Chapter 8 - THE GENTLEMAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLE
“You were told my mother wasn't welcome?”
Luca's voice was dangerously quiet.
Edward Hale looked uncomfortable.
“I'm afraid that's how Miss Bellini explained the situation.”
Teresa gripped the back of her chair.
“Did she tell you I wanted to marry again?”
Edward turned toward her.
His surprise was unmistakable.
“Marry?”
Teresa's cheeks reddened.
“She said you were looking for someone to spend your remaining years with.”
Edward slowly removed his glasses.
“Mrs. Moretti, I lost my wife four years ago.”
Teresa nodded.
“I'm sorry.”
“Thank you.”
He folded his glasses.
“I've been lonely since Evelyn died. I understand that part of what you're going through.”
Then he looked directly at her.
“But I haven't been looking for another wife.”
The room fell silent.
Teresa stared at him.
“You haven't?”
“No, ma'am.”
He smiled gently.
“My daughters would be delighted if I started going out more. But I've never discussed marriage with Miss Bellini.”
Luca glanced toward Daniel.
I watched Teresa press a hand against her chest.
“Then why did she tell me I had to stop wearing Antonio's bracelet?”
Edward's face changed.
“She told you that?”
Teresa nodded.
“And that I shouldn't talk about my husband.”
Edward looked genuinely distressed.
“Mrs. Moretti, my wife has been gone four years, and I still talk about her every day.”
He reached into his coat.
Then removed a small photograph.
It showed a smiling woman with short brown hair standing beside a garden fence.
“This is Evelyn.”
Teresa studied it.
“She's beautiful.”
“She was.”
Edward looked down.
“Still is, whenever I remember her.”
For the first time that morning, Teresa smiled without embarrassment.
Then she asked, “So why did you want me to come to your house?”
Edward sat across from her.
“Because Miss Bellini said you wanted to spend some time away from the city.”
He explained that his home had a comfortable guest suite.
A sitting room overlooking the garden.
A ground-floor bedroom.
And enough space for someone who preferred quiet company.
“Miss Bellini said you were thinking about a six-week visit.”
Teresa nodded.
“She said I had to move there.”
Edward shook his head.
“I offered a visit. Nothing more.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Did Vanessa tell you my mother had agreed?”
“Yes.”
“Did you speak to my mother yourself?”
Edward hesitated.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I asked to.”
He looked embarrassed.
“Twice.”
Teresa raised her eyes.
“Really?”
Edward nodded.
“Miss Bellini said you found new situations upsetting and preferred having things arranged for you.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
Teresa had spent her entire life making decisions for other people.
She'd raised Luca.
Managed a household.
Helped Antonio through his illness.
And now someone had described her as incapable of answering a simple question.
Edward looked at Luca.
“I should have insisted on speaking with her.”
“Yes,” Luca said.
“You should have.”
Edward accepted the criticism without arguing.
Then he turned toward Teresa.
“Mrs. Moretti, I apologize.”
She nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
He placed the photograph of Evelyn beside Antonio's.
“If you'd like to visit someday, you'd be welcome. But I won't expect you to.”
Teresa looked relieved.
“Perhaps we could have tea sometime.”
Edward smiled.
“That sounds much nicer than having your future arranged by strangers.”
Luca's expression softened briefly.
But then he noticed the envelope in Edward's hand.
“What's that?”
Edward looked down.
“Instructions Miss Bellini sent me.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What kind of instructions?”
Edward hesitated.
“Some concerning the visit. Others concerning what would happen afterward.”
Luca held out his hand.
“May I?”
Edward passed him the envelope.
Inside were several pages.
A schedule.
A packing list.
And notes describing how Teresa should adjust to a different household.
Luca read silently.
Then his jaw tightened.
One instruction recommended limiting reminders of Antonio.
Another suggested discouraging frequent calls to her son during the first several weeks.
I looked toward Teresa.
She was staring at the papers.
“Why wouldn't I be allowed to call Luca?”
Edward shook his head.
“I didn't agree with that.”
He pointed to a handwritten note he'd made.
Contact with family should always be Mrs. Moretti's choice.
Luca read it.
Then looked up.
“Why didn't you refuse the arrangement?”
“I was beginning to have doubts.”
Edward sighed.
“That's why I came personally rather than sending a driver.”
Then he said something that changed the room.
“Miss Bellini also mentioned helping your mother find permanent accommodation after the visit.”
Teresa went pale.
“Permanent?”
Edward looked at her.
“I was told that's what you wanted.”
“No.”
Her answer came immediately.
“I wanted to stay home.”
Edward closed his eyes briefly.
“Then I was misled.”
At that moment, Daniel checked his watch.
“Mr. Moretti, Miss Bellini is due to collect her remaining belongings this morning.”
Luca looked at Edward.
“Would you be willing to explain this in front of her?”
Edward nodded.
“Of course.”
Vanessa arrived shortly afterward at the appointed time.
She entered the dining room wearing a cream-colored coat.
Her expression changed when she saw Edward.
“What are you doing here?”
Edward stood.
“We had an appointment, Miss Bellini.”
“I thought that had been canceled.”
“Nobody informed me.”
She looked toward Luca.
“Is this necessary?”
Luca placed the papers on the table.
“Yes.”
Vanessa saw the packing list.
Then the schedule.
Her face tightened.
“Edward, those were private arrangements.”
Edward answered calmly.
“Arrangements concerning someone who says she never wanted to leave her home.”
Vanessa looked toward Teresa.
“Teresa, we discussed this.”
The older woman straightened.
“No, Vanessa.”
Her voice was surprisingly firm.
“You told me what I had to do.”
Vanessa opened her mouth.
But Teresa continued.
“I never said I wanted another husband.”
Nobody moved.
“And I never said I wanted to leave Luca.”
For several seconds, Vanessa had no answer.
Luca opened the final page.
Then stopped.
His eyes moved across a handwritten schedule.
The first line read:
Monday — Mrs. Moretti departs.
The second:
Week Two — begin conversion of upstairs suite.
And beneath them was the instruction that made Luca look directly at Vanessa.
After trial stay: arrange permanent residence elsewhere.
Luca laid the page down.
“Vanessa.”
She looked at him.
May you like
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Were you planning to make sure my mother never came home?”
