The Wedding Arrangement Read online

  ‘Yes, I brought the card with me.’ From his back pocket he drew the sliver of plastic that acted like a key at the Contini and handed it to her, giving her the code. ‘It’s on the third floor.’

  ‘I don’t believe I’m doing this,’ she said, half to him, half to herself.

  ‘Try to forget that I’m the devil incarnate,’ he said. ‘That should make it easier.’

  Charlie looked from one to the other, baffled.

  ‘You can explain it when I’m gone,’ she told Luke.

  Rico opened the door for her. At the last moment she turned to look back at Luke and said, ‘By the way, I didn’t call you the devil incarnate.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘I called you “the creature from the black lagoon”. I’ll see you later.’

  Heading north, she swung her car on to the Ponte Sisto, the bridge that would take her over the Tiber in the direction of the Contini Hotel. As she drove, she seethed.

  She had been furiously angry for years. The man who’d owned the Residenza had been a reprobate who had resisted her attempts to make him spend money on the property. When she’d moved the law against him he’d always found a way to wriggle out.

  And then, just when she’d thought she had him cornered, he’d pulled a final rabbit out of the hat, signing over the building to Luke Cayman, so that she had to start again. It was a moot point whether she were angrier with him or Luke Cayman.

  And now, to find herself defending the enemy, was enough to make her explode.

  A cool head would dictate placating him, saving him from the gallows-figuratively speaking-then turning on the charm. But she was too incensed to consider it.

  By now dawn was breaking, covering the sleeping city with a soft white mist. In the distance she could see the Contini, a huge, luxurious building created from an ancient palazzo. She could hardly believe that the ruffian she had left in the cells was actually staying here.

  Luckily the night receptionist was dozing and it was easy to slip past. On the third floor she found Luke’s room without trouble. It was large and lavishly appointed, with a balcony.

  She went out and stood regarding the view as the light grew brighter. To her right lay the lush green lawns of the Borghese Gardens. To her left she could see the Vatican, the early sun just touching the dome of St Peter’s. Between them glided the River Tiber.

  It was a marvellous scene, full of peace and beauty.

  A rich man’s scene, she thought crossly. For only a rich man could afford to stand in this exact spot and see such wonders spread before him. And one particular rich man had thought it amusing to leave his wealth briefly behind and go out slumming it for fun.

  He’d got more than he’d bargained for, but in the end he had only to send someone to his expensive hotel, to go through his expensive clothes and put everything expensively right for him. And all the while his tenants lived in a building that was falling apart.

  For a moment she was so livid that she almost stormed out, leaving everything behind. Let him take his chances! See how funny he found that!

  But her professionalism took over. She would do her job.

  She surveyed the suits in his wardrobe until she found one of a dark charcoal colour. To go with it she chose a white shirt and a dark blue silk tie. Then she rummaged in the drawers for clean socks and underpants. As she had more than half expected, he wore boxer shorts.

  Well, it wouldn’t be a satin thong, she mused with a faint smile. Not him.

  She packed everything into a bag she found in the wardrobe, then opened the wall safe using the plastic card that had opened the door. Inside she found his wallet and checked it for the ID card. It was there, and so was something else-a photograph of one of the loveliest young women Minnie had ever seen.

  She was wearing trousers and standing, leaning against a wall, her thumbs hooked into her belt, one foot up against the wall in a pose that emphasised her height and slender grace.

  Like many beautiful women Minnie was fascinated by beauty of a different kind in others. Where she herself was fair, this was a brunette with marvellous dark hair streaming down to her waist, giving her an exotic, mysterious look.

  She was also wonderfully tall. As a child Minnie had dreamed of growing to five foot ten and becoming a model. In the end she’d had to settle for five foot four, or ‘nothing very much’ as she’d crossly put it.

  But this was how she’d always longed to be, with legs that went up to her ears and a neck that came from a swan.

  ‘Grr!’ she said to the picture. ‘Who are you? His wife? His fiancée? Girlfriend? Whoever you are, you’ve got no right to look like that.’

