Marias worked the vines all day, and when they were able to go out, they did, but then Antonias came along and everything changed.

Annette had been expected to drop into a family routine of looking after little Antonias, and having more children to follow him. But she had soon grown bored with it all.

It didn’t matter that Marias told her that one day Antonias would be a rich man and inherit everything; Annette wanted her share now.

It was actually Miriam’s vineyard, and it hadn’t always been a vineyard. It had once been a farm, but during Miriam and Fredo’s married life, the farm had started doing badly. They had one bad crop after another, yet the bills still had to be paid. There was a living in it, but not much of one.

Fredo made wine for a hobby, using the grapes on their land. And so, to pass the time, he made a small number of bottles for himself, plus some he shared with friends.

His friends had enjoyed the wine and praised it; it had a taste all of its own. When word spread about this local winemaker, the owner of a small nearby restaurant had come to taste ‘Fredo’s wine’, and liked it.

He had taken half a dozen bottles on sale or return. It had surprised them both that the bottles had sold and the wine was popular.

More orders were put in, and soon Fredo was taking on extra help to pick his grapes. Eventually, they decided to give up on the farm and to grow more grapes, instead.

Fredo had found his niche and he was starting to make more money out of the wine than he ever had, living hand to mouth from the farm.

The hot Italian sun made the grapes grow full and large, and Fredo knew just when to pick them, when they were at their best.

Fredo and his best friend, Alfonso, whom he had known since childhood, picked the grapes together, after Alfonso’s farm fell on hard times and drained all of his funds. Fredo moved Alfonso and his family in with them, and gave him money to help pay off some of the debts he owed.

Alfonso had spoken many times of a cousin who lived on the other side of Italy. He was starting an import and export business and wanted Alfonso and his family to join him, but they couldn’t afford to go.

Alfonso was a good and trusted friend and after Fredo and Miriam had talked things through together, they felt they should help him.

Fredo had given Alfonso the equivalent of 500 pounds, a lot of money at that time, but the wine sales were taking off.

He had been sad to see his childhood friend leave, but had wished him well in his new venture.

‘I will pay you back, Fredo, every penny of this, I promise, someday I will pay you back for your kindness.’

‘We are friends, Alfonso, I do not want your money, only your friendship. There is no debt,’ said Fredo.

They had hugged each other, Fredo knowing that he would probably never see Alfonso again.

Shortly after Alfonso had left, the owner of a large restaurant in the city had come to taste Fredo’s wine and had liked it very much. They offered Fredo a regular contract but had written on the contract that they wished to purchase ‘Lambrianu Vineyard wine’, rather than ‘Fredo’s wine’.

Fredo and Miriam had both agreed that, while it would always be known as ‘Fredo’s wine’ to them, their surname did give the wine more class, and would be easier to sell, and so ‘Lambrianu Vineyard wine’ was born.

Their own son, Marias, had started working with his father as a young boy, and had learnt how and when to pick the grapes. He had seen the operation grow into a sizeable business. Fredo had taken a huge loan out, using the farmland and the house as collateral, and had used the money to pay for sterilising equipment, bottles and labelling.

But it had all been worth it. The vineyard had more orders than it could cope with and Fredo bought up nearby farmland, to plant more grapevines. It was all a great success.

Marias didn’t need to work the vines with his father, but they both still enjoyed it. Life was good for the Lambrianu family.

Then Marias had met Annette when she was visiting Italy, and had instantly fallen in love with her. Her pale skin and long blonde hair had bewitched him. He had taken her home to meet his parents and visit the vineyard, and when he had asked her to stay in Italy and marry him, she had agreed.

Annette had seemed to enjoy playing the lady of the manor and receiving beautiful jewellery from her husband, but then she’d had Antonias and things had started to go wrong.

Miriam was obsessed with her blond-haired, blue-eyed grandson. And Annette began to resent the way Miriam lavished money on him, when he didn’t need it.

