Bride By Choice

CHAPTER THREE

THE next dish was bean and artichoke salad, which was delicious. As Lorenzo poured her a glass of light wine he asked, ‘What about your sisters? Do they feel the same as you about your father and all the rest?’

‘No,’ she said, realising the truth of the words as she said them. ‘Oh, they have arguments with Mamma and Poppa, but they’re only normal growing-up stuff. They don’t feel suffocated by the whole family thing as I do.’

‘You feel suffocated by your family?’ he asked with a frown.

‘By their expectations. Last night, when they saw us together in the street, nobody was surprised. They thought it was just the plan working out.’

‘But you’re going to trump them with Erik?’

‘It’s not about Erik-it’s not about any man. Why should everyone think that if I’m not romancing one man I must be romancing another?’

‘Because romance is natural,’ he protested. ‘Men and women pair off. That’s how the human race gets restocked.’

‘But can’t there be more to life? Suppose I see myself as an hotel manager rather than a “re-stocking agent”?’

‘Can’t you be both?’

‘Not if I marry a Sicilian,’ she said firmly.

‘I see,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘so if I were to go down on one knee and say, “Be mine forever”, I could count on you saying no?’

‘You could count on me having you placed under restraint. After what you know about me, you’d have to be losing your wits to want me.’

‘That’s very true. Thanks for the warning.’

They smiled together and she said, ‘If you knew how nice it is to be able to talk freely, knowing I’m not going to get cries of horror.’

‘That’s what friends are for.’ He gave her a sudden intense look. ‘I think you need a friend.’

‘Men and women can’t be friends,’ she said mechanically.

‘Who said that? Not you.’

‘No, Mamma. And Poppa. At different times. Poppa says it’s impossible because women just don’t understand anything outside the kitchen. And Mamma says it’s impossible because men only want “one thing”.’

‘Well, we’re going to prove them wrong,’ he said gently. ‘Men and women need to be friends because we each light up the other side of the world for the other.’

‘That’s what I think too,’ she said eagerly. ‘But from where I come from-’

‘And where I come from,’ Lorenzo agreed. ‘But they’re wrong. It can be done.’

He stretched out his hand and she took it, smiling. Out of the corner of his eye Lorenzo noticed people grinning at them. Helen looked around and understood.

‘You know what they’re thinking?’ she said.

‘Yes, they think we’re in love. Why else should a man and woman clasp hands and smile into each other’s eyes?’

For a tense moment they both fell silent. Why else?

‘If we told them the truth they wouldn’t believe it,’ she said.

‘Right. How could they understand that we’ve discovered the second most important relationship of our lives?’

‘Second?’

‘I suppose one day I’ll fall in love for good. And you’ll meet a man you don’t reject in the first five minutes.’ He squeezed her hand lightly to show he was joking. ‘And they’ll mean more to each of us than we mean to each other.’

‘Yes, I suppose they will,’ she said blankly.

‘But until then-?’

‘Friendship comes first.’ Then something occurred to her. ‘What did you mean, “fall in love for good?” How do you usually fall in love?’

‘Well-you know.’ He coloured.

‘Come on,’ she laughed. ‘Tell your friend. You’re “faithless and unreliable” aren’t you?’

‘They invented the words just for me,’ he admitted. ‘You were very clever to see through me so fast. Now, where’s our food?’

While they were waiting for the next course Helen asked, ‘Why were you suddenly on edge last night when Poppa asked about your brothers? Do you have one or two?’

‘I have one full brother and one half brother.’

‘You mean, one of your parents was married before?’

‘Not exactly,’ he said uneasily. ‘I know you’re going to think the worst of this, but my father had another relationship with a lady called Marta. And Bernardo is Marta’s son.’

‘Another relationship? While he was married to your mother?’

‘Yes.’

‘And your mother knows?’

‘She always knew. She promised Poppa that if he died she would take care of his other family.’

‘His other-? Well, of all the-’ Helen was rendered speechless, giving Lorenzo a chance to enjoy the flames that glowed in her eyes. ‘Are you telling me that she did that?’ she demanded when she’d recovered her voice. ‘She actually befriended the other woman when your father died?’

‘She didn’t have to. My father and Marta died together. But Mamma brought Bernardo into our home to be raised like her own sons.’

Helen stared at him in horrified disbelief. ‘Your mother must be a saint,’ she said at last.

‘She is.’

‘She actually-? I don’t believe this. That poor woman.’

‘Mamma isn’t a poor woman,’ Lorenzo said firmly. ‘She rules us all with a rod of iron.’

‘But her heart must have been broken.’

‘I don’t think it was. She and my father always got on well.’

‘You mean, she put up with whatever he did because she had no choice, and made the best of it. Well, you know what I think about that.’