  She replaced the picture carefully in the wallet, which she then put in her own bag, to take to him.

  From a distance she heard the bell of St Peter’s, chiming seven o’clock, and realised that the light was growing fast, the city was waking and she still had much to do.

  She should call Netta, but a quick rummage in her bag revealed that she’d left her cellphone behind. Using the bedside phone might be indiscreet. That left Luke Cayman’s own cellphone. After a brief hesitation, she took it and dialled. When Netta answered she kept her tone light.

  ‘Netta? That silly boy has been up to his tricks. He drank too much last night, got into a brawl and he’s at the police station.’

  She heard Netta give a little shriek and hastened to add, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort it. It’s not the first time.’

  ‘Oh, Minnie, you will get him out, promise me.’

  ‘Don’t I always? But I need you to get down there with some clean clothes so that he can look good in court. It’ll just be a fine and when you get him home you can make him sorry he was born.’

  After a few more reassurances she hung up. Before putting the phone away, she studied it a little, tempted by its state-of-the-art appearance, and making a mental note to replace her own with one exactly like this beauty.

  Nothing but the best for him, she mused.

  She was about to switch it off when it rang and, before she could stop herself, she answered it.

  ‘Pronto!’

  The action was completely automatic, and only when the word was out did she realise what she’d done.

  The caller was a woman, sounding a little surprised at hearing Minnie.

  ‘Scusi?’ she said. ‘Is this Luke Cayman’s phone or do I have a wrong number?’

  ‘No, this is his phone. If I could explain-’

  The other voice became warm and charming. ‘My dear, there’s no need for you to explain. I understand perfectly. I should apologise for calling so early, but I overlooked the time. Please ask Luke to call his mother when he can spare a moment.’

  ‘Yes-yes, I’ll do that,’ Minnie stammered, for once not in control. ‘Er-it won’t be in the next few minutes, I’m afraid-’

  ‘That’s all right. I was once young myself. I’m sure you’re extremely beautiful.’

  ‘But-’

  ‘Ciao!’ The line went dead.

  Well, that was that, she thought crossly.

  Luke’s mother thought she was his girlfriend, rising from the sheets after a night of passion, and about to dive back in for another riotous round of pleasure.

  She could have screamed with vexation.

  For precisely one minute she sat there, taking deep breaths. Then she finished packing, taking care to switch off the phone before it could ring again, and hurried out of the room, just managing not to slam the door behind her.

  At the police station she showed Luke’s ID card at the desk before going to the cell.

  ‘There’s just the “drunk and disorderly” to deal with, and I assume you have no previous convictions?’

  ‘None,’ he assured her.

  ‘You’ll go before a Justice of the Peace in a couple of hours. He’ll fine you and that’ll be the end of it.’

  He was looking in the bag she’d brought. ‘You’ve done a great job. These will make me look like a pillar of t
he community.’

  ‘Hmm!’

  ‘I won’t ask what that means. I’m sure you’re longing to tell me.’

  ‘But you’re not going to give me the satisfaction. Very wise.’

  He declined to answer this, but his harsh face softened and there was briefly a devil in his eyes. Suddenly Minnie remembered his mother’s mistaken assumption, and she had a horrid feeling that she might be about to blush.

  ‘I’ll see you in court,’ she said, and departed with dignity.

  Netta returned home with Minnie to cook her some breakfast while she showered, ready for court later that morning.

  ‘Bless you,’ she said, emerging in a towelling dressing gown to sit down before muesli and fruit juice. ‘Don’t worry. Charlie’s going to be all right.’

  ‘I know. You’ll take care of him like you’ve done before. And also of that nice young man.’

  ‘Nice-you mean that brute with him? You know nothing about him.’

  ‘Rico let me into the cell to see Charlie, and we all had a talk. I’m glad you are helping him, too.’

  ‘Don’t be fooled, Netta. I can see that he’s been to work on you, but you needn’t feel sorry for him.’

