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‘Annie, Annie, what’s wrong? Has something happened?’
She gave him a little smile and explained about the man with the screwdriver and, together, they inspected the sign. The man had only managed to remove one of the screws so far and Annie even saw it lying on the pavement at her feet. As she picked it up, she heard Beppe voicing the same thoughts that were passing through her head.
‘He was trying to steal your sign, your brand-new sign. Now why, I wonder, would he want to do that?’ He removed the screw from her unresisting fingers and twisted it back into the hole until it was quite well bedded. Years of kneading pizza dough had given him powerful hands.
Annie was puzzled. ‘Maybe he’s just a weirdo who likes stealing shiny new signs.’ Even as she said it, Annie knew that it didn’t ring true. Beside her, Beppe’s face showed what he thought of the notion. Maybe the man’s motives were more sinister.
‘I wonder if it’s one of your competitors, trying to get at you.’ Beppe caught her by the arm and led her back across the road. ‘Come along, Annie, it’s too cold out here and you’ve still got half your pizza left. When you’ve finished eating, I’ll tell you a little story.’ He grinned at her in the garish light of the Pizzeria sign. ‘But I’ll let you eat first.’
Annie did as instructed and returned to her food, mulling over what the man had tried to do and what Beppe had said. As far as competitors were concerned, the only one she knew about in Santorso was the ABC School. From what she had heard from Paolina and others, it didn’t enjoy a good reputation, but that didn’t necessarily mean they would stoop to underhand means against a new arrival. Or did it?
She was still working her way through the pizza when her phone rang. It was Matt. As she saw his name come up, she felt suddenly pleased.
‘Hi, Matt, where are you?’
‘Just north of Turin on the motorway. There’s snow on the ground here and the radio’s telling me you’ve had a load of it up there.’
‘I think you might need your four-wheel drive if it snows any more. So are you coming up to do a bit of house hunting?’
‘Yes. I’m staying the night with a friend just down the valley.’ Annie decided not to delve too deeply into the sex or identity of the friend in question. Quite probably, Luisa the TV girl already had a rival, if not a replacement. How he lived his life, she had realised years ago, was his affair and the girls he picked up bore their share of responsibility as well. ‘And, yes, I’m going to do the rounds of the agencies tomorrow.’
‘Good luck with that. I’ve been looking for flats all week, but with no joy so far.’
‘Do you need a hand to move your stuff?’
‘Thanks, Matt, but there’s no need. It’s just a couple of bags. All my things are at the school already.’
‘I’ll call round to the school at the end of the afternoon tomorrow to see if you need anything.’ Annie was struck by his caring tone and she remembered what Janet had told her about his enquiries as to her well-being.
‘Thanks, Matt. You’re a sweetie.’ She realised that she was really pleased he was back in her life.
‘Anything for you, Annie.’ She blew him a kiss and immediately found herself wondering how it was she was having affectionate thoughts about two men in the space of less than a day.
Annie carried on with the pizza that was by now fairly cold until, finally, she could eat no more. She dropped her knife and fork on her plate and sat back. A few minutes later, Beppe came over.
‘Finished?’ Annie nodded in response. ‘Nothing else; an ice cream, some coffee?’ Annie shook her head. Beppe indicated the spare chair at her little table with his hand. ‘May I?’ Annie smiled and waved him down. He took a seat and began his story. It fairly quickly emerged why he had been so insistent that she finish her food before hearing it.
‘When we first opened the pizzeria here, back in the eighties, there was a scruffy little local restaurant just along the street from us. The building was demolished when they extended the car park, but for the first year, we were in competition. From the very first day we opened for business, things started to happen. One day we’d find the dustbins overturned and rubbish all over the street. On one occasion we found the window had been smashed and, worst of all, we kept finding that somebody had…’ Beppe looked across the table apologetically. ‘Please excuse me, Annie. What we found was that somebody had… used our front doormat as a toilet.’ Mercifully he didn’t go into any greater detail.
‘Oh, God, that’s disgusting. But, are you sure it was him?’
‘Nowadays I daresay we could use DNA testing to prove it, but not back then. All I know is that the day he closed his doors and moved away, these events stopped.’
‘Beppe, that’s enough.’ Signora Toniolo had emerged from behind the bar and had been following the conversation. ‘You’ll frighten the poor girl.’
