Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,37

come. She glanced down at the dog sprawled across her feet.

‘Tell me, why did you call him Boris? Has he got Russian roots?’

As she asked the question she remembered that Armando had mentioned that the dog’s owner had moved into the house some years earlier with his wife. Maybe she was Russian. However, considering he was a tennis player, the answer should have been obvious.

‘Armando got him for me from a local farmer who breeds Labradors and all the pups in that litter had names beginning with B. Armando said he chose him specially because the name would remind me of an old friend – Boris Becker. Heard of him?’

‘Of course, but I didn’t know he was part-Labrador.’

‘Not that I’ve heard of, but it wasn’t just that. I liked the idea of a name that would be the same in Italian and in English.’

There was another pause and before it could become awkward, she decided to turn the conversation to his wound.

‘How’s your side feeling now?’

‘That’s doing just fine – it’s barely noticeable now – but unfortunately I’m having more trouble with my knee. I must have overdone things a few days back and I’ve been paying the price.’

‘I saw you limping. That’s tough. Cruciate ligaments can take a long time, I’m afraid.’

‘Tell me about it! It’s been almost three years now and still there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.’ The frustration in his voice was all too clear.

‘I took a look at your records a few weeks back and I can see the problem. All I can tell you is that you’re in very good hands. Doctor Saeed is an exceptional orthopaedic surgeon. If anybody can help you, he can.’

If he was surprised at her interest in him, he hid it well and gave no response. Keen to move the subject to less contentious matters, she decided to try history.

‘I understand you have a medieval castle alongside your house.’

‘I have the ruins of a medieval castle alongside my house, but there’s precious little left. Half the houses in the village have been built with stones scavenged from the castle over the centuries. In fact, if you check out the back wall of your cottage, you’ll find that a lot of it’s stone, not all brick like most of the houses in this part of Tuscany.’

This was developing into by far the longest conversation he had ever had with her and she was happy for him. Communication with others is everything when dealing with depression. ‘I hadn’t noticed. I’ll take a look this afternoon.’

‘So, are you a historian who moonlights as a surgeon?’ There might even have been a lighter note in his voice.

‘The opposite. I’m a surgeon all right, but I’m also fascinated by history.’ For a moment she wondered whether she could ask his permission to check out the ruins for herself, but decided this might be too much, too soon. Besides, apart from being a patient, he was presumably still married, not to mention from a different financial stratosphere. She would do well to keep her distance. She could see he wasn’t completely comfortable with her either, so she kept the conversation light and general. ‘That’s probably why I fell in love with the cottage. And, apart from being a lovely place, it’s perfectly positioned for me to get to work at the clinic.’ Another thought occurred to her. ‘By the way, have you had a chance to mend the fence? I phoned Armando ages ago when I spotted it.’

‘Thank you for that and yes, it was all fixed last month. The only way out for Boris now is through the side gate I’ve just come through and so far he hasn’t worked out how to unlock it.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘And now he and I have to go.’ He turned away, but stopped and looked back. ‘And thank you for what you did for me, Doctor Young. I don’t think I ever said thank you. You’ll have to excuse me.’

‘You’re very welcome, besides it was Bruno who did most of the work. And do, please, call me Lucy, seeing as we’re neighbours.’

‘That’s good.’

He gave a low whistle and set off on his walk again, his dog running ahead of him.

As she watched him disappear into the trees, she found herself thinking back to their brief conversation and, in particular to the two words he had used right at the end.

Had he been commenting on the fact that she had told him