‘Yes, but that wasn’t why I didn’t mention it last night. Surrounded by your family, and your sisters being so young-’

It dawned on Helen that Lorenzo was embarrassed. She smiled, liking him again.

‘You’re really straight out of the old country after all, aren’t you?’ she asked.

‘Well, I am a Sicilian,’ he admitted. ‘But then, so are you.’

‘No way.’

‘Deny it all you like, you can’t escape it.’

‘You’re asking for this sauce in your lap, Martelli.’

‘OK, I give in.’

‘Tell me some more about your half brother. Is he really a member of the family?’

‘He could be if he wanted. If anything, he rejects us, not the other way around. He won’t call himself Martelli. He sticks to Tornese because it was his mother’s name. We don’t see much of Bernardo. He lives in a little mountain village called Montedoro, where he was born. He despises money, won’t even take his rightful share of the inheritance. Recently he fell in love with an English woman, Angie. Everything was fine and we were waiting for the announcement when he suddenly found out that she was rich. That was it. He sent her away.’

‘And she let him?’

‘Not her. Angie’s a doctor, so she bought up the practise in Montedoro, and now she’s living just down the street from him. He’s mad as fire, but he can’t budge her. She won’t stand for that nonsense about knowing her place any more than you do.’

‘Good for her. I like the sound of Angie.’

‘You’d like her if you met her. And I think she’s going to win. She’s blonde and fluffy, and looks as if a wind would blow her over, but she’s got more guts than anyone I’ve ever known.’

‘How did they meet? Was she visiting Sicily or was he travelling?’

‘She came to Sicily with Heather,’ Lorenzo said vaguely, and again Helen had the feeling that he was embarrassed about something.

‘Heather’s married to your older brother, Renato, right?

‘Right.’ Before she could ask any more questions he added quickly, ‘This is good food but I could make it better. We have a potential customer.’

He continued on this subject throughout the next course. He was full of ideas, and Helen had to admit that he was an excellent businessman.

‘I saw Giorgio bending your ear last night,’ she said when he paused for breath. ‘I needn’t ask what about.’

‘Why aren’t we selling his family’s goods?’ Lorenzo confirmed. ‘I’ve already been in touch with Renato about them. Their goods are borderline. They’ve been told to improve the quality and try again, but instead of doing something they just wail about the injustice.

‘There’s no excuse for poor produce,’ he went on. ‘Sicily is the most fertile land in the world. Everything grows there, and grows well if it’s properly tended.’

Something seemed to come over him as he began to talk about his country. He spoke in a new way, with a feeling she could only call love. This light playboy with his silk shirts and easy manners had a passionate attachment to the land that breathed through every word. She watched him, fascinated, and at last he noticed, and smiled.

‘The Martellis have to know about the land,’ he said. ‘It’s how we earn our bread.’

‘It’s more than knowing about it,’ she said gently.

‘Well-yes. It’s part of me and I’m part of it. I can’t help it. I go away but I always go back, and I always will. It’s part of being Sicilian. You never quite escape.’

She smiled sympathetically, but inwardly she was thinking how right she’d been to reject him at the start. Lorenzo was a man who would always win love easily. His charm, his looks, his kind heart, were made to be loved, and a woman would have to be armoured in advance-as she was-to avoid the danger.

‘How long will you be in New York?’ she asked.

‘A few more days. Then I move on to Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago and Pittsburgh. That’s as much as I can do in one trip. At least, it’s as much as Renato will let me do. Then he’ll want a full report to see if I’m achieving all he expects and, if I am, he’ll let me come back here.’

‘He sounds like a slave driver.’

‘He does his best. Since our father died Renato has got a bit patriarchal, and I try to assert myself to escape from under his thumb. When I get back to my room tonight I shall have to call him with full details.’

At the end of the meal he asked to speak to the chef. The talk then became entirely businesslike, with Helen taking notes until her head whirled.

‘Renato should be proud of you,’ she said when they were out on the pavement. ‘What now? Do you want to sample some New York nightlife?’

‘What time is it? Nine o’clock? It’s the early hours in Palermo. Renato will kill me.’ He hailed a cab and kissed her cheek as it drew up. ‘I can’t thank you enough for your help. I won’t trouble you again tomorrow, but perhaps we could have a drink before I leave?’

‘That would be delightful,’ she said, in a daze.

‘I’ll call you. ’Bye.’

She saw him once, briefly, before he went to Boston. After Philadelphia he returned to New York for one night and dutifully accompanied her to supper at home, where he played the bashful suitor in a way that made it hard for Helen to keep a straight face, but which also fended off awkward questions.

Then he was off again. During the next two months he kept in touch only fitfully which, Helen told herself, was a relief, as her training period was coming to and end and she was snowed under with work.

She was doing a stint with Erik now, and learning a lot for he was an excellent teacher.

‘I shall never get the hang of these statistics,’ she said at the end of one long afternoon. ‘This column seems very odd.’