‘It’s all right. I’m fine.’
Signora Toniolo wasn’t so sure. ‘And don’t you worry about what Beppe was saying. The man trying to steal your sign was probably just doing it for a laugh. You’ll see, it’ll be fine.’
Annie certainly hoped she was right.
Chapter 5
Next morning, Annie packed her bags and said goodbye to Janet and Guido, wishing them well as their busy season started. She knew they would have precious little free time now until Easter. She drove back to Santorso and hauled the bags up the stairs to the school. She stood at the window of the room where all her stuff was piled up and wondered how she was going to fit a bed in there. The room where she had been sleeping before was now draped with dust sheets and in the process of being redecorated. The bed she had used and the mattress were leaning, upright, against the corridor wall. Outside, it was a brilliant sunny day and it didn’t take her long to decide what to do. She could always sort out her bed later on. For now, the call of the slopes was overpowering.
She changed into her skiing clothes, picked up her skis and boots and headed for the car. Half an hour later, she was in the car park at Montalto, pulling on her boots. Being a Saturday, there were more people about, but as it was still very early in the season, there were no crowds and only a tiny queue for the lift. She travelled up on the chairlift alongside a young Russian couple who totally ignored her and spent all their time cuddling and kissing. For her part, Annie concentrated on the pistes below and was pleased to see them relatively empty. It was wonderfully quiet up there, the only sound the hiss of the snow beneath the skis.
She had a very enjoyable morning, skiing down a variety of descents, including the near-vertical Cock’s Comb, named after the famous Hahnenkamm piste at Kitzbühel in Austria. This run was still icy, particularly on the higher part, and it took a lot of concentration and a fair amount of nerve, but she got down without incident and felt very proud of herself as she reached the bottom, skidding to a halt in a huge cloud of snow. She then discovered that her efforts had not gone unnoticed.
‘Ciao, Annie.’ She looked round to see where the voice was coming from. She soon spotted him. It was Massimo Lagrange and he was sitting on the terrace outside one of the restaurants alongside a lady with a mass of black curls. Both were in their shirtsleeves, enjoying the brilliant sunshine. Somehow he had managed to get himself a table in the midst of all the crowds. Annie checked her watch. It was just after one o’clock and loads of people were queuing up for somewhere to sit down and have lunch. Massimo beckoned her over and Annie waved back. She took off her skis and stood them up in one of the racks and then picked her way through the crowds to get to him. As she passed, she heard a number of grumbles and what were probably Russian expletives, but she kept her head down and ignored them.
‘Ciao, Annie. Let me introduce you to my wife. Annie, Raffaella; Raffaella, Annie. We watched you ski down the last part of the Cock’s Comb. That was very impressive. You ski beautifully. Here, come and sit down.’ Annie shook hands with both of them, shrugged off her jacket, and took a seat. It was a wonderful view, out across the slopes towards the high mountains. She looked back at Massimo and smiled.
‘Thanks for the seat. I could do with a sit down. My leg muscles aren’t up to strength yet so early in the season.’ She glanced down at their empty plates. ‘I hope I didn’t interrupt your lunch.’ Massimo’s wife smiled back at her. She was a friendly-looking lady, probably in her early fifties.
‘Not at all. We’d already finished. We’re just about to order some coffee. Can we get you anything?’
Annie began to protest, but Massimo held up his hand. ‘No, you’re our guest here today. I recommend the lasagne al forno. Not traditional mountain fare, I’ll admit, but it’s really good here.’ Somehow, without Annie seeing him do anything, Massimo managed to attract the attention of a waitress who came across immediately.
‘Signor Lagrange, what can I get you?’
He caught Annie’s eye. ‘A portion of lasagne and a half litre of red wine?’
She smiled. ‘Just a glass of wine please, but some water as well or I’ll fall over.’
The lasagne was excellent and Annie found she was feeling very hungry. As she ate her lunch, she chatted to Massimo and Raffaella. They were very knowledgeable about the valley in general and Montalto in particular. As she listened, Annie realised that this was her opportunity to find out more about the Labrador and his owner, or, more precisely, the son of the dog’s owner. As she finished her pasta, she recounted the events of the previous day and soon realised that her notion that it had been Massimo who had revealed her identity was correct.