  ‘But of course I must be concerned for the man who saved Charlie’s life,’ Netta said, scandalised.

  ‘Saved his life, my left foot!’ Minnie said with frank derision. ‘I don’t believe he did any such thing.’

  ‘But Charlie says so,’ Netta persisted.

  ‘After what Charlie’s taken on board I wouldn’t rely on him for the time of day. And I wouldn’t rely on this other character for anything. He’s our new landlord. The enemy.’

  ‘But he’s not our enemy, cara. He explained to me how it happened, how he did not want the Residenza-’

  ‘That isn’t going to make him a better landlord,’ Minnie pointed out.

  ‘He told me that he thought he had offended you, and how he feels most desolate-’

  ‘Did he, indeed?’ Minnie said with grim appreciation of these tactics.

  ‘And I said I was eternally grateful to him for saving my Charlie, and he was welcome in our home at any time.’

  ‘You might well say that, since he happens to own it.’

  ‘Then everything is all right.’ Netta beamed. ‘We are all friends, and he will make the repairs-’

  ‘And double the rent.’

  ‘You will talk to him, be nice, make him nice.’

  ‘Netta, listen, this is one very clever man. He’s been to work on you, and achieved exactly what he wanted. You’re putty in his hands.’

  ‘Twenty years ago, I would have been,’ Netta said with a sigh.

  Minnie refused to allow her lips to twitch. ‘Don’t think like that,’ she said with an attempt at severity. ‘It’s just giving in to him.’

  ‘OK, you give in to him. Such a man was made for a woman to give in to. Or many women.’

  ‘Then they’d be very foolish. He knows what to say and do, but it’s all meaningless. I’d love to know what really happened in this fight.’

  ‘He was defending Charlie and the little puppy-’

  ‘I think he was probably just fighting the puppy,’ Minnie said cynically. ‘I expect it bit him. Good for the puppy!’

  ‘Why are you so unkind to the poor man?’

  It would have taken too long to explain, so Minnie just said, ‘I’ll get dressed and we’ll go.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  T WO hours later she presented herself before the Justice of the Peace, Alfredo Fentoni, clad in the voluminous black robe of the advocate. Fentoni, who knew her, smiled benignly, addressed her as Avvocato, and they began.

  Minnie had to admit that Luke was much improved. The suit spoke of sober respectability, and a shave had transformed him into something resembling an ordinary man.

  But only resembling. Now that she saw him at his best, she realised how far from ordinary he was. In the cell she’d been aware of brute force. Now she was even more intensely aware of the skill with which he disguised power. That made him a cunning man as well as a forceful one, and all the more dangerous for that.

  It seemed odd to be regarding him as dangerous when his fate was in her hands, but he was no longer the down-and-out she’d met that morning. In fact, that had been an illusion. The reality was this other man who strode into the court as though he owned it, and took up position in the dock with an air of impatience, as though he were doing them all a favour.

  She was his advocate, and obliged to do her best for him, but the temptation to bring him down a peg was almost irresistible.

  The trial began. What happened then, Minnie could only ascribe to a malignant fate, making her life as difficult as possible. By dubious means Luke had contrived to wrap himself in a halo, at least as far as Netta was concerned. Now events conspired to give that halo a new brilliance.

  The four oafs from the night before were also in the dock, grinning and scowling by turns. They had their own lawyer, ready to challenge Minnie on every point, and it soon became clear that they were trying to establish themselves as innocent victims.

  They were all small and wiry compared to Luke’s impressive size, and at one point their lawyer flung out a hand in his direction, inviting comparison. A sensible man would have let his shoulders sag, or at least done something, no matter how useless, to shrink himself.

  Luke, to Minnie’s total exasperation, stood up straight and folded his arms in an attitude that contrived to be aggressive. She could have torn her hair.

  She redoubled her efforts, concentrated all her forces, managed to trip the oafs up, made them contradict themselves and showed them up for what they were.

