“I hope they do not let us all on,” Imelda said. “With such a crowd on board, we are liable to end up at the bottom of the lagoon.”

“I certainly do not want to wait until eleven thirty,” Gaston said. “Shall we see if we can work our way through the crowd to the front?”

This did not look to be at all possible. There were families with picnic baskets, chairs, umbrellas barring our way forward, and fierce-looking grandmothers ready to fight for their spot. Besides, I could not push myself aboard in front of grandmothers and babies. Franz obviously agreed with me. “That would not be the correct thing to do, I think,” he said.

Before we could act, we were joined by Count Da Rossi. “Ah, my young friends. You also escape from Gabriella’s soirée? Me, I am easily bored with modern art, and I cannot pretend to appreciate it the way others do.” Then he noticed the full extent of the crowd already standing on the jetty. “Dio mio,” he said. “I do not think all these people will fit into one small boat. You will not get on to this one, I can assure you.”

“We were just about to try and work our way to the front,” Gaston said.

“Let me see if my launch has arrived,” the count said. “I might be able to fit you all on board and give you a lift.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Imelda said.

“I cannot leave fellow art lovers in the lurch.” He had a charming smile, reminding me of Leo. “Come. Let us see if my boat has arrived yet. I told my man to come for me at ten. I was sure I would have had enough by then, but it is hard to say no to Gabriella.” As he spoke, he was scanning the waterfront, where there were several smaller jetties. “Ah,” he said, pointing at a sleek teak motorboat I recognized all too well. “Over here!”

We followed, I a little reluctantly. “I have brought some young friends. Do you think we can find a place for all of them?”

“We can try.” The man at the helm stepped up on to the dock, and my heart did a sudden flip as I saw that it was Leo himself.

The count was also surprised. “Leo, what are you doing here?” He looked back at us. “It is my son. He has come himself instead of our servant. What happened to Mario?”

“His brother had a birthday. I gave him the evening off. And I didn’t mind a trip across the laguna . It’s a lovely night.” He hadn’t seen me. He held out his hand to assist his father into the boat, then reached up to Imelda. Franz, always the gentleman, pushed me in front of him. Leo reached up and then froze. “Julietta! Am I dreaming? What are you doing here?”