Feehan, Christine - The Scarletti Curse (41 page)

Aljandro panicked and dropped her. He stood over her a moment while she
gagged and choked. "I am not the only one who wants you dead." He
spat at her, then turned and fled into the high walls of the labyrinth.

Giovanni and Francesco reached her at the same time. The don was like a man
possessed. He shoved the guard away from her, reaching to gather her into his
arms, his face a mask of fury as he took in the dark finger marks around her
neck and throat. "Where were you?" He turned on the guard, the other
soldiers running up. "I gave you one job—to keep her safe. One job! You
find the man who did this to her. Find him and bring him to me! None of you
dare return without him!"

Vincente and Antonello had followed their brother when he had set off at a
dead run, unerringly following Nicoletta's path through the maze. "Who did
this?" Antonello asked her gently.

It took several tries to make her voice work, swollen as her throat was.
"Aljandro. Dressed like a soldier." She croaked the words, and each
one hurt. Nicoletta clung to Giovanni, her body trembling in reaction, as much
from being the target of such hatred as from Aljandro's nearly mortal assault.

"You find him!" Giovanni repeated, sounding every inch the don.
"Do not return to me without him." The tone of his voice conveyed a
very real threat. "I want every man searching for him. Antonello, you know
what to do. Do not let me down. I fear I will not forgive any of you easily for
the success of this attack on my wife."

He swung around and carried her through the narrow pathways, the twist and
turns of the maze. Every step he took seemed to build his anger. "This
will not happen again, Nicoletta. Never again!" he hissed under his
breath, more to himself than to her. As he strode across the courtyard, he raised
his voice and called for Gostanz and Maria Pia. There was rage in his voice, in
his walk, in every gesture he made. A fury riding him so hard, Nicoletta was
almost afraid to move.

She coughed several times in an attempt to retrieve her voice. Her heartbeat
was returning to normal. She was very aware of Don Scarletti's growing
agitation. He could not feign the trembling in his body, the rage running
through him as hot and dangerous as any volcano. She nestled closer into his
body, her arms circling his neck so that the bloodstained shirt fluttered for a
moment against him. "I'm sorry I doubted you," she croaked hoarsely.

"Do not talk," he ordered, his black gaze brooding. "What
good are guards and soldiers if they cannot protect one small woman? I did not
ask much of those in my service, those I have given to generously all my life.
I ride with those men, teach them, protect them, feed and house them. How could
such a thing happen? If your late friend's husband infiltrated the ranks of my
men, he must have someone aiding him, someone of rank."

Nicoletta stayed silent, aware her husband was far too explosive to soothe,
and because her throat was very sore. She lay her head against his shoulder and
was grateful for his hard strength. Maria Pia and Gostanz followed them, nearly
running to keep up with Giovanni's long strides. Gently Nicoletta placed her
hand against the don's blue-shadowed jaw. It took him a few moments as he
rushed her through the palazzo to notice the tender gesture.

Almost at once he could breathe more easily. She felt it. He felt it. By the
time they had reached the bedchamber, he was back under some semblance of
control.

"Signorina Sigmora, I did not keep her as safe as I had hoped,"
Don Scarletti bit out between his teeth, each word clipped and precise. His
eyes were very black, icy cold, his expression conjuring up the feel of a
graveyard. "I wish you to see to her injuries while I join those hunting
this snake. Gostanz will bring you whatever you need." He placed Nicoletta
in the middle of the bed and bent to brush a kiss against her temple. "I
fear you will have to be placed in that tower, or I will have no peace of
mind." For a moment his hand touched the terrible marks on her throat and
lingered there, his pain reflected in the depths of his dark eyes.

Maria Pia watched him leave before she touched the swollen, bruised skin on
Nicoletta's throat. "I do not think he was jesting,
bambina."
Tears filled the older woman's eyes. "I came very close to losing
you."

"It was Aljandro. I did not feel the warning until it was too late,
until he had his hands on me," Nicoletta whispered hoarsely. "I did
not feel Cristano's death. How could such things be, Maria Pia? What is
happening that I can no longer rely on what has always been a part of me?"

Maria Pia patted her hand consolingly. "Hush now,
bambina."
Someone had to keep a clear head. "I will need fresh water, Gostanz."
She wanted the man gone, out of hearing. She waited until he had disappeared
before she sank onto the bed beside Nicoletta. "I do not know why your
gift is failing you, Nicoletta, but it must be a frightening thing to lose it
when you need it the most."

