Tuscan Rose (54 page)

When the first wave of passion passed, they made love again. This time tenderly, slowly. The smell of the pines and the warm summer air enveloped them. Rosa gazed into Luciano’s eyes. The light had returned to them. It seemed in that moment that all the war had numbed in Luciano and Rosa had come back to life; they were a forest regenerating after a fire, fresh shoots and leaves bursting from dead trees. The sun began to rise on the horizon and bathed their skin in golden light. They rested in each other’s embrace. Despite the shelling of the previous night, the birds twittered in the trees. All was hope: the birds; the new day. Rosa felt safe in the dawn’s tranquillity, even though she knew the woods were being surveyed by the Germans and she and Luciano were hunted creatures. But in her lover’s arms at that moment, she felt nothing bad could happen to them.

‘It’s strange that we should be reunited this way—in the middle of a battle,’ Luciano said, kissing the top of her head. ‘And yet it was somehow meant to be.’

Rosa pressed her cheek to Luciano’s chest. His heartbeat was steady, serene. It lulled her. If they had been discovered by the enemy and shot at that moment, Rosa was sure that she would die in peace.

Luciano, Rosa and selected members of the Flock, along with Ada and Paolina, were preparing to leave for the Staff’s camp later that morning when Partridge came running towards them from the forest.

‘The Germans have blown up the bridges!’ he shouted. ‘They did it last night. All of them except the Ponte Vecchio.’

Rosa followed the others as they ran up the hill to their lookout. A cloud of smoke was floating over Florence.

‘Some of the houses collapsed from the shock waves,’ said Partridge.

Although they couldn’t see the Arno from their vantage point, the cloud of smoke was ominous enough. Rosa felt part of her life had been blown away. The Ponte Alla Carraia. The Ponte Alle Grazie. The Ponte Santa Trinita.

‘Why couldn’t those barbarians have spared the lovely Ponte Santa Trinita?’ she said out loud.

‘They spared the bridges in Rome and lost men because of it,’ said Partridge. ‘They weren’t going to take that chance again.’

Luciano turned and rushed back to the camp, ordering the partisans to prepare to move. They were going to join the Gatekeeper’s band and move nearer to Florence. Together they would attack select German targets from the rear to take the pressure off the Allies. Rosa caught up with him and he turned to her. He looked as if the sun was shining from within him.

‘This is the moment. This is it,’ he said, embracing her.

Rosa felt joy despite all the dangers. She was happy to see the fire in Luciano’s eyes again.

Luciano, Rosa, Partridge and Starling went with Ada and Paolina to the Staff’s camp, leaving the others to pack up the Flock’s camp and follow later.

When the group arrived at the camp, Giovanni was looking at a map with the Valet. As soon as he saw them approaching, he stood up. He hesitated and so did Luciano. But the moment was too important. Nothing mattered in the face of this event in history. It was larger than any individual strife and was a chance to be a part of something that would change the destiny of Italy.

‘I’m glad you came,’ said Giovanni, moving towards Luciano.

Luciano wavered then stepped towards his father. The two men embraced. Rosa’s heart soared to the clouds. The reunion of father and son was a far greater victory than any battle the Allies and Germans had fought. The past didn’t matter now; they were all standing on the brink of triumph.

‘Come,’ said Giovanni, signalling to Luciano’s men to partake of some food. ‘There are other bands that will join us. We will meet together and start to move into Florence this afternoon.’

A short while later, the rest of the Flock arrived at the camp. Fiamma was leading Speranza on a length of rope intertwined with golden wildflowers.

‘Nobody is to touch the lamb,’ Luciano told his father. ‘She’s our mascot; our symbol of hope.’

Giovanni’s eyes sparkled when he smiled. ‘And what a beautiful mascot she is,’ he said, reaching down to caress Speranza’s head. ‘I’ve had many wonderful animal companions in my life. They’ve all passed on from old age now.’

Rosa’s fingers tingled and a strange sensation fell over her. She shrugged it off. Why would Giovanni patting the lamb move her more than anyone else doing the same thing?

‘We have two hours,’ said Giovanni, turning to his men. ‘Rest well now, for tonight will be one hell of a battle.’

