He saw her looking at him and came down to earth.

‘I’m sorry. I warned you I’m a little crazy.’

‘I guess you’re entitled to be. Elverham is about sixty miles north of London, and it’s a market town, surrounded by country. It’s a quiet place. Nothing very dramatic ever happens here. So you got off the train and did what?’

‘I wandered about and found the park. It looked nice so I lay down under a bush and stayed the night. That’s why I look a bit-well-’ His gesture indicated his dishevelled appearance.

Nikki beamed, evidently not liking him less for looking like a tramp.

‘Tomorrow I’ll try to open a bank account and get some money sent from Italy,’ he said. ‘Until then I have almost nothing, so if you want a deposit for the room I can’t do it today, I’m afraid.’

‘There’s no rush. You should try the room out first. You may not like it.’

‘After the way I slept last night, I’ll like it,’ he assured her, and they all laughed.

‘I’ve done Italy in geography,’ Nikki said proudly. ‘It looks like a boot. Which bit do you come from?’

She thought he hesitated a moment before replying, ‘Tuscany.’

Nikki frowned. ‘Where’s that?’

‘When you look at the map, it’s the bit on the left, near the top,’ he explained.

‘And that’s where your home is?’ Nikki persisted.

The question seemed to trouble him. His expression became a little vague, and he murmured, ‘My home,’ in an almost inaudible voice.

‘Yes, you know, a place where they have to let you in, even if they don’t like you.’

‘Nikki,’ Laura groaned again.

‘It’s not a bad description,’ Gino said with a faint smile. ‘Yes, there’s a place where they’d have to let me in.’