‘Alessandro told me all about it. He took Leo down to the vet in Santorso but he was back again within a couple of hours. The vet gave the dog some tranquillisers to keep him quiet, but he said he should be all right again by this morning.’ Massimo looked round. ‘I haven’t seen him today yet, but I’m sure he’ll be round here somewhere.’
‘And Alessandro lives up here?’ Annie managed to avoid calling him the man with the amazing blue eyes. Massimo nodded as Annie continued. ‘But the dog belongs to his father?’
Raffaella leant forward and explained. ‘That’s right. Alessandro’s father owns all of this. I suppose that’s why Leo gets to run wherever he likes. To him, it’s just like his own garden.’ She opened her arms to take in the whole ski domain. Annie was stunned. Raffaella went on to explain. ‘He’s an old man now and it’s Alessandro who’s in the driving seat most of the time.’
Massimo clarified. ‘Alessandro’s the CEO, the president of the company. Mind you, old Signor Lago still keeps an eye on most of what happens up here. I don’t think he’ll ever retire properly.’
‘So the man I met is called Alessandro Lago?’ The others both nodded and Annie filed the information away for future use. ‘And he and his father both live up here?’
Massimo nodded. ‘Alessandro’s got an apartment at the hotel, while his father lives in the big chalet in the trees over there. I bet you haven’t even noticed it. It’s tucked away out of sight. It’s an amazing place and the view from his lounge is incomparable.’ Annie followed his pointing finger and could just make out a chimney and the ridge of a white roof in the midst of the snow-covered fir trees.
‘And what about you, Annie? Where do you live?’ Raffaella caught the waitress’s eye and called her over. ‘Anything else, Annie? A coffee, maybe?’
‘An espresso would be lovely, thanks.’ After the waitress had left, Annie answered Raffaella’s question. ‘I’m afraid I’m still looking for somewhere to live at the moment. I hadn’t realised how difficult it was to find somewhere round here for a long let.’ She smiled. ‘At the moment I’m sleeping at the school.’
Raffaella and Massimo exchanged looks. ‘That doesn’t sound very comfortable. We’ll keep our eyes open and we’ll let you know if we hear of anything.’ Massimo glanced at his watch and stood up. ‘Well, we’d better make a move.’
Annie stood up as well. ‘Me, too. Thank you very much for lunch. You’re so very generous.’
‘You’re welcome, Annie. You’re welcome.’
Later that afternoon, Annie emerged from the shower at the school and started drying herself off. She was just thinking about where to start in the room piled high with boxes when the doorbell rang. As it was the weekend, the school was closed and she wondered who it might be. She was casting round for something a bit more substantial than the towel she was holding when the door opened. She squealed and ducked back into the bathroom for cover.
‘Ciao, Annie. Are you there?’
Annie relaxed as she recognised the voice. She poked her head round the bathroom door and saw that it was Paolina and, along with her, a pretty, red-haired girl who Paolina introduced as Rita. Annie emerged from the bathroom to greet them. Rita held out her hand and Annie shook it but, as she did so, she lost her hold of one end of the towel and squealed again, desperately and unsuccessfully grabbing it before it fell down at her side. She scrabbled around with her hand for the elusive corner of the towel, located it and wrapped it round her body again. The two girls exchanged glances and did a magnificent job of not falling about laughing. Annie, her face now glowing with embarrassment, shuffled back into the bathroom and pulled on her clothes.
When Annie emerged from the bathroom once more, Paolina announced their intentions. ‘We’ve come to help. Where do you want us to start?’
‘There’s no need for that, Paolina, I’m just trying to make space for a bed in the room where all my stuff is. That shouldn’t be too hard.’ In fact, given the mountain of boxes and furniture that had come up from Turin with her, she knew it wouldn’t be quite as easy as she was suggesting.
‘No, we’re here now, so just show us what you want to do.’
Brushing off Annie’s protests, the girls were soon hard at it, shifting boxes and furniture, cleaning and tidying. Annie was very moved that Paolina should come in on a Saturday to help out. They chatted as they worked and Annie learnt that both had been at school together in Santorso. It soon emerged that nothing of any major significance took place in the town without these two knowing about it. Annie told them about the attempted theft of her new sign the previous night and there was an exchange of meaningful glances.
