The House that Florence Left (Portuguese Paradise #4)

Chapter 18

Ignacio and Duarte were on plinths in the entrance hall of the House on the Hill, both dressed as John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever . Ignacio’s wig had listed to the right. Bella resisted the urge to adjust it. In front of them was a sign that said:

Donate two euros to see us dance.

Bella put the money in the hat on the floor in front of them and watched as they gyrated to ‘You Should Be Dancing’. After thirty seconds they stopped and resumed their poses.

She grinned and waved, then wandered out into the garden, where a group of children were dancing to ‘Me and My Shadow’. Layla was in front of them showing them the moves, while Minnie was filming them on her phone.

‘Bella!’ Elena waved at her and walked over. She was wearing a suit and her hair was tied up in a neat bun. ‘How are you, my dear?’

‘I’m OK. Getting there with the house.’

‘Yes, there’s a lot to do. A lot of responsibility for you.’

Bella looked at her, unsure whether to ask if she was OK, because if she did, Elena would know she had heard her argument with Will over the intercom.

‘I now have a functioning swimming pool, though,’ she said instead, ‘so that is a real bonus. But I can’t seem to get going with clearing the fourth bedroom. It’s the last one to do, but it’s got so much stuff in it.’

‘Oh dear. But the swimming pool — that is good news. With this heat too. There is something I wanted to ask you. How is Will?’

‘He’s OK from what I’ve seen of him.’ Bella tried to sound nonchalant.

‘You heard we are no longer together?’

‘Ah, OK.’ Bella smiled. ‘That’s a pity.’

‘One day he’s all over me, the next he wants some space. I have no idea what happened. But—’ she leaned closer to Bella ‘—I’m glad really. I was losing myself — wearing clothes to keep him happy rather than me. I was cooking, Bella. Cooking! Me?’ She let out a throaty laugh. ‘Oh, the things you will get yourself into when you want to be with a nice man... companionship, laughs, being cared about, sex. Sex. That was lovely.’ She shook her head. ‘But I have realised that this friends with benefits thing is not for me. I need clarity. I am an accountant.’

Bella nodded, smiling, trying to think of the right response.

‘And a weird thing you know — he accused me of telling other people his business. He blamed me for people coming round asking to buy his house. Now, that was very hurtful. Ah, here is Jorge.’ She waved at him. ‘He’s been such a help.’ She sighed. ‘But so very driven work-wise. Always working. Always. You should get on very well. Ha ha!’

‘I’m not always working, am I?’ Bella said to Elena as she turned to go.

Elena didn’t hear her, throwing her arms around her nephew before walking inside.

‘ Olá! ’ Jorge beamed at Bella. ‘And how are you? How are things with the house?’

‘I think I’m making enough progress that I can see it now. Although the list of to-dos and miscellaneous items I can’t actually quantify is expanding every hour.’ The children’s dance finished just as Bella was about to ask him about Francisco Lopes and Hugo’s ex, and Layla waved at her, hurrying over and giving her a hug.

‘Thank you for coming.’ She had a scented mist dispenser in her hand. ‘I believe in the power of aroma to positively affect our moods.’ She held it up and looked at the label. ‘This is bergamot and lemon — I just grabbed it out of the cupboard.’

‘I must go and be with my aunt, ladies, excuse me.’ Jorge shook his head seriously. ‘She’s putting a brave face on it but the thing with Will has really upset her.’

Layla shook her head. ‘Minnie said she was crying earlier. And I think Will just wants to be left alone. Ah, here’s Hugo.’ She smiled as he stood in the hallway.

Bella had the usual overwhelming urge to run her hands through his thick, dark, tousled hair. She folded her arms instead and smiled as he walked over to them.

‘Hello, ladies.’ He grinned and Bella’s stomach did a little loop the loop. She moved her arms down in case that would stop it. It didn’t.

‘Thank you for providing the food, Hugo.’ Layla squeezed his hand. She turned to Bella. ‘I’m relieved we organised this so quickly for the new charity — the final paperwork was all ready to go before Flo passed away. So we all got together over the last few weeks and dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.’

‘We just couldn’t do it until now.’ Hugo shifted awkwardly. ‘She left such a gap. But now the Nest has some life in it I felt she was somehow pushing me forward.’

‘Flo would have been proud.’ Layla waved at someone in the doorway. ‘I’d better go. Why don’t you both have a dance?’ Layla took their hands and put them together. ‘The salsa is on in the next room.’

