The American Contessa (7 page)

Gaby
inserted her key in the door as quickly as humanly possible and entered her
room.
 
Leaning her back against the
closed door, she let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.
 

Good,
she told herself firmly.
 
They didn’t
seem to agree on much, but at least they were both unequivocally certain it was
best that they stayed out of each other’s way.
 
Why then did she feel so deflated by the thought of avoiding him in the
future? 

“Gaby!
Here I am!” Carmina called to her from a small marble table at the coffee
bar.
 
Gaby sat down and waited for the
interrogation to begin.

“So,
what happened to you last night?”

Why
lie about it?
 
Carmina had a right to
know.
 
“You’re brother happened, that’s
what,” she replied sulkily. “He didn’t say anything to you?”

“
Due caffe’ per favore,
” Carmina ordered
from the waiter as he passed. “Well, he gave me some pathetic excuse about you
not feeling well, and having dinner together another night.”
 
She squinted at Gaby.
 
“You two are certainly giving each other a
bad time.”

Gaby
blinked at her.
 
“I don’t know what you
mean.”

“Come
now Gaby.
 
From the looks of Luca this
morning, I’m not quite sure which one of you came away less unscathed from last
night.”

“
Hmm,
” Gaby contemplated, “He looks bad?”

Carmina
smiled.
 
“Well, he doesn’t look
good.
 
And that my dear friend, for Luca,
is most unusual.”

That
brought a small smile to Gaby’s face.
 
At
least she wasn’t the only one suffering from lack of sleep or peace of
mind.
 
Revenge was indeed sweet!

“Gaby,
why don’t you just give in and admit it?”

“Admit
what?”

Their
coffee arrived and Carmina brought it to her lips and looked over the rim at
her.
 
“Admit that my brother drives you
to distraction in more ways than one.”

Gaby
sipped at her coffee.
 
Carmina continued
to stare, forcing her to cave.
 
“Alright,
alright, I admit it.
 
He makes me crazy.
 
I don’t know whether to kiss him or kill him
half the time.
 
And it’s partly your
fault you know!”

“Mine?”

“Yes!
 
Getting him to pick me up last night!
 
Maybe I should kill you instead!
 
What were you thinking?”

Carmina
laughed.
 
“I thought maybe you were in
need of a little gelato.
 
You know.
 
Something bad for you; but oh so delicious.”

Gaby
threw her a dirty look.
 
“When I want
gelato Carmina, I’ll pick my own flavour, thank you very much.”

“Do
they
make
broccoli flavoured gelato?”
Carmina said with a straight face.

“Yuck!”
Gaby couldn’t help but grin.

“
Esattamente
.
 
Exactly!
 
You’re in Italy, Gaby.
 
We don’t
eat to live.
 
We live to eat!
 
Enjoy yourself.
 
Have the best gelato you can possibly get,
and worry about the calories tomorrow.”

“But
what if I want to eat that gelato for the rest of my life?
 
What if I can’t get it out of my
system?”
 

Carmina
solemnly chewed on her lip.

“You
see.
 
You know I’m right,” Gaby replied,
suddenly a little more serious.
 
“It’s
best not to get addicted in the first place.
 
Gelato may make you happy for a moment, but in the end all you’re left
with is … is …,”

“Really
high cholesterol?” Carmina winked at her.

“
Esattamente,
”
 
Gaby smiled wanly back.

Gaby
and Carmina continued to chat and ordered another coffee.
 
Gaby promised to not let Luca interfere with
their friendship and Carmina promised that she wouldn’t try any more
matchmaking.
 

After
drinking their third espresso, Carmina voiced the very question Gaby had been
pondering since the “He’s my brother” bomb was dropped.

“You
noticed that Luca and I are not alike, in looks or manner, didn’t you?”

“Well,
I do know your mother and Luca’s were not one in the same,” Gaby said
shyly.
 
She was eager to know, but their
friendship was still too new and fragile for her to come right out and ask what
made Luca lose his temper so severely about his mother.
 

Carmina
looked down at her coffee cup and played with the spoon.
 
“I guess not being from here you don’t know
the gossip or history of the Manetti’s.”

Placing
her hand on top of Carmina’s, she could tell it was obviously not a story that
held much joy for her in repeating. “Carmina, you don’t
have
to tell me.”

“No,”
she replied looking up into Gaby’s eyes.
 
“In fact, by telling you, you may just change your opinion of my brute
of a brother; for the pain was more his, than mine.
 
You see, Luca’s mother was not a good
person.
 
According to our
Nonna,
her disappearing from Luca’s life
was a blessing –although sometimes I’m not so sure.
 
For good or bad, she was his mother.”

“She
died when he was four?”

“Yes.
 
And unfortunately our
Nonna
has not been exactly silent when it comes to keeping her
opinion to herself with regard to what happened.”

Carmina
began to tell her the complex and agonising story.
 
Luca’s mother had been American.
 
