Chapter Twenty-Nine
They say that the English are the worst behaved abroad, but it was not just an Englishman who gave a show at the Fountain of Trevi. The Rabid Rabensteins waded into the fountain at the heels of Mr William Campbell. The latter did however steal the show, removing his shirt and throwing it into the crowd. Swooning ensued.
In a desperate effort to enforce propriety, Lady Claudia Fitzwilliam stepped into the fountain and tried to talk some sense into the three rogues. She even splashed them with water to cool their ardent spirits.
Some, however, have an altogether different version of the events. They insinuate that Lady Claudia was heard declaring her love for Mr Campbell!
Our bet at the Tempio di Venere has been amended accordingly.
Could it be wedding bells for Mr Campbell and Lady Claudia?
LA GAZETTE INTERNATIONALE
***
‘Mmm. This is way too good, darling. What did I do to deserve it?’
Claudia poured more hot water on his back, then she continued massaging him.
What a question to ask. He had prepared that bath for her himself—though his brother Edmund had laughed hysterically as he carried the water upstairs. He had devotedly folded her clothes to the side, then he had soaped her unhurriedly, kissing the nape of her neck, talking softly to her.
‘I adore you, Claudia…’ he had whispered against her jaw.
Then he had gone all quiet, utterly concentrated on massaging her back, on rinsing her with fresh water, then on towelling her hair.
‘You spoil me so,’ he exhaled. He had never looked that blissful.
She kissed his temple.
‘How’s the headache?’
‘Much better, thank you. Though I never want to see a drop of champagne again.’
‘And how was cuddling with Rabey?’
‘Mph.’ He splashed her with water. ‘We just fell asleep like that.’
‘Of course.’
He tilted his head back and caught her mouth.
‘Say it again, Claudia. Maybe I will start believing it.’
‘I love you.’
‘How nice.’
He smiled.
She kissed the nape of his neck, inhaling his scent. Yesterday had changed everything. There was much to discuss. Or maybe there wasn’t. They loved each other. Maybe for once in their life something would be easy at last.
Will was kneeling on his bed behind her, cautiously brushing her long hair, when he next spoke.
‘What will the future look like for us, Claudia? We should talk about it, shouldn’t we?’
‘Yes, of course.’ She turned around to face him.
‘I’d like to have your thoughts first,’ he said cautiously.
‘I thought about it all night, Will. Listen. If I followed my heart I’d marry you on the spot, launch into a life with you headfirst, and have a lifetime to discover every corner of your wonderful mind.’
‘But?’
‘But it would be unfair to both of us to marry without knowing what our life together will look like when we are not here in Rome.’ She brought the back of his hand to her lips. ‘Neither of us is the impulsive sort, are we, Will? I bet the first impulsive thing we ever did in our lives was kissing in that carriage.’
‘You would be correct.’ He smiled a bit.
‘All I am saying, Will—’
‘—is that we need a plan.’ His eyes glinted with excitement. ‘We need the details .’
A smile spread to her lips. He understood!
‘Yes.’
‘How lucky for us, then, that we are both good at details. Let me grab my writing box. We’re going to write them all down.’
He grabbed his portable desk and writing supplies. He nestled her in his lap, her bare back grazing against his butter-soft shirt. Then he placed his desk on her knees and picked up the quill.
‘Right, darling.’ He rested his chin on her shoulder. ‘I suggest we travel back to England together. My brother and I have a shop in Turl Street in Oxford, that’s where we sell to our English clients from. We left it to our man, Mr Brown, when we moved here. I could take charge again. I would have my work, and you your shelter. How does that sound?’
‘It sounds wonderful. Write it down, Will. Travel back to Oxford together.’
‘Very well. Now...’ He cleared his throat. ‘Do you think we could live together, Claudia? We would have to be very discreet—we don’t want to cause a scandal…yet. But my brother and I own a small apartment just above the shop. It’s a bit run down right now, but it’s so very lovely. There’s an extra room which lies empty at the moment. It could be your study, if you like? If…if things worked well between us, and you ended up staying, we could do the whole apartment up to suit us better. We could choose everything together…What do you think?’
‘It would be wonderful.’
‘Is that a yes?’
‘Yes, of course. Write it down. Living together in Turl Street.’
‘Now let’s hear your details, Claudia. The shelter, your life…and how I would fit in it.’
