'You cannot see him.' Zia Francesca was keeping her voice down. Concetta realised that she was trying to diffuse the situation without involving the others. Working through problems was done within the family and it cost Francesca a lot to consult with no one. But even more than that, no matter how disapproving, she was trying to spare Concetta the humiliation of confessing to serious sin that could land her in disgrace.
Concetta wrestled with the truth. She couldn't tell her who her secret lover really was but she couldn't just invent a married man either.
'Is he married?'
'No.' This at least was the truth. Francesca reddened and swelled up like a bullfrog. If her niece was lying to her…
'I give you my word! Not married.'
'He's not Italian.' This was not a question. A shake of the head confirmed it.
'Did he buy you this kind of thing?'
'Just this.'
'Do you wear it for him?' She brandished the handful of lace and satin aggressively. Concetta realised that zia Francesca was very angry. So far she'd kept it in check but she wasn't going to for much longer. She thought, if she was going to tell her something, she might tell her part of the truth.
'I wear it for myself.'
Zia Francesca nearly exploded with the effort of not showing her anger the usual way. Underwear like this was a gift from a man to a woman for his pleasure. She'd be damned if her niece was going to start acting like a whore. She could utter every threat under the sun but Concetta would find a way of carrying on, regardless of forbiddance. That was human nature. She had to make sure no one else found out.
'If I see this again, I will rip it to shreds' she warned her. 'Get rid of it.'
Her niece stared at her with eyes of flint and said nothing. Before, she would have nodded and done it straight away. But her mulish behaviour awoke a thread of mistrust in Francesca's heart. For the first time ever, her niece could not be trusted to behave as she was told. An obstinate streak was making itself shown and this couldn't be tolerated. She tossed the garments on the floor and left. Concetta gathered them up and put them in her bag. She would keep them at the houseboat from now on. She didn't know how long she could keep this up now that zia Francesca had the power to expose them. The only safety was down to her careful phrasing. Nobody knew that it wasn't in fact, a man.