Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,23

goods as promised and with the help a couple of very obliging delivery men she had managed to arrange the furniture in the different rooms. Although she was still surrounded by boxes by the evening, it was already starting to feel like her dream home.

She stood by the window, admiring the view across the hillside and reflecting upon her good fortune at having found a safe refuge from the war zone while so many of her former patients and colleagues were not so lucky. The stories coming out of North Kivu were truly frightening and her heart went out once again to all the innocent civilians caught up in the slaughter. Unbidden, barbaric images of mutilation came piling back and she had to steel herself not to dissolve into tears. Although she managed to keep her emotions under control, it was a struggle and she found herself in a reflective mood.

Daniela and Pietro turned up at eight o’clock and the sight of them shook her out of her reverie and helped to cheer her up once more. They brought a roast chicken, salad, ice cream and half a dozen bottles of wine. She gave them a guided tour of the property and they looked and sounded most impressed. They all went up into the loggia where she opened a bottle of Prosecco for Pietro and cold mineral water for Daniela, and they sat looking out as the sunset turned the hills across the valley crimson. She counted her blessings once again as they toasted the new house.

One thing Daniela said that evening came as no real surprise.

‘I think you’ve made another conquest.’ Seeing Lucy’s eyebrows raise, she elaborated. ‘Tommy’s been spending most of his time wittering on about how gorgeous you are.’

Lucy almost choked on her wine. ‘I rather thought that might happen, but he’s not really my type.’ She caught Daniela’s eye. ‘A bit too slick for me. I don’t see him as Mr Right, somehow.’

‘Plenty more fish in the sea. You never know, you may end up with one of the other doctors from the Siena Clinic. You medics do tend to marry other medics after all.’

‘Oh, dear God, no.’ Realising that this had come out way more forcibly than she had intended, Lucy ended up breaking the news about her former lover now going to be her future colleague. She had already told Daniela ages ago all about what had happened in Greece, and Daniela had no doubt about what would happen now. Her friend’s tone was sceptical.

‘You won’t go back to him. I know you, Lucy Young. He’s in the past and I don’t see you going back to him after he broke your heart. And I certainly hope you don’t.’ She glanced across at Pietro who was wisely staying out of the conversation. ‘If Pietro did the same thing to me that would be that.’

That night Lucy went to bed with the window open and lay there for a good long while, listening to the sounds of the countryside. Although the village was probably home to a hundred people, maybe more, the only evidence of human activity was an occasional car in the distance and a lone scooter that came whining up the road outside. Hers was the last house in the village and there was just open country on three sides. On her left was another old cottage, but the shutters had been closed all day and there were no lights to be seen. Presumably it was either empty or the inhabitants were away or, quite possibly, it belonged to people who only used it as a holiday home.

As she lay there, listening to what she had first interpreted as silence, she realised that there were noises to be heard after all. Apart from a few creaks as the timbers inside the house settled after the heat of the day, she distinctly heard the scratching of claws on the roof tiles at one point, followed by the hoot of an owl so close by it made her start. There were occasional sounds of rustling from the fields as little – and not so little – animals went about their nocturnal business but, in spite of the solitude, she wasn’t afraid. After living for years in an environment containing spiders that could paralyse you, snakes that could kill you, and armed men who could do unspeakable things to you, this really was heaven. Yes, she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep, her