The Misplaced Affections of Charlotte Fforbes by Catherine Robertson

Author:Catherine Robertson [Catherine Robertson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781775533016
Publisher: Penguin Random House New Zealand
Published: 2013-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

19

‘I’m not sure,’ said Darrell. ‘About the drive.’

‘What worries you about it?’ said Marcus. ‘We won’t get lost. I have a sat-nav that speaks like Sophia Loren. She makes “Take the first right at the roundabout” sound like phone sex.’

‘Italians drive like maniacs,’ said Darrell. ‘Have you seen the road around the lake on a Sunday? Like Crash Bandicoot on the Nürburgring. Every lunatic with a fast car or motorbike going flat out, with skeins of cyclists and walking school-buses of nuns thrown in on blind corners to help them hone their overtaking and braking skills.’

‘You’re worried we’ll have an accident?’

Marcus wasn’t smiling, Darrell saw. He’s taking me seriously. Anselo would have just rolled his eyes.

‘I’m not that keen on driving with Cosmo in the car,’ she admitted. ‘The plane trip was bad enough. “The crew has a life-jacket for your baby. Put on your own oxygen mask first.” Jeepers.’

‘Hm.’ Marcus put his arm round her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. ‘We’ll give it a miss then. How about a ferry jaunt to the Villa d’Este, instead?’

A throng of emotions formed a less-than-orderly queue in Darrell’s mind. I’m being stupid about Cosmo, she thought, I know that. I can’t keep him safe forever — no one can. Am I going to be one of those hyper-vigilant paranoid mothers who refuses to let her children out the front door without a subcutaneous GPS tracking device? I cycled down the street to the playground when I was five years old. I’m still here, aren’t I? And I want to go for this drive. I want to see more of the country. I’ve been cooped up here in the villa for almost two weeks. I haven’t even been to Como. Last time I went out in the car, I drove as far as the next town and sat by the lakeside. I’ve seen a lot of lake. It’s beautiful, but after a while even beauty is boring.

And then there’s Marcus. It was slightly terrifying how much I liked his arm around me just now. He was always an excellent hugger, always made me feel warm and — well, appreciated. If we take this drive, we’ll spend the whole day together. I don’t know when Anselo will be back; he’s not texted me and I don’t expect he will. Late, I imagine. After I get home. He probably won’t even know that I’ve been out.

‘No, let’s do the big drive,’ she said to Marcus. ‘I’ll have to stop and feed Cosmo. But that’s OK, isn’t it?’

He smiled. ‘Of course,’ he added. ‘And I can very nearly promise not to look.’

Marcus helped her carry all of Cosmo’s paraphernalia, and strap the baby seat into the back of a sporty little two-door Alfa Romeo.

‘Gus’ car?’ Darrell said.

‘Well spotted,’ said Marcus. ‘It’s a Giulietta. Gus bought it because it reminded her of her great lost love, Jules.’

Darrell had met and quite liked Jules. Jules had not let Gus boss her around.

‘I thought Gus dumped her?’

‘She did.

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