Chapter 26
26
A three-foot-wide chandelier suspended from the frescoed ceiling hung over the breakfast table.
‘So, this is how the other half lives,’ Natalie joked.
The housekeeper set down a basket of pastries, filling the air with the sweet scent of vanilla.
‘ Grazie , Nunzia,’ said Cate. ‘I could get used to these breakfasts. I’m a cornflakes and apple girl back home.’
‘I’m a grab a bit of toast whilst running out the door kind of girl.’ Natalie grinned.
Cate laughed. She seemed lighter that morning, all the cares of yesterday set aside, or else she was wearing some super effective new foundation that Natalie really needed the name of.
‘You’re looking… rested.’
‘I don’t know what Nunzia sprayed on my pillow but it smelt divine; I slept like a baby. And Phil messaged me; he’s in the airport lounge already, far too early of course but it’s a weight off my mind.’
‘I’ll be excited to meet him now he’s finally arriving.’
‘Barring engine failure, a volcanic ash cloud or a hijacking.’
‘Or an air traffic controllers strike! But, seriously Cate, that’s not going to happen; you’ve had enough bad luck on this trip.’
‘And plenty of good. Look at this place.’ Cate waved a hand towards a fine marble statue of a magnificent doe and stag. ‘And, I don’t want to keep going on about it but us becoming friends again, it means a lot to me.’
‘And to me. But I’ll have to put my professional hat back on when we’re filming. So if I start bossing you about, don’t take it personally.’
‘Okay, but only if you let me take charge today before Phil gets here. It’s my last chance to do exactly what I fancy before you and Lucia take over again.’
‘So, what are we doing?’ Natalie stirred a lump of sugar into her cappuccino, disturbing the pretty leaf design etched onto the surface.
‘First stop: Eraldo’s workshop. I’ve had a good look at the suggestions he sent me so I’m ready to commission Phil’s watch.’
‘You could just send an email.’
‘I could but then you wouldn’t get to see him.’
‘ I don’t need to see him.’
‘But you want to. Your cheeks have gone as pink as the serving girl in that picture over the fireplace.’
Natalie rubbed the back of her neck. ‘I’m a bit warm, that’s all.’
‘It’s not exactly stuffy in here.’ Cate surveyed the huge, high-ceilinged room.
Natalie sighed. ‘Okay, I like him but what’s the point? He lives in Venice, I hardly speak a word of Italian, we’ve nothing in common…’
‘Right now, you’re also in Venice, he speaks near-perfect English, you’re both friends with Floella and you’re going to have a lot of fun finding out what you do have in common – apart from a tendency to gaze at each other when you think the other one’s not looking… If you’ve finished that coffee, we’ll get going. I can’t sit here looking at the rest of those pastries.’
Natalie stopped herself reaching for a second. ‘You’re the boss.’
‘I am.’ Cate turned to the hovering housekeeper. ‘Thank you, Nunzia, grazie mille .’
Natalie followed her out of the property’s side entrance and round to the walkway. The Grand Canal was busy, a barge loaded with brown cardboard boxes passing one way, the Number One waterbus packed with people going in the other.
Morning in Venice was a sight she could never tire of, the vista before her barely changed since Canaletto had picked up his brushes. It was a shame that almost all his paintings had left the city. Just two remained in the Ca’ Rezzonico but the count and countess were proud owners of a series of his sketches displayed in gilded frames on the second-floor landing.
‘Shall we walk?’ Cate asked. She was wearing a pair of trainers – designer, naturally – and a floaty dress more suited to strolling than the stiff pencil skirt of the day before.
‘Sure.’ Natalie was equally comfortable in denim shorts, knowing Lucia’s camera crew wouldn’t be following them. Now they were friends, it didn’t bother her as much that her stubbier legs couldn’t compete with Cate’s honeyed limbs but if she’d known they’d be heading for Eraldo’s workshop, she would have done more than slick on a bit of mascara and run a comb through her hair.
Cate strode on. ‘I feel like I’m getting to know this city, at least a little bit.’
‘Same here.’ Learning to navigate her way from A to B without peering at an app on her phone gave Natalie a chance to spot numerous little gems: the lion of St Mark’s on a lintel over a door, a curvy flourish carved into an old stone well, a plaque of St George slaying his dragon high up on a wall. And it was fun to people-watch, trying to pick out the native Venetians from amongst a population swelled by the summer crowds.
Neither of them referred to their school trip as they crossed the Accademia Bridge, though Natalie knew the night of the masked ball must be playing on Cate’s mind the way it was on hers.