Suddenly a woman’s cry sounded from the forest. The partisans grabbed their guns. Rosa turned in the direction of the trees. Something flashed between them: a green silk dress; a woman. One of the Staff’s partisans appeared, holding a woman at gunpoint in front of him. The woman’s hair had come loose from its pins and was hanging over her face: a beautiful golden-red colour. The pair approached the camp and the partisan pushed the woman into the clearing. She fell to her knees. He pointed his gun at her head and toyed with the trigger.

‘A spy,’ the partisan announced. ‘I found her observing the camp from the trees.’

The woman caught her breath and looked up. Rosa was shocked to see Clementina.

‘Signorina Bellocchi!’ she cried. ‘I’m not a spy. I ran away from the villa. I…
bribed
a guard. I told him I wanted to meet my lover. Then I came looking for you.’

‘Who is this woman?’ Luciano asked. ‘Raven, do you know her?’

Rosa nodded. She was too taken aback by Clementina’s appearance to elaborate.

‘She’s the daughter of the Marchesa Scarfiotti,’ said Giovanni.

A clamour rose up amongst the partisans at the mention of the Marchesa’s name.

‘The Villa Scarfiotti,’ said Starling, sending a gob of spit towards Clementina. ‘The murderers!’

Clementina’s eyes grew wide with terror. ‘I’m not a murderer,’ she said. ‘I never killed anyone. I was afraid. I was a prisoner there.’

‘A very nicely dressed prisoner,’ said Starling, moving menacingly towards her and poking the end of his rifle under her chin.

Clementina looked at Rosa with pleading eyes. Rosa raised her hand. ‘Stop it,’ she said to Starling. ‘When I was taken captive at the villa, she tried to help me.’

Starling removed his rifle but kept it pointed at Clementina’s head. Rosa stared at Clementina and tried to read her face. She was torn between the memory of the precious little girl she had once loved and the pragmatic young woman who had associated herself with the German high command.

‘What is it you were coming to tell me?’ she asked.

Clementina swallowed. ‘When they were mining the bridges they searched the houses and buildings around the Arno. They entered a convent and found that the nuns there had been hiding Jewish women and children in their crypt.’

Rosa’s heart gave a jolt. ‘Which convent?’ she asked.

‘The Convent of Santo Spirito.’

‘What did they do with the nuns and Jews?’ asked Giovanni, stepping forward. ‘They’d have trouble transporting them north now.’

Clementina’s hands trembled. ‘They’ve brought them all to the villa.’ She turned to Rosa with tears in her eyes. ‘The colonel says he and the Marchesa are going to shoot them all before the Allies enter Florence and hang their bodies from the lampposts as a welcoming present.’

Rosa stepped back as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

‘Mother is urging him to do it,’ Clementina said, tears pouring down her cheeks. ‘She’s evil. Evil! I wish I had never been born!’

Rosa stared at Clementina. She’s not your mother, she thought. Rosa knew in her heart she had grown hard. The war had made her so. But still something in her wanted to believe Clementina. She was not the child of someone evil. She was the daughter of the compassionate Signora Corvetto who had ruined her health trying to help others.

‘Signorina Bellocchi, you have to save them,’ Clementina continued. ‘Ever since you were rescued by the Falcon, the colonel has been obsessed by you both. He knows you are the partisan called the Raven. I have overheard his rants about the escapades of the Flock in the mountains.’

Luciano and Giovanni exchanged a look.

Partridge stepped forward. ‘Perhaps we can save the hostages after we’ve freed Florence,’ he said. ‘I’m sure the Allies will despatch a unit to help us.’

‘It will be too late by then,’ said Luciano. ‘They intend to kill the hostages when the Allies reach the city so they can flee in time.’

‘It’s already too late,’ said Woodpecker. ‘We go to fight in Florence today. This is the moment we have been waiting for—a chance to engage our enemy face to face and take back the city.’

Luciano glanced at him and then looked away.

‘Come on,’ said Woodpecker. ‘We will never succeed in getting those women out of the Villa Scarfiotti. It will be suicide.’

Luciano took a deep breath and turned to Woodpecker. ‘There are other partisans who can fight for Florence,’ he said. ‘These are women and children as well as holy nuns. It is our duty to protect the innocent as much as it is to assist the Allies.’

Starling turned to Luciano. ‘You are right. But there aren’t enough of us to do such a thing. We’ll be slaughtered. How will we ever get past the guards and into the villa?’

