There was a knock on the door.

‘I ordered more coffee for you,’ Jenny said.

‘Thanks, I’ll answer it,’ Dulcie said, rising and making her way to the outer door, where someone outside was knocking again, impatiently.

She pulled it open and saw Guido.

Mingled with her first leap of joy was amusement at his expression. He looked definitely sheepish, and entered cautiously, as though expecting boiling oil to fall on him. Remembering their last meeting Dulcie wondered if she herself should be looking for boiling oil.

‘You’re not still mad at me?’ he asked, studying her smiling face.

‘Should I be?’ she fenced.

‘Well, you were pretty mad last night. I should remember because you threw me into the water.’

‘I didn’t throw you, you tripped.’

‘You didn’t help me out.’

‘You can swim.’

‘And I had to. In the end I got picked up by a barge carrying garbage and I got home smelling so bad even the alley cats fled from me. It’s not funny,’ he added as her lips twitched.

‘Yes, it is.’

‘Yes, I guess it is,’ he conceded wryly. ‘When I awoke today I knew I had to see you and explain, try to make you understand how it happened-but now-all that really matters is-’ he became absorbed in watching her face ‘-all that matters-kiss me, my darling, kiss me!’

He pulled her against him in the same moment that she opened her arms to him. She knew now how badly she’d longed for the feel of his lips on hers. She’d pretended it wasn’t true, but secretly she’d ached for him to kiss her.

‘I’ve wanted to do this so often,’ he murmured between kisses. ‘I knew from the first moment that it was you, and you knew it too, didn’t you, cara?’

‘I don’t know what I knew,’ she whispered, dazed.

‘You did, you must have done.’ He kissed her again and again. ‘So many kisses to make up,’ he said against her mouth. ‘And all our lives for more kisses.’

‘All our-?’ She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Everything was going too fast.

‘Of course. Years and years to spend kissing you and loving you in every possible way. Years to have beautiful children with you.’ He pulled back, taking her head gently between his hands, and she never afterwards forgot the sight of his face, gloriously happy, blazing with triumphant love. It lived in her mind as a terrible contrast to what followed.

‘Tell me, darling,’ he said crazily, ‘do you believe in Fate?’

‘Well, I-’

‘Because it was Fate, wasn’t it, that brought us together, Fate that made your sandal fall off straight into my boat?’

‘Not exactly,’ she said, beginning to see danger.

‘It wasn’t an accident?’ he asked, eyes wide. Suddenly he burst into joyful laughter. ‘You saw me from the bridge, and you said to yourself, “I must have this handsome fellow”, so you tossed your shoe to get my attention. Oh, cara, say that it’s true. Think what it will do for my ego.’

‘Your ego is quite big enough without help,’ she countered, playing for time. “‘This handsome fellow” indeed!’

‘Last night when you were angry I thought my life was over.’ Abruptly his tone changed and he spoke in a moved voice that startled her. ‘Because that’s what you are to me. My life.’

‘But you don’t know me-’

‘I knew you from the first moment. I know you have a kind heart and will forgive my innocent deception, because you know it didn’t spring from malice. But tell me, how did you find out? I was going to ask you last night, but you were too busy throwing me into the canal.’ With his mercurial nature he’d gone from serious to clowning in a split second. Dulcie could barely keep up with him.

‘I don’t blame you for ducking me,’ he hastened to add. ‘When you found out I wasn’t whom you thought-how did you find out by the way?’

‘I didn’t, not until later.’

‘But-then why were you mad at me? I’m not an unreasonable man, cara, but when someone throws me into the canal I like to know why.’

‘Does it matter?’ she asked, finding his fun irresistible, even at this fraught moment. ‘I should think Venice is full of people who’d like to throw you into canals.’

‘Sure to be. But they usually control it.’

What a life it would be with this enchanting madman, she thought. If only she could navigate the shoals ahead first.

‘Listen,’ she said urgently, ‘I’ve got something to tell you-’

‘Tell me that you love me,’ he broke in. ‘Tell me that first and last and what do I care for anything else? You do love me, don’t you?’

‘Yes, yes, I do. But listen to me, it’s important-’

‘Nothing is important except that we’ve found each other. Kiss me, now and always-’

She was in his arms again, her troubled words silenced by his lips, and this time it was different, as though her confession of love had invigorated him. Before, his embrace had been troubled, cautious, asking her response. Now he was a man who knew himself loved and it was there in the possessiveness of his mouth and his arms. She would tell him everything in a moment, she promised herself, but just a moment-and another moment-

‘Is that the coffee?’ came a call from the next room.