He came and leaned over her to see where she pointed.

‘The figures look poor but it’s an illusion,’ he said. ‘We’ve had to artificially exclude some revenue but-’

He went on explaining for a few minutes, and she glanced up with a grateful smile. ‘You explain it so well. Thank you.’

He looked pleased. ‘I expect you’re ready for an end of the day drink.’

‘Yes, please.’

Neither of them noticed the door opening, or the young man who stood on the threshold, stiffening at the sight of their smiling closeness.

‘Hello,’ Lorenzo said.

Erik went to shake Lorenzo’s hand. ‘Good to see you back,’ he said. ‘Everyone is extremely pleased with Martelli produce.’

‘That’s what I wanted to hear,’ Lorenzo said at once. ‘I couldn’t resist dropping in before I return home, just to see how it’s faring in your restaurant.’

‘We were going to go for a drink,’ Erik said easily. ‘Why don’t you dump your things in your room then come down and join us in the Empire Bar?’

‘Great. I’ll be right down.’

But when he returned a few minutes later he found Helen sitting in the bar alone.

‘Erik was called away,’ she said. ‘He says I’m to entertain you.’

She spoke coolly. It was two weeks since his last email, and then he just walked in as though he owned the place.

‘We eat in the restaurant here,’ she went on, ‘so that the chef can discuss your produce and how he wants to increase his orders.’

‘Oh, do we? Get your coat.’

‘What?’

‘We’re going somewhere else. I want to talk to you not the chef.’

‘But your orders-’

‘They can wait until tomorrow.’

They found a small bar near the river. Spring was here and it was still light enough to see the water and the surrounding life. Helen realised how much she had missed him. With Lorenzo away there was nobody to talk too, and he would be leaving again so soon.

‘How have you been?’ he asked. ‘Are your parents giving you grief?’

‘A bit, but I had a stroke of luck. I took Mamma on a shopping trip, and we finished with tea at Elroys, and Erik came and joined us. She’d met him before and she knew I’d been seeing him, so when he’d gone she got very cross on your behalf and asked what I was playing at. I told her I couldn’t decide between the two of you. That made her really mad. She demanded how could I behave so badly to “that nice boy”, as she insisted on calling you.’

He grinned. ‘You didn’t disillusion her, did you?’

‘Nothing would disillusion her. Telling her what you’re really like would be a waste of time.’

‘So when you announce your engagement to Erik she’ll be partly prepared for it?’

‘If I ever do.’

‘Well, the two of you made a very cosy picture together when I walked in.’

‘He was explaining something to me.’

‘Sure, sure. I should congratulate you on getting him where you want him.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘C’mon, Helen. A guy doesn’t leave his special lady alone with another guy unless he feels pretty safe.’

‘Well, maybe he doesn’t think of you as another guy,’ she said nettled. ‘He knows what good friends we are-’

‘Just good friends,’ Lorenzo muttered.

‘What?’

‘Nothing, nothing.’ He looked at her sharply. ‘You look tired. What is it? Is life giving you a hard time?’

‘No, I’m just snowed under with working for my exams.’

‘What exams?’

‘Elroys has its own exam system. The people who come out top get the best jobs. I’ve simply got to be one of them.’

Her vehemence made him look at her sharply. ‘Hey, steady on,’ he said. ‘Helen, don’t take everything so seriously. You’ll wear yourself out. Ease up.’

‘But I can’t ease up. It means so much-my whole life-and it all turns on doing well now. I told you-’

‘Yes, you told me, about your family and needing to escape, but let me tell you something. Sometimes escape doesn’t lie in the direction you think.’

‘I don’t know where it lies. It’s a bit like being caught in a maze and you don’t know the way out, but you know there is one.’

‘And sometimes it was right behind you all the time, and you overlooked it because it was so obvious.’

She eyed him suspiciously. ‘What does that mean?’

‘It’s not a proposal, so stop bristling.’

‘I’m sorry. Am I that bad?’

‘Yes,’ he said gently. ‘You are that bad. You need looking after.’ He gave her an intent look. ‘And you can’t tell them at home, can you? Because they’d try to use it as a weapon to make you give up.’

She nodded. ‘That’s exactly how it is. You’re the first person who’s understood that. It’s lonely.’

‘But you don’t have to be lonely any more. We can talk. Look, tomorrow night-’

‘I have to stay in tomorrow night. Dilys will be out so I can work in peace. I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be sorry, we’ll still be seeing each other.’

‘But I’ve told you-’

‘I’m going to cook your supper, like a good friend. Then I’ll clear the table and melt into the background while you work. At various intervals I’ll bring you coffee, then melt again.’

She looked up at him and spoke with wicked relish. ‘And wash the dishes?’

He gulped. ‘I’ll even do the dishes.’

