Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,10

Tommy as a player. ‘You journalists do have a tendency to exaggerate, don’t you?’

He didn’t get a chance to respond as a burst of applause indicated that the speeches were over and the bride turned to the crowd and waved her bouquet of roses in the air. Unmarried women, from teenagers to pensioners, were pushed to the front and Lucy found herself among them. She gave Tommy a helpless look and went with the flow.

Daniela caught Lucy’s eye before turning her back on them and lobbing the bouquet into the air, suspiciously in her direction. Lucy was still trying to work out whether to make a lunge for it when a purple flash blotted out the light and Lucy saw none other than Virginia leap athletically into the air right in front of her and grab the flowers as they fell. A cheer went up all round as Virginia collected herself, checked that her daring décolleté was still structurally sound after her exertions, and looked across towards Bruno with an expression of triumph on her face. However, he was on the phone and barely noticed her achievement, just giving her a little wave of the hand.

Lucy gave them both a smile and headed across the room to where the Prosecco was being dispensed. She was standing there, sipping her wine, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find it was Bruno, with Virginia clinging, limpet-like, to his arm.

‘Congratulations, Virginia. That was quite some leap you made there. Have you ever played volleyball?’

Virginia contented herself with a shake of the head and a little smile as Bruno, to Lucy’s surprise, started talking shop. And not just any old shop.

‘Lucy, could we have a word with you?’

He sounded unexpectedly serious and she immediately nodded. ‘Of course, Bruno. What is it?’

She saw him exchange glances with Virginia and then indicate the French windows that led to the charming formal gardens surrounding the hotel. ‘Would you mind if we go outside?’

Together, the three of them walked out into the full heat of the sun and Lucy was glad she had gone for the lightest possible material for her new dress. Although it was still just May, it was really hot. As soon as he was satisfied that they were not being overheard, Bruno started.

‘You said you were a surgeon with experience of gunshot wounds, didn’t you?’ He didn’t wait for Lucy’s answering nod. ‘Well, you see… we would welcome your help.’

‘With a gunshot wound?’ Lucy was genuinely amazed. ‘Isn’t that something that should be handled by a major hospital? The police, even?’

Virginia, now no longer smiling, took over. ‘Absolutely, under normal circumstances, but these aren’t normal circumstances. You see, it has to be kept very confidential.’

For a moment an image of a nineteen-twenties gangster with a violin case in his hands crossed Lucy’s mind and she took a step backwards. ‘Not normal circumstances?’

Her uncertainty must have been plain to see and Bruno was quick to explain in more detail. ‘It’s nothing criminal. I’ve just taken a call from the clinic. It’s one of our regular outpatients. He was at home, fiddling with his gun, and it went off, wounding him in the side – apparently not too seriously as he’s sitting up and talking. His housekeeper called us and they’re bringing him in as we speak. The thing is, we’d be grateful if somebody with more experience of gunshot wounds than we have could take a look at the extent of the damage and maybe be there to help me with the procedure.’

Lucy nodded hesitantly. ‘Of course, but why all the secrecy?’

Again the two of them exchanged glances. ‘He’s very well-known. Not just here, but all over the world. Although it was an accident, the publicity would be colossal. He’s very keen to avoid anything like that.’

Lucy made a quick decision. ‘Of course I’ll help. I suppose that means we should go now, doesn’t it? I’ll just pop over and tell Danni. I’m sure she’ll understand.’ As Bruno nodded solemnly, she gave him a smile. ‘It’s just as well I’ve only had a small sip of Prosecco.’ Sometimes being a doctor could seriously interfere with your private life, but Lucy knew that was part of the fascination of her chosen profession.

Virginia drove them to the clinic in record time. She was a good driver but she was going a hell of a lot faster than Lucy would have liked. As they screeched to a halt outside the hospital, Lucy barely