‘There’s a tunnel, isn’t there?’ Luciano asked Giovanni.

‘I took the servants out that way,’ said Giovanni, ‘when the Germans came. We hid the entrance and exit points when we left, but after so many of us disappeared they must have searched for an escape route. It’s probably best we assume that it’s been filled in now—or even booby-trapped—and not rely on it.’

‘We have to make a reconnaissance mission then,’ said Starling. ‘To find another way.’

Luciano shook his head. ‘The Allies are rapidly gaining ground. The longer we leave it, the less chance we have of getting them out alive.’

‘
Cazzo!
’ said Woodpecker, jerking his head towards Clementina. ‘How do you know this bitch is telling the truth? How do you know it’s not a trap to lure the Falcon and Raven to the villa? Maybe we should torture her and find out!’

‘No!’ said Rosa, stepping in front of Clementina. ‘We will not act like them!’

She looked at the young woman. She couldn’t read her face at all. What if it was a lie? They’d be killed. As the possibility of defeat became a reality and the secret weapon that had been promised did not appear, the Germans seemed to be sinking into madness. Their frenzied acts of rage would get worse. But the partisans had no choice but to believe Clementina. They couldn’t take the chance of leaving the nuns and the others in the hands of the Nazis.

Luciano glanced at Rosa as if he had read her mind before turning to the partisans.

‘Everyone who comes on this mission must volunteer freely,’ he said. ‘Don’t come if you have any doubt about sacrificing yourself. We are going to get every last woman and child out of there—or die trying. This isn’t about striking targets of military importance. These women and children won’t make a difference to the outcome of the war. There aren’t going to be medals and accolades from the Allies for this. But this isn’t about any of that. This is about honour.’

As Luciano spoke those last words, Rosa was blinded by a light. She saw an angel standing next to Luciano. The light was too intense
to see the angel’s face but Rosa knew it was the same one that had appeared in her dream the night that Sibilla’s fever had broken. We will not be alone on this mission, Rosa thought. The angel is coming with us. She remembered what she and Ada had discussed about Orsola and her companions. They were not forces of darkness but spirits of light who had been waiting for them to fulfil their destinies. The vision faded but not the feeling of a divine presence.

‘God is with us,’ Rosa said.

She looked at the partisans and, to her amazement, none of them showed signs of having seen the angel. But something had changed amongst them. Every one of them was willing to go, including Woodpecker. In that moment Rosa’s heart burst with love for them. Often on missions she wished that she had been blessed with steady nerves. Yet at that moment, a sense of peace fell upon her and she realised that she was being called too.

‘Luciano,’ she said, ‘I know the villa very well. I also know the nuns of Santo Spirito. I am coming with you.’

‘No!’ he said, turning to her. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

‘I’m coming,’ she said.

Again Luciano shook his head. But Rosa persisted.

‘Do you remember once you told me you had a sense of being born for a divine mission in life? Well, this is mine. Everything that’s happened to me has been leading up to this moment—my upbringing, my visions, my time as Clementina’s governess, prison, poverty, marriage and children, and the war. All of it. It was all to prepare for this moment. I have a connection to the Villa Scarfiotti that I can’t explain yet. You will have to trust me.’

Luciano was about to refuse her again but he must have seen the fire in her eyes. He hesitated and then said: ‘All right. I can’t stand in the way of a calling.’

The partisans murmured their approval.

‘It would have been a mistake to leave our bravest soldier behind,’ said Starling, resting his hand on Rosa’s shoulder.

Now the partisans had agreed to the mission, the leaders went to Giovanni’s tent along with Rosa, Ada and Paolina—who knew
the layout of the villa first-hand—to discuss strategy. The partisans were used to stealth and sabotage. Until now they had orchestrated skirmishes, ambushes and moonlight raids. But penetrating an ancient and well-guarded villa to save a group of nuns, women and children was another matter.

Starling brought Clementina and guarded her at gunpoint. She told them there were about fifty prisoners being held in the cellar.

‘How many soldiers are there?’ Giovanni asked her.

‘Most have already left,’ she said. ‘There is the colonel’s personal division of about thirty men in the villa as well as the guards.’

‘Have the woods been mined?’ asked Ada.

Clementina shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. Dono wanders there and I haven’t heard any explosions. Some of the officers wanted to hunt him so they let him out of his cage. But he got away from them.’