Under a Siena Sun (Escape to Tuscany #1) - T.A. Williams Page 0,71
taken by his lawyer so her delight at finally becoming a homeowner had been somewhat tempered by David’s absence.
As a result, by the time Saturday came round, she was feeling quite apprehensive. As she had told him, her skills in the kitchen weren’t that great, although Daniela’s mother had given her an introduction to Tuscan cookery when Lucy had been over here as a teenager. Since then, Nicole and Geneviève had also taught her how to cook a number of French dishes during their time together in Mabenta, but she was still far more comfortable with a scalpel in her hands than an egg whisk. She asked Daniela what she suggested and decided to go with her advice to serve cold food as it was suffocatingly hot with August dawning.
She went down to see Donatello in the village shop and returned with fresh figs, slices of ham, porchetta and finocchiona, a dozen quails’ eggs and a big handful of broad beans still in their cases to be eaten raw with the salame the traditional Tuscan way. She made these into the antipasti, and for the main course she prepared a big mixed salad with pieces of cold chicken, olives and hardboiled egg, followed by a chunk of aged Pecorino cheese and a much fresher, soft goat cheese made by Donatello’s cousin. She even bought a packet of bone-shaped dog treats for her canine guests. In the fridge she had more of Roberto’s rosé and a couple of bottles of crisp, fruity white wine from a little producer in the next village. As a final touch, she bought a tub of meringue ice cream and planned to serve it with a fresh fruit salad of white flesh peaches, apricots and nectarines.
She set the table upstairs in the loggia and put on the new dress she had bought specially for the occasion. It was made of light cotton, which was just as well as it was a very hot evening.
The doorbell rang at just after seven thirty and she found both men standing there with their respective dogs, having just met on the doorstep. Lucy fended off the joyous greeting afforded to her by Boris, patted Barolo on the head and then kissed both men on the cheeks. Guido, the professor, looked slightly surprised, but she didn’t mind. There was no way she wasn’t going to kiss David, so it was a logical extension of her welcome to include her next-door neighbour. As it turned out, Guido didn’t recognise David and, if Lucy hadn’t introduced them, he would probably have remained in a state of ignorance as to the celebrity status of his fellow diner.
She led them upstairs to the loggia, opened a bottle of sparkling rosé and they sat down to talk while the two canine brothers on the floor renewed their acquaintance. As the humans chatted, it soon became clear that Guido was a real authority on the English mercenary. He gave them a potted history of John Hawkwood’s career, his regular changes of allegiance, his tactical acumen and his total ruthlessness. It was clear Hawkwood had been very good at his job, but he probably wouldn’t have made a very sophisticated dinner guest. The bad news, however, was that Guido had heard nothing that indicated the Englishman might have had anything to do with David’s castle. However, all was not lost.
‘It’s fascinating to hear that the castle used to be referred to as the Englishman’s Castle. The thing is, Hawkwood was by no means the only Englishman over here in those days. The White Company itself was a very cosmopolitan group and there would have been numerous Englishmen among them. Even if the one in question wasn’t Hawkwood, maybe it was one of his colleagues. Leave it with me and my doctoral student. We’ll see what we can dig up.’
The meal turned out to be a great success and by the time she had distributed cups of coffee to the men and dog biscuits to the Labradors she felt confident her efforts had been appreciated. By now night had fallen and all they could see were occasional lights dotting the hillsides. She had lit a couple of candles and there wasn’t a breath of wind to even make them flicker. She sat down and stretched her legs, encountering a warm hairy body with her feet as she did so. There was a satisfied grunt from under the table, followed by an unmistakable farting noise. She was wondering whether to