Sisters - Michelle Frances Page 0,59
She started to wander off but, to her dismay, Sean followed. He made a beeline for her at dinner too and she had to endure two hours of how difficult it was handling ‘creative types’ in the music ‘biz’. Eventually she could stand it no more and went to bed. Served her right for being amused by poor Blondie being trailed earlier.
Sean had the uncanny knack of knowing when she would be in the hotel dining room for breakfast, and had also signed up for the morning excursion to the Duomo, like herself. By late afternoon, Abby had had enough. She let the rep know she was going off on her own, declining Sean’s offer of company as politely as possible, and when he wouldn’t take no for an answer, she waited until he’d stepped behind a pillar at another grand church and made a run for it.
The sudden freedom made her giddy. She laughed to herself as she scuttled out of the church and down the street, ducking left and right, just in case Sean should try and follow. When she was certain she’d shaken him off, Abby looked around and gasped at what she saw: the Ponte Vecchio.
She wandered onto the spectacular bridge where shop after shop was crammed into the medieval architecture. It was a dazzling sight, not least because so many of them were fine jewellers. Abby gazed in the windows at the antique brooches made of gleaming enamel, the shell cameos, bright semi-precious stones laced together into a gold bracelet to adorn a nineteenth-century wrist, coral pendants carved into the faces of Roman gods. Most of it was eye-wateringly expensive and Abby gaped, astonished and a little disapproving – why would anyone want to spend so much on one item? Then, in a less ostentatious shop, she saw a silver bracelet set with lapis lazuli and there was something about the intensity of the blue that took her breath away. She stopped and stared. It seemed to be talking to her, something that she tried to dismiss as ridiculous, but she couldn’t take her eyes off it. She allowed herself a glance at the price tag and was taken aback to see it was actually affordable. Except it would use up the entire amount she’d brought out to Florence – the whole 150 euros. She’d planned her budget carefully – it was enough to last the whole time she was there. She hugged her bag closer, thought of her purse nestled inside. If she spent the money, she’d have to withdraw more and so eat into next month’s budget.
Abby made herself walk on quickly and not look back. The further she got from the shop, the easier it would be to forget about the bracelet. She felt a pang of deep disappointment as she strode along the bridge but then gave herself a stern talking-to. It’ll be worth it. Think of your savings. Think of that early retirement.
After that she didn’t feel much like window-shopping and, in fact, as she debated what to do next, she realized she’d not noticed the evening draw in. The bridge lights were on now and, tummy rumbling, she checked her watch and couldn’t believe it had just gone eight o’clock. Dinner was served at the hotel at eight thirty so Abby checked her phone and reckoned on a shortcut to get her back in time.
She headed back over the river, holding her phone out so she could follow the map, and was so busy concentrating on the screen she failed to notice her surroundings change. The tourist-busy streets had disappeared and she was in a narrow alley overshadowed by tall buildings either side. The street lighting was set far apart and the lamps were dim, leaving long stretches of darkness.
It was the quiet that got her attention first. The kind of silence that hung ominously in the air. Abby looked up from her phone and gave an involuntary shiver. There was no one around and she didn’t like the sensation of being enclosed by the buildings. She hurried onwards, looking up for the end of the alley so she could break out into the open again, but there was a bend ahead that she couldn’t see round.
A clatter sounded behind her, something kicked in the street, a drinks can perhaps. Abby turned and saw a human figure in the shadows. Shoulders hunched, she quickened her pace, simultaneously tucking her phone into her pocket, out of sight. There was a