‘Maybe the moment’s passed,’ she answered and he thought he saw her lip tremble. ‘I don’t like my father much. Last night I had the dubious pleasure of watching my half-brother collect him from a bar … a half-brother who looked right through me. Fiorella, Roberto, Lucia and Durante have reached out to me but they know I could be the proverbial cat amongst the family pigeons.’ She gave another of those bleak smiles. ‘An unlucky black cat who brings bad things. Most of my connections here are in my imagination and it’s time I accepted that. I can go home and have a good life.’

Although her words were brave her eyes spoke of hurt and disillusionment so deep, he spoke without considering his words. ‘You could stay if you married an Italian.’ Then he checked, shocked to hear what he’d said, groping for what he’d actually meant.

Her skin paled and she hesitated for several seconds before giving a short laugh. ‘Actually, that’s a fallacy. Marriage gives me no automatic right. It might make my case stronger if I apply for residency and then citizenship, that’s all.’ She smiled sadly. ‘But “by descent” makes just as strong a case, if not stronger, and I’m pretty sure Fiorella and Roberto will acknowledge me as their grandchild in place of Gerardo acknowledging paternity, if I ask them. Maybe I will ask them one day but live in another part of Italy. I doubt it can be Montelibertà.’

‘I see,’ was all he could manage in response. His emotions were in such a hopeless tangle that he couldn’t think, judge, know what he wanted. He was reeling from hearing that remark about marriage dropping from his lips. Where had that come from?

Wordlessly, he watched her slide her feet to the floor, scrabbling instinctively for a way to keep her with him for a few more moments. ‘While we’re exchanging apologies, I’m sorry for going off on one about you not opening my eyes to leaseback sooner. You weren’t responsible for pulling me out of a business sewer. I’m a big boy and I should have done my homework instead of waiting for a miracle and perhaps being prickly when I followed one of your suggestions and it didn’t go well. I’m sorry.’

She hesitated as interest entered her long-lashed eyes. ‘So, leaseback might work?’

‘We’ve had a real promising meeting today. The dealmakers have gone off to crunch the figures. I can’t tell you what a relief it is to be sharing a goal with Papà and Emiliano.’ He watched the gold flecks in her eyes, picked out by the early evening light that slanted through the window. ‘Graziella’s left. Turns out she was trying to pick up a finder’s fee from Binotto’s.’