Summer of Secrets (10 page)

‘A good-looking girl with an affectionate heart cannot fail of attracting a clever young man.’

(Jane Austen,
Northanger Abbey
)

‘Y
OU’RE NOT SCARED, ARE YOU
?’ L
UDO TOUCHED
C
AITLIN’S
hand as she gripped the
armrest of her aircraft seat.

‘It’s the going up and coming down bits I hate – once we’re up there, I’ll be fine,’ she murmured.

She flinched and closed her eyes as the jet engines revved and the aircraft gathered speed down the runway. So much for looking cool and sophisticated; she could feel the sweat breaking out on
her forehead and all she could do was hold her breath and pray that the aeroplane would actually get off the ground before it careered into the perimeter fence.

‘Lift off!’ Ludo said, nudging her elbow. She opened one eye and saw him grinning at her in amusement. ‘If this holds such terrors for you, how on earth will you cope with
Luigi and his Lamborghini? Or me and Gina?’

‘Who?’

It had never occurred to her that Ludo might have a girlfriend waiting in Italy. Her stomach, already behaving in a very unpredictable manner as the aircraft banked and headed southwards,
lurched even more at the thought of losing him before she’d even got him.

‘Well, Luigi’s been with our family for as long as I can remember – he must be seventy if he’s a day. He’ll be meeting us at the airport. Drives like a maniac
– just wait till you’re speeding along round hairpin bends with him. This plane will seem as safe as a rocking horse.’

‘And Gina?’ Caitlin swallowed hard and tried to look as if she couldn’t give a hoot about this woman.

‘Now, Gina you have to see,’ he told her seriously. ‘She is exquisite. And such fun to take out. Last month I took her down to Portofino and I swear to you, even there,
everyone was staring at her, she’s so gorgeous.’

He smiled and touched Caitlin’s hand.

‘Tell you what,’ he said, ‘we’ll go and take her out first thing tomorrow, OK? You’ll love her.’

I doubt it very much, thought Caitlin miserably.

‘So,’ he asked later, as the steward stopped with a trolley of drinks, ‘are you feeling better now? What will you have to drink?’

‘Orange juice, please,’ she mumbled, grabbing the latest copy of
Prego
from the pile of celebrity magazines she’d bought at the airport and pretending to be absorbed in
the fate of the stars of the latest TV reality show. She couldn’t believe it: all her dreams of romance under a Mediterranean sun, of kisses stolen under the light of the moon, of
declarations of future intent pledged with a kiss in an orange grove – all gone. He’d got a girlfriend and she was gorgeous. If only she’d known . . .

‘Oh my goodness!’ Ludo stabbed a finger at the magazine, his mouth dropping open. ‘Look at that –
Pop star in love triangle with ex-nun and supermodel
!’

‘I know,’ Caitlin said. ‘It’s unbelievable – he actually got engaged to Tanya Christy while he was living with this woman who got thrown out of a convent. What do
you think of that?’

‘Oh my God! That is so amazing! It can’t be true,’ Ludo gasped.

‘No, honestly, it must be, because it was in the
Sun
too, only I didn’t get it because there was this big bit on the front page about Izzy’s dad and I thought it might
upset her.’

She flicked the page. ‘And look, they’re doing this whole series. Next week it’s about that girl who was in
Cry Wolf
– did you know she had a sex change eight
years ago? They’re going to do a total exposé of the whole thing . . .’

‘How am I going to last until you get the next issue?’ Ludo laughed, wiping his forehead dramatically. ‘Oh, the suspense, the angst . . .’

Caitlin felt a total fool. He had been sending her up the whole time and she’d fallen for it.

‘I suppose you think I’m an idiot, enjoying stuff like this,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s mainly because of the photographs – you know, from an artistic point of
view.’

She could see he didn’t believe a word of it, which was hardly surprising.

‘I do read serious stuff too.’

‘Of course you do,’ Ludo teased. ‘What could be more serious than footballers’ wives with breast implants!’

He picked up his book and began reading, an amused grin spreading across his face. Caitlin noticed that the book was one of those complicated political espionage thrillers that always had her
lost by the third chapter.

For the next ten minutes Caitlin stared out of the window. No way was he going to be interested in her, other than as a rather silly friend of his sister. She’d been to Summer’s
house twice in the last few days, gossing about holiday plans and stuff, and he’d hardly glanced in her direction. Now, she knew why; this Gina was probably some stunning Italian girl who
read intellectual novels and never, ever watched TV because she was too busy discussing politics. Caitlin knew she’d messed up before they’d even landed; so much for her dreams of
romance. She wanted to cry, but unlike Izzy, she couldn’t do that halfway attractively so she just stared at the clouds and wished that she could wind the clock back.