Nicoletta looked at her with wide eyes, a thought suddenly occurring to her.
"Suppose I haven't lost it, Maria Pia. It is possible Aljandro had no idea
I was in the maze. I think he was as surprised as I was that he was about to
walk right into me." She touched her throat and moistened her lips with
her tongue. "The bird and the shadowing came just before he grabbed
me." She sat way up and pushed at stray tendrils of hair that had escaped
the knot she had tied. "It is possible that Aljandro did not come here to
kill
me,
but that the don is his real target. I had no prior shadowing
or warning because Aljandro was not prepared to strike yet."

"You do not know that, Nicoletta," Maria Pia cautioned her.
"And what of Cristano? How do you explain away his disappearance? Surely
you do not believe he is alive."

She took the bloodstained shirt from the bed where Nicoletta had dropped it.

"In truth, Maria Pia, I do not know what happened to Cristano. No, he
is not alive. I feel his death in that bit of cloth." Her voice was filled
with sorrow. "But something else is wrong. Something is just beyond my
reach, but I am missing it. Will you call Sophie for me?"

"You cannot mean to expose the child to this vile conspiracy." As
she had done all her life, Maria Pia was still protecting her young charges.

"She is a part of this. I do not know why, but she has already been
exposed to danger. If I am going to solve this riddle, I must have more pieces.
I think Sophie can provide me with them. I will wrap a scarf around my neck to
hide the marks. My voice is nearly normal again." Nicoletta's throat hurt
abominably, and her voice was husky, but she was afraid to wait any longer.
Something was very wrong in the palazzo, and she feared if she didn't find the
answer soon, there would be more deaths.

While Maria Pia went in search of the child, Nicoletta applied soothing
herbs to the bruises on her throat and neck. Gostanz returned with the water,
obviously upset by the event, his eyes anxious and grave. It occurred to
Nicoletta that she had made a few friends in the palazzo after all. She was
arranging a scarf around her throat when Sophie arrived, her bright eyes red
from crying.

Immediately Nicoletta held out her arms. "What is wrong, Sophie? And is
Ketsia upset as well? We cannot have that. Maria Pia, will you see to Ketsia?
Tell her I will join her in the kitchen in a few minutes."

The older woman frowned. "I do not think the don wished you to leave
the bedchamber, Nicoletta. There is talk that no one has ever seen him so
angry. They are afraid in the palazzo. It is very quiet. Hundreds of soldiers
are combing the courtyard and labyrinth. I think it best if you do not test his
patience further."

Nicoletta thought Maria Pia was right about the don, but she intended to
alleviate Ketsia's worry at the first opportunity. She waited until everyone
had gone, leaving her alone with the Sophie. "You see,
bambina?
I am
fine. A small
incidente.
All the other talk is silly. I need your help,
though,
piccola.
For something more important."

Sophie's eyes were enormous with pride at the opportunity to help Nicoletta.
"What can I do?"

"Do you remember when you were so sick and I first came to the palazzo
to give you aid?" Nicoletta ruffled the child's hair tenderly.
"Sometimes things we think are very bad can be good, no? This is how I met
you."

Sophie climbed up onto the bed and wriggled into Nicoletta's lap. "I am
glad I was sick, then," she said solemnly.

Nicoletta kissed the top of the child's head. "I want you to tell me
how you came to eat the soup that made you ill. No one can hear you but me, so
you know you will not get into trouble." She did her best to sound reassuring.

Sophie looked away, clearly not wanting to answer her. "Papa was very
angry with me," she admitted reluctantly. "I asked Bernado to make me
a special dinner, but I did not like it after all, and I refused to eat
it." She wrinkled her nose. "Papa said not to be like that, that the
cook had gone to much trouble for me." She looked down at her hands.
"I threw the plate on the floor and was very bad." The admission came
in a small voice.

"Why did you do that,
piccola?
It is not like you to hurt
Bernado's feelings."

Sophie hung her head. "Papa always listens to Zia Portia. She said if I
asked for it, I had to eat it, and Margerita laughed at me. But they did not
eat it. They said mean things and made faces, and Papa listened to them. I
thought if I acted like them, he would listen to me, too. I just wanted him to
listen to me."

