‘I’ll return to visit for the holidays, and for important occasions. It’s why I wanted you close to London.’
‘But you don’t want us in London, by your side?’ Delphine found it impossible to hide the pain in her voice this time. ‘Not even your children?’
‘I’m giving you your freedom, Delphine, don’t you see?’ he asked, going to sit on the bed and taking off his boots. ‘You’ve given me everything I needed from this marriage, everythingweneeded, and I’m grateful for our wonderful children, but you must know that it was only an arrangement between us. There is nothing unusual about us living separate lives, it’s not something you need to be upset about.’
‘What do I tell my family?’ she asked, as tears made her voice quaver.
‘You tell them that your husband is living abroad for work,’ he said. ‘They will understand.’
‘And our children?’
‘I will talk to them,’ he said. ‘But they will be away at school soon. I’ve organised the best school in Geneva for them to attend, and they’ll be so busy they’ll barely notice I’m not living here.’ He smiled. ‘It’s not as if we will ever divorce, so there’s nothing about our arrangement that will affect the children. And when Tommaso is older, he will spend time with me at all our offices, here, in London, and in Rome. You have nothing to worry about.’
She nodded. So that was it then. Her marriage, it seemed, was beyond saving.
‘What if I want a divorce?’ she asked, tilting her chin, tired of not standing up for herself, feeling as if she’d finally found her voice. ‘What if I don’t want to live a lie? Do I not get a choicein all of this? What if I don’t want to live separately from my husband?’
‘Divorce?’ Giovanni laughed. ‘We will never divorce, Delphine, that is the one thing I can promise you. We will remain wedded. It’s how it’s always done, and it’s how we will do it. I will not bring any shame on this family.’
She shook her head. So, she was to be bound to her husband forever, despite the fact that he didn’t love her? Despite not wanting to live with her anymore? It was to be a marriage in name only? She wondered how it was shameful to divorce, but not shameful to live separately. How it wasn’t shameful to be seeking comfort with other women.
‘I implore you to be discreet, as will I, and when we’re together, we’ll be as we’ve always been,’ he said, smiling as if he hadn’t just broken her heart into a million tiny pieces. ‘There will be times when we need one another, expectations to attend certain things and such, but most of the time we can live our own lives as we want.’ He frowned. ‘I thought you’d be happy to have your freedom? It was always my intention for you to live the life you wanted after birthing and raising our children. Now that they’re almost at school, you will be as free as a bird, and I’ll ensure you have a generous monthly allowance.’
Delphine stared at him for a long moment, but she had no words to answer him. Instead, she walked away, her head hanging and her heart heavy, clutching her robe to her chest, understanding that she was stuck in a loveless marriage of convenience for the rest of her life.
My marriage is over. I’m to live the rest of my life alone, with only my children for company.
She closed the door to her bedroom and sank down against the timber until she reached the floor, drawing her knees to her chest and crying as she hadn’t cried since she was a girl. Her mother would have told her there was no point in crying overspilt milk, that she was fortunate to be given free rein to live her life as she wanted, albeit without her husband. But that was the problem; Delphine didn’t want to be alone.
She wanted Giovanni to love her.
8
PRESENT DAY
‘Georgia?’
She looked up, happy to hear Sam’s voice.
‘In here!’
‘What are you doing in your bedroom?’ Sam asked. ‘And what’s going on? Your message didn’t make any…’ She paused, kicking off her heels and looking at the mess in the room. ‘Sense.’
Georgia willingly took the coffee Sam passed her, grimacing when she turned in a circle, clothes strewn everywhere as if a bomb had gone off in her wardrobe.
‘Excuse the mess.’
‘Mess?’ Sam laughed. ‘This isn’t a mess, G, it’s an explosion. What’s going on? I don’t remember you being like this even when we were teenagers!’
Georgia sighed and sat down with Sam on the bed. ‘I think I’m going mad.’
‘Well, I can see that!’
‘Ever since I took the stone in to be valued, I just can’t stop thinking about it. About the mystery of it all.’ She took a sip, thankful for the combination of caffeine and sugar. ‘I’ve become obsessed with finding out everything I can.’
‘So, two things,’ Sam said, tucking her legs beneath her and leaning back into the assortment of pillows Georgia had on the bed. ‘First, I think that perhaps you might have replaced your work obsession with a family history obsession. You’ve transferred all your energy and time into solving the mystery of your grandmother’s past.’
Georgia held up one hand in the air. ‘You’re not wrong. Guilty as charged.’ Her brows shot up. ‘What’s the second thing?’
