“No,” concedes Mabel. “But what happens the next time we go into Camaiore?”
“We make sure we’re feeling strong,” I answer. “We don’t hold back from being ourselves and we don’t let horrible old men stop us from doing what we want.”
“And we stick together,” Theo chips in. He opens his mouth again—possibly to add “as a family”—but stops himself. “What do you say?”
“Alright,” responds Mabel.
Callum extends his arm and sweeps a leaf off the table. “OK.”
“Superb,” says Theo. “Now, I’m going to fire up that barbie. Who fancies a burger?”
Theo and I climb up to the castle and sit on the stone wall to watch the sunset.
After dinner, Callum and Mabel offered to clear up and put Archie to bed, an offer I immediately accepted. After the day I’d had, I really wanted a quiet moment with Theo. I really wanted to bring him up here.
Theo takes hold of my hand. “Ads, I know what happened today was bloody unpleasant. But at least it’s made the kids think. And it does seem to have softened them a little.”
I nod. “Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come.”
I inch closer, so our arms are touching and we’re leaning onto each other, as we delight in the sun’s colors.
“Just think about all the people who used to live in this castle,” I say. “Do you think any of them were like us? Do you think any of them were men who fell in love with men?”
“There must have been some.” Theo gives my hand a squeeze. “Although I can’t imagine what it was like for them—living in terror of being found out.”
“I wonder what would have happened if they were caught,” I say. “According to Luisa, they used to burn gay men at the stake in Italy. But I don’t know when that started or stopped.”
Theo tugs in a breath. “Me neither. I know they were executed in England but I think that was by hanging.”
I shake my head. “How could anyone possibly fall in love knowing that’s what would happen to them? How could anyone be proud of who they were?”
“I expect they weren’t,” reflects Theo. “And I expect lots of them fought their feelings. But we’ll never know, as it had to be so secret. And now all those secrets are buried. All those secrets from all those men stretching back all through time.” He pats the wall.
I rest my free hand on the stone. “Well, they’re not all buried.”
“What do you mean?”
I swivel to face him. “Theo, there’s something I need to tell you.”
He turns to look at me. “I’m glad you’ve said that, because there’s something I need to tell you, too.”
Chapter 24
Theo and I are sitting on our bed. Spreading out around us are the photos of Wilf and Arnaldo, Wilf’s three letters, and the stone inscribed with their names. I wanted to go first with my revelation as I wanted to get it off my chest.
As he sifts through the photos, Theo’s mouth hangs open. “Ads, these are amazing.” He grabs his reading glasses and opens one of the letters.
“They’re about how they met in Manchester,” I comment. “How everyone turned on them and they had to fight to be together. It’s really upsetting but quite inspiring, too.”
“It’s like the missing piece of the jigsaw,” Theo observes. “Now everything makes sense.” He looks up from the letter. “I want to read these properly. It sounds like there’s a lot to take in.”
I scratch the side of my nose. “Yeah, sorry, that’s kind of why I didn’t tell you about it sooner. I just needed a bit of time to get my head round it.”
“You don’t need to explain.” Theo removes his glasses and his face darkens. “I’ve put off telling you something, too. And when you hear it, I’m worried you’ll be mad at me.”
Fear pricks at my insides. “Why? What is it?”
Theo rubs at the little marks left by his glasses. “Ads, I cheated on Kate.”
