The Forgotten Locket (25 page)

“Thank you,” Caterina said. “And, yes, I have. I love to sew and cook and paint. Most importantly, though, I’ve raised two boys with them.”

“What was he like?” I asked. “Dante. When he was a child, I mean.”

Caterina smiled as only a mother could. “Oh, he was a curious child. He wanted to know everything about everything. And he had so much energy. He would finish a task in half the time I thought it would take.” She picked up a dark ribbon from the table. “But he was also careful and precise. He could be quiet and still for hours on end if he needed to be.”

“He hasn’t changed much, then,” I said, reflecting on how Dante had managed to find his balance between action and thought. I remembered that Leo had called Dante a dreamer. It was still the best description I could think of for him.

“I’m not surprised,” Caterina said. “Dante was a boy who always knew exactly what he wanted out of life, and he was determined to get it.” She tilted a look in my direction, a half question in her eyes but a certain smile on her lips.

Was she implying what I thought she was? Without meaning to, I glanced toward the door that led into the main room. I could hear Dante’s voice—not his exact words—but the rhythm was familiar and instantly recognizable to me.

Dante had once told me that even when we were apart, he could always point to me; he always knew. And I realized I knew that about him as well. It was as if an invisible chain connected us, a link that let me know exactly where he was.

“There,” Caterina said, tying the ribbon in Valerie’s hair. “What do you think?” She handed a small mirror to Valerie and stepped back.

Valerie turned her head one way, then the other, patting the shape of her hair with the flat of her hand. “Good. Now we can go shopping.”

She hopped up from her chair and made a beeline for the narrow cupboard standing in the corner. Throwing open the door, she flipped through the clothes as intently as if she were at the mall.

“Here. Let me help you,” Caterina said, following in Valerie’s wake. She deftly reached past Valerie’s shoulder and withdrew three dresses that she then laid out on the bed.

“These are beautiful,” I said. “Did you make them?”

Caterina nodded. “I find sewing relaxing. And there is a certain satisfaction in seeing something you designed and created come to life.”

I smiled. I understood why Dante’s love of art and his creative skill were so healthy and alive; his mother had the same fire in her.

“Oh, I like the green one,” Valerie said, scooping up the heavy fabric and clutching it to her chest. She looked across the room to me. “Dress shopping with you is always an adventure.”

I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t thought Valerie remembered that long-ago shopping trip we’d made with Natalie, but her eyes were steady and clear. Maybe she really was getting better. I hoped so.

Caterina nodded. “That one will look lovely on you.” She turned to me. “Abigail, which one do you like?”

I looked back at the remaining dresses, but it wasn’t even a choice. I stepped forward and touched the warm golden-brown dress with a gentle hand. “This is beautiful.” The bodice had a white lace overlay, and the buttons down the back looked like pearls. A strip of gold ribbon lined the round neckline.

Caterina measured me with smiling eyes. “Yes, I think that one will be a perfect fit. You can change behind there.” She nodded toward a folded wooden screen painted top to bottom with a beautiful landscape of flowers and a sky full of birds. “I’ll help your friend.”

I lifted the dress from the bed and slipped behind the partition, noticing that the artwork continued all the way around to the back. The lush greens of the landscape scene were soothing while the bright reds and yellows of the flowers popped like living blossoms. Birds darted and swooped from tree to tree, caught in midflight.

“This is a lovely screen,” I said as I kicked off my shoes. Before I took my heavy cloak off, though, I carefully collected the pieces of the locket from the inside pocket. I couldn’t leave the locket behind, but I didn’t know where I could keep it. I couldn’t wear it around my neck anymore, and Caterina’s dress didn’t have any pockets.

“It is, isn’t it?” Caterina agreed. “Dante painted it for me before he left for his apprenticeship with da Vinci.”

I paused. Of course. How had I not recognized his work immediately? He had a way of infusing life into his art. A vibrancy that lifted my spirits.

“Have you seen his work before?” Caterina asked.

I looked down at the locket in my hand. “Yes,” I managed, my voice trembling. “I’ve seen quite a bit of it, actually.”

Quickly, I ripped off a small piece of cloth from the cloak and wrapped it tightly around the locket so the broken pieces wouldn’t move around. Then I slipped the packet inside my bra, close to my heart. I pulled my shirt up and over my head. Goose bumps rose up on my exposed skin; I missed the convenience of central heat.

“Abby knows all about Dante’s work,” Valerie chimed in. “He is very talented. And he is planning to make something special just for her.”

“He is?” Caterina asked, intrigued.

I wondered the same thing. How could Dante make anything with his sight gone?

“But he doesn’t know what it is yet. It’s still a secret,” Valerie continued.

“Oh, I see,” Caterina said. “But if so, then how do you know about it?”

Valerie’s voice took on a proud confidence. “I know everyone’s secrets. Even the ones the Pirate King doesn’t know I know.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. Valerie might be getting better, but she wasn’t there yet. Quickly pulling on the dress, I stepped around the screen, hoping to redirect the conversation before it went any further.

Valerie looked up at me, her mouth opening in honest surprise. “Oh, Abby,” she breathed. “You look beautiful.”

Caterina fairly beamed, and, to my surprise, tears welled up in her eyes. “Yes, I agree. It looks wonderful on you.”

I smoothed my hands down the front of the skirt, suddenly self-conscious. The dress fit better than I’d expected, a little tight around the waist, and a little short in the sleeves and the hem—I was slightly taller than Caterina—but the fabric was lush and lovely.

