Then, to a sea of waves and a chorus of farewells, Giuseppe and Giorgio leant on the oars, and the boat slid smoothly out onto the lake, then turned east toward Orta. Many in the crowd, including Pietro, Franco, Enrico, and the Barberos, remained on the dock, waving and shouting farewells until the boat passed out of their sight.
Facing forward at last, Diana watched the larger dock approaching, a symbol of the next stage of their journey to England and the various futures that awaited their company there.
In addition to the summons to Giorgio and Giuseppe, Toby had sent word to their brother, Gio, to have the conveyance Toby had traded the horse and cart for—a fast coach with strong horses and an experienced driver—ready to depart. As the rowboat’s side bumped against the Orta dock, Toby could see a good-looking coach with a pair of strong nags ready and waiting.
Gio came to the dock to help the women and children out of the bobbing boat, then helped cart the luggage to the coach.
The coachman was waiting on the roof to arrange and lash down the larger bags.
Toby was amused and also relieved to see that his family were now seasoned travelers. They got themselves and Bruno into the coach and arranged and stowed all the smaller luggage. Once everyone and everything was inside, Toby turned to farewell the Grosso brothers with handshakes and embraces and much slapping of backs.
Finally allowing him to extricate himself and climb into the carriage, the brothers called farewells to the others, then Toby shut the door and tapped on the roof, and finally, they were away.
He leant back against the squabs and looked at the children—already absorbed with their game of “spot the strange thing in the countryside”—then he looked at Diana and found her waiting to catch his eye and arch her brows in question.
He smiled. “We’re on our way. Next stop, England.”
* * *
Toby wishedit could be that simple, but of course, they would have many intermediate stops along the way.
The first was at Arona, a town on the western shore of Lake Maggiore. The town hosted the terminus of one of the branch lines connecting to the main northern-Italian railway line.
Toby had directed the driver to make for the Pavilion Hotel, an upper-class establishment facing the gardens bordering the lake and within easy walking distance of the railway station.
“Incidentally”—Toby caught the children’s eyes—“we’re the Caldwells again.”
Evelyn furrowed her brow. “Not Cynsters?”
“No.” Seeing the dubious expression on her little face, he added, “We can go back to being Cynsters later, when we’re finally safe on a ship, but for now”—he underscored the importance of the point with his tone—“we’re the Caldwells. All right?”
The three nodded, but obviously weren’t delighted, which made him feel rather strange.
But then the carriage drew up outside the hotel, and to his relief, everyone seamlessly fell into their previous roles, and he was able to arrange for two adjoining rooms without any stumbles drawing undue attention.
By the time the luggage was unloaded and they’d farewelled the driver, who would return directly to Orta, then followed the porters and their bags to their rooms, it was almost time for lunch.
Once again immersed in the charade of being a well-to-do Austrian family traveling through Europe and seeing the sights, they assembled and headed downstairs. Toby and Diana ushered their brood into the dining room—a pleasant room overlooking the lake—and they sat at a table by the windows and spent the next hour enjoying a deliciously tasty meal.
* * *
After lunch,Toby and Diana walked with the children and Bruno through the gardens hugging the lake shore. It was a pleasant interlude in which reality and their charade seemed to all but merge.
In the relative quiet of midafternoon, Toby steered the others toward the train station.
Strolling beside him, her arm twined with his, Diana observed, “It’s just as well that, while we’re here, we let the children run and get what fresh air and exercise they can. I daresay that, once we leave, they’ll be cooped up and sitting for the majority of the time until we reach England.”
“Sadly, that’s likely, at least until we’re aboard a suitable ship.”
They watched the boys running over a stretch of lawn, with Bruno, whose leash Roland held, leaping in giddy happiness beside them. Not to be outdone, Evelyn, carrying Rupert under one arm, followed as fast as her shorter legs allowed.
Toby lengthened his stride to catch the trio as, ahead, they reached the base of a flight of steps leading up to an ironwork bridge that ran above the railway lines, giving access to the station on the other side of the tracks.
At that hour, there were few other pedestrians about, and it was easy to keep the children in sight. By the time Toby and Diana caught up with the trio, they’d climbed the steps and had run to a point halfway along the bridge. There, they’d clambered onto the ornate railing and were looking out over the tracks. The boys were engrossed, pointing at various engines and carriages in the yards below.
Two engines were shunting carriages and coal carts about.
After a moment of listening to the boys’ chatter, Diana glanced at Toby. “Why don’t I stay here with the children while you get the tickets?”
