‘Yes, thank you, Lucia.’ Phil shook the nearest glass blower’s hand. ‘Grazie.’
The man nodded, turning back to the furnace without speaking but with a twitch of a smile.
Cate hung back slightly, allowing Lucia and Phil to walk side by side down the long factory corridor. Natalie let out a breath. At last, she could talk to Cate. Apologise, try to explain.
‘You should audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company when we get back,’ Cate said coolly. ‘The way you were chatting to Phil earlier, you’d think you were best buddies.’
Natalie slowed her steps. ‘I can say a few words on a TV show but I’m no actor… and I don’t think Phil is.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Cate’s eyes swivelled in Phil’s direction. He and Lucia had stopped to look at a vintage advertising poster high on the wall.
‘Cate, look at me, please!’
Cate sighed melodramatically. She turned her head.
‘I’ve been thinking… about Phil. I’m sorry for what I said yesterday. He’s a nice guy, like you said. He seems kind, genuine. My gut tells me he wasn’t the person who attacked me.’
Cate’s eyes narrowed. She regarded Natalie, stony-faced. ‘Perhaps you should have waited to meet him before you started throwing accusations around.’
‘Please listen. The boy in that alleyway was the same height as Phil, he was wearing the same designer trainers. And he knew my name. I’d assumed it must be Phil.’
‘That’s a pretty big assumption, don’t you think? Wouldn’t exactly stand up in court, would it?’ Cate’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
‘I didn’t think any of the others knew my name. Phil was the only one of those boys that I spoke to on our trip. I was far too self-conscious to go up and talk to anyone at the masked ball before I sneaked away. But I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I really am so, so sorry I said those things about Phil. I’m going to find a way to make it up to you, honestly I am.’
‘Good luck with that project! What are you going to do? Buy me a bellini?’
‘Please, Cate.’
Cate was silent. Natalie could almost see the cogs of her brain turning. ‘I suppose it must have been traumatic for you, thinking you were going to meet your attacker again. I can see how you’d think that it could have been Phil. Not knowing him the way I do, I might have thought the same.’
‘Thank you,’ Natalie murmured. Cate was being so gracious, she felt even worse.
‘You know what we could do? We could ask Phil who it might have been. There were no more than twenty boys from their school on that trip. Maybe he’ll remember who else wore the Plague-doctor costume that night, who else had the same trainers as him.’
‘I’m not sure I want to know. What would I gain? There’s nothing I can do now; it’s all too late.’
Cate squared her shoulders. ‘We could go to the police.’
Natalie waited until Phil and Lucia disappeared into the factory office before she replied. ‘No, there’s no point. What would the police think? Two schoolkids fumbling in an alleyway, my word against his. There’s no evidence, no CCTV, no DNA. Coming here, it’s made me realise it’s time to move on.’
Cate threw up her hands. ‘But it’s wrong. That boy might have done the same to somebody else. He might still be doing it now.’
Natalie shook her head. She looked down at the floor. ‘It’s over. Please don’t say anything, and I’d rather Phil didn’t know.’
‘Okay, I’ll keep your secret, like you’ve kept mine about me trying to visit Mum.’ Cate gently touched Natalie’s arm. ‘But if you ever change your mind or want to talk, you know you can.’
‘Same here. You can talk to me even if we’re no longer friends. I know we can’t start again, not after I said those things about Phil.’
Cate fixed her brown eyes on Natalie’s. ‘It’s too early to talk about being friends again. But it meant so much when you came to Burano with me; that hasn’t changed. You were there when I needed you. I won’t forget that… We have been through a lot together, haven’t we?’
‘Yeah, we have,’ Natalie said quietly.
Cate twisted a lock of her hair. ‘You know, part of me wants to strangle you… and part of me wants to go back to how we were a few days ago. You were wrong to think Phil attacked you; I was wrong to think, even for a moment, he might be having an affair. But I know there’s something up with him: something not quite right. I need someone I can really talk to. It’s hard to be friends right now but maybe we can be… friendly acquaintances?’
Natalie smiled. ‘Okay, that’s fair enough: friendly acquaintances. It’s more than I deserve.’
Cate laughed. ‘It does sound a bit ridiculous, doesn’t it?’
