Chapter 5
5
Beautiful filigree balconies enlivened the soft apricot facade of the count and countess’s palazzo. Their four-storey home was one of the most splendid buildings that lined the Grand Canal. Natalie knew from her internet research that the magnificent properties rested on thousands of wooden pilings driven into the bed of the Venetian lagoon, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around it. Water lapping at the front wall of your house just seemed plain wrong, though it made for a great spectacle.
Lucia, Luxe Life Swap ’s Italian fixer, gestured to the pointed archway over the front door. ‘That’s the entrance where Philip and Cate will arrive this evening on the private water taxi I’ve booked for them. You and I will be using the other entrance that can be reached from the calle , around the side. All these properties that face the canal have a second entrance, although you might not spot it immediately.’
‘Of course,’ Natalie said, as if she had expert knowledge of the palazzi of Venice.
‘See the carving of the leaping goat? That is the symbol on the count’s family crest. And of course, the striped poles outside the entrance – pali di casada , we call them – are painted in the family colours of peach and gold. I think the contestants, they will like it?’ The young fixer furrowed her brow. ‘They have a big house in England?’
‘Yes, an old, restored vicarage outside Sevenoaks. Period features, a huge terrace on the back, a large pond and a weeping willow tree. I’m sure the count and countess will find it charming. But this…’ Natalie broke off, mentally listing all the superlatives she could reach for during filming over the next fortnight.
Lucia’s serious face brightened. ‘Just wait until you see inside. Shall we go in?’
Natalie followed her down the steps from the bridge, around a corner and through a maze of streets and over a narrow rio barely wide enough for a gondola to pass to the side of the property. Lucia produced a hefty iron key with a faded, red tassel to unlock the wooden door.
Natalie ascended a flight of stone steps to the first floor, stepping into a magnificent rectangular entrance space. Cherubs and lute players frolicked across the ceiling. On the far wall, an oil painting showed two women in long, velvety robes below a sky of gathering storm clouds, their faces glowing with a divine light.
‘A Titian, one of the finest in private hands.’
Natalie let out a breath. ‘Quite an entrance hall.’
‘This floor, the piano nobile , is where the original owners would have entertained, so the most dramatic and expensive decorations are here.’ Lucia gestured at a hefty, gilded chandelier hanging by a long chain from the frescoed ceiling. ‘The lower floor would have been used for the family’s business, offices and so forth. The bedrooms were above, and of course the attic would have housed the servants.’
Natalie nodded, mentally adding Lucia’s comments to all the other information the young woman had imparted over the course of the morning.
‘I thought we would use the Camera Rossa – the Red Room – for some of the filming.’ Lucia turned a handle hidden within the wooden panelling.
Natalie stepped onto a terrazzo floor shimmering with a dozen different coloured stones: shades of terracotta, caramel, cocoa and copper. Deep fringed sofas flanked a rococo fireplace, heavy, ruby-coloured damask curtains fell to the floor; the dark-red, silk-covered walls had a depth of colour only the finest cloth could bring. This room alone would have the show’s advertisers purring. Luxe Life Swap would be a sure-fire hit, another series a foregone conclusion. As long as Natalie didn’t mess up.
‘Are you okay?’ Lucia’s eyes were concerned.
‘I’m just trying to take it all in… and hoping someone has told Cate and Phil about Mandy’s health scare.’ She didn’t want the cameras capturing the contestants’ crestfallen faces when they realised they’d be spending a fortnight with Natalie ‘Nobody’ Spencer instead of Mandy ‘National Treasure’ Miller whose blend of old-fashioned factual reporting and breezy, best-friend charm had won her a devoted following.
‘Ahh! You are a little worried because this is your first big show.’ Lucia frowned. ‘Perhaps you are thinking that I have not prepared everything. I know I am young, but I have worked on many productions.’
‘These Venice episodes are vital to the show’s success but it’s not you I’m worried about, it’s me. Mandy is so popular.’
‘Mandy, she is a star who everybody loves; even in Italy we know her. So, if you are unsure, just ask yourself: what would Mandy do?’ Lucia beamed as if her words were enough to sweep away all Natalie’s doubts. ‘And what will go wrong? Venice, this palazzo, all is perfetto, sì ? Now we will go upstairs, I have a special secret to show you. And afterwards, I take you to Da Andrea near the Palazzo Fortuny: the best coffee in my city.’
Lucia led her through double doors up more stairs to a portrait-lined corridor and into a high-ceilinged room lined in a shimmering eau-de-nil damask dominated by a carved wooden bed piled high with sumptuous cushions.
‘The contestants will be sleeping in the Gold Room but this one is interesting for you to see, I think. It is similar to the other rooms except for one special trick.’
Natalie scanned the panelled walls, expecting to see another carefully concealed door, but Lucia dropped to the floor, crouching on her heels and began to roll back a patterned runner near the foot of the bed.
‘Look!’ Lucia lifted up a small, diamond-shaped floor tile, revealing a grill set into the marble floor.
Natalie knelt down, peering through the gaps in the curled metalwork. The shimmering floor, the edge of a crimson sofa: there was no doubt about what she could see. She was looking directly down into the Red Room.
‘Clever, do you not think?’ Lucia said. ‘A person can look and listen to what is going on below. The owners could overhear their guests’ private conversations before they came down to greet them. To succeed in commerce like the Vicenzi family, one had to have as many advantages as possible.’
‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ Natalie grinned.
‘And now we will have that coffee.’ Lucia straightened up. ‘Ah, my phone, I have a call.’
‘Please, take it.’ Natalie wandered across to the wide window. She dug out her own phone and checked an app. Cate and Phil’s flight had taken off; it was due to arrive on time. She had one less thing to worry about.
‘No! This is not possible!’ Lucia’s voice was shrill.
Natalie swung around. ‘What is it?’
‘ Sì, sì … she is here.’ Lucia crossed the room. She held out the phone. ‘It is Floella, Natalie. You need to speak to her. One of your contestants has gone missing.’