Feehan, Christine - The Scarletti Curse (20 page)

Cristano drew himself up to his full height. "Don Scarletti, I must
tell you, Nicoletta is my betrothed."

Nicoletta gasped in shock. She gaped at the young man, terrified that the don
might order him taken to the dungeon or, worse, challenge him to a duel.

Giovanni's black eyebrows shot up. He pulled Nicoletta's hand against the
heavy muscles of his chest and held it against his steady heartbeat. His thumb
feathered back and forth across her hand in a small caress. "I do not
think Nicoletta can be betrothed to both of us, and I have the prior claim. I
am sorry. I realize any man would wish to make Nicoletta his wife, but I will
not give her up."

Cristano took a deep breath. "There are special circumstances you
should know."

"No, Cristano." Nicoletta shook her head vigorously, her hair
flying out like a cape. Silky strands tangled on the don's blue-shadowed jaw,
creating an instant intimacy between them. He didn't attempt to pull the strands
away, but rather tugged Nicoletta even closer to him.

Giovanni bent his head to her so that his mouth was sinfully close. "Do
not be distressed,
piccola.
You are not accountable for what others
choose to say or do," he whispered against her skin, his breath warm and
comforting. For a moment Nicoletta's heart returned to its normal rhythm, but
then Giovanni turned the full force of his black eyes on Cristano. His gaze
glittered with something dangerous, something very menacing.

Nicoletta began to tremble. She shook her head mutely, her enormous eyes on
Cristano, eloquent with fear. The don's hand slid up her arm, rubbing lazily to
warm her.

"Before you speak, Signore Cristano, remember that the woman you are
discussing is my betrothed and under my protection." Once again Giovanni
spoke quietly, but there was such a shimmer of menace in his tone that they all
appeared frozen in place.

Cristano fixed his eyes on Nicoletta, gathered his courage, and blurted out
his lie. "Nicoletta and I have lain together."

Ketsia's dark eyes grew big and round. She pressed a hand to her mouth to
keep from emitting a screech of shock. The silence was ominous, stretching out
so long that Nicoletta wanted to scream under the sheer strain of it. Even the
insects seemed hushed beneath the weight of the don's dark disapproval.

Giovanni caught Nicoletta's chin in his hand and forced her to look at him.
He stared down into her eyes for a long while. Then a slow smile softened the
hard edges of his mouth.
You are such an innocent. You have not been with
this lout, nor do you love him.

Nicoletta shook her head, unable to look away from the don and unable to
break free of the hypnotic spell he always seemed to cast over her. She
couldn't have lied to him if her life depended on it, and it very well might.
He might have let her go if he thought she had lain with Cristano.

I would never let you go, so do not think this silly boy is your way out.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, Giovanni released Nicoletta's gaze and turned to
regard Cristano with his intense, merciless stare. "You should know better
than to attempt to ruin a woman's reputation. Walk with me, boy. You have need
to learn manners." He gestured toward the labyrinth.

Nicoletta circled Ketsia's shoulders with one arm and, with a frown on her
face, watched the two men approaching the huge masses of groomed shrubbery that
formed the maze.

Ketsia tugged at her skirt. "Do you think he will run Cristano through
with a sword for lying about you?"

The little girl spoke loudly enough for Cristano to hear. Cristano hunched
his shoulders, and the tips of his ears turned red. Nicoletta felt sorry for
him.

"Hush,
bambina.
Don Scarletti knows Cristano is just being
silly. He would not resort to so cruel a thing." Nicoletta didn't sound as
convinced as she would have liked.

Maria Pia and Sophie joined them in the courtyard. Sophie stared at Ketsia
with a mixture of apprehension and interest. She marched right up to Nicoletta
and took her hand, giving Ketsia a haughty look. "Nicoletta is
mia fa-miglia
now. She
is
mia zia."

Ketsia made a face at the little girl. "She will not be your
zia
until she is married to the don. Nicoletta is my best friend."

"We are all going to be best friends," Nicoletta hastily
intervened. "Sophie, this is Ketsia. We shall all have so much fun
together."

