T A Williams - What Happens In Tuscany...

Katie spotted the face of Mrs Milliner, peering through the crack of the kitchen door. She looked surprised, but far from disapproving. That morning at breakfast, Katie had told her about the previous day’s shopping trip and the housekeeper had been delighted.

‘Best thing she could have done, Mis… Katie. It’s not natural for a young woman to be cooped up in the house all the time.’ She glanced at the door, but both of them knew that at that hour Victoria was out on her morning ride. ‘Sir Algernon loved her deeply, or at least, he thought he did. The car crash fifteen years ago did him much more damage than just the broken bones.’ She shook her head. ‘He came out of it mentally scarred; seriously mentally scarred.’

‘Victoria told me she was only ten when that happened. So did she have a normal life before that?’

Mrs Milliner hesitated for a moment. ‘Well, maybe not normal like you and me, but much more normal than afterwards. Sir Algernon was a good bit older than his wife. In fact, for a long time it looked as though he would never marry and we were all so very happy for him when that happened. Her ladyship was a lovely girl.’ Spotting a mark on one of the oven doors, she picked up a cloth and set about it while she carried on.

‘Sir Algernon doted on Victoria from the day she was born. He always had a terror of something happening to her and he was oh so protective, but her ladyship mostly managed to get him to relax his hold. Before her mother’s death, Victoria led a fairly normal sort of life with friends, parties, gymkhanas and the like. Of course, once her mother was gone, that all stopped. And then, I’m sorry to say, as a result of the injuries he suffered in the accident, Sir Algeron just got worse and worse.’

‘What sort of thing was he afraid of? Accident, illness?’

Mrs Milliner lowered her voice. ‘All that, in fact just about everything. Maybe even kidnapping, or so I was told. You do know that this is one of the wealthiest families in Britain, don’t you? Back before the war, the Chalker-Pynes were hobnobbing with the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and the like. I believe Henry Ford himself came and stayed here on several occasions. You can imagine how tight security was around folk like that. Well, Sir Algernon grew up under that sort of regime and he got a real bee in his bonnet about it. That’s why he kept poor Miss Victoria locked up in here.’ Finally satisfied that the oven door was impeccable once more, she jettisoned the cloth and wiped her hands on her apron. ‘He loved her very dearly, but he couldn’t understand that the way he was treating her was so inhumane.’ She wiped some moisture from her eye. ‘He really thought he was doing his very best for her. Oh dear, oh dear, it’s so sad really. They had so very much and yet, they never were truly happy.’

‘And now Victoria is the last of the Chalker-Pynes?’

‘The last. But I’ll tell you this…Katie. She’s inherited one good thing from her father and that’s his strength of character. I often try to put myself into her position. I saw it, we all saw it as she grew up. Call it what you like, she was a prisoner here. For somebody weaker-willed, the results could have been disastrous. But not for Victoria. She’s come through her ordeal far, far better than I could ever have managed. She’s a remarkable girl and at least she’s had the common sense to try to break out of it and make a return to real life.’ She looked across at Katie with a gentle smile. ‘That’s where you come in. We were all a bit worried when she announced her plans, but now that we’ve got to know you, we are so very, very pleased you’ve come.’ She reached out and laid her hand on Katie’s arm. ‘What you’re doing is just what she needs. Do, please, do your best for her.’

Katie had assured her that she would do all she could. And she meant it.

Victoria ran into the lounge and stopped dead, her eyes fixed incredulously on the big television screen. Katie watched the rapt expression on her face. ‘How amazing! It’s so clear, the colours so real.’ She turned towards Katie, her eyes wide. ‘It’s almost like being there!’

Katie grinned at her. ‘Well, I’ve got a bit more good news for you. After a lot of pleading and a few simulated tears, I have managed to persuade British Telecom to fix us up with a broadband connection early next week. That way, I can get you playing with the computers properly.’

The previous evening, upon their return from Exeter, they had unpacked the laptops and the tablets. Victoria had casually passed one of each across to Katie.

‘Here, these are for you. They’re a little present from me, but it’s also self-interest. If we both have the same equipment it’ll be easier for you to show me how to work them.’ Katie hadn’t really known what to say. A casual gift worth over a thousand pounds might be nothing to Victoria, but to Katie it meant so much. Together, they had powered up the laptops and then spent the evening going through the basics of computing from zero. For Katie it had been a surreal experience, having to explain such familiar words as mouse, enter and shift to somebody who had no previous experience. Victoria had taken to it like a duck to water.

Just at that moment, the image on the screen changed to central London, with a commentator standing opposite the Houses of Parliament. Victoria was fascinated.

‘I’ve been to London, you know?’ She turned her head briefly towards Katie, before returning her gaze to the screen. ‘I was only little, but I still remember seeing Tower Bridge open. There were so many people everywhere, it was a bit scary. Looking at the traffic on the screen, and the mass of people walking to and fro, it seems things have not improved.’

‘Well, shall we add a visit to London to our to-do list?’

‘That would be awesome.’ They both smiled at that.

At that moment, Mrs Milliner appeared to inform them that lunch was served. Victoria looked disappointed to be separated from the television until Katie suggested they invest in another one and position it in the dining room. ‘I got the man to run a lead in there just in case.’ She showed Victoria how to turn the TV off using the remote control. This, too, was a novelty to her.

‘Should I carry it round with me, like you do with yours?’ Katie had to stop and think for a moment before she realised Victoria was confusing the remote with her mobile phone. The ensuing conversation about phones lasted almost all the way through lunch and concluded with Victoria’s determination to buy one. In response to Katie’s objection that there was no signal at Iddlescombe, Victoria sniffed and asked her to arrange it. Short of building a mast in the grounds, Katie couldn’t see how they would be able to do that, but she agreed to look into it.

‘You have a letter, Miss Victoria.’

Rosie held out a round silver salver upon which there was an envelope. Victoria’s eyes lit up. ‘I don’t get a lot of letters. I wonder who’s sent this one.’ She opened it and checked the contents. From the other side of the table, Katie could see that it was a card and it looked like an invitation. It was.

‘Somebody getting married?’

Victoria looked up. ‘No, I don’t think so. It’s our neighbours up the valley. They’ve invited me to a garden party.’ She sounded troubled. Katie was quick to pick up on her tone.

‘What’s wrong? Don’t you like them?’

Victoria let the invitation fall back onto the table top. Her expression was a mixture of surprise and fear. ‘I don’t know really. I haven’t seen them since I was a little girl. To be honest, I’ve hardly seen anybody since I was a little girl.’ She reached for the card again. ‘It’s signed Thomas Drake. Little Tommie Drake, I remember him from the pony club.’ She looked across at Katie. ‘I would have been nine or ten, just before my mother died.’ She dropped her eyes.