losing battle with the heat of the day and Hester felt hot and weary by the time they were in sight of the sleepy little village they were heading for. To her disappointment, Connah turned off without entering it and took a narrow, stony road that curved up through umbrella pines and ranks of tall cypresses towards high pink walls at the top of a hill.
‘Is that Casa Girasole?’
‘It certainly is.’
Connah nosed the car through high wrought iron gates and drew up in the courtyard of a pink-washed house with Juliet balconies at the upper windows. Hester gazed in delight, drinking in heat and sun and flowers growing in profusion in rich hot earth. Tiny pink roses twined in the greenery, curling round the pillars of the loggia, and three descending tiers of flower beds held drifts of white jasmine among scarlet and pink geraniums and the cheery faces of the sunflowers that gave the house its name.
He turned round in his seat to smile at Hester. ‘Well?’
‘It’s absolutely lovely,’ she said softly, and Lowri stirred and sat up, rubbing eyes which suddenly opened wide in delight.
‘Are we here? Is that the house? Gosh, it’s pretty! Why didn’t you wake me?’
‘You’re awake now,’ said her father, and got out to open the passenger door. ‘Out you get. Hester must be squashed and very hot. You started snoring on her shoulder as soon as we left Florence.’
‘I don’t snore!’ said Lowri indignantly, then her eyes lit up as she spotted a blue glint in the distance. ‘Wow! Is that the pool? Can we have a swim before supper?’
‘After you’ve unpacked, yes.’ Connah helped Hester out of the car. ‘First we find Flavia, otherwise we can’t get in.’
‘Signore!’ Right on cue, a plump young woman came hurrying round the corner of the house and let out a cry of delight as she saw Lowri. No translation was needed for her flow of liquid welcome as she expressed her pleasure to see them. Shooing them before her like a hen with chicks, she ushered them across the loggia into a living room with a shining terracotta tiled floor and furniture covered in sunny yellow chintz.
‘What’s she saying, Daddy?’ demanded Lowri, smiling helplessly in response to the lava-flow of conversation.
‘We must sit and have drinks, while Flavia takes our luggage upstairs, only I’m not going to let her do that,’ said Connah firmly and, with creditable fluency, told Flavia in her own tongue that refreshments would be welcome, but he himself would carry the bags up to the bedrooms.
‘I’ll carry my own,’ said Hester at once, but Connah waved her away.
‘For once, you will just sit there,’ he said with such firmness that Lowri laughed.
‘When Daddy talks like that you have to do as he says or he gets cross, Hester.’
‘And you wouldn’t want that, Hester, would you?’ mocked Connah.
Hester smiled, defeated, secretly only too glad to subside on the sofa in the blessedly cool room.
Connah relieved Flavia of a huge tray and brought it to a glass-topped table in front of Hester.
‘How do you say thank you, Daddy?’ asked Lowri, her eye caught by a plate of little cakes.
‘Grazie,’ said Connor, and went out to unpack the car.
‘Grazie, Flavia,’ said Lowri, and the woman beamed, patted the child’s hand and pointed to a teapot.
‘Tè,’ she said, then indicated the other pot and a tall jug clinking with ice. ‘Caffè, limonata.’ Then, with a determined look on her face, she left the room to follow Connah.
‘I think she’s going to help with the luggage,’ said Lowri, examining the rest of the tray. ‘Daddy won’t be cross with her.’
‘No,’ agreed Hester. ‘I’m sure he won’t.’
‘Why are there two jugs of milk?’
‘I expect one’s hot for the coffee and the other’s cold for tea.’ Hester grinned as she heard sounds of altercation outside. ‘Who do you think is winning?’
‘Daddy always wins,’ said Lowri positively, but for once she was wrong.
Connah came into the room later, looking unusually hot and bothered.
‘Flavia insisted on helping you?’ asked Hester, smiling.
He nodded ruefully. ‘When I tried arguing, she pretended she couldn’t understand me.’
‘Have some coffee, Daddy,’ consoled his daughter. ‘I left you some cakes.’
‘Thank you, cariad. What are you having, Hester?’
‘Tea. And very welcome it is,’ she said fervently, pouring coffee for him.
‘Once we’ve recovered, we’ll explore,’ said Connah. ‘Apparently Flavia normally leaves at five, but stayed later tonight to welcome us. She showed me the cold supper she left for us, and promises to cook whatever we want for lunch tomorrow.’
Lowri was thrilled with everything about the villa, from her airy bedroom next to Hester’s to the big, bright kitchen big enough for three of them to eat meals at the table at one end, and outside the arcaded loggia with table and chairs for the outdoor meals her father had promised. But best of all were the beautiful terraced gardens, which led down in tiers to the crowning glory, an oval pool surrounded by well-tended grass and comfortable garden furniture with shady umbrellas and a view of Tuscan hills that begged to be photographed.
Connah smiled indulgently as he watched Lowri running about in delight to explore everything.
‘Your friends have great taste,’ commented Hester, impressed.
‘And the money to indulge it. Jay Anderson was my partner until I sold him my share of the asset management firm we founded together. I still keep a stake in it, but these days I spend some of my time—and money—on restoration of properties like the house in Albany Square. I bought it with the intention of using it as my headquarters in the Midlands. But the house feels so much like home to me now that I’m not so sure I want to do that.’
‘You could still use it for meetings,’ suggested Hester. ‘The dining room certainly feels like a boardroom, with all those chairs and that long table. Meals could easily be served there if you have business lunches.’
Connah eyed her with respect. ‘You’re right. The room could be a lot more useful that way than for dinner parties.’
‘Can we have a swim?’ demanded Lowri, running towards them. ‘It’s still lovely and warm.’
‘What do you think, Hester?’ asked Connah.
‘Just for a few minutes, then. We’ll unpack the swimming things, but afterwards we must hang up the rest of our clothes before we have supper.’
Lowri was ready to agree to anything as long as she could go in the pool, but Connah declined her invitation to join them.
‘I,’ he said virtuously, ‘will go up to my aerie on the top floor and unpack, then have a shower. I shall join you later for supper.’
Hester was glad to hear it. Her swimsuit was the plain black one she’d worn to teach the twins to swim, and she’d long since lost the puppy fat of her first encounter with Connah. Nevertheless, she preferred to enjoy her first swim with just Lowri for company.
Lowri was out of her clothes and into her bathing suit at the speed of light and harried Hester to get ready quickly before it was too late.
‘The pool will still be there tomorrow,’ said Hester, laughing, as she collected towels.
The pool was set in natural stone and constructed with such skill that it looked as though it had always been there rather than man-made. The water was silken and