At the end of the corridor was a glazed door and through it they stepped out into the loggia. The roof with its massive timber trusses was supported by hefty brick pillars, and there was a table and chairs in the middle. The view was stunning. As the rain clouds rolled away, the panorama down and across the valley had suddenly opened up. Gubbio was now laid out quite clearly in all its glory as a mass of red roofs hugging the hillside and Emma’s eyes were immediately drawn to what looked like a huge square castle with crenellated battlements quite high up the slope, alongside an open piazza. Mark came up beside her and followed the direction of her eyes.
‘That’s the Palazzo dei Consoli, built at the time of my ancestor Graziella. As I told you, she was a very erudite woman. I would love to think she had a hand in designing it.’ He was so close that Emma could hear him breathing. The effect this had on her was to make her stop breathing entirely and it came as a considerable relief when he stepped back and pointed to the chairs. ‘Do sit down, please.’
Inhaling gratefully, she sat down opposite him and took a big mouthful of wine. She felt a movement under the table and then a warm, hairy body plonked itself down on her feet. She reached down to scratch Carmen’s ears, glad to have something else upon which to concentrate her attention.
‘Looks like you’ve definitely made a friend there, Emma. Carmen doesn’t often take to people so quickly. She can obviously tell you’re special.’
Emma glanced up. This sounded almost like flirting and another surge of longing flowed through her. She very nearly downed the remains of her glass of wine in one, but her brain finally came to the rescue in the nick of time. Alcohol would only make matters worse… much worse. She did her best to sound normal as she replied.
‘We always had dogs at home. Maybe she senses something. Mind you, she might just like the smell of my new shoes. I bought them in Turin.’
‘And very smart they are, too.’
This time he sounded just a bit too formal and she found herself wondering if he, too, was affected by the intimacy of the two of them being alone together only a few steps from his big double bed. She took another sip of wine and decided to steer the conversation onto less charged matters.
‘You’re a very lucky man to be able to live here. This house is gorgeous, the villa’s amazing and from what I’ve seen of Umbria so far, it’s a delightful area.’
As he answered, he sounded almost relieved to be back to small talk. ‘If you feel like it, we can do a little tour of places like Urbino and Assisi, or even drive down to Orvieto one of these days before we head off northwards to Bologna.’
‘That sounds lovely.’ A thought struck her. ‘Although our illustrious guests may prefer to keep a low profile. We’ll have to ask them.’
‘If they want to stay here, there’s plenty to do on the estate. There’s the pool and a tennis court, as well as walks and a good run around the perimeter. You said you played tennis, didn’t you?’ Emma nodded. ‘Well, you and I must have a game some time. I’m getting very rusty.’
At that moment, Emma’s phone beeped. It was a text from Marina.
Plane just landed. We should be back in half an hour. M
As Emma relayed the message to Mark, she found herself thinking of ways to while away thirty minutes in Mark’s company. The possibilities were stimulating and her throat turned dry again. However, as it turned out, he had another suggestion which was far less tantalising, but no doubt much more sensible.
‘As we’ve got a little spare time, why don’t we take Carmen for W-A-L-K?’ He grinned at her over the rim of his glass. ‘She understands the word in both languages. And don’t worry about your shoes. We can stay on the paths where it won’t be muddy.’
Swallowing a feeling of disappointment, followed by the rest of the wine in her glass, Emma stood up and collected the empty glasses to take them back to the kitchen. As she did so, the rational portion of her brain – which appeared to be shrinking at every encounter with Mark – was telling her that a walk was a very sensible course of action. Her body, however, was telling her the exact opposite.
* * *
Although the evening was fast approaching, the sun had already raised the temperature significantly and they hugged the shade of the trees as they followed a gravel path around the edge of the woods. From time to time Carmen the dog disappeared into the undergrowth where they could hear her snuffling about happily in the wet leaves.
‘This is a wonderful place for a Labrador, isn’t it?’
Mark smiled back. ‘Yes, she’s a lucky dog, all right, even if she isn’t allowed to go swimming in the pool. By the way, seeing as we’re out here, shall I show you where it is? That way you’ll know where to come if you feel like a midnight swim.’
Banishing the thought that instantly sprang to her mind of skinny-dipping with Mark, she gave him a smile and a nod. ‘That’s a good idea. But what about Carmen?’
‘Don’t worry, Claudio tells me the carpenter was here yesterday and he’s put in a gate. That should keep her out.’
Leaving the visibly miffed dog on the other side of the smart new gate, Mark led Emma through a stone archway and down to the pool. This was set low down, protected from the wind and prying eyes by high banks on all sides. Palm trees and large cacti had been planted all around and Emma could well imagine it looking like an oasis in a year or two. The water was crystal clear and very inviting and she could see why the dog might be feeling miffed. As she stood by the side of the pool looking on, Mark crouched down to test the temperature of the water with his hand. It was at this moment, that disaster in the shape of an enthusiastic water-obsessed Labrador struck.
Somehow, Carmen must have been able to open the gate or circumvent it. Hearing a noise, Emma turned in time to see the dog charging down the path at speed, her nose headed inexorably for the pool. Unfortunately, as she launched herself bodily towards the water and her master, Mark also turned to see what was going on. Momentarily off balance, he didn’t have a chance as sixty or seventy pounds of joyful Labrador cannoned into his side. Man and dog both tumbled into the pool with a tremendous splash as Emma looked on, trying not to burst out laughing.
‘You stupid mutt, how did you get in here?’ Mark’s head, and then his body, appeared above the surface, his T-shirt riding up to his shoulders, exposing his whole torso. He was at no risk of drowning, since Emma could see the water barely reached his waist as he stood up staring accusingly at the dog. ‘Come on, Carmen, get the hell out of here. You know you aren’t supposed to be in here. Via, via, cagnaccia della miseria!’
Carmen’s head also emerged from the water and Emma couldn’t miss the big canine grin on her hairy black face. However, it wasn’t this that kept Emma there, rooted to the spot. Her eyes had locked onto Mark’s naked back. She found herself staring, not at the V-shaped muscles, nor at his broad shoulders, but at three ragged white scars in a vertical line directly behind his right shoulder blade that stood out in stark contrast with the honey colour of the rest of his skin. As he caught hold of the dog and turned towards the side of the pool, pulling her by the collar, Emma’s eyes alighted upon three neat little round scars on the front of his chest directly in line with those on his back. Whatever had gone in had come out again, making one hell of a mess. Such a mess in fact that Emma could hardly believe he had survived.