‘Oh no,’ they said in unison. ‘I can’t dance.’

‘You don’t have to be able to dance. Just jig around to the music. Look.’ She pointed at Ignacio and Duarte, who had climbed off their plinths and were on their way towards the sound system. ‘Ignacio is a dance teacher but—’ she leaned towards them conspiratorially ‘—although Duarte is great at tango, for anything else he seems to have two left feet. He doesn’t care, he loves it!’

Layla gently but firmly guided them into the room, where Minnie stood behind the sound deck. ‘“La Bamba”,’ she announced to the room, then more quietly but still into the microphone. ‘Don’t look at me like that, Ignacio. The DJ is late and someone had to do it. And if you weren’t doing that silly John Travolta living statue thing you could do it instead of mouthing at me to put a bit more enthusiasm into it.’

Layla jumped onto the stage and took the microphone from her. ‘You can just play the music, Min,’ she whispered, still audible through the sound system. ‘Don’t worry about announcing it. The DJ will be here soon.’ She disconnected the mic and jumped back onto the dance floor.

Hugo caught Bella’s eyes. They were still holding hands. ‘As we’re here, shall we try? I have two left feet.’

‘I probably have three.’ Bella averted her gaze shyly as they moved backwards and forwards in time to the music, trying to concentrate on the steps instead of the closeness of Hugo.

‘Shall we try to do the proper dance hold?’ he murmured, putting a hand on her waist and pulling her closer. Part of her wanted to step back and keep him at arm’s length, but she couldn’t because another long-hidden part of her wanted to move even closer.

The couple next to them executed a couple of exuberant spins, so Hugo attempted to do the same with Bella, who reacted by slowly walking around in a circle.

‘I’m rubbish!’ she murmured, wanting him to pull her closer again. But if he did, what then?

‘That was very elegant.’ Hugo squeezed her hand. ‘Slow. But elegant.’

Bella felt tiny electric shocks trickling around her body and their eyes locked again for a moment just as the music ended. They stepped back away from each other awkwardly, still smiling.

A brass band playing ‘The Floral Dance’ blasted out of the speakers. Minnie pressed the buttons, panicked, and picked up the microphone. ‘Did you put this on here, Duarte?’ she asked as he climbed up next to her. ‘What do you mean you are thinking of signing them to your record label?’

‘Let’s have some Grease .’ He tried to grab the microphone while scrolling through the songs. ‘Here we are. “You’re the One That I Want”.’

Ignacio tapped Bella on the shoulder. ‘Elena has told me you are stuck with Flo’s fourth bedroom. It is indeed almost an ecosystem in itself. She put so much in there.’

‘It feels like it glows radioactively every time I walk past it. Just like the outbuilding did.’ Bella shook her head. ‘Once I’ve cleared it, then I’ll be able to see what needs painting or repairing in there.’

‘Well, as one of your knights in shining armour, I will gather together some friends and we will come and help you.’ He scratched his head. ‘This wig is so hot,’ he muttered, as it fell halfway down his face.

‘That’s very kind.’ Bella tried to help him put the wig back on.

‘We will be in touch with a date.’ He took the wig off and wandered off towards a bathroom.

‘Excuse me,’ Hugo said quietly. ‘I want to have a word with Jorge.’

‘Have you had any luck with your great-uncle?’ Bella looked around to see where Jorge had gone.

‘I phoned his office and left a message. He hasn’t contacted me. But I don’t expect he will.’

Bella went to get a drink.

‘You two seem to be getting on very well.’ Layla was carrying a plate of canapés around. ‘Bruschetta?’

Bella took one. ‘Yes. He’s a good neighbour.’

‘Looked more than a neighbour to me.’

‘No more than that. Neighbour and friend.’ Bella took a bite so she didn’t have to say any more.

‘Pity. You look good together.’ Layla turned to a group of people behind her. ‘Canapé?’ she asked, as Bella ambled outside.

Jorge and Hugo were talking, their expressions like stone, then Jorge shook his head and walked away as Elena hurried past. She looked like she had been crying. Minnie took her hand as Hugo followed Jorge back inside.

Bella decided to go home, back to the comforting walls of the Nest.

* * *

The skip was booked to arrive on Monday, so after doing some work in preparation for a big meeting after the weekend, Bella decided to go through the bin bags full of sheets and blankets that had been cleared in the outhouse, in case anything could be recycled before sending the rest to a charity shop.