Nicoletta hugged the child closer. "I understand,
bambina.
But
you know now that is not a good way to get your Papa's attention. Poor Bernado
was very hurt, no? Tell me about the soup," she encouraged.

Sophie nestled closer into Nicoletta, taking her hand trustingly. "Papa
sent me to bed and said I could not eat until morning, but I waited until it
was very late, and I went to the kitchen and found the soup. Bernado made it
for Zio Gino. It is his favorite, but often he cannot stop working to eat with
us. Bernado always leaves the soup pot hanging in the kitchen hearth. I took
Zio Gino's soup."

"Because you were very hungry," Nicoletta said sympathetically.

Sophie nodded, pressing her hands to her stomach as if remembering its
emptiness. "Zio Gino came in and saw me. But he did not yell. He laughed
and began to eat it with me out of the same bowl. Papa came in, and he was
angry with me."

"Because you had disobeyed him and gotten out of bed when he was
punishing you," Nicoletta reminded her.

Sophie's voice was indignant. "He said I was very bad to eat my zio's
food when he worked hard and was surely hungry." Large tears swam in the
child's eyes. "Zio Gino said it was fine because there was plenty of soup
to share, but Papa was still angry and said Zio Gino spoiled me so I
rotted."

Nicoletta hugged her in reassurance. "You are not rotten, my sweet
bambino,
not at all. Your zio was right to share his soup, but you must not disobey like
that again." She kissed her. "Thank you for telling me. Now we should
go find Ketsia, or she will cry until Maria Pia becomes upset with us."

So the soup had been poisoned to kill Giovanni, not Sophie, just as
Nicoletta suspected. Aljandro had probably come to kill the don, not Nicoletta.
Somewhere in the palazzo, a murderer lay in wait, biding his time. Nicoletta
didn't know if it was for political or personal reasons, but she knew, without
a doubt, that Don Giovanni Scarletti was in terrible danger.

As Nicoletta walked with Sophie along the upstairs hallway with its vast
spaces and vaulted ceilings, she heard the low murmur of feminine voices
hissing softly back and forth. Portia and Margerita were arguing again, the
sounds bitter and angry. Nicoletta touched her swollen throat through the thin
scarf, wondering, not for the first time, if evil was so locked into the walls
of the palazzo that it would never be exorcised. She followed Sophie down the
long corridor to the kitchen, grateful that in his haste to hunt down her
attacker, Don Scarletti had failed to assign her guards.

Ketsia threw herself into Nicoletta's arms, bursting into sobs, her little
face already streaked with tear-stains. "I thought you were dead! I heard
one of the maids say your new husband choked you to death because he found you
with another man."

Nicoletta's face drained of color. Her chin went up, dark eyes flashing with
temper. "Bernado, is that what is being said by the staff? They are
accusing Don Scarletti of strangling me?"

He ducked his head, embarrassed. Nicoletta whirled around as a shadow
crossed the doorway. Giovanni's grandfather hovered there uncertainly. His face
was lined with worry, his eyes red and blurry. She could see he was much
agitated. Still holding Ketsia to her, she immediately went to the older man to
reassure him. "I am fine—a scuffle, no more, with a man who was angry
because he lost his farm when he allowed his wife to die unaided. It was
nothing, Nonno. I turned the man down once when he asked me to marry him, and he
has nursed a grudge ever since. Giovanni is out looking for him now. I will not
have anyone in our home whispering rumors behind Giovanni's back." She
spun around, managing to look regal even in her peasant clothes. "Where is
Gostanz? I want all of those serving in the palazzo to gather in the front hall
immediately." Nicoletta used her sternest voice, determined to be taken
seriously.

The elderly Scarletti hugged Nicoletta clumsily, Ketsia and all. Sophie
stared at him with big around eyes and tried a tentative smile when he glanced
at her. The old man found himself smiling back at her before he hurried away,
not wanting to be observed by so many condemning eyes.

Gostanz assembled the servants in short order. Nicoletta was rather shocked
that so few people tended an estate so vast. Most seemed to be outdoor workers.
Reaching for courage, Nicoletta stepped in front of them, Ketsia still clinging
to her. The child gave her the bravery to face the servants. "I am Donna
Scarletti, for those of you who do not know me. Gostanz will bring to me any
complaints or suggestions you may have to make the running of the palazzo
smoother and easier for all of you. I do, however, want to address one issue
immediately. There has been talk of the recent attack on me. It is whispered
that my husband attempted to strangle me."