‘The new shelter is just outside Oxford, in a former manor in the countryside. I will need to oversee the renovation, but I could come home every evening.’ She smiled. This small apartment she had never seen already felt like home— their home . ‘Yes, I would come home to you, Will.’ She turned a little to look at him. ‘It’s not an easy work. Our funds are limited, and I do everything there. I plan, organise, arrange, direct, argue with lawyers… It’s not the enchanted life I live here in Rome. There are roofs to repair, and injuries, and blood—’
There was a panic growing in her, her heart was escaping her chest, she was preparing for battle—
A delicate hand appeared on her shoulder.
‘Claudia.’
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
‘I will be there with you, Claudia. At the end of every day. Waiting to hold you to me and hear about your day. I will read to you. We will go to the theatre. We will make friends and dine together. We will go to dances because we dance so very well together. And if and when we can afford it, we will make senselessly expensive purchases that will look so very good on us. How does that sound?’
‘It sounds like a dream, Will.’ She smiled. ‘Yes. It sounds like a dream.’
***
Fifteen minutes earlier William had bitten his tongue not to propose. And as it turned out, it was for the best. If she needed to go slow, he would go slow. He would wait until the end of time if she asked him. But still, it didn’t look like he would have to, because they were doing something that, until a couple of days earlier, had seemed completely impossible. They were planning a future together.
‘Perhaps I will work a little less in the shelter.’
Now she was raking her fingers through his hair absent-mindedly.
‘I hope you know that I would never ask you to.’
‘Not on your account. I had been about to step back even just a little before what happened with Edward. I have been doing it for ten years, and I need to catch my breath. I was making mistakes. I was so distracted and numb…’
He pulled her even closer.
‘I can’t wait to see this place. I would do anything to support you with your work. Maybe if my mother had had somewhere to turn to at the time…’
His voice broke.
She immediately turned around to embrace him.
He had never felt secure in his life. Even when he had become wealthier, he had always felt that his life was just steps away from disintegrating in his hands. But each time she held him, he felt completely and utterly safe. Like nothing bad could ever happen to him if she was at his side. She held him to her for the longest time.
‘Ah—I wish she had met you.’ He said at last. ‘I wish she had been here to see me happy.’
‘I will see to that you are happy, Will. And that you are looked after and spoiled and cherished. And wherever she is, she will know it, I am sure.’
‘I will do the same for you, Claudia.’ He inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself. ‘What do you think, are you satisfied with the details?’
‘Very. There’s just one last thing, Will. If this becomes forever , there will be consequences. That is to say…I am quite sure my family will cut me off. They just wouldn’t understand…This means that if we eventually marry, I won’t bring anything to our marriage but myself.’
‘But that is everything already, Claudia!’
‘No. Listen on, please. I want to do my bit to support us. If you’ll have me, I would like to work with you. I have no expertise in antiques, but I’m good with numbers, I’m good with people, and I’m good at negotiating.’
‘Of course, I would be honoured to have you at my side. Let me write this down too.’
When he was done writing, they contemplated the list together in silence.
‘This looks pretty good to me, darling. Anything else?’
‘No…I just hope you won’t get bored of me, when you realise that my life is not that interesting.’
What?
He had so many arguments to disprove it that it took him a full minute before he could talk.
‘Lori yesterday said you’ll get bored of me,’ she blurted out. ‘I think he’s right.’
‘Right. Lorenz said that? Lorenz ? The one who runs a clandestine boxing club because he gets aroused at the sight of blood? By those standards, our lives will be pretty boring, but we are not taking lessons from him, yes?’ She laughed. He loved making her laugh so very much. ‘Seriously, Claudia. I have been worried about not being enough for you from the very beginning. You have a meaningful life, full of fierce friendships and hard work. You fight for something bigger than yourself. You are immensely respected, and that won’t change, whether your family cuts you off or not. Whereas I am just a fool who likes pretty things.’
‘Don’t say that about yourself.’
‘But it is true. I fight only for myself. And now, if you’ll let me, for us. So forgive me if I am more than a little worried that you will get tired of me. But you know what, we will be fine. We fought all our lives, and we are here against all odds. How hard can it be to accept that happiness has finally come our way?’
‘Yes. How hard can it be?’
They embraced, then he picked up the list and skimmed it.
‘So, it looks to me like there’s a hell of a lot of work to do here. What do you say, Claudia, my love, do we have a deal?’ He held his hand out to her.
‘We have a deal.’ She shook his hand firmly. ‘A deal to take over the world together.’