‘You bet!’ Zia cried, so much relief flooding through her that she embraced him all over again. She followed his grey Fiat to the hospital where he showed her the way to Lucia’s ward, shared with three other women.

When she finally saw Lucia, propped up in exactly the hospital bed Zia had imagined, pallid and exhausted, normally curly hair flat and new lines graven on her face, Zia’s throat filled with tears. ‘I’ve missed you,’ she croaked.

Lucia held out hands that looked like waxed parchment. ‘Zia-Lucia,’ she murmured. ‘What a mess I am. Look at this horrible tube in my nose. I have needles in my arms and staples in my stomach.’

Zia laughed, dizzying relief at Lucia sounding exactly the same as she always had, turning her hot all over. ‘Thank goodness you’re getting better,’ she choked. ‘You scared me to death!’ Then she forced a bright smile and switched to Italian, saying she wanted the practice but actually because she thought it might be less tiring for Lucia. ‘Bella Vista’s just waiting for your return. The guests are all behaving. Fiorella and I are looking after the cottages.’ It was better not to mention Gerardo’s gardening in case it made Lucia worry how Zia was coping or whether the shit was about to hit the fan. After ten minutes she kissed Lucia’s soft cheeks and left the couple to hold hands, the Kindle safely stowed in Lucia’s locker.

She drove back singing along to Ava Max, her heart the lightest it had been since the ambulance bore Lucia away. Back at Bella Vista she found Gerardo spraying weeds on the drive and Fiorella heading for the cottages with her arms full of clean towels. ‘I’ve seen Lucia,’ she shouted through her open car window and they both hurried over, Fiorella in a striped overall today and Gerardo’s shirt flying open. Zia found herself beaming at their eager expressions. ‘She doesn’t look well, hooked up to tubes and things, but she’s kept her sense of humour and Durante says she might come home next week!’

Gerardo whooped. ‘Grazie a Dio! Grazie a Dio!’ and after he and Fiorella had hugged he returned to the weeds with a definite spring in his step.

Watching him go, Zia was hit by doubts. Had she been too judgy? For all his faults he loved his aunt and had worked hard in the gardens. Durante might be transferring money into Gerardo’s bank account, as he did for Fiorella, but that was fair. Help would be needed for a while. Lucia’s recovery would be gradual and Durante would need to look after her, as well as recovering from the weeks spent haunting the hospital and losing sleep.