Luca nodded ashamedly. ‘Mi dispiace tantissimo.’
‘Is Silvia having an affair with Saverio?’ he asked, passing Luca the butt.
‘Sì.Da mesi. For months. I pretend not to know, but I am at breaking point.’
Sarah took Luca’s trembling hands into hers. ‘Why don’t you talk to her about it? Might that help?’
Luca looked into Sarah’s warm brown eyes and said, ‘I need to be married for the inheritance clause. I can’t confront her now. There’s too much at risk.’
Matthew and Sarah exchanged looks, and Matthew said, ‘Luca, what you did was wrong. Illegal, in fact. Arson, do you understand that? It’s criminal damage.’
‘Sì, lo so. Will you tell the police?’
Matthew exhaled. ‘No.’
Sarah’s eyes flicked to Matthew.
Luca suddenly sat upright in surprise. ‘Sul serio?’
‘Yes. I won’t tell the police. Thank you for coming to tell us. It doesn’t excuse the fact that you have caused us a great deal of stress and hurt, both emotionally and physically, this week. You completely destroyed a fourteenth-century heritage-protected structure and placed the rest of the property, and the lives of individuals, at risk. I should report you this instant. But I won’t. I don’t know if I will ever be able to trust you, Luca. Do you understand that?’
‘Sì, sì.’
‘I respect you for owning your actions. Thank you.’
‘You are a great man, Matteo,’ Luca said as he made his way over to Matthew and embraced him.
‘It’s not about me being a “great” anything, Luca. It’s about family, first and foremost. We need to look after our own. And right now, I need you to heed this advice: you need to talk to Silvia. If she is indeed being unfaithful, she is causing you, your marriage and the community a great deal of harm. Saverio is a dangerous man. She, too, may be in danger.’
Luca’s arms drooped by his side. ‘But what if she leaves me?’
Sarah stood and joined them. ‘Luca, if she’s as fixated on receiving her share of the inheritance as I imagine she is, she won’t be going anywhere until the deal is done. She’s relying on your marriage too.’
‘Luca, you need to think about yourself and whatyouneed too. You need to either work towards fixing your marriage, or prioritising your health and heart,’ Matthew said, leading him from their room. ‘Please, go and enjoy the Sagra. Put the fire out of your mind. Everything turned out fine.’
Luca nodded, thanked them both profusely and disappeared among the party-goers in the courtyard.
Matthew closed the door and turned to face Sarah. She had thrown herself back on the bed, exasperated and emotional, and he joined her.
Rolling to face her, Matthew closed his eyes. ‘I didn’t see that coming.’
‘Never in a million years.’ She gently stroked his cheek. ‘You’re an amazing man, Matthew.’
He shook his head. ‘No, I’m not.’
‘A lesser man would be ready to spill the beans right now.’
‘Luca’s got bigger problems than we do. He deserves our pity, not an act of retribution.’
‘He’s jealous of you.’
Matthew exhaled sharply. ‘No, he’s not jealous of me. He wants whatwehave. It’sushe’s jealous of.’
Sarah lay flat on her back and her hands reached up over her head. ‘We really are lucky.’
Matthew crawled up by her side and leaned over her. His lips tickled hers, and his left hand slipped its way down the length of her body, flattening down her dress as it did so. ‘Do you care if we miss some of tonight’s Sagra?’
Her lips twisted into a grin. ‘What are you suggesting?’