She picked one up and took it to the shade of the patio so she could enjoy the sunshine instead of working in the outhouse and emptied out the bag onto the floor. Folding everything up neatly, she put it on the table and found a turquoise blue cotton sundress, with tiny white daisies printed on the skirt. She held it to her body, checking the length, and examined the fabric to check for any holes or tears. It was perfect.

‘Great-Aunt Flo, you had such style,’ she said, pulling it on over her T-shirt and shorts. It felt like it fitted properly and she went up to the bedroom and stood in front of the mirror, twirling around, enjoying the swish of the full skirt, then took it down to the utility room, washed it carefully and hung it out to dry. ‘I think I’ll keep you,’ she told it. ‘And look after you as I think you may be quite old.’ Then she returned to the bin bag to finish sorting out its contents.

Before going through another bag, Bella went inside to get some water and checked her phone for messages.

We are coming to help you to clear out the fourth bedroom. Send me some dates and times in the next week and we will be there. Ignacio.

She smiled, relieved. Every time she had opened the door of the fourth bedroom and its piles of furniture, boxes and bin bags, she felt anxious and closed the door firmly behind her. It felt like the final frontier, the place where Great-Aunt Flo had put the stuff that even she didn’t know what to do with.

Thank you , she messaged back. I’ll check my diary for my work commitments next week and get back to you. Bella.

Taking her drink outside, she sat for a while in the hammock, closing her eyes and listening to the birds and the sea, until a plane buzzing overhead disturbed the peace. She got up and felt the dress to check if it was dry or not. It was, so she put it on and took it for a walk to Hugo’s café.

Putting on her Portuguese language app, she paused under the tree just outside the gate and took her headphones out of her bag just as a car drove along the lane towards her.

‘ Olá ,’ said the occupant, as they slowed to a halt.

‘ Olá ,’ replied Bella, absent-mindedly, as she connected her headphones to her phone.

‘You are definitely Florence Creswell’s niece.’

Bella looked up properly. It was Francisco Lopes.

‘Yes,’ she said, unsure what to say to him.

‘You look just like her.’

‘I didn’t realise. I suppose I would a little as we are related.’

‘The dress,’ he said.

Bella waited for a moment, expecting him to say something else but he was looking past her now at the tree. ‘Is the tile sign still there on the gatepost?’

‘Yes it is.’

He attempted a smile, but it was half-hearted, then he shook his head sadly. ‘Have a good day.’

He started the car and drove away without saying anything else. Bella watched as it disappeared around the curve in the lane, confused and unsettled, then walked quickly to the café to see if he’d been there.

Hugo was standing behind the bar making coffee. He beamed at her. ‘Hello.’ He put the last cup onto the tray and waved at Julian. ‘I’ve had the message about the fourth bedroom. I’m part of the cavalry.’

‘Has your great-uncle been in?’ she asked.

‘I don’t understand. Are you all right? You look worried.’

‘Francisco Lopes stopped to talk to me in the lane outside the house. He was coming from the direction of your café.’

‘I don’t know what he looks like now.’ Hugo’s face creased into a frown. ‘I was so young when he argued with my parents I can barely remember him, and they threw all of his photographs away. What did he say? Are you all right?’

‘Hardly anything... just mentioned this dress, the tile on the gatepost and that I was Flo’s great-niece.’

‘That’s odd. What does he look like? Maybe he was here and I didn’t notice.’

‘Thick black hair flecked with grey, sad eyes. I’ve seen him before so I know it’s him.’

‘Oh yes. There was an older man here in the corner like that. He just ordered a coffee and he kept looking over. That’s right... I wondered why, and went over to ask if he wanted anything else but he just shook his head and left after only five minutes or so.’

‘Why is he hanging around but not saying anything? Have his office got back to you at all?’

‘No.’ Hugo’s face clouded. ‘But I’m not having him intimidating you.’

‘He looked more sad than intimidating, to be honest.’

‘I’ll send them an email and I’ll phone again too.’

A group of six customers walked in.

‘I asked Jorge about him,’ Hugo went on. ‘He was very evasive. How well do you know him?’

‘Evasive? I’ve met him a few times. He seems nice. He is Elena’s nephew so he must be reliable.’ Bella shook her head. ‘Maybe there’s nothing to tell?’

Hugo looked as if he was about to say something, then the group sat down. ‘I’ve got to get on, sorry. Do you want a gal?o ?’

‘Yes please. Before I get back to sorting things out.’ Bella found a table and started to make a list of things to do on her phone, to stop her mind racing with theories about Francisco Lopes and what he was doing.