Second Chances in Chianti (Escape to Tuscany Book 2) by T.A. Williams (online e reader .TXT) 📕

the highest point of the fence, not far beyond the gap that the wild boar had torn in the wire, she stopped for a rest in the shade, perching on a fallen tree, from where she had a wide-ranging view down across the villa and its grounds, and onwards through the Chianti hills. Although it was getting hazier by the minute, as the clouds continued to gather, the contrasting colours of the olives, the vines, the fields of ripening corn and the red roofs of the houses dotted about the landscape were glorious, and she felt genuinely lucky to be here. She could see just why Matt had chosen Tuscany for his escape – whatever it had been that had forced him to do so.

She was just about to open her sketch pad when the sound of footsteps attracted her attention and she leant forward to see better. To her left, a head was just appearing up the track on the other side of the fence and she recognised it straightaway. It was Zoë. As Alice looked on, however, it soon became clear that all was not well with the irascible director. She was swaying drunkenly from side to side as she staggered up the slope, and Alice was appalled. They had all had experience of Zoë’s tendency to go off on wild binges, from which she would emerge red-eyed, sore-headed and even snappier than normal, but Alice had hoped that these were now all in the past. Such would appear not to be the case after all and Alice shook her head sadly, reflecting that this didn’t bode well for Millie and the others in the new series. Then, just as she was considering making a hasty departure before she was spotted, she saw Zoë lurch to a halt and sink to her knees with her head in her hands. Two seconds later, she was flat on her face in the dust.

Alice leapt to her feet. ‘Zoë, are you all right?’

Although she shouted at the top of her voice, feeling sure that it would reach Zoë, there was no response as the crumpled form lay there, immobile. Alice looked around wildly but there wasn’t another human being to be seen anywhere so she ran back along the wire until she came to the gate she had used before and punched in the entry code, hoping it hadn’t been changed. She gave a sigh of relief as she heard a click and the gate swung open. She ran through and back up the slope to where Zoë was lying on the ground, mouthing jumbled words and moaning, her face bright red. It was immediately apparent that it was far more serious than too much to drink – maybe a heart attack – so Alice dropped her sketch pad, pulled out her phone and called the number of the villa to tell them what had happened. It rang and rang and then, just as she was getting desperate, it was answered.

‘Pronto.’ It was Paolo and she had never been so happy to hear his voice.

As quickly as she could, she blurted out what was happening, giving details of where they were, and was greatly reassured to hear him respond in a calm voice.

‘Leave it to me, Alice. I’ll get onto the emergency services and they’ll be along shortly, I’m sure. Stay with Zoë and we’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.’

As the line went dead, Alice tucked her phone back into the pocket of her shorts and returned her attention to Zoë. By now, her lips had stopped moving and she was lying on her side, breathing rapidly, eyes closed. Dim memories of first-aid classes when she was a teenager told Alice that this was already pretty close to the so-called recovery position, so she didn’t attempt to move her. Instead, she crouched down at her side, gently cradling her head in her hands. She was relieved to see Zoë’s eyes open, as she felt her touch, and saw what might have been recognition dawn upon her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out and Alice did her best to reassure her former tormentor.

‘Just take it easy, Zoë. We’ve called the ambulance and help is on its way. They’ll be with us shortly.’ She read what could have been comprehension in Zoë’s eyes, before they closed again.

Alice crouched there, softly stroking Zoë’s hair and hoping the medics would arrive soon. Zoë’s breathing, apart from being rapid, was shallow and Alice didn’t like it one bit. From time to time she leant down to check that Zoë was still breathing and was surprised not to smell even a hint of alcohol on her breath. Presumably, the staggering had been caused by the onset of the heart attack or whatever it was, rather than booze. That, at least, was one positive to take away from this incident, when it was all over.

A few minutes later she became aware of the sound of a vehicle approaching up the narrow track from the vines and was mightily relieved to spot a quad bike racing up the hill, driven by Paolo, with Conrad perched precariously behind him. As the little vehicle drew up in a cloud of dust, Conrad leapt off surprisingly nimbly and came running across. He dropped to his knees beside Alice and she could immediately see that he was distraught. He reached out and replaced Alice’s hands supporting Zoë’s head, bending towards her as he did so.

‘Zoë, sweetie, I’m here. It’s gonna be okay.’ His voice was low and charged with emotion. ‘Can you hear me, Zoë?’

‘I don’t think she can, Conrad.’ Alice stretched her arms gratefully and stood up again. ‘I think she’s unconscious. When I got to her, I’m pretty sure she recognised me and I told her help was on the way, but she’s lost consciousness since then. Try not to worry.’

He made no comment but just dropped his head even closer to