The Italian Affair by Helen Crossfield Read Free Book Online Page A

of the small towns around here are agricultural and very poor like Puzo’s village. If you go further south to Calabria, they are even poorer. So we are officially in Godfather territory and you have to be aware of the local Mafia. The Camorra,” Dan added dramatically.
    “Um, but what does that mean exactly – are we in danger? What do you know about the Mafia and the Camorra I have to say it’s not something I really understand?” asked Issy her eyes widening.
    “I don’t know anything really, other than what I read in Puzo’s book and I must have seen the Godfather hundreds of times. Whether that’s how it works in real life I don’t know. All I do know is that organised crime – if that’s the right word to describe it – exists in and around these parts.”
    “Do you think it is dangerous for us living here then?” said Issy remembering some of the furtiveness she had felt as they’d driven through parts of Naples earlier that morning, particularly in the down-town quarters of the historic centre.
    Dan thought about the question for a minute and then replied with a slight hesitancy. “No. Not for me and you I don’t think. It is all about organised crime so unless you’re personally involved in some way, by being born into one of the Mafia or Camorra families or get in their way then theoretically it shouldn’t affect either of us. Although, I’ve heard that there is a huge increase in Camorra activity in Naples at the moment and that it is virtually unstoppable.”
    “How do you know if someone you meet has those connections?” Issy asked Dan leaning over the table intently.
    “What Mafia connections you mean?” Dan replied sipping the chilled white wine.
    “Yes,” Issy continued. “How will I know if I come across someone from the Mafia or the Camorra while I’m here?”
    Dan laughed. “I guess you don’t. I once asked one of my students in Rome all about the Mafia, but I found they didn’t want to talk. Their refusal to speak just made me more interested. In the end we joked about it and things were said probably in jest.”
    “Is the severed horse’s head just something that happens in films?” asked Issy now she had found her stride. “Or does it happen in real life still today as a warning if you get too close?”
    The arrival of a bustling Netta and two plates of exquisite food interrupted the conversation. Charcoaled slices of home-made bread drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, small chunks of deep red succulent tomatoes topped high with roughly torn basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper were placed in front of them.
    As the chilled aromatic wine washed down the first mouthfuls of food, Issy mentally compared what was on her plate with the food that would normally be served at home as a starter. The ingredients smelt and tasted so very different. There was an earthiness and vibrancy that suggested the bread was freshly baked and the rest of the ingredients just picked from a fertile and sun-drenched terrain.
    “Oh my God how is it possible to have such a burst of flavours from such a straightforward plate of food?” enthused Issy as they both hungrily wolfed it down.
    Dan smiled widely as he wiped the plate clean with the last bit of his bruschetta. “Wait until you taste the risotto. That will blow your entire sensory system darling” Dan said as he spied Netta hurtling towards them again this time with hand-painted ceramic dishes filled with risotto full of a variety of shell fish.
    The salty smell that rose out of the dishes suggested that everything apart from the rice had come straight out of the sea. Before tasting the food, Dan pointed out the different sea fruits to Issy as he prodded his risotto. “Ok in here we have at the very least a combination of shrimps, clams, mussels and squid. Go on I can’t wait for you to taste it.”
    As Issy took the first mouthful, a myriad of textures and flavours hit her palette all at once. The rich fresh fish oils