Venetian Vendetta: The Tremayne Mysteries Series by Merryn Allingham

Author:Merryn Allingham [Allingham, Merryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Verrall Press
Published: 2020-07-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

Nancy had only just shuffled into the silk dressing gown when there was a knock on the door. Archie stood outside, a tray in his hands.

‘This is what you need,’ he said decidedly, and without waiting for an invitation, walked into the room and put the tray down on to the marble console table: two mugs, a pot of steaming coffee and in the centre, a tall, thin bottle.

He poured the coffee, then a small amount from the bottle into each mug. ‘Caffé corretto,’ he said. ‘Try it.’

She hesitated. The bath had stopped her shaking, but despite the hot water and a fierce towelling, her body remained intensely cold. Archie was probably right. She took a sip from the mug he handed her, and her face puckered.

‘I’m sorry, I can’t drink this. Whatever it is, it’s too strong.’

‘It’s meant to be strong. It’s grappa. But keep going—it will be worth it.’

Nancy resigned herself to trying again and took another small mouthful. The second sip tasted marginally better and very slowly she was able to finish the mug. Archie went to pour her another coffee, but she held up her hand. ‘No more, thank you. I’m fine.’

That was a trifle optimistic, but she was warm now, feeling the liquid coursing through her veins, hot and fiery. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and saw her cheeks were looking a more normal colour. Archie must have seen it, too. He put his mug down and fixed her with a stare.

‘Now, what the hell has been going on?’

She took a while before she replied. ‘I went to see Angelica Moretto and on the way back I was followed.’

‘That’s it?’

It sounded so tame when she said the words, but how frightened she’d been. ‘I thought I was trapped.’ She struggled to explain. ‘I don’t know Dorsoduro—I’d never ventured that far into the district before, and when I turned to go home, I got lost. It was the maze of alleyways—I couldn’t find my way out. Then the footsteps started. Someone was following me. I began to run and whoever was behind me ran, too.’

‘Were they trying to catch you up?’ he asked prosaically. ‘You may have dropped something.’

‘It wasn’t like that. And if you’re going to patronise, I’m saying no more.’

‘I was just stating the obvious.’

‘It wasn’t obvious—not to me. When I stopped, the footsteps stopped. Someone was definitely following me.’

‘A purse snatcher perhaps? But you evidently got away.’

‘The calle I was running down suddenly opened out and I found I’d reached the canal by the gondola yard. There were men working there and whoever was chasing me must have seen them and turned away.’

‘So no harm done.’

‘No.’ She spoke quietly, but was keenly aware of the harm that no one could see.

There was a long silence and then Archie said thoughtfully, ‘I wouldn’t say you were a woman to be frightened by a few footsteps. What else is there?’

‘It reminded me of something.’ Nancy faltered. She didn’t want to talk about it; she never wanted to talk about it.

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