Sara Alexander - The Secret Legacy - The perfect summer read for fans of Santa Montefiore, Victoria Hislop and Dinah Jeffries

*

I wasn’t sure whether it was my state of mind, or whether the tumult of a storm made the blue skies that followed all the brighter. The cemetery looked luminous that afternoon: the bright white of the tombs crisper than usual, any leafy debris washed away by the rains to reveal the delicate veins within the marble. Elizabeth and I wove in between the high tombs, sometimes stopping as she looked up at the towering angels above the richer dead, or insisting we take a moment by the tomb that marked the picturesque spot where a Muslim prince lay, his headscarf carved atop an engraved obelisk.

We followed the narrow walkway onwards, which curved back into the rock where two wide stone benches were sculpted into the indentation. Elizabeth sat down upon the hot cement, happy to perform careful re-examinations of a handful of stones and a couple of pine cones we’d found along the way. I waited for Marco, holding a warm roll I’d just baked stuffed with prosciutto and thin slices of eggplant, wrapped in a tea towel. In my other hand I’d filled a small cloth bag with oranges from the garden. I turned toward oncoming footsteps. I stood up and wrapped my arms around Marco.

‘ Calma , Santina, you make me feel like you’re saying goodbye!’

I didn’t let go.

‘Something smells good!’

I handed him the warm tea towel. He sat and attacked the contents. I wondered when he had last eaten.

I let him enjoy several mouthfuls in silence. ‘Things will be different now. I will have every Sunday off. We can be together.’

He straightened and swallowed. His eyes creased toward the sea. It was a deep turquoise this afternoon. I followed his gaze. I thought about Adeline and squinted to see how many other colors I could see within the blue.

‘I would like that, Santina. Can I come to you? My house . . .’

He trailed off.

I filled in the gaps. ‘Let me speak with the Major – that’s what we call him, he was in the British army, India – I’m sure we can work something out. Perhaps a picnic up in our mountains?’

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