Deciding it was time to head to the food stalls for a bite to eat, they were suddenly caught off-guard by the sight of Luca, who was tearing towards them through the crowds.
‘Good to see you,’ Matthew said, offering cheek kisses to his pale-faced cousin. ‘What’s wrong? Are you ok?’
Rigid and awkward, Luca was unable to meet Matthew’s eyes. ‘We need to talk,’ he blurted out.
‘What’s going on?’ Sarah asked, taking him by the arm, noting how sickly he looked.
‘Not here.In privato,’ he pressed.
Matthew tensed, an air of apprehension splashed across his face. ‘What about?’
Luca dropped his head momentarily to fight the tears that had begun to well behind his eyes. Finally, with a courageous breath, he steeled himself and said, ‘About the fire.’
With the door to their room closed securely behind them, Matthew’s eyes narrowed and his heartbeat found a new anxious rhythm. ‘What about the fire, Luca?’
Sarah stood close to Matthew, bracing herself for whatever it was Luca had to purge.
Luca’s eyes dropped to the brick tiles. ‘It was me.’
Matthew’s spine straightened and his blood seemed to freeze in his veins. ‘Che dici?’ he asked as calmly as possible, making sure he had heard correctly.
‘You lit the fire?!’ Sarah asked in a raspy frantic voice.
Luca gave a nod as his shoulders tensed. ‘Sì.’
Sarah went limp beside Matthew, and he reached around her for support.
Matthew drew in a long, considered breath, and asked, ‘Why, Luca?’
Surprised by the lack of fury and anger, Luca looked up and faced them for the first time. ‘I’m so sorry. So very sorry.’
‘Why, Luca?Dicci perché!’ Matthew’s tone tightened significantly.
Luca took a step backwards and unexpectedly found the end of their bed. He sat down and the tears began to flow. Sarah looked at Matthew, who stood stone-faced in response, and she went to sit by Luca’s side. Sarah wrapped an arm around his shoulder and coaxed him to talk.
‘Silvia. It’s because of Silvia.’
‘Did she make you do it?’ Matthew asked.
‘No. I did it by myself,’ he sobbed. Sarah handed him a tissue from her dress pocket. ‘I thought it might help my situation.’
‘Whatsituation? The inheritance clause?’ Matthew clarified.
‘Our marriage.’ He looked directly at Matthew and said, ‘You are very lucky, Matteo. You have a wife who loves you, takes care of you and who lets you do the same for her. I have nothing. No love. No real marriage. I am . . . so very lonely.’
‘What do you mean?’ Sarah said, giving his back a gentle rub. ‘I bet it’s not that bad.’
Luca nodded and blew his nose. ‘We don’t make love anymore. Not for years. I cannot remember the last time she let me kiss her. We sleep apart. I sleep alone and cold in the dark.’
Matthew drew in another breath to steady his nerves. ‘Luca, what do your marital issues have to do with the fire?’
Luca gnawed on his bottom lip, then eventually admitted, ‘I thought if you suspected that Saverio was behind the fire, you might . . . You could . . . He might be forced to . . .’
‘You tried to frame Saverio?’ Sarah asked.
Luca nodded.
Matthew walked to the desk by the window and withdrew the cigar butt from his top drawer. ‘Did you leave this behind on purpose?’