  Everyone relished the moment when the ringleader stumbled into silence while Minnie simply spread her hands as if to say, You see! The massed ranks of Pepinos began to applaud, and were firmly shushed by Netta.

  More than a lawyer, Luke thought, unwillingly impressed. A consummate artist, a force of nature.

  And he was going to be her next challenge. He was beginning to enjoy the prospect.

  At last Fentoni declared that he was fed up with the lot of them, and imposed hefty fines all round.

  One of the oafs, incensed at this ‘injustice’, made a lunging movement at Charlie, but found himself facing Luke, who stepped in quickly and took hold of his ear. While he twisted and yowled with pain Luke raised an eyebrow in the direction of the police, as though asking what he should do with this object. An officer hastily intervened. Fentoni promptly doubled the oaf’s fine, and the session was over.

  Netta beamed at Luke, then beamed some more when he insisted on paying Charlie’s fine as well as his own. Charlie’s brothers crowded round, slapping Luke on the back. Minnie groaned.

  ‘Netta, he is not a hero,’ she tried saying firmly. ‘Charlie would probably never have been in trouble if he hadn’t met him.’

  ‘You’ve quite decided that I’m to blame,’ Luke said, appearing beside her. ‘Aren’t you at least supposed to believe in your client?’

  ‘You are not to blame,’ Netta told him firmly. ‘Tonight we have a big party at our home, and you will be the guest of honour.’

  ‘You’re too kind, signora,’ Luke said impressively.

  ‘You’ll have no trouble finding the Residenza Gallini,’ Minnie said darkly. ‘You’ll know it by all the bits falling off the building.’

  ‘And if I don’t notice them, I’m sure you’ll point them out to me,’ he said smoothly.

  He was about to turn away when Minnie remembered something and stopped him. ‘You need to call your mother,’ she said in a low voice. ‘She called you this morning while I was in your hotel room. I took a message.’

  As she turned he stopped her with a hand on her arm. ‘You will be there tonight, won’t you?’

  ‘Of course I will, if only to stop you deluding my poor family any more.’

  His grin jeered at her. ‘You haven’t had much luck so far.’

  ‘I’ll improv
e with practice. Don’t forget your mother,’ she said in a voice that put an end to the conversation.

  He took out his cellphone, which she had returned to him earlier, switched it on and dialled. Hope answered at once.

  ‘Darling, I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to be indiscreet, but I forgot it was so early.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘This morning, when I called and the phone was picked up by that young lady. She sounded charming, but of course I got off the line at once.’

  It dawned on him what she was talking about.

  ‘No, Mamma, it’s not like that.’

  ‘Nonsense. When a young lady answers a man’s phone at seven in the morning it’s always “like that”.’

  He looked around and found Minnie’s eyes on him. Of course she could guess every word his mother was saying. In outrage he turned his back on her.

  ‘Mamma, listen to me-’

  ‘Yes, my son,’ she said and obligingly fell silent.

  That stumped him. It had been the bane of his life that he had a mother who listened. Unlike other mothers, she didn’t brush his explanations aside, thus giving him a permanent excuse-‘But Mamma, I tried to tell you-’ She simply sat there waiting, while he tied himself in knots.

  Comparing notes with his brothers, he had found them all similarly afflicted. It had made growing up very hard. Now she was doing it again.

  ‘You’ve got the wrong idea,’ he growled.

  ‘I hope not. I thought she sounded very nice. There was something in her voice, a soft vibration that’s always there when a woman has a passionate nature.’

  ‘Mamma.’

  But then she surprised him with a great burst of laughter that rang down the line.

  ‘Don’t be silly, Luke, I’m only joking. She was probably the chamber maid bringing you an early breakfast. I expect you were in the shower.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said, filled with relief.

  ‘It was wrong of me to tease you, but I would be pleased to think you were forgetting Olympia so soon.’

  ‘Olympia?’ he asked blankly. ‘Oh, yes-Olympia.’

  When he hung up a few minutes later he saw Minnie regarding him with a look he chose to interpret as cynical amusement.