“Yeah, and you let her get away with it!” I want to scream.
But the last thing Theo needs is animosity coming from me as well as Kate, Callum and Mabel. So what I actually say is, “And what do you suggest we do about it? I can’t just sit here and take it, without anyone to defend me.”
Was that too critical?
Theo scrapes his fingernails through his hair. “Ads, it’s bloody frustrating …”
“You can say that again.”
“… but if we rise to the bait, Kate will only get what she wants. She knows she’s got the kids on her side and she’s trying tocreate a war between us and them. I suspect she wants you and I to fall out, too.”
I breathe in and out a few times. He’s right. I know he’s right.
I just need to control my anger.
“Yeah, well, she won’t succeed,” I say. But I can’t bring myself to smile.
“That’s the spirit,” says Theo, his relief visible. “Look, from now on, I’ll do the laundry. It should have been me doing it in the first place.”
Brill. Now he’s going to get sick of the whole setup. So much for our romantic, magical summer. “I don’t know,” I object. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Who do you think does it at home?”
But, even though Theo doesn’t seem bothered by the prospect, even though he gives me another of his gorgeous smiles, I can’t help worrying that this could be the beginning of the end. It’s exactly as I thought when I heard the kids were coming with us: he’s going to realize the whole thing is too much stress and too much trouble. And he’s going to want out.
Then another voice inside me says,He was always going to dump you sooner or later. You might as well get it over with now.
I hear a loud crash coming from outside. “What was that?”
It’s followed by the pitter-patter of rain on the windowpanes.
“Was it thunder?” I ask.
“Bloody hell,” says Theo, “it’s a storm.”
“Fuck!”
We jump up and close the windows.
This is all we need.
Chapter 16
On the first day of August, we wake up to find the storm has ended—but has left some serious damage. A tree has blown down and is blocking the driveway, the bags of plaster, sand and cement that weren’t covered are spoiled, and the rain has washed away tiles from the roof and patio, plus some of the land behind the chapel, where the retaining wall has yet to be built. The water has also crept under the turquoise doors and flooded the kitchen, which needs mopping up. As if all that isn’t enough, our electricity has been cut off.
“How are things up at the castle?” I ask Luisa.
“Actually, fine,” she says, stabbing a hiking stick into the driveway. “Stefano warned me there was going to be a storm so we covered everything with thick black plastic and secured it down.”
Giuseppe tips back the remains of his coffee. “Adam, I am very sorry. Luisa tells me about the storm but I do not believe her.”
It takes me a second to work out he should be speaking in the past tense.
“Yes, but it’s very unusual weather for this time of year,” Luisa counters. “I’m not surprised you didn’t believe me.”
“Look, there’s no point worrying about it now,” I chip in. “Let’s just concentrate on fixing everything. Assuming wecanfix everything?”
Giuseppe gives the uprooted tree a pat. “Yes, we move this. And I order more materials.”