‘Sounds like it could be Gruglio up to more of his dirty tricks.’ Paolina had no doubt.
‘Who’s Gruglio?’ Annie hadn’t heard the name before.
Paolina deferred to Rita, who filled Annie in. ‘He owns the ABC School. He used to run a very seedy nightclub before that and I could tell you any number of stories about what he got up to.’
Annie was puzzled. ‘That’s one hell of a career change; from nightclub owner to language-school principal.’
‘The school was set up by his girlfriend.’ Clearly, Rita really was well informed. ‘She was Australian or South African, I think. Anyway, she set the school up and then, less than a year later, she dumped him and left for home. So, as the club had been closed down, he took over the school.’
‘But… qualifications…?’ Annie couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Is he at least fluent in English?’
‘Can’t speak a word as far as I know. He’s got a Sri Lankan running it for him. Poor girl; I don’t envy her one bit.’
‘Anyway, Annie, stealing your sign sounds just like the sort of thing he’d do.’ Paolina caught Rita’s eye. ‘I know – we’ll do a bit of sniffing around next week. Between us, we know a good deal about what goes on up here in the valley.’ Of that, Annie had no doubt at all.
As the daylight gradually gave way to night, they managed to rearrange the room so that there was just enough space for Annie’s bed amid all the boxes and furniture. Finally, as they were sitting in reception, drinking tea, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Matt. With him, he had brought a bag of food and drink. Annie noticed the immediate expressions of interest on the faces of the two girls when they caught sight of him, but she felt relieved she had at least been able to warn Matt off Paolina, who was working out really well at the school and was definitely too precious to lose. Annie made the introductions.
‘Hi, Matt. These are Paolina and Rita. Girls, this is Matt. He’s one of my oldest friends.’ She kissed him on the cheeks and watched as he proceeded to produce a bottle and set it on the counter.
‘Hi, ladies. First things first – have you got wine glasses?’
‘Somewhere in a box, but we’ve got tumblers in the kitchen.’ As Paolina went off to find the glasses, Matt opened the bottle of Prosecco.
‘What’s this in aid of?’ Annie watched as he filled the glasses.
‘It’s not every day you move house.’ He grinned. ‘All right, this is only temporary, but there’s always a good excuse for drinking Prosecco.’ They toasted Annie’s new home as he produced a panettone and chocolates from the bags he had brought.
They sat down and chatted, Matt as ever managing to charm the girls with his impeccable Italian and his good looks. Annie heard him repeating the story of his life that she knew well by now. His father had been in Her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service, based in Rome for many years, and Matt had gone to school there. Although he had returned to the UK to study law at university, he had come back to Italy again in his mid-twenties and had been here ever since. He was fluent in both languages and this, of course, explained why he was such an effective translator.
‘So what are you girls doing tonight?’ Matt looked across at Annie first.
‘A quiet night in, I think. I’m worn out after skiing and unpacking.’
Matt turned his attention to the other two. ‘Now I bet you girls know where there are a few good parties up here in Santorso, don’t you?’ Paolina smiled and shook her head, but Rita gave him a look that Annie recognised. The invitation in the girl’s voice was quite clear as she replied.
‘I know where there’s going to be a great party tonight. Paolina, you’re going out with Davide tonight, aren’t you?’ Annie saw Paolina flush.
‘Not necessarily. I could always put him off.’ Her eyes were firmly fixed on Matt. For his part, he was looking nonchalant.
Rita wouldn’t hear of it. ‘No, of course not, Paolina. You go out with Davide and I’ll sort Matt out.’ She caught his eye. ‘Would you like me to show you the local night life, Matt?’ Paolina made no response, but she was looking daggers at Rita across the table. Seemingly unaware, Matt glanced at Annie.
‘Sure you don’t fancy coming out on the town with us, Annie?’
For a moment, Annie felt tempted. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been out dancing and it would have been fun to dance with Matt for once. But then she thought better of it and shook her head. ‘No, I’m staying in. But don’t let me cramp your style. You young people go out and have fun.’ But as he walked out with his arms around the two girls, she felt a strange sensation. If she hadn’t known better, she would have described it as jealousy, but that couldn’t be. This was Matt, after all.
