Chapter 59

“You gentlemen stayed in my establishment last year, did you not?” he said.

“Yes, Sir, we did,” Marco said. “This time, however, we are staying in il Castello.”

You could almost hear the wheels turning in the guy’s brain. “Ah,” he said, “you are la Contessa’sgrandson, the new Conte, yes? I recall that she visited you while you were here before.”

“Yes, she did.”

“A sad business, that of the late Conteand his children. Will you be residing here in Conti, then?”

“No, Signore. My home is in Aragoni where I am a doctor in the hospital, but I will be spending a good deal of time here in Conti for the foreseeable future.”

Marco received a telephone call from his grandmother while we were on our way back to the castle. I sort of tuned out his end of the conversation until I heard him say, “We’ll be there, thanks.”

“We’ll be where?” I said.

“We’re invited up for a nightcap, and to meet Luciano.”

“When?”

“As soon as we get back.”