She was a young model and actress who came to
Italy to star in a second-rate TV movie and had met the late Count Manetti when
the Villa was used as a backdrop for one of the movies party scenes.

It
was love at first sight, a whirlwind romance of the most passionate and
optimistic kind.
 
The tabloids went
haywire. And within two months, the model turned actress, Lana Rogers, became a
Countess, a high society hostess, and… an expectant mother.

It
was all too much for a twenty-two year old to handle.
 
She said she was homesick; she missed her
friends and family. Within weeks of having Luca, she insisted on a solitary
trip back to Los Angeles to supposedly visit family.
 
Her trip became more and more extended and
very soon she abandoned all pretext of ever wanting to return.
  

Stories
of all night partying and adultery made their way back to Italy, larger than
life and in full color via the very tabloids that had called their pairing “the
love affair of the decade”.
 
When at last
the Count gave her an ultimatum and demanded she come home, Lana had
refused.
 
She didn’t want to be a
Countess, a wife, or a mother.
 
She
wanted to be a star. She wanted to be free of him and Luca.
 

Her
wild ways continued.
 
Drugs, alcohol and
the wrong people invaded her world.
 
It
was only a matter of time till one or the other would end her existence.
 
Her life was ended at twenty-seven; dying by
a former lovers’ hand in a murder-suicide.

Carmina’s
mother had come into the Count’s life a few years later.
 
She was the complete opposite of Lana.
 
Older, kinder, unselfish to a fault; she
loved the Count with all her heart.
 
The
fact that she was divorced with a small child was a moot point.
 
Everyone knew what the Count’s first wife had
been like, and wished him the best.

Carmina
was Luca’s sister in every way but blood.
 
Her mother had given him all the love his own hadn’t, and he grew from a
sullen and withdrawn child into an outgoing and charming teenager under her
tutelage.
 
After the Count lost his
battle with cancer, she died within months of him.
 
They were partners in death as in life it
would seem.

Luca’s
disdain and anger towards his own mother remained intact through the
years.
 
Sure, he hid it well behind his
smooth exterior, and those who knew him socially saw nothing of the pain and
heartache.
 
But his hatred for all things
American ran deep. As a little boy he believed that America had stolen his
mother back, corrupted and killed her.
 
As a man, he knew better, but couldn’t come to grips with the fact that
his mother had been the way she was.
  

By
the end of the story, Gaby was in tears.
 
She cried for the little boy abandoned by the one person who should have
been his rock.
 
And she cried for the man
who hid his anguish with hatred.

Did
she really feel sorry for him?

The
hurt from his childhood experience had obviously tarnished him, but it was
totally unfair to blame and paint all Americans with the same brush, as there
were deceitful and untrustworthy people everywhere.
 
No.
 
Although she could understand his feelings of resentment, it didn’t
justify his inexcusable behaviour.

From
the looks of it, Count Luca Manetti needed a team of packhorses to carry the
amount of baggage that came with him.
 
And nowhere on her resume did Gaby have experience as “luggage
handler”.
 
Her own bags were quite heavy
enough, thank you!

She
once again firmly decided to give him as wide a berth as possible and avoid him
at all costs.
 
All well and good in
theory, but once again she heard in her head Carmina’s earlier words loud and
clear, “Easier said than done.”

Gaby
ran out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around her.
 
The ringtone “You’re so vain” rang out from
her handbag; a downloaded leftover from her plane experience with David
Whittaker, and a token reminder of how looks can be deceiving.

“Hey
Gran-pop,” she cheerily answered.
 
She
knew she had been dodging his calls since the party.
 
She was in for it now.

“Hey,
yourself,” he replied sternly. “You’ve been avoiding me, young lady.”

“Look.
I know what you’re going to say.”

“Really?
 
You can read minds now?” he replied
sarcastically.

“I’m
sorry.”

“Forgiven.
 
How is it going?”

“Good,”
she lied.

“
Gabriella?
”

She
sighed.
 
“I’m working on it
Gran-pop.
 
I need more time.”

“You
haven’t changed your mind, have you?” he asked suspiciously.

Frowning,
Gaby plunked herself down on the bed.
 
“Well.
 
Has it even occurred to
you that what we’re doing is wrong?”

He
snorted.
 
“You’re telling me it hadn’t
occurred to you before now?”

“Yeah,
it did.
 
But being here; getting to know
and like the people involved …”

“Never
get personally involved with anyone,” he interrupted.
 
“That’s the number one rule.”

“Well,
I guess I didn’t get the memo,” she replied flippantly.

“Don’t
be facetious, my girl,” he reprimanded.

“Sorry.
 
I’m going to the Villa this evening for
dinner with Carmina.
 
I’ll call you
after, if the time difference works.
 
Any
advice for tonight?”

Her
Grandfather paused.
 
“The only advice I
can give is to get close to the family.
 
Do whatever it takes.
 
I’ve heard
the current Count is young and quite attractive,” he chuckled softly, “Perhaps
that avenue could be explored.”

