wouldnât have let him in at all. But what shall I do? Is it safe to let him see you? Suppose heâs really from Giglia?â
âLetâs not suppose anything till Iâve spoken to him,â said Luciano. âIf he does indeed come from Bellezza, he will be most welcome. Bring him out into the garden and fetch us some wine.â
When Alfredo brought their unexpected visitor through, Luciano knew straight away that this was no stranger.
The young man was little more than a boy of about his own age, tall and slender, wearing humble peasant clothes. A cap was pulled down over his eyes but his demeanour was not humble; in fact he had quite a noble bearing. Something about him made Luciano think of the first time he had stravagated to Bellezza.
There was an easy grace in the way the visitor accepted the seat he was offered which told Luciano the truth. Then the stranger pulled off the cap and a cascade of brown curls tumbled down.
âHappy birthday!â said Luciano, to Alfredoâs amazement.
Chapter 2
In the Scriptorium
The Golden Dragon was the best Chinese restaurant in Mattâs part of Islington. He knew the menu by heart from many family celebrations, so its dense type held no fears for him; he just took a cursory glance then ordered what he always had.
Ayesha was looking spectacular in a purple strappy top embroidered with sequins. Her glossy hair hung loose over her shoulders and Matt felt his throat tighten at the sight of her. Their table was a bit boisterous; Andy had ordered champagne. Even Harry had a small glass.
Jan gave Matt an envelope, which held a receipt for twenty driving lessons and the cardboard cut-out of a car key. On it was written in big black letters: I. O. U. 1 CAR.
âWhen you pass your test,â said Andy.
âOr on your eighteenth birthday,â added Jan. âWhichever comes sooner.â
It was what Matt had wanted most. He was a bit nervous of the theory test but he was sure he could pass the practical. And then he would have a freedom he longed for. Street signs werenât hard to read and he would be equal to anyone else on the road.
âThanks,â he said. âThatâs fantastic.â And he even put up with Jan kissing him, right there in public. Ayesha smiled at his embarrassment.
In fact the evening would have been perfect if it hadnât been for two things. The first was that he still had the book heâd bought from Mortimer Goldsmith in his pocket. The old man had taken the book token after all, under a bit of pressure from Georgia. âYou can use it to buy a book on antiques,â she said. And Matt had left, having spent twenty quid on a book he couldnât read, couldnât have read even if he hadnât been dyslexic; it was in a foreign language, probably Latin.
The book fascinated him and â what was more peculiar â it seemed to intrigue Georgia and Nick as well. They hadnât taken their eyes off him once he picked it up in the old manâs shop and he had an uneasy feeling that they were expecting something to happen to him because of it.
But the oddness of the book and the greater oddness of his attraction to it was the lesser of Mattâs two distractions from his birthday meal. The bigger fly in the ointment was Jago Jones.
Jago was simply the person Matt hated most in the world â and by a huge stroke of bad luck he was in the Golden Dragon with a group of friends that night. Matt didnât know what they were celebrating and he didnât care; it was just a blot on the landscape that he was in the same room.
Jago was in the upper sixth and was the schoolâs best English student. He was the editor of the magazine, star of every play put on in the last four years â he had even had poems published. In real magazines that paid money for them. If there was anyone Matt knew who was more of a words and language person than his mother, it was Jago.
And to add fuel