing that he had been more up front about how and where he lived. Only perhaps she or Tabitha should have asked more questions beforehand and clarified the situation. Both of them had been ridiculously naive about what the marriage would entail. Why the heck had Tore been so stubborn that he had refused to even meet his future wife ahead of the wedding?
But would prior warning have changed anything? She hadn’t had a choice, she reminded herself ruefully, not if she wanted her mother to have one last chance at a cure for her disease. Or at the very least, a period of remission. How wonderful it would be if her mother, after her miserable marriage, were to have the opportunity to rediscover her joy in life. That possibility inspired both Violet and her twin and had made every sacrifice of their interests acceptable.
Tore lifted Belle out of her car seat as Violet leant in to release her seat belt. Belle planted both hands against his cheeks and smiled up at him in reward.
‘I bet she’s walking by the time we return to London,’ Tore forecast. ‘She tries to pull herself up against everything.’
‘When did you buy this place?’ Violet asked as they mounted shallow stone steps to reach the arched loggia, which fronted the house.
‘A few years ago. I was out driving around and I saw it. The for-sale sign had rotted in the ground and I climbed over the wall and wandered round it.’
‘You trespassed. More daring than I would’ve been,’ she remarked.
‘If the temptation is strong enough, I can break the rules,’ he quipped. ‘I climbed in through a back window and when I walked through the place, I fell in love with it. It was so sad to see the wonderful workmanship that was being left to rot. Aldo came to view it and said it would be a lifelong project. He may be right but I’ve enjoyed the challenges.’
‘Saving a building from destruction would be fascinating. I didn’t realise you liked old buildings. Of course I should’ve done with thecastelloin the family.’
‘This place isn’t as old but I’m sure Aldo’s constant work on thecastelloinfluenced me. I like the location, too,’ he extended. ‘You can walk down into the village from here and I set up several workshops in traditional crafts and skills while restoring the villa.’
Stella was awaiting them at the top of the steps and Violet hurried to join her, pausing in front of the array of staff awaiting them in the loggia, her eyes flying to the colourful frescoes on the wall and the alcoves displaying classic sculptures. It was imposing and elegant. Tore introduced her to everyone but the only name she matched to a face was Alfredo, who managed the household. They moved into an interior courtyard full of tropical plants thriving in the sunlight filtering down through the glass roof above that was clearly a more recent addition.
‘I’m afraid the furniture brought in for Belle may be below your standards,’ Tore murmured, leading her up a stone-and-wood staircase. ‘I’ve lived here alone and I’ve never had overnight guests or children staying.’
‘Oh…’ She wasn’t surprised but felt that she had to say something.
On the landing, Tore paused to study her. His wife. He was discovering that more and more he was thinking of Violet as his wife. Not as his fake wife, his contract wife or even his gold-digging wife. No, Tore thought of her simply ashiswife and even more to his disconcertion he liked having her and Belle around. Yet, he had never thought he could be a family man or that he could like any woman enough to have her around all the time. With Belle and Violet, life had become less predictable, less routine. And the more he saw of her, the more he looked at Violet, the more he wanted her. All cute and fragile in her fancy shorts and light top that showed off her slim curves and gorgeous legs. Her glorious hair cascaded round her piquant features; those big blue eyes hauntingly expressive. She inspired a hunger in him that was wildly out of proportion within a temporary alliance.
With difficulty, Tore mastered his wandering thoughts. ‘We may have to go shopping tomorrow to buy baby equipment.’
‘Is there a cot?’
‘Yes, but it’s on loan,’ Tore shared in some embarrassment.
‘From whom?’
‘One of our staff, who has grandchildren.’
‘Well, be sure to thank them. We’ll manage,’ Violet said calmly as he walked her into a big empty room. A fabulous mural of a forest glade adorned with cute fluffy animals covered the entirety of one wall. ‘Oh, that painting is amazing!’
‘This room was designated to be a nursery and when the frescoes were being restored, there were several different artists working here. I asked one of them to come up with a suitable children’s painting. At least Belle will have something interesting to look at.’
Stella was already there and Belle was down on the floor with some toys.
‘She’ll be fine. We’re not fussy,’ Violet said as he led her on across the corridor into a giant, magnificently furnished bedroom. ‘This house is a revelation, Tore. I’m learning that in private, you like to live as grandly as an eighteenth-century king.’
Her appreciative gaze scanned the scarlet drapes and the huge, carved four-poster bed with its gilded accents and superb golden pleated canopy. ‘That is the most amazing bedever,’ she commented.
‘I converted the room next door into a bathroom and dressing room.’ As he threw open the doors on further opulent appointments, Violet was enthralled and soon making plans for the stunning sunken bath in front of her. No, he had not lied; they would certainly not be roughing it once they obtained some necessities for Belle’s room.