A few minutes later, an intoxicating mix of floral scents told her they’d reached the perfumery. In a few moments, she would see Eraldo again.
‘Wait a moment!’ Natalie took her powder compact from her handbag and dabbed her shiny nose, ignoring Cate’s smirk.
‘Ooh, they do perfume-making courses here; I didn’t notice that before.’ Cate read from a notice pinned in the window. ‘I took a scented-candle-making workshop once but I’ve never done anything like this; balancing all those oils is a real skill.’
‘That’s an idea! Floella did ask me if I could think up some sort of activity or challenge for you and Phil to try.’ She didn’t mention she’d squashed Flo’s suggestion of mask making straight off the bat.
‘It’s a tiny place, though.’ Cate peered through the window.
‘You’re right. There’s no way we could get a camera crew in there. And I think Lucia’s gone ahead and arranged a traditional Venetian cooking class already.’
‘I’m not sure Phil will be keen on that. He can’t boil an egg without burning the pan and turning the air blue.’
‘Apart from the swearing, that sounds ideal. The viewers want to see that perfect people aren’t naturally good at everything.’
‘Perfect people?’
‘People who are living lifestyles our audience can only dream of.’
‘I guess that is me. Sometimes, when I wake up, I have to pinch myself.’
‘At least you appreciate what you’ve got. Most don’t.’
‘I do. I don’t know how I got this lucky.’
‘ Buongiorno !’ A booming voice made them both jump.
‘ Buongiorno , Pietro!’ Natalie shouted back.
The mask maker beckoned from the doorway of his shop. Natalie and Cate crossed over the humpbacked bridge.
‘Come in. I suppose you are here to see Eraldo, not to purchase one of my beautiful creations.’
‘I am afraid so,’ Natalie said.
‘Oh well.’ He rubbed at his beard. ‘You are very welcome; please go up.’
‘I messaged Eraldo just before we left,’ Cate said.
‘Good to know he’s expecting us.’ Natalie headed straight for the spiral staircase, careful not to glance right or left.
‘Wait!’ Cate’s hand was on her shoulder.
‘Natalie, Cate, is that you?’ Eraldo’s voice came from above.
‘Yes, it’s us; we’ll be up in two minutes,’ Cate said.
‘What’s going on?’ Natalie turned to see Cate holding a golden mask in front of her face. Her eyes gleamed through the oval slits. She replaced it on a shallow display shelf.
‘Or how about this?’ Cate held up another, all purple glitter and shocking-pink feathers. ‘Try it.’
‘Okay, boss.’ Natalie carefully secured the elastic around her head.
‘Look in the big mirror, over there,’ Cate commanded.
The gilt-framed glass hung over the far wall above the white bauta masks and the glass-topped drawers where the Plague-doctor masks lived.
‘No, I can’t. I can’t go near them.’ Natalie snatched off the mask.
‘Just a few steps nearer; we’re going to count to ten.’
‘No.’
‘I’m in charge today. Ten seconds, that’s all, I promise.’
Natalie swallowed hard. ‘Okay.’
‘You’re not allowed to close your eyes. Now count backwards slowly.’
Natalie clenched her fists. ‘Ten, nine, eight…’ The shop lights seemed brighter, mesmerising her, as though she were staring into the candles on a birthday cake, the aroma from Pietro’s small cup of espresso like plunging her nose into a bag of ground coffee. ‘Seven, six, five, four…’
‘Three, two, one. Well done. Now we climb the stairs.’
Natalie needed no encouragement, gripping the metal handrail with her now sweaty hands. ‘What the heck was all that about?’
‘Desensitisation. It’s a good way of tackling phobias,’ Cate said, briskly bounding up the stairs behind her. ‘Max had to see a therapist once; he had a terrible fear of spiders.’
‘Hello, Natalie, Cate.’ Eraldo greeted them both with kisses. ‘What is all this about spiders?’
Cate looked at her.
‘I have… a fear of those Plague-doctor masks. Cate thinks it’s a phobia like a fear of spiders.’
‘Of those masks? That is why you were terrified? Why you left so suddenly the first time you were here?’
‘Yes, it’s silly, I know…’
‘Not at all. Those masks would have struck fear into the hearts of the very people the Plague doctors were trying to help but you know they have no power, they cannot hurt you.’
Natalie stiffened, but she understood he was clumsily trying to reassure her, not belittle her.
