She opened her mouth, but her exclamation was checked by the sight of the dog, beaming at her, clearly convinced that he had done something brilliant.

‘It would be a waste of time saying anything to you, wouldn’t it?’ she demanded, pointing to the smudge.

He woofed agreement.

‘Then I won’t bother,’ she said, smiling despite herself. ‘But if you do it again-’

He waited, grinning foolishly.

‘If you do it again-’ she sighed, recognising defeat ‘-then I guess I’ll just have to forgive you again.’

Ecstatic at this appreciation, Brutus reared up and placed another mark next to the first.

‘My apologies,’ Rinaldo said, sounding strained. ‘Brutus!’

‘Oh, don’t be mad at him,’ Alex said. ‘He was only being friendly. I suppose he’s made that way.’

‘No, he doesn’t usually take to strangers. He’s never done that before. Naturally I’ll pay the cost of cleaning.’

Alex shook her head. The sight of Rinaldo at a disadvantage was improving her mood.

‘I shouldn’t bother,’ she said. ‘It won’t clean.’

‘Then I will pay for a replacement,’ he said stiffly.

Alex began to laugh. ‘Don’t force me to tell you how much it cost,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to spoil your supper.’

He regarded her oddly. ‘You’re being very nice about it.’

‘And that’s really got you puzzled, hasn’t it? If I’m being nice, it must be for an evil purpose. Forget it for heaven’s sake! A dog is a dog is a dog. Making a mess is what dogs do.’

Now she had really wrong-footed him, she saw with pleasure. He was no longer quite so certain what to think of her, and that confused him.

Good! The longer she could keep him confused the better.

Teresa appeared. She was elderly, with white hair and sharp blue eyes that flickered quickly over Alex.

‘Teresa, this is Signorina Dacre, from England. Enrico Mori was her great-uncle.’

‘Buon giorno, signorina.’