Ten minutes later, when Ludo had got up to wander down the aisle and talk to Jamie and Izzy, she decided to challenge Summer.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Caitlin hissed, leaning across the aisle. ‘About Gina?’

Summer looked up from her book and frowned.

‘I didn’t give it a thought – why would you be interested?’

‘Oh, come off it – you must have guessed I . . . well, I quite like Ludo and . . .’

Summer burst out laughing.

‘I thought you did! And you’re bothered about Gina? Because you think Ludo’s in love with her?’

‘He didn’t stop going on about her – he says she’s gorgeous,’ Caitlin insisted.

‘Well, she is,’ Summer agreed. ‘And I suppose you could say Ludo’s besotted with her.’

‘Great,’ Caitlin muttered. ‘He even had the nerve to suggest we all went out together.’

Summer laughed again.

‘So? I think that’s rather sweet.’

‘I’m so glad
you
find it funny.’

Summer shook her head. ‘Oh, Caitlin, don’t look so miserable –
Gina
’s a boat!’

‘A boat?’ Caitlin stared at her in disbelief.

‘A speedboat,’ Summer confirmed. ‘Dead classy, if you’re into that sort of thing. Ludo’s godfather died last year and left his boat to Ludo. Freddie was dead
cheesed off, I can tell you.’

She picked up her book again.

‘You’re into boats, aren’t you?’ she remarked. ‘You said how you go sailing with your family.’

‘Mmm,’ murmured Caitlin. ‘Love them.’

She thought perhaps at this point it was best to gloss over the fact that she had embellished, just a little, the story of the family’s preoccupation with sailing. She wasn’t sure
that the annual half-day round the Isle of Wight on
The Wight Princess
was in quite the same league.

‘That’s good.’ Summer winked at her. ‘Because with Ludo, it’s a case of love me, love my boat!’

‘Oh no! Why did
she
have to come?’

Summer stopped dead, shielding her eyes from the bright Italian sun glinting on the windows of the arrival hall at Genoa Airport.

She gestured to a tall, slender woman in white Capri pants and a gold silk baby-doll top, waving to them enthusiastically from behind the crush barrier.

‘I guess she had to, didn’t she?’ Ludo reasoned. ‘We can’t all fit in one car with Luigi.’

‘Well, no way am I driving all the way home with her and that’s final,’ Summer declared.

‘I guess that’s the new woman,’ Caitlin whispered to Izzy, eyeing the chestnut hair and designer suntan. ‘She’s dead glamorous.’

‘She may look good,’ muttered Summer, overhearing them, ‘but don’t let that fool you. Underneath, she’s a right conniving, manipulative cow.’

‘Summer, don’t start!’ Ludo hissed at her as they got within earshot of Gabriella. ‘This is a holiday, for heaven’s sake – loosen up, can’t you? Please?
For the sake of the rest of us?’

Summer sighed.

‘OK,’ she agreed. ‘I’m sorry – I’ll do my best.’

‘Darlings! You’re here – isn’t this lovely?’ Gabriella threw her arms open expansively and beamed at them all. ‘Now come along, introductions can wait. The
cars are outside and I’ve got drinks on ice in the cool bags!’

Outside, Luigi, a small, gnome-like man with greying hair and skin like a wrinkled satsuma was waiting beside a bright yellow Lamborghini, a car that in an instant had Jamie away from
Izzy’s side and positively drooling over the hubcaps. Ludo began piling the luggage into the boot.

‘Caitlin, what have you got in here?’ he demanded as he attempted to lift her suitcase.

‘It’s my paints and extra camera lenses and stuff,’ she explained apologetically.

‘Paints?’ Ludo repeated.

‘You paint?’ Gabriella exclaimed at the same moment. ‘Summer didn’t say.’

‘Why should I?’ Summer demanded. ‘I don’t have to provide a CV of all my friends.’

‘No need to be prickly, darling,’ Gabriella replied calmly. ‘I just – well, you know what your father’s like about the smell of oil paint and . . .’

‘I do watercolours,’ Caitlin said hastily, wondering why Summer’s dad should have a problem with oil paint. ‘And pastels sometimes. I’ll be going out and about to
paint – I won’t be any trouble, I promise.’

‘I’m sure you won’t, sweetie,’ Gabriella replied. ‘Just best if you paint away from the villa, OK? Now then, let’s get going. Mags is barbecuing this evening
and I’m on salad duty!’