‘But I am glad that is the reason you scarpered,’ Eraldo continued. ‘I thought it was something that I said or perhaps you found my company so dull, you could not wait to get away from me.’
‘Not at all. But still, you invited me out for the evening when Cate went to the opera.’
‘It was the least I could do for a friend of Floella.’
So, he had invited her out of politeness. The sensation of an invisible thread pulling them closer as they’d shared cicchetti under a darkening sky had been nothing more than the magic of Venice bewitching her as it had bewitched thousands before. She had to forget her foolish imaginings. She hadn’t come here to progress a relationship that hadn’t even begun; she was here for Cate, who was already sifting through the pile of drawings Eraldo had fanned out across the coffee table.
‘Do sit down, Natalie,’ Cate said.
‘Coffee?’ Eraldo said. ‘It will concentrate our minds for the important decisions.’
‘Please,’ Cate said.
Natalie nodded. ‘Yes, thanks.’
‘Sit, relax, I will attend to the drinks.’
He was back with a tray of cups in a matter of minutes.
‘Now, Cate, tell me about this commission… that is, if you have not changed your mind.’
Natalie hadn’t realised how many details had to be considered when rebuilding and reconfiguring an old watch but the ensuing conversation was anything but dull. Eraldo’s enthusiasm was contagious, his voice full of passion. And Cate, surprisingly, had such an innate understanding of style and colour, it seemed a pity that her role in her husband’s company seemed limited to administration and charming the clients.
The coffee had long gone cold by the time the discussion wrapped up.
Eraldo tied the cords that closed his leather-bound notebook. ‘So, everything is decided.’
‘The deposit?’ Cate was reaching for her bag.
‘Ah, no, not for friends. Besides, I am so happy with our proposal if you do not purchase the finished watch, I may be tempted to keep it for myself. Except – oh, I quite forgot – the engraving on the back: have you decided what you would like? Your husband’s birthday or the date you were married, perhaps?’
‘Yes, I have decided. The day I first set eyes on Phil; that will make him smile.’
‘How romantic.’ Eraldo re-opened his notebook. ‘Write it here for me so there can be no mistake.’
Cate added a date in her neat hand.
‘That can’t be right, that’s…’ Natalie began.
‘When we were on the school trip,’ Cate cut in. ‘At the Accademia gallery.’
‘But… I don’t remember you meeting anyone there.’ A horrible suspicion was beginning to form.
‘I didn’t meet Phil exactly. We didn’t actually speak… Oh, I know it sounds crazy but when I saw him, I just knew…’ A big smile lit up Cate’s face. ‘I just felt that this was the boy I was going to marry. I was buzzing; I couldn’t wait to tell you. I sneaked looks at him whenever I could but I couldn’t make it too obvious; I didn’t want Julie Paine to notice and make everyone laugh at me, so I tried to concentrate on the paintings but then I turned around and he was gone, separated from the rest of his group. I sneaked off to try and find him.’
Natalie knew what was coming. But she was wrong; she had to be.
‘I found him soon enough, talking to you. I know how childish this sounds but I was so upset. That’s why I flounced off. I hated you that day; I was so jealous of you. I couldn’t bear to talk to you in case you told me that you liked him or he liked you. And when Julie started being snide, it was so easy to gang up on you. Pathetic, wasn’t I! When I found out that the boys’ school were going to be at the same party as us, I couldn’t wait but I was far too cowardly to go up and talk to any of those boys with all Julie’s mates looking. When we met four years later at Durham, it’s no wonder he couldn’t remember me!’
‘And yet, here you are, married. A beautiful story,’ Eraldo said.
‘So, Phil was one of those boys from that posh school?’ Natalie tried to keep her voice steady. Deep down, she’d known the moment she’d zoomed in on the photo of Cate and Phil’s son holding his sporting trophy.
‘Yes, they seemed such an arrogant bunch but I could tell straight away that Phil was different from the others. There was something about him; he looked more approachable, less sure of himself, perhaps because he was a scholarship boy. And he was wearing these really cool trainers,’ Cate blathered on.
‘With bright-yellow laces.’ Natalie had to check, had to be sure.
‘How on earth do you remember that? He really must have made an impression. Perhaps I was right to be jealous of you!’ Cate laughed.
‘It’s just one of those odd things that sticks in your mind,’ Natalie said. Like the swish of a cape, a mask pressed up against a face, the stench of raw fear. She felt the bile rise in her throat. Cate was married to the boy in the alley, but this time, Natalie couldn’t run. In a few hours, Phil would be arriving at the palazzo.