maybe you’ll come round to my place next time. Don’t worry, it’s very discreet. Your secret will be safe with me. Nobody will know that the New York gangster who’s been hiding here in the villa has been out and about.’
‘Is that what people are saying?’ He sounded genuinely astounded.
‘That’s what a couple of people in the village were saying.’ She came close to asking the reason why he had chosen to turn his back on celebrity and hide himself away out here in the middle of the country, but she relegated that question to the heap of others to be asked when they knew each other better.
At the bottom of the stairs he looked out of the door at the gathering dusk. ‘Are you going to be okay walking home on your own? I’ve got this damn conference call but I could ask Armando to give you a lift.’
She assured him she was fine, resisted the temptation to kiss him, thanked him again, and set off back down the drive.
Chapter 14
The following morning, as it was a Sunday, she sat down after a late breakfast and searched the internet. This was for two reasons. One was to read up about John Hawkwood, the medieval mercenary leader, and the other was to check out David Lorenzo.
She started with the tennis player and it didn’t take long for her to discover the two main reasons why he had been suffering from depression. A feeling of pity spread through her as she read numerous newspaper articles going back over the last three years. First was of course the fact that he had been forced to give up tennis as a result of the knee problems suffered at Roland Garros in Paris, with which she was already familiar. As she had seen first-hand, the effect of this upon him had been crushing.
Second, and probably even more important, was the fact that his marriage had broken down not long afterwards. His wife had left him, but there were conflicting reports as to what had been the cause of the break-up, although they mostly seemed to agree that it had been his fault. Her feeling of pity for him turned to disappointment. Hypotheses ranged from physical assault to a naked sex romp with a bunch of cheerleaders in Orlando, and she shook her head in disbelief. As a result of the media hounding he had subsequently received, he had disappeared into thin air and his whereabouts were still unknown, although there was a theory he had left the US for Europe.
She sat back and stared blankly at the screen. This was all brand new to her – but of course, she had been in the middle of Africa at the time those events had taken place. Could it be that his wife had left him because he had been unfaithful to her? Did this mean he was no better than Charles, Tommy and maybe even Pietro? What was it about men that they couldn’t understand, and stick to, the concept of monogamy? David had really struck her as a decent, straightforward guy, in spite of his initial grumpiness, but, alas, it appeared that this might not be the case.
Of course, she told herself, there were always two sides to every story and maybe his wife had been the cause of the breakdown of the marriage, but in her eyes, if it turned out he was the guilty party, there was no excuse. Just like Charles, if he could do it once, he could do it again, and she knew she would never be able to trust him if these reports were true – maybe as a neighbour and friend with an interest in history, but nothing more. Mind you, she reminded herself, there was no way she would have felt comfortable hooking up with a multi-millionaire anyway.
In an attempt to take her mind off the tennis player, she read about John Hawkwood. He had indeed been a very canny and a very successful general who had led from the front. A description of him remarked upon his broad shoulders and powerful physique. She had no doubt that would have been necessary at a time when the weapon of choice was a longbow or a two-handed sword a metre long which could decapitate a horse or a knight in steel armour. Either of these weapons required considerable upper body strength.
Over the course of his career Hawkwood had fought for and against the Pope, and for and