The sun was shining brightly and the day was warm. He watched Rosanna as she played with Nico on the daisy-studded lawn. He heard the baby laugh as Rosanna lifted him high into the air and back down onto her lap. Then she noticed Roberto looking at her and waved. He smiled and blew her a kiss.Roberto rubbed his forehead. The telephone call had been from Chris Hughes, who’d taken him through his schedule for the next two months. Roberto was to finally resume his engagements in two weeks’ time. To ease him in gently, there was first a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, then Covent Garden for a four-week run. After that he was back on the hamster wheel of concerts, recordings and performances on stages all over the world.Until six months ago, Roberto had never even considered the possibility of there being a different way of life that he might enjoy. But the time since Nico’s birth had proved a revelation. The tranquillity of The Manor House was enticing. Previously, he’d always pitied the man who wound his life round his wife and child, the ordinary man in the street who worked only as a means to an end, to provide a roof and food for his family.
