Lidia and Alessandro were also sat at their kitchen bench, a morning coffee at arm’s reach for both. Over their shoulders, Sarah could make out the stylish interior of their kitchen and dining space, which opened out onto a no-expenses-spared decking and pool area.
Matthew had cleverly ensured his Zoom background was enabled, masking their whereabouts for the time being. ‘Mum, Dad, you know Sarah.’
‘Nice to see you both again.’ Sarah, despite the fatigue and continued jet lag, looked spritely and well-polished on the screen.
‘Lovely to see you. It’s been a while since the ceremony.’ Alessandro chimed in before Lidia. ‘We cannot thank you enough for what you’re doing. You’re a great woman. I look forward to having you over once all is sorted. You can come stay with us up here at Darling Point anytime you want. You’re family now.’
Sarah could sense Matthew tensing by her side, and replied, ‘That’s so kind, thank you.’
‘Sarah, you strike me as an intelligent, confident woman. Make sure Matthew takes good care of you. Be sure to let us know if he’s not pulling his weight.’ Lidia leaned forward, closer to her screen. She assessed Matthew carefully, dropping her red-framed glasses to the end of her nose. ‘Something’s wrong. I can see it in your eyes, Matthew.’ She turned to Alessandro. ‘Something’s wrong. He’s drawn. Do you see it?’
Matthew exhaled. Nothing ever escaped Lidia’s finely tuned psychologist’s eye. ‘I’m fine, Mum. Relax.’
Lidia scrutinised him for a moment longer before retreating to her earlier position. ‘What’s going on? There’s an air of evasion about you.’
Sarah and Matthew shared a look of despair that didn’t go unnoticed by his parents.
‘What’s happened, son?’ The joy dissolved from Alessandro’s tone and he sat upright, as if preparing to receive bad news.
Shaking his head, Matthew caught his forehead in the palms of his hands. ‘It’s all gone wrong, guys. All of it.’ Sarah reached across and put a comforting arm around Matthew’s shoulder. ‘We’re not in Florence. We’ve been relocated to our new home, down on the Tuscan–Umbrian border.’
Lidia’s eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean?’
‘There’s another legitimate heir, a guy called Luca. A count or baron, or something. My age. Literally the same birthday and everything. To the day.’
‘So, what does that mean?’ Alessandro’s business brain was clearly kicking into gear.
Matthew explained in great detail what had transpired the day before. Both Lidia and Alessandro were emotional and disappointed that Matthew’s journey had come to this, and that Sarah had to be dragged along for the ride.
She did her best to allay their worries, and tried to reassure them that she was in it for the long haul and hard work.
Before wrapping up the conversation, Matthew had one last thing to ask of his parents. ‘How did you go with Nonno’s appointment yesterday?’
With a long sigh, Alessandro looked directly at Matthew on the screen and said, ‘Not good.’ He caught his breath. ‘Oncologist says he’s got a few months. Maybe longer. He was reluctant to put a figure on it. He’s as stubborn as an ox, your nonno, so who knows?’ Lidia closed her eyes and reached out her hand to catch Alessandro’s on the kitchen bench. ‘Physically, he’s spent. Something is stopping him from letting go. You know what he’s like. If he’s got something in his head, if he’s fixated on something, he needs to see it through.’
‘Sounds like him, alright.’ Matthew smiled past the sadness which had enveloped him.
After exchanging farewells and wishing his parents a good day, Matthew ended the call. Sarah was still and quiet next to him, giving him the space to make sense of it all. Matthew sat there for a moment or two, processing what he had just been told.
Eventually he found his voice. ‘Pancreatic cancer. Final stretch.’
Sarah took his hand and interlaced her fingers with his. ‘I’m so very sorry,’ she whispered.
After another moment’s pause, Matthew shared a truth he’d always been too ashamed to voice. ‘Men are supposed to grow up idolising their fathers. They’re meant to be our role models.’ He shook his head. ‘Nonno Andrea is mine. He’s the reason I’m the man I am today.’
dieci
The following morning, after a light breakfast of tea and fruit on the front courtyard ledge overlooking the valley, Sarah and Matthew began a proper walkthrough, top-to-toe, of Convento delle Viole. Room by room, they made note of all the obvious and not-so-obvious work that needed to be done, both structurally and aesthetically, to make the building livable. From replacing bathroom fit-outs to repairing glass window panes, it all went on the list.
They discovered a two-metre-wide annex space, much like an elongated walk-in robe, on the ground floor, not far from the side entrance. Sarah was immediately drawn to the little space, intrigued by its peculiar shallow shelving. ‘This feels like a store cupboard,’ she said, poking her head around the doorframe.
Matthew agreed. ‘But it feels too large to simply be used for storage.’ He stepped inside and walked all the way to the end. ‘I wonder what it was used for?’ No clues gave away its prior use; no marks on the plasterwork, no debris or waste was to be found. A small window at the end of the annex was the only source of light, and it had long been covered over with a double-folded length of disintegrating linen. Matthew tugged on the cloth, which gave way immediately, collapsing to the floor in a cloud of dust and broken-down fibres.
‘You’re not asthmatic, are you?’ Sarah asked, coughing through the fine airborne particles.
‘Thankfully not,’ he spluttered. ‘You?’
‘No, but this might just be the place to bring it on.’
