The Battle for Baiardo

Chapter 2

Unlike lunch and dinner, breakfast was not a communal affair – as Juliet found out when she came downstairs next morning to an empty kitchen. There was a note from Carrie saying that she'd gone out early but Juliet should help herself to whatever she needed. 

While Juliet sipped her milk coffee, Justin arrived with instructions for her first job: to clean up the lower terrace, which would involve pulling weeds out of a dry stone wall and gathering up rubbish. Not quite what she'd expected but, after the best sleep in more than a year, Juliet was up for anything. 

‘Because of the stinging nettles you should probably wear jeans and a long-sleeved shirt; and enclosed shoes,’ Justin explained, eyeing her strappy sandals. 

‘No problem with the jeans; for shoes, I’ll wear my hiking boots but I didn’t bring anything vaguely resembling a long-sleeved shirt…’ Juliet trailed off wondering how physical this job was going to be. 

‘I’ll grab you one of my old shirts,’ Justin turned to go but then added in a reassuring tone, ‘I’m really glad that you’re your sister-in-law got in touch, having you here means we can finally get stuff sorted that’s well overdue.’

Before Juliet could respond he was gone. She went upstairs to change and chuckled at thought of Zellie being described as her ‘sister-in-law’. When they were children, she’d often teased her little brother about having a crush on her best friend. Now his tastes ran to pretty twenty ‘somethings’ who he never kept around for long, although his latest girlfriend, Maryanne did seem, at least to Juliet, to be a little more determined.

‘Juliet we need to get going before it gets too hot; oh and better bring a hat and something to cover your mouth – there’ll be dust from the old wall,’ Justin’s voice from the kitchen broke into her chain of thought.

Bloody hell, she thought and then called out ‘Coming,’ and ran down the stairs.

Juliet wore a bandana to cover her mouth and nose. She definitely needed her cap and sunglasses. Justin’s long checked shirt had seen better days but it covered her arms. Thick leather gloves completed the ensemble and her accessories were a rake, secateurs and garbage bags.

The lower terrace ran below the rusticas; the overgrowth covered not only the stone walls but the debris that had been chucked over it for many years. Juliet uncovered old boots, a saucepan, bits of crockery and what might have been part of an ancient refrigerator. In some sections rocks tumbled down as she pulled out the weeds – standing back to admire her handiwork, she noted that the parts of the wall would need restoration.

She was so lost in admiration for both her efforts and the craftsmanship of the ancient wall that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her, so she jumped when a voice bellowed in her ear, 'Che fai?'

She turned to see a tall, athletic man with steel grey hair and tanned skin. Despite the colour of his hair he had a youngish, handsome face, fierce demeanour notwithstanding. Startled, she just stared back at him.

'Belin, ma questa terra appartiene a me!' he continued, speaking very fast, 'Vatenne!' As he took a step towards her all she could think was, ‘Those damn Italian lessons – completely useless!’

From above them Justin called out, ‘Luca, quit bellowing! We’re only cleaning up the mess on the boundary. Don't be such an arsehole!’

Justin's voice roused Juliet to action. She turned and bolted up the hill to where he was standing.

Luca turned his ire on Justin, 'Mi stai prendendo per i fondelli?' Then changing to lightly accented English he added, 'I know what you and your friend are planning. You won't get away with it.' He turned on his heel, strode off down the track and disappeared.

Juliet ripped off the hat and bandana. 'What the hell was that all about?'

'Nothing to worry about, just one of our neighbours, thinks he owns the whole village. Don't worry; he lives in San Remo and doesn't come here much, which is why we have to clean up the mess on our shared boundary. Come on, you've done a great job. Cool off and then it'll be time for lunch.'

Juliet trailed behind Justin as they headed to the rustica. So, trouble in paradise? She wanted to know more, but Justin wasn't forthcoming as he led the way up the path.

At lunch Juliet recounted her meeting with Luca, joking that she hadn't understood more than a few words and wondering if she'd wasted her money on language classes. 'Although it was so dramatic, I'm pretty sure I understood his meaning. He turned and stomped away with such a flourish, I half wish that he'd shaken his fists at us...' she laughed.

'I doubt that any of his spray would have been included in your vocabulary lessons,' Justin replied.

'I definitely heard che fai – “what are you doing?” I think I heard, vatenne – “piss off”, as we’d say back home, but fondelli? I wish there was internet access here, I have a dictionary app on my phone,' Juliet said.

'Don't worry about fondelli – it’s probably not something a lady like you should be heard to say.' Justin winked, but by now the joke had gone flat.

'Who is your friend?' Juliet asked him. Seeing his blank look, she explained, 'He said, “I know what you and your friend are planning”?'

'He was raving. As I said, he's not here often.' Justin darted a look at his uncle and Juliet noted the flush of pink that rose from the younger man’s neck to his cheeks.

Max looked worried, 'Maybe I should try and talk to him, reason it out. I can’t see why he’d object to us clearing the mess along the boundary.'

Justin responded in a low voice, 'Just ignore it Max. Like I said, he's hardly ever here; what we do is none of his business.'

After lunch Max and Justin retreated to the school while Carrie and Juliet washed the dishes. Carrie had been quiet through lunch, listening intently to the discussion about Luca. Juliet wanted to know what Carrie thought of the situation but all she would say was that she liked Luca and he could be a bit hot-headed at times. Luca and Max used to be great friends but that had changed since Justin's arrival. 'I'm not sure why, but I do think that Justin goes out of his way to annoy Luca. I'll give you a different task – I need you to help me sort out the student accommodation. If Justin wants the terrace cleared he can do it himself.'