She only half believed that he meant it, but the following evening he was waiting, laden with bags, when she left her office. As soon as they were in her apartment, he said, ‘You get on with what you want to do, while I cook.’

He brought her some coffee in the first few minutes, then started his preparations in the kitchen with the concentration of a maestro. He moved so quietly that once she looked up to make sure he was there. He smiled briefly and ordered her ‘back to work at once’, with a severity that made her smile.

The meal was a delicious creation of tender meats, beautifully cooked. But an incredible suspicion was overtaking Helen.

‘This meat-?’

‘Angolini’s finest. I went to your father’s shop this afternoon and asked him what you liked. He told me about this. He said when you were a little girl it was your favourite, and he’d make it for you himself sometimes.’

‘Yes, he did,’ she said, remembering. ‘He used to say, “My best meat for my best lady.” He could be lovely. I’d forgotten that.’

‘I wish you could have seen his face this afternoon as he showed me how to cook it the way you like.’

‘But it’s years since-’ She broke off.

‘It may be years but he remembers every detail of what his “best lady” liked,’ Lorenzo said. ‘Now you get back to work. The next course is going to take a while if I’m to get it the way your mother showed me.’

Having rendered her totally speechless he retreated into the kitchen.

He served her peaches stewed in wine, with cream, washed down with the best coffee she had ever tasted.

‘Did you say my mother?’ she asked at last.

‘Poppa sent me upstairs to get her advice, and later he joined us. I think she’d told him how you’re playing me false with Erik, because he assumed I was laying myself out to win you back. He advised me against it. He said it gave a woman improper ideas about having power. Mamma told him to stop talking nonsense.’

‘Mamma said that to Poppa? I don’t believe it.’

‘It’s different when their kids aren’t around, Helen. All that bossy stuff is for your benefit. When he’s in her kitchen he practically stands to attention if she talks to him. And he was fetching and carrying things from cupboards when she told him to.’

She smiled, but she only half believed it.

Afterwards she tried to help him with the washing up.

‘No way,’ he said, fending her off. ‘We agreed it was my job.’

‘But I can’t let you, after you cooked that lovely meal. Think of your macho image.’

‘I never had a macho image,’ he said sorrowfully. ‘I just did what my mother told me. “Gigi, do this; Gigi, do that.”’

‘She called you Gigi?’

‘It’s short for Luigi, which is my second name.’

‘And you did what she told you?’

‘Always,’ he said, suspiciously innocent. ‘I was scared of her, you see. Now Renato’s given me a sister-in-law I do what she tells me as well. When Bernardo marries Angie I shan’t know which way to turn.’

She choked with laughter, adoring him for his sweet temper.

‘It’s not kind to laugh at me,’ he complained.

‘I can’t help it. You’re a darling,’ she said, and without thinking twice, she put her arms around him in a big, sisterly hug.

He embraced her back at once and they stood there, patting each other on the back and swaying slightly. The feeling of warmth and safety was delicious. Suddenly the world, instead of being a place she had to fight, became a refuge where she could dare to relax her guard because there was someone to take care of her. The weariness of days was gradually catching up with her…

‘Helen-Helen-’

She opened her eyes. ‘What?’

‘You fell asleep standing up.’

She shook her head. ‘I did?’

He grinned. ‘I’m losing my touch. Women don’t usually fall asleep in my arms.’

‘I’m sorry. It’s just that you felt so safe.’

‘Don’t add insult to injury,’ he begged.

‘I’d better get back to work.’ But Helen didn’t move. She felt held in a spell, with no power to break it.

Lorenzo made a sudden, resolute movement, thrusting her away and speaking in a theatrical approximation of ‘macho’.

‘Then do so, at once. That’s an order, woman. This is a man speaking. Obey him.’ She gave an unsteady laugh and he grimaced. ‘Yes, I don’t do it very well, do I?’

‘You’re out of practice.’

‘I’ll bring you some coffee.’

She returned to her books. The coffee duly arrived and she thanked him with a smile. When she next looked up it was to see Lorenzo washing saucepans.

She yawned and rose to stretch herself, still feeling sleepy. She stretched out on the sofa, meaning just to close her eyes for a few moments.

She awoke to find all the lights out except one small table lamp, and the front door opening.

‘Hallo,’ Dilys said, coming in, dressed to kill. ‘I thought you’d have been in bed hours ago.’

‘Why, what time-two o’clock?’

Lorenzo had left, she realised. Going into the kitchen she found it cleaned to within an inch of its life. Every cup and plate was in place. Every saucepan gleamed.

There was a little note under a fridge magnet shaped like a penguin.

You were sleeping like a baby so I didn’t awaken you. Goodnight. Sleep well.

She smiled, thinking warmly of her friend’s tender care for her. Then the smile faded as she thought of something else, and wondered if it was only her imagination that his lips had lain briefly on hers while she slept.