‘A curse on anyone who interrupts us,’ Guido sighed. ‘We shall have to go and be polite carissima, but soon we must be alone together, and then-’

There was another shout from inside and Guido reluctantly let her go.

‘Later,’ he whispered, then raised his voice to call, ‘Fede,’ and went in search of the voice. ‘What the devil are you doing here? And Jenny! How wonderful to see you again!’

Dulcie followed him into the main room to find him laughingly embracing Jenny.

‘You two know each other?’ he said, looking from Jenny to Dulcie.

‘Only slightly,’ Dulcie said quickly.

‘Guido my friend, I was going to call you and beg your help,’ Fede said quickly.

‘You two don’t look as if you need my help. I never saw two lovers so happy.’

‘But Jenny’s Poppa still wants to break us up. He even put a private detective on our trail to discredit me.’

Guido made a sound of disgust. ‘A private detective? What kind of miserable apology for a human being deliberately chooses such a sneaky, underhand job? Still, what harm can he do you?’

There was an awkward silence. Dulcie took a deep breath.

‘It’s not a he,’ she said. ‘It’s me.’

Slowly Guido turned to look at her.

CHAPTER NINE

‘WHAT did you say?’ Guido asked quietly.

It took all her courage to say, ‘I’m the private detective.’

‘You?’ he sounded as though he didn’t know what the words meant.

‘But Dulcie is on our side now,’ Fede said eagerly, ‘so it’s all right. She’s going to help us.’

‘I don’t know if Roscoe will listen to me,’ Dulcie said, ‘but I’ll do everything I can.’

Guido was gazing at her curiously, but his manner was still calm. He hadn’t quite understood yet. Or maybe he didn’t want to.

‘You’re-a private detective?’ he repeated slowly, still in that strange way, as though he was trying to decipher meaningless sounds.

‘Yes.’

‘And you came here to-?’

‘Roscoe’s worried about Jenny. He got the wrong end of the stick. He thought Fede was claiming to be you.’

‘Can you imagine that?’ Fede chuckled. ‘Me, related to a count! So he sent Dulcie to find me and tempt me away from my Jenny. As though anyone could do that. Only-here’s the joke-she thought you were me!’

‘And so she targeted me instead,’ Guido said lightly. ‘Yes, it’s an excellent joke.’ A light had gone out of him, not just from his eyes but from his whole being. ‘So that’s what it was all about.’

Jenny made a slight restless movement at an intonation she heard in Guido’s voice. Fede, an innocent, was merely trying to put Guido in the picture without realising the implications. Jenny tried to attract his attention but he was in full flight.

‘There aren’t many who fool you, Guido,’ he observed cheekily.

‘Until today I’d have said none at all,’ Guido responded at once. He raised Dulcie’s hand to his lips. ‘My congratulations, signorina. A wonderful masquerade, played out to the finish with utter conviction.’

‘You got the better of him, Dulcie,’ Fede said. ‘Someone should give you a medal.’

‘That will be my privilege,’ Guido said quietly.

There was no anger or condemnation in his eyes. Just a puzzled look, as though he were wondering how the world could have changed in a moment. Dulcie ground her nails into her palm. If only she could have told him in her own words. Now he’d heard in the worst possible way.

‘Perhaps,’ she said carefully, ‘you should wait until you know the whole story. There’s so much you don’t know-that I must explain-’

‘A man never knows the whole of it,’ he agreed. ‘But enough to matter. Enough to cast a strange light over what he thought was true, and show it in very ugly colours.’

It was hard for her to answer, but before she could even try he’d given Jenny a friendly, reassuring smile, saying, ‘So we have a problem. We have to solve it. That’s all. At least you can tell your Poppa that Fede has made no false claims. That should please him.’

‘You don’t know my father,’ Jenny said. ‘When he takes “agin” someone, that’s it.’

‘And it’s my poverty that really offends him,’ Fede said gloomily. ‘When he knows the truth he’ll want Jenny to marry you, and be a countess.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Guido said lightly. ‘I shall tell him I’m going to become a monk. Love is too complicated for me.’ He turned to Dulcie. ‘So you were sent here to delude us. Are you going to tell us your real name?’

‘I’ve been using my real name,’ she said, adding softly, ‘unlike some people.’

He had the grace to redden, but recovered himself. ‘But what’s in a name?’ he asked her. ‘That isn’t always where the truth lies.’