With Love, From Italy

“Alright, has everyone paid for the tour?” Tom called to the group as everyone stood assembled at the base of the local castle the next afternoon. There was a chorus of affirmative answers and nods and the man clapped his hands together, leading the way up the stairs to where they would find their tour guide. Leigh rolled her eyes as Caleb moved in front of her and Belle, the girl pushing her brother for a smart aleck comment. The boy responded by leaning backwards and Leigh immediately reached out to lightly pinch them both.

“My god guys, anyone would think you’re five years old. At least save it till the top so we don’t have to spend the rest of the holiday visiting you in hospital,” she hissed and both of them looked at her like naughty school children. She hadn’t been all that harsh, but she had learnt and been informed that sometimes the both of them needed a swift kick up the backside when arguments were on the horizon. Leigh had become surprisingly confident with slapping them both around the ears and Belle had once even admitted it didn’t seem like she was the youngest.

“Everything alright back here guys?” Tom asked as he fell back into step with them, his face clearly showing he knew what had been going on. The siblings tried to look innocent and he smirked at them, squishing in as a couple passed by in the opposite direction. As he pressed in he placed a hand on Leigh’s upper arm to guide her, forcing Belle to move a step up next to her brother. The redhead caught the curious glance her friend threw as she did so, which made Leigh feel a little self conscious for reasons she didn’t understand.

Once they reached the top he released her, though she couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t move off to mediate with the others as he had done previously. Instead he hung around the three youngest members of the group, smiling widely at the middle-aged Italian woman who greeted them as their tour guide. She explained in heavily accented English that the tour would only take about half an hour given the small size of the castle, and led them towards the large doors. Leigh paid close attention as they moved, interested in hearing stories of Italian history. She had taken a few castle tours back in England, finding the Middle Ages fascinating and hoped for the same again.

As they entered the hall the guide began with the history of Levanto as a town and Leigh gazed at the stone walls around her. Like most castles it was draughty and held the cold just enough to make the redhead shiver as she readjusted to the temperature. She heard Tom mutter an apology and shot him a quizzical look. It took a few moments to realize that he was apologizing for not having a coat that he could give her and she shook her head at his chivalry.

“How many times do you reckon you’d have to do this tour before you learnt everything and could run it yourself?” Caleb posed as they halted in front of a painting, the guide beginning to talk about the artist and its significance.

“I’m voting three times, tops. If I can memorise a twenty minute proposal speech in an hour I can pick up a half hour history tour with prompts easy,” Belle answered and Leigh nodded in agreement. “I bet Tom could recite it by the end of this, he’s a sponge for words and histories.”

“You flatter me darling,” Tom grinned, urging them onwards as the group started to move off. They approached a winding staircase, beginning to ascend it one by one and Leigh took hold of Belle’s hand in front of her. It wasn’t long before she felt the actor’s grip on her elbow and she bit down on her lip as she concentrated on moving upwards. That was until she felt a tug and she fell backwards into him, almost bringing Belle with her. “Oh gosh I’m so sorry; I keep nearly giving you a heart attack or injury.”

Wincing, the two girls turned to him to find him pressed against the wall, his free hand running over the stones. Belle placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him in demand of an explanation and he looked at them apologetically.

“I temporarily forgot I was holding on, I got distracted by thoughts of how astounding it is that four or five hundred years ago someone was standing on this exact stair going about their day just like we are.”

“I don’t think back then they tended to just stand around on stairs hugging the walls. Except perhaps the ‘slow’ servant’s son,” Leigh pointed out, sharing a smirk with Belle who clapped her hands once, the sound echoing.

“That’s it! That’s your next role right there dear cousin,” she cried and he chuckled, reaching up to flick her on the nose. She scurried away though, laughing wildly and Leigh and the man were quick to follow. When they reached the top of the staircase they found everyone else waiting beside a narrow window where the guide was pointing out the view of the ocean.

“And where did you lot get to?” Diana asked them good naturedly as they approached and Tom slipped an arm around his mother’s shoulders.

“Tom was giving us a touching rendition of how amazing stone bricks are,” Belle informed and Leigh nodded along, somehow managing to keep a straight face despite feeling like she wanted to burst into a fit of giggles.

“It was truly emotional; I felt the pain of being a stone, I was almost in tears I tell you. Your son has a wonderful gift,” the redhead added on, Belle snorting and Diana let out a chuckle, patting her son’s hand.

“You should have seen the regular plays he, Sarah, and Emma put on. I remember one rendition of Jack and Jill in which poor Emma was the bucket. Tom managed to drop her on her head and everything quickly came to an end.”

“Oh god mother,” Tom cried, his hands moving to cover his face as Belle and Leigh once again burst into laughter, clutching at their stomachs as they doubled over. Diana immediately tried to calm them amongst her own giggles, not wanting them to get in trouble. Eventually the pair collected themselves and they were able to move on, occasionally dropping a comment and snickering afterwards. By the time the tour came to an end Tom was raking his hand through his hair almost continuously, muttering about regrets for being so passionate. As they stood in the courtyard and he lifted his arm for the millionth time Leigh reached out and stilled it, shoving it back down to his side.

“You keep doing that and you’ll be bald by the end of the trip.”

“He could always be open for a role as a monk then,” Belle quipped and Leigh stuffed her knuckles into her mouth to stop more giggles. A moment later she was under control and the brunette was apologizing. “Sorry Tom, we’re just in a crazy mood… and you have to admit it was pretty amusing.”

“Yeah, castle fumes and all that,” Leigh nodded, doing her best to look at the man innocently and he let out a sigh.

“Oh alright, you’re forgiven. But you both owe me drinks at dinner tonight,” he said, pointing a finger at both of them and they agreed with mock reluctance, moving to join the others in the descent into the town.