Sophie relaxed a bit when Nicoletta continued to hold her hand and smile
sweetly at her. She even managed a small nod to Ketsia. Nicoletta tried not to
laugh at the way the two little girls were behaving and instead suggested,
"Sophie, will you show Ketsia the kitchen and introduce her to Bernado?
Ketsia, Bernado is the best cook in the world and Sophie's good friend. Sophie
will get you a wonderful treat from the kitchen." She winked at shy little
Sophie. "Do not forget to get me something, too. I trust you will take
good care of my friend for me."

Again made to feel important by the errand, Sophie took Ketsia's hand, and
they skipped off together toward the palazzo.

Nicoletta sank onto the green carpet of grasses, her knees giving out on
her. "It's possible I will have gray hair before this wedding takes
place," she said to Maria Pia. "Cristano, the dolt, told Don
Scarletti he had ruined me."

Maria Pia shrieked her outrage so loudly that birds rose into the air from
the treetops, scattering across the sky. She made the sign of the cross in
every direction, including over Nicoletta three times. "That boy needs a
good hiding! Has the Don ordered you back to the
villaggio?"
There
was a hopeful note in her voice.

"He did not believe Cristano. They are having a talk." Nicoletta
tilted her head, frowning. "Maria Pia, do you remember that boy from the
villagio
over on the other side of the hill? The odd-looking one who did not grow up in
his mind? He would be so sweet, smiling at everyone, but when someone would
cross him, he would go berserk. He was first an angel, then a devil, as if he
were split in half. I would never have believed it if I had not seen it
myself." Nicoletta wrung her hands. "Could someone appear perfectly
normal and yet hide madness within? Could he be ever so quiet and calm yet
capable of throwing a woman off a tower?" she asked worriedly.

Maria Pia glanced at the soldiers to ensure they couldn't overhear the
conversation. "You think the don might suffer such an affliction?"

"I do not know if such a thing is possible." Nicoletta watched the
maze for signs of a violent confrontation. As always, from the moment she had
arrived at the palazzo she felt as if she was being watched. She glanced up at
the ramparts, and, sure enough, amidst the gargoyles with their hard, flat eyes
she spotted Portia's daughter. Margerita thought herself protected by a squat,
hulking stone creature, but her crimson dress billowed out with sweeps of the
wind. She seemed to be always lurking, watching with hate-filled eyes.

"I will not be the wife the don needs, Maria Pia. I cannot entertain
the
aristocrazia
as Portia said I must." Nicoletta nervously swept
back her hair. "I cannot live this life with all eyes watching my every
move. I want to go home where I belong. I almost wish the don had believed
Cristano. I think I could manage Cristano, but there is no one who can manage
the don. He frightens me in many ways. I do not trust my own reaction to
him."

Maria Pia murmured vague reassurances, patting Nicoletta's shoulder
helplessly. Even she could not save Nicoletta from the don.

Nicoletta smiled at her a little grimly. "I am surrounded by enemies,
but I do not know if they are mine or the don's. There are many secrets here,
things I do not understand. Someone is always watching." She glanced at
the soldiers some distance away. "And those guards are serious about
following me." A mischievous grin replaced her melancholy mood, her
irrepressible good nature refusing to be defeated. "At least they did not
enter the room with the dressmakers."

Maria Pia smiled in spite of herself. "You are scandalous,
bambino
.."

Nicoletta stood as Giovanni sauntered out of the maze. At once her heart
beat fast at the sight of him. He was so tall and powerful and good-looking he
took her breath away. But he was alone, and he looked ruthless, implacable.
Nicoletta glanced past him in an attempt to see Cristano, but he didn't follow
Giovanni out of the labyrinth. She stood very still, waiting for the don to
reach her side.

Giovanni reached out to wrap a length of her shining black hair around his
hand. "Do not look so frightened,
cara.
I will not lock you in the
tower, at least not yet. But my heart cannot survive all these men who seem to
be worshiping at your feet. We must marry soon, or I shall be fighting duels on
a daily basis." He tugged on Nicoletta's hair until she was forced to step
close to him. His teeth flashed at her. "You are beautiful,
piccola.
More beautiful than I can say. I suppose I cannot blame the young men."

Nicoletta looked at his hand. His knuckles were scraped, and a spot of blood
marred his immaculate shirt. Her eyes widened in horror, and she turned
anxiously toward the labyrinth in hopes of seeing Cristano.

