What Happens in Tuscany... Read Online Free PDF

appalled.
    Now, along with the sadness, there was a spark of anger in Victoria’s eyes. ‘Not in so many words, but in effect yes, I was a prisoner here. You know, Katie, I never went to school or university.’ She was gripping the armrest of her deckchair so tightly that Katie could see her wrist shaking with the tension. She reached across and laid a calming hand upon Victoria’s and felt her fingers slowly relax.
    â€˜But you’re clearly very well educated.’ Katie was finding this hard to digest. ‘You know all about history, art, all kinds of stuff. And I did a languages degree at university and your French and Italian sound better than mine.’
    â€˜
Grazie tanto!
’ Victoria allowed herself a wry smile. ‘I’ve had a succession of really good tutors all my life. The Italian was from Signorina Belluno and the French came from Mademoiselle Lemarchand. I’ve had history teachers, literature teachers, you name it. Of course, what I haven’t had is much in the way of scientific tuition.’ She could see the surprise on Katie’s face. ‘I’m a girl, you see. My father was very, very old-fashioned. As far as he was concerned, girls shouldn’t involve themselves with science. I’ve got all sorts of useless knowledge. I can recite the names of all the popes from St Linus to the present day if I concentrate hard, but I couldn’t tell you how jet propulsion works.’
    â€˜Linus?’ The name sounded familiar to Katie. ‘Wasn’t Linus one of Snoopy’s friends?’
    â€˜Snoopy?’ Victoria looked up. ‘Who’s Snoopy?’
    Katie stared back at her blankly. ‘You haven’t heard of Snoopy? But what books did you read as a kid?’
    â€˜Oh, you know, the usual;
Black Beauty, Alice in Wonderland
, that sort of thing.’
    â€˜And
Harry Potter
?’
    â€˜Now I have heard of him. I’ve often seen him mentioned in the newspaper, but I’ve never read any of the books. And you still haven’t told me who Snoopy was.’
    Katie came to a decision. ‘Victoria, we need to go shopping. We need to get you some books, and not just about jet propulsion.’
    â€˜Shopping?’ There was a different note in Victoria’s voice now. Maybe excitement. ‘You mean we go to Exeter or somewhere to buy things?’
    â€˜Exeter’ll be good for starters. We’ve got to get you some books. Anything else you want?’ There was a pause before Victoria replied, and there was no disguising the timidity in her voice. ‘Erm, I was wondering if maybe I should buy some clothes.’
    Katie beamed. This was saving her a potentially difficult conversation. She had been dreading having The Clothes Talk. In the days since getting to Iddlescombe, she had only ever seen Victoria in riding clothes, formal clothes or cotton frocks. And the sort of cotton frocks she wore looked like something out of Goldilocks’ wardrobe. And as for shoes…
    â€˜Listen, why don’t we start with a trip to Exeter? It’s only about an hour away. We could head off one morning and make a day of it. Maybe have lunch in a pub somewhere?’
And
, she thought to herself,
find somewhere with mobile reception
.
    â€˜We could do that?’ There was wonder in Victoria’s voice. There was a pause before she repeated her words, this time in stronger tones. ‘We
could
do that. We
can
do that.’ She caught Katie’s eye. ‘I’m twenty-five years old and I can do what I want. I keep forgetting that. Yes, we can and we must go shopping. Thank you, Katie.’
    Katie was composing a shopping list in her head. ‘Books, clothes, shoes. One thing I haven’t seen here is a computer. I didn’t think there were many households left these days without one. Have I been looking in the wrong places?’
    Victoria shook her head. ‘No, you’re right, no computer here.’