Marias was always busy with business meetings with some client. And Annette simply wasn’t interested in the vineyard. She was young; she wanted to go out dancing the night away. Annette didn’t like the responsibility of a child and his needs, and felt she was far too young to become burdened with motherhood.

And then she had seen Carlos, who eased the boredom. He made her smile again.

Annette had told him tales of life back in London and Big Ben, and elaborated on the truth when she boasted about how many famous people she knew. He seemed impressed, and listened intently.

After several days of talking and mild flirtation, Carlos had taken a napkin full of bread and cheese, walked away from the lunch gathering and gone into one of the nearby fields, to eat his lunch.

Annette had watched him leave and had felt sad. She’d waited for the other workers to take their food into a nearby barn for shade and, making sure she wasn’t seen, she had sneaked off to find Carlos.

Carlos lay in the field, perched on his elbow, his head resting in his hand. He’d known Annette would come. He knew she was smitten, and it was time to make his move. She was a beautiful woman, and now she would be his.

Annette had sat beside him while he told her how beautiful she was. He reached up to move a wisp of hair from her face and she had felt the excitement bubbling up inside her.

Tentatively, Carlos had kissed her cheek and, noticing she didn’t pull away, he moved closer to kiss her on the lips.

After that first kiss, Carlos and Annette started an illicit and dangerous affair. The stolen moments they spent in the fields became Annette’s whole world. Carlos’s lovemaking seemed exciting and forbidden, and when Marias reached out for her in the night, she feigned sleep.

Carlos knew Annette was now putty in his hands, and that she owned half of a vineyard. He saw the fine jewellery she wore, and she was always giving him money when he said he might have to leave the vineyard to find better-paid work.

Annette was to be his ticket out of this never-ending peasant life; she could take him to London, and he would live like a rich man.

After six weeks of passion and excitement, and all the wonderful plans Carlos had made for them – if only he had the money – things had come to a head. Fate had stepped in.

One day as they were lying in the warm Italian sun, the shrill screams of panic filled the air. Annette and Carlos looked up at the sky from where they lay. They heard the commotion, straightened their dishevelled clothing and ran towards the vineyard. The foreman was ringing the farm bell and people were running around, then suddenly Annette heard the shocking news.

‘Marias has been in an accident, quick, help! Marias is injured!’

Everyone in the house ran out to see what had happened. Miriam and Fredo had recently bought an adjoining field. It was overgrown and hadn’t been used in years. Marias had gone out with the farmers to oversee the chopping down of the trees. One of the tractors had got stuck, and Marias and the foreman had gone around the back of it to see what the problem was.

The handbrake of the tractor hadn’t been put on properly and it had rolled backwards, over Marias; he was trapped under the wheels.

The foreman, not wanting to move him, had first secured the tractor then run back to the vineyard, to raise the alarm.

An ambulance was called. The foreman tried driving the tractor forward, to release Marias from the wheels. Marias was screaming and shouting in pain. At least he was still alive.

The workers were going to construct a makeshift stretcher to lift him, but Miriam thought it would be better not to move him until the ambulance came.

When they finally arrived, the paramedics gave Marias a hefty injection of painkillers and he slipped into a deep unconsciousness.

It was obvious to them that half of Marias’s body had been crushed and they moved the unconscious man as gently as they could onto a stretcher and put him in the back of the ambulance. Miriam had gone with them to the hospital.

The worst news ever, for Miriam, was that Marias’s right leg was so crushed it would have to come off to give him any chance of survival.

During his hospital stay, Annette had played the dutiful wife and sat by his side, crying and showing distress while he was in a delirium, and after he had undergone extensive surgery.

But Miriam did not believe Annette. She had always been suspicious of her motives for marrying Marias, and recent gossip about her sudden interest in the farm workers and the vineyard only fuelled her suspicions. She’d voiced her opinions to her husband many times that Annette had only married Marias for what she could get out of the union.