Authors: Esther Freud
Love Falls (37 page)
‘Goodbye then.’ She felt awkward when the moment came to leave. ‘I hope your foot gets better.’ She reached up and formally they kissed, once on each cheek. ‘Thank you,’ she said, ‘for taking me.’ She wanted to say how sorry she was about Caroline, about Isabelle, about his toe. About everything, but then through the half-open door of his bedroom she saw the giant pot of his one plant. Its familiar leaves, pale-green and heart-shaped, stretching towards the light. Lara moved instinctively towards it. ‘I’ve always wondered, what is that plant?’
‘Oh.’ Lambert pushed the door wider to reveal its branches, almost spanning the width of one wall. ‘It’s a Zimmerlinde. My little sister sent the seed to me in a letter. It’s the only thing I’ve ever tried to grow.’
They stood and looked at the Zimmerlinde together. ‘Well, obviously, that’s not the original one.’ His voice was low. ‘But I take cuttings, every decade or so.’
Lissia, Lara wanted to add, but she stayed quiet.
‘Bye then,’ she said again. ‘See you soon.’
‘Yes. Let’s meet. Maybe for supper?’
‘All right.’ Laughing, she turned and gave him a hug.
‘Goodbye.’ Lambert stood at the top of his stairs and watched her as she ran down.
‘Bye then.’ Lara waved from the front door, and Lambert raised his hand to her in silence, watching after her till she was gone.
I’d like to thank my friend Georgia Shearman for sharing her memories of India with me, and her mother Sarah Shearman for an early fact-checking read. I’d also like to thank Mark and Domitilla Getty for their generous hospitality, for taking me to the Palio, and for steering me towards
La Terra in Piazza
by Alan Dundes and Alessandro Falassi, which proved to be invaluable. Also Alexander Afriat for answering my many queries and my editor Alexandra Pringle for – as well as her warmth and generosity – putting us in touch. I am very indebted to Kitty Stirling for answering my questions, and once again, thanks to Shawn Slovo for providing a quiet room in which to work. Enormous thanks too to Manuela Zainea for childcare, to my agent Georgia Garrett for continued support, and my invaluable first readers Julie Myerson, Bella Freud and David Morrissey.
Esther Freud was born in London in 1963. She trained as an actress before writing her first novel,
Hideous Kinky
, which was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was made into a feature film starring Kate Winslet. Her other novels include
The Sea House
,
Summer at Gaglow
,
The Wild
,
Peerless Flats
,
Love Falls
and most recently
Lucky Break.
Her books have been translated into thirteen languages.
Hideous Kinky
Peerless Flats
Summer at Gaglow
The Wild
The Sea House
Lucky Break
First published 2007
This electronic edition published in 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Copyright © 2007 by Esther Freud
The moral right of the author has been asserted
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may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781408827123
www.bloomsbury.com/estherfreud
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