Zia grappled with the unhappy sensation of being excluded. It made her want to leave them to their conversation and jokes but she didn’t want to be rude and make an abrupt exit. Then she realised Lucia was nudging her brother and his wife back towards their vehicle. It made her uncomfortable, especially when Roberto cast a look at the table as if he might have expected to be invited to sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee.

‘Let’s leave as soon as we can say goodbye,’ Zia murmured to Ursula, suddenly aware of how much she was disrupting Lucia and Durante’s lives. She was a mistake. A jinx. A black cat who might bring ill fortune by crossing their paths.

She should enjoy the last week of her holiday and go home. It was only fair. She’d tell them now of her decision, expressing deep gratitude to them for sheltering baby Zia-Lucia. When Lucia and Durante trod back up the terrace steps, she grasped the chair arms, ready to rise, steeling herself to say the words.

Then Lucia flopped into her seat. ‘So,’ she pronounced with the air of one who’d thought long and hard but was now happy with a decision. ‘If you wish, I will tell Gerardo privately that you are here. If he wants to come and meet you, he is welcome.’

Durante added, ‘Of course, he is not force to accept.’

‘That is a risk,’ agreed Lucia, patting Zia’s hand. ‘You tell me “yes,” I will speak to him. Say “no,” and I will not. You take your time and think about it.’

‘Oh.’ Zia sank slowly back into her chair, her resolution to say thank you and goodbye flying from her mind. This was a whole new decision to wrestle with.

Chapter Nine

Two days later, Zia was still undecided. Toasted by the afternoon sun, she’d positioned a chair and table to the side of the cottage to avoid eavesdropping because Ursula was indoors on the phone to Stephan. Her friend’s cross voice still reached her occasionally. Reconciliation was evidently a way off.

Though her laptop was open, Zia’s gaze drifted down to a small tractor crawling between Tenuta Domenicali’s green vines while the possible consequences of meeting Gerardo swooped around her like the swallows above the cottage. How would Zia feel if Gerardo passed on the opportunity to meet her? Was it worth risking rejection for the chance that she might one day get an Italian passport? Maybe she should just go home and request a Resident Permit or Permesso di Soggiorno and, if she was successful, live in Italy for the required period. Then she could apply for citizenship. It wasn’t impossible for her to achieve it without the golden key of ‘by descent’ … just less likely.