“Are
you asking me to …,”

“I’m
only saying that you’ll never meet a Count hiding in that school in Boston you
work at.
 
Play your cards right and who
knows.”

“If
that’s how you want me to get the necklace, then I’m sorry to disappoint you –I
won’t do it.”

“Greed
is a powerful emotion.”

“But
I’m not doing this for greed, I’m doing it for you.”

There
was silence at the other end of the line.
 

“I’ll
call you later,” Gaby said quietly, reviewing in her head the last part of
their conversation.

“Call
me
when
you get the necklace.
 
Goodbye Gabriella.”

“Bye.”
 

Scowling,
Gaby disconnected and shuddered.
 
She’d
never heard him speak so harshly to her.
 
A sense of deep foreboding overcame her.
 
She wasn’t cut out for this after all.
 
Her likeness to her Grandfather didn’t run as deep as she thought it
did.
 
Did he actually think she would or
could seduce a man like Count Luca Manetti?
 
If anything, it was the other way round – he was much more accomplished
in the art of that particular past time.
 
Well, she wouldn’t do it.
 
To tell the truth, she wasn’t quite sure she
knew how!
 

Grabbing
her dress off the hanger, she stomped towards the bathroom to dress.

“Number
one rule, don’t get involved,” she grumbled to herself. Way too late for that!

*****

The
Villa was huge.

Gaby
hadn’t realised it on the night of the party as it had been full to the brim
with people.
 
But without the help of
bodies to fill the hollow space, it literally echoed in its emptiness.

The
dining room was so immense Carmina suggested they dine in a small salon, close
to the kitchen.

Gaby
kept wondering if Luca would make an appearance, and her eyes flitted
constantly to the doorway until Carmina informed her that he’d left that
morning for Montepulciano and his horses.
 
An overwhelming sense of disappointment enveloped her at the news.
 
Although they had both somewhat agreed to
avoid each other like the plague, she’d secretly hoped that he would
materialize.

“After
dinner, I should take you on a tour of the Villa,” Carmina offered.

“I’d
love that.
 
What I’ve seen so far is
amazing.
 
I love the décor.
 
The mix of modern and antique is fantastic,”
Gaby enthused.

Carmina
looked embarrassed.
 
“Thank you.
 
I designed it myself.”

“Really?
 
It’s incredible.
 
You did a great job.”

“All
the more reason to eat up, so I can show off my handiwork,” she laughed,
picking up her spoon and digging into her soup.
 
“It’s a pity Luca isn’t here.
 
He
does so love our cook’s
stracciatella
.”

“Will
he be gone long?” Gaby enquired as nonchalantly as possible.

“He
said about two weeks.”

“Oh,”
she said faintly.
 
He’d be gone exactly
the amount of time she’d told him she’d be in Italy.
 
My, what a coincidence.

“Two
weeks isn’t so long, is it?” Carmina smiled knowingly at her.

Gaby
lowered her eyes to her soup.
 
“No.
 
But I suppose I’ll be gone by the time he
comes back.”
 
She raised her gaze to
Carmina.
 
“I guess he planned it that
way.”

“Gaby?”
 
Carmina placed her hand over hers.
 
“School doesn’t start till September.
 
Is there any real reason you can’t stay longer?
 
I wish you would.”

She
couldn’t lie to Carmina.
 
“Well,” she
started, “The truth is I really don’t have the funds to stay much longer.
 
In fact, my credit cards are maxed.
 
The hotel costs a fortune and …,”

Carmina
squeezed her hand warmly.
  
“
Basta
.
 
Enough.
 
You’re coming to stay here with me and that’s final.”

“No,
I couldn’t,” Gaby protested.

“Of
course you can!
 
Why I have guests all
the time and I don’t even know most of them.
 
What use is this big house, when it stands empty most of the time?”

“I
couldn’t.
 
I’d feel like a freeloader.”

“Well,
I’m not quite sure what a “free-loader” is, but I’d welcome the company.
 
It gets lonely here, especially when Luca
goes away.”
 
Carmina eyes started to well
up.
 
“You’ve become a very dear friend to
me.
 
And if offering you a place to stay
means I keep you in Italy a while longer; then I’m happy to offer it.”

Gaby
could feel the tears also starting in her eyes.
 
“We’ll if you’re sure it’s okay, then, I’d love to stay.”

“Good.
 
It’s settled,” Carmina sniffed.

“I
don’t think Luca will be too happy to come back and find me here,” Gaby said
with concern.

“For
now, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
 
We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Gaby
shook her head apprehensively.
 
“When he
finds out, he may just blow up that bridge!
 
With us on it!”

 
Chuckling, Carmina picked up her cell phone.
“I’ll call the hotel to send your things over straight away.”

“Now?”

“No
time like the present.
 
We don’t want
them billing you for one more night,” she said, taking charge.
 
“And after I send for your luggage, I’ll take
you on that tour of your new home away from home.”

Gaby
grinned at her friend, but grimaced inwardly –
She was going to regret this, she was definitely going to regret this.