Chapter 6
When Annie surfaced around nine o’clock on Sunday morning and set about making coffee, she was still thinking about Matt and shaking her head in disbelief. What was it she had said about him to her sister? The morals of a tomcat, and she hadn’t been exaggerating. If he had spent the night with Rita, she just hoped the girl’s subsequent almost inevitable disappointment at then being dumped by him wouldn’t impact on Paolina and then on the school. More to the point, there had been no missing the interest in Paolina’s eyes, so, unless Rita did it first, Annie resolved to find the appropriate moment to enlighten her as to Matt’s true colours.
She glanced out of the window. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sunshine flooding across the car park had already reached her car. As a result, the ice was visibly melting on the windscreen. Her phone started ringing. She had to hunt round the cluttered kitchen before she found it and managed to answer. It was Paolina with a suggestion.
‘Ciao, Annie. It’s such a beautiful day, why don’t we go skiing?’
Annie was about to say no when her eyes slipped out through the window again and she saw the sunlight reflecting on the snow that covered the mountains behind the town. It was a fairy-tale scene and she knew there was only one sensible option. ‘Paolina, I know I should stay home and tidy up a bit; my room looks like a train wreck. But, even though it’s a Sunday and it’ll be busy on the slopes, it’s too fine a day to miss. Yes, let’s go skiing.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘How about if I pick you up from home at ten?’
They reached Montalto at ten-thirty. On the way, Annie tried a couple of times to bring the conversation round to Matt, but Paolina seemed unwilling to talk about him and Annie dropped the subject. The car park was much fuller than the last time Annie had been up there, but there was still ample space. They were able to get straight onto the main chairlift without wasting time in a queue, and by eleven they were up at the middle station. It was there that Annie got her first surprise of the day. Waiting for them by the recently illuminated fir tree chosen as this year’s Christmas tree was none other than Rita from last night. Somehow, Annie had assumed Rita would still be with Matt.
‘Ciao, Rita. Did you have a good time last night?’ As she asked, she could sense Paolina’s impatience to know more.
Rita nodded, a touch of what could have been regret noticeable in her expression. ‘Yes, thanks, Annie.’
Paolina butted straight in. ‘So, come on, how did it go with il bellissimo Matt?’ Evidently, Paolina had no compunction about prying into her friend’s affairs.
‘He was great. We went to a party out by the airport. He insisted on giving me champagne and we did a bit of dancing.’ She glanced across at Paolina, her eyes shining. ‘He’s an amazing dancer. But it wasn’t a very late night. After we’d been there for a while, Matt told me he was feeling very tired and he had to get some sleep, so I was home by eleven.’ The regret was all too clear in her voice now, but Rita didn’t stay despondent for long. Out here in the fresh air, with a cloudless blue sky above them, it simply wasn’t possible. ‘So that’s why I was up early and I sent Paolina the text suggesting coming up here.’
‘Well, I’m really pleased you did.’ Annie gave a silent sigh of relief. Her little sermon to Matt had obviously worked.
‘He’s too old for you anyway, Rita.’ Paolina clearly saw the ten-year age gap as insurmountable. From the expression on Rita’s face, she didn’t agree.
‘He’s only thirty-six. I’m twenty-five, after all.’
‘Well, I’m twenty-six.’ Paolina was clearly making the point that she felt better qualified to vie for Matt’s attentions.
Annie couldn’t forget Matt’s birthday. He was only a week older than she was. Both of them would be thirty-seven early in the New Year. She breathed in deeply, the crisp mountain air cold on her lips. She pulled off a glove, dug in a pocket, pulled out a lip protection stick and ran it over her lips. As she was doing so, they heard a voice calling to them. All three of them turned as a ski instructor swept by at the head of a gaggle of little children in crash helmets, like a Chinese dragon in a festival parade.
‘Ciao ragazze!’ He raised his hand in salute.
Annie recognised him as he went past, rather glad to be included in the greeting as a girl alongside girls a lot younger than her. It was the same ski instructor who had appeared with the sledge to rescue the big black dog. She had felt his eyes on her then and she felt them again now as he sailed past. What was his name? Her eyes were still following him and he had almost disappeared across the slope, trailed by his cortege of six-year-olds, when it came to her. Paul. That was it. The Italian with the French name. She turned to the other two girls and saw from their faces that they knew him.