Ludo shoved Summer into the back of the Lamborghini with Izzy and Jamie and gestured to Caitlin to join him in Gabriella’s sleek little open-top Alfa Romeo.

‘We’ll break you in gently,’ he said, grinning. ‘I don’t think you’ll cope with one of Luigi’s high-speed car chases right now!’

Gabriella climbed into the driving seat.

‘I’ve got to make a little detour, so I’ll see you back at the house,’ Gabriella called to Luigi. ‘
Arrivederci
!’

With every mile, Caitlin’s happiness doubled. She couldn’t believe that she was sitting, thigh touching thigh, with the fittest guy in the universe, sipping a chilled Prosecco and
feeling the warm Mediterranean sun on her cheeks. Not even the knowledge that those same cheeks would, in all probability, be covered in a mass of freckles by the time they reached their
destination, could dampen her excitement.

‘Have you been to Italy before, Caitlin?’ Gabriella asked as they left the busy streets of Genoa behind them and gathered speed along the spectacular coast road, rugged mountains
rising steeply behind them and the sun sparkling on the sort of sea Caitlin had only seen on postcards.

‘Never,’ Caitlin admitted. ‘I just can’t wait to explore it all.’

‘Well, I’ve got loads of plans,’ Gabriella assured her. ‘There are some wonderful shops, and we’ll go to Portofino for lunch at the Splendido, and then I thought we
could take the boat trip to all the villages of the Cinque Terre and of course, if you’re into art, I must take you to the Palazzo Reale in Genoa––’

‘Gaby, you don’t have to take care of us,’ Ludo cut in firmly. ‘We’ve got plenty of plans of our own.’

‘Sure you have,’ Gaby acknowledged, turning off the coast road up a steep and winding lane, and pulling up outside a large, pink painted villa. ‘It’s just that your
father thought . . . Oh well, I’m sure you’re right. Look, I’ve just got to drop off a present for a friend of mine – won’t be long!’

‘Great,’ Ludo said, the moment Gabriella had shut the car door. ‘I’ve been wanting a moment with you alone ever since we boarded the plane.’

Caitlin’s heart flipped as he leaned closer to her.

‘Look, this is a bit tricky and I don’t quite know how to put it . . .’

He’s going to tell me he fancies me, Caitlin thought, trying to keep a cool expression on her face.

‘Go ahead,’ she invited.

‘I’m really glad you’ve come,’ he said, and Caitlin’s heart swelled. This was it. This was going to be the declaration of love. ‘It’s just what Summer
needs.’

‘
Summer
?’

Ludo nodded.

‘She spends far too much time brooding over stuff,’ he went on, keeping one eye on the doorway of the villa where Gabriella was talking to an elderly woman in a floral print dress.
‘Like this whole thing with Gaby, for instance.’

‘I know she said she didn’t like her, but she seems nice enough to me,’ Caitlin said, hiding her disappointment at his choice of topic.

‘Exactly!’ Ludo looked at her approvingly. ‘Dad’s happy for the first time in ages – well, ever since Mum died really.’

He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

‘Mum dying was awful for all of us,’ he said. ‘But Summer – well, she’s never really been the same since. She – well, she almost had a kind of collapse. She
missed loads of school, did atrociously in her SATS, cut herself off from her friends. That’s why she changed schools; music’s her thing and Mulberry Court was a new start – well,
you know all about that. But it seems the older she gets, the worse it appears to affect her.’

As he spoke, he suddenly looked a lot younger. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands and chewing on his bottom lip like a nervous schoolboy. Caitlin wanted to enfold him in her arms, but
she thought it was perhaps a little too soon for that.

Gabriella was still talking to the old lady. Caitlin took a deep breath and seized her chance.

‘So what actually happened?’ Caitlin asked. ‘To your mum, I mean.’

‘She had a fall, fractured her skull and it killed her,’ he replied abruptly. ‘Anyway, it’s over and well – it’s something we don’t talk about,
OK?’

Ludo’s expression was grim and he turned away, staring at a couple of goats tethered on the burnt lawn of the villa. ‘It was over two years ago and life goes on, right?’

Caitlin hesitated. Of course, she had read all about the effects of unexpressed grief, and that could account for his abruptness, but perhaps, just possibly, Izzy was right. There was dark
secret lurking in the history of the Tilney family.

She would have liked to have pressed him, insisting that these things had to be aired and telling him about that guy on Channel Four’s
Passion Plantation
who ran amok during the
live filming because the sight of a palm tree triggered a buried emotion about the death of his mother by a falling coconut. Sadly, before she could say a word, she heard Gabriella call out a
shrill ‘
Arrivederci,
Sofia!’ and head back towards the car.