"The boy is fine," Giovanni assured her. "He attempted to
insist on his untruth, but I could not allow him to continue misusing your good
reputation. He will think about his folly over the next few days."

"Perhaps I should attend him," Nicoletta said fearfully. "I
do not think so, Nicoletta," the don said with a hard note of authority in
his voice and a hard cast to his dark features.

"Maria Pia must see to him, then," she insisted. "The boy
would not welcome a woman witnessing his present discomfort."

"Giovanni, you have deserted your guest," Vincente greeted,
ambling across the courtyard with a secret, taunting grin on his face. He had
emerged from the far side of the maze, rounding the square-cut bushes to cross
the green carpet of grasses. "You seem unable to pull yourself away from
your bride, although I must say, I cannot blame you." He looked beyond his
older brother, and a welcoming grin broke out on his face. "Antonello! You
have returned at such an opportune time. The
famiglia
gathers to
celebrate the wedding!"

Nicoletta turned with Giovanni to watch Antonello Scarletti emerge from the
opposite side of the labyrinth. His clothes were worn and tattered, smudged in
places with what looked like blood and dirt. He appeared tired, a tall,
handsome man, but very much alone.

Antonello stopped a short distance away, his dark gaze moving over
Nicoletta, recognition flaring for a moment in his eyes. Nicoletta suddenly
found her bare toes very interesting. Giovanni sighed softly as he looked down
at the top of her bent head.
Is there
any
man who has not coveted
you?

Nicoletta blushed furiously, the color creeping up into her face so fast
that she had no hope of stopping it. She glared at the don. Antonello certainly
had not coveted her. She and Maria Pia had simply helped him once, and he had
helped them in return. Giovanni looked unrepentant.
How is it you already
know my brother, then?
One eyebrow arched in inquiry, a hint of amusement
creeping into his smoldering eyes.

"What wedding?" Antonello asked softly, his voice husky as if from
lack of use. "Who is it that is going to be married?"

"Giovanni," Vincente announced cheerfully, a wide grin on his face
as he delivered what was obviously shocking news.

Antonello froze in place, his entire body stiffening. His dark gaze jumped
to his elder brother's face. "You are to be wed?"

Nicoletta felt dark undercurrents swirling around her, ones she couldn't
fully understand, but she was afraid she would drown in them. Something dark
and ominous, loomed among the brothers, a sinister shadow that clouded every
attempt at happiness.

Giovanni tightened his arm around her, almost protectively. "Nicoletta
has consented to be my bride."

She laughed. She couldn't help it, despite the grimness the three brothers
seemed to share. She found the don's choice of words amusing under the
circumstances. Her laughter was low and contagious as she looked up at her
betrothed. An answering smile softened his hard mouth and dispelled the shadows
in his eyes. For a moment they stared at one another, lost in their shared
amusement.

Giovanni looked his brother over carefully. "Are you hurt? Was there
trouble?"

Antonello shrugged carelessly. "Nothing I could not handle."

"Well," Vincente announced loudly, "the entire family has
gathered. We need only Damian to complete the family circle." He bowed
slightly toward Nicoletta. "Damian is our cousin and our good friend. We
all grew up together."

She was aware of the sudden change in Giovanni. It was subtle, very subtle,
but her body was up against his, and she felt a thread of iron run through him,
his blood suddenly surging hotly. Nicoletta looked up at his face. It was an
expressionless mask, a faint, humorless smile fixed there. He looked casual,
almost lazy, but he was coiled and ready to strike.

"Have you seen him, Antonello, in your travels?" Vincente
continued. "He sent word ahead that he would be arriving a couple of days
past. We planned a hunt together. But there is no word from him, and that is
unlike him."

"He usually comes by boat," Antonello said. "Have you checked
the cove?"

Nicoletta stiffened, her heart slamming in her chest. She knew. She knew the
truth immediately, almost as if Giovanni had shared the information with their
strange mind link. Their cousin was dead, one of the men Giovanni had slain on
the beach. Her face paled, and her mouth went dry. She didn't dare look at him,
but his hand clamping hers over his heart was enough. He knew she shared his
knowledge.