Caterina walked to my side, a faraway look softening her already expressive face and bold features. She ran her fingertips down the embroidered sleeve. “I was wearing this dress when I met Alessandro for the first time. He was so young and handsome. I knew I would marry him the moment I saw him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know—I can wear something else.” I turned back to the screen, intending to change back into my clothes.

“No, no, please. It’s all right.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I’ve seen how you and Dante are together—even during this short time tonight. And a mother knows.” She took my hand in hers. “Dante is a good man, and all I’ve ever wanted was for him to find happiness. Which is why I’m so glad that he found you. I hope he never lets you go.”

Chapter 18

I felt a little silly wearing my sneakers underneath such a beautiful dress, but Caterina’s shoes fit Valerie, not me. Besides, she needed them more than I did.

Valerie looked more like herself once she had taken off Alessandro’s cloak and changed out of her hospital sweats and bathrobe and into Caterina’s green dress. Though the gown hung loosely on her thin frame, the color went perfectly with her dark hair and blue eyes.

When we entered the room, my eyes immediately went to Dante. He was alone by the fireplace, holding his hands out to warm his palms against the rising heat. He lifted his head and turned toward me.

I knew he could see me, but I still wasn’t prepared for his reaction.

He walked directly to me, took me in his arms, and kissed me, right there in front of his parents and Valerie.

Surprised, I didn’t know what else to do but kiss him back. I could feel his lips trembling against mine, and I wondered at his sudden rush of emotion.

Valerie gasped and clapped her hands. “Oh, they make the cutest couple.”

“That they do,” Caterina said.

“Reminds me of us, when we were young,” Alessandro said, sweeping his arm around his wife and kissing her cheek.

“Are you saying I’m not young anymore?” Caterina teased. “Perhaps now that I’m an old lady, you won’t love me like you used to.”

“Impossible,” Alessandro declared. “I will love you forever.”

Dante broke off the kiss and touched his forehead to mine. “Forever,” he echoed. “Forever and always.”

The door swung open and I saw Orlando come inside, his arms full of chopped wood. He stopped at the scene in front of him, but only for a moment. Then he headed for the fireplace and dropped the logs in the bin on the hearth. When he passed me and Dante, still in our embrace, he averted his eyes. His face was red, but I didn’t know if it was from the cold or from chopping wood—or from something else.

“Oh, thank you, Orlando,” Caterina said, untangling herself from her husband’s arms.

“You’re welcome, Mother,” he said, a peculiar strain in his voice. “I’m happy to help.”

She looked at him with thoughtful eyes. “May I speak with you for a moment?”

Orlando brushed the wood dust from his hands and obediently went to his mother’s side.

“In private?” she added, drawing him behind her as she headed toward the back of the house.

I took Dante’s hand and pulled him to the corner of the room.

“Why did you kiss me like that?” I demanded.

A breath escaped along with a laugh. “Do I need a reason?”

“You didn’t even hesitate. And everyone saw us.” I said the second part in a low voice.

“I kissed you to make sure you were real. And to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.”

“Are your eyes getting better?” I asked, feeling a spark of hope.

He shook his head. “You are still all I can see.” A small smile crossed his lips. “But you are enough. And you are just as beautiful today as you were the first time I saw you.”
Dante ran his hand down my arm. “When I saw you standing at the dungeon door, I knew what hope looked like. And when I saw you today, I knew what my future looked like. You have always brought me joy, Abby. And you always will. All the way to the end of time.” He stifled a cough, turning his head to keep his pain private.

But I heard the rattle when he caught his breath, and it made me shiver. If we didn’t do something, and soon, the end of Dante’s time might be sooner rather than later.

He winced and pressed his hand to his chest, a grim expression on his face.

“We have to find a way to get you better,” I said. “Let me go to the dungeon. You’re already there, aren’t you? The other you, I mean. Maybe if we close the loop early, it will help. Or give us the time we need to focus on finding a way to patch your heart.” I was ready to have the loop be closed. I wanted to protect the river, save Dante and my family, and finally,
finally,
put all this behind us.

“It’s not that simple.”

I sighed. “Why not?”

“Seeing you in that exact moment at the dungeon was what gave me the strength to endure the rest of my time in prison. It’s the key to everything. Yes, it’s almost time, but missing that exact moment—by being either too early or too late—would be catastrophic. I don’t dare risk it. No, events
must
unfold in the correct order and at the correct time or else the loop won’t be closed—or stay closed.”

A pang shot through my heart. I was so focused on simply being at the dungeon for Dante, I’d forgotten that that moment had happened in the
middle
of his imprisonment. Even after he had seen me, he had waited and suffered for days and weeks on end before he was released—only to be sent through the door into a different kind of prison.

“But I want to help,” I said.

“I know. And you are. And when the time comes for you to go to the dungeon, you will help even more. Believe me.”

I looked up as a sudden, terrible thought occurred to me. “But I can’t go to the dungeon—at least, not directly.”

“Why not?”

“When Orlando and I escaped from the courthouse, the guards came looking for us. I suspect they are
still
looking for us—for me. I can’t simply walk into the courthouse, can I? What if someone recognizes me?” I bit my lip, thinking hard. “Can you take me there? Isn’t it possible for you to take me to the bank and then, from there, directly to the dungeon? We could go together.”

Dante thought for a moment. “Yes, that might be possible,” he said slowly. “But it’s a dangerous plan.”

“Why? I only have to be at the dungeon long enough for you to see me, and then we could come right back.” My hope was renewed. This was a good plan. A quick strike, in and out, and everything would be fixed.

“It’s not me seeing you that I’m worried about. It’s me seeing
me.
” He shook his head at the complexity of the idea. “There are two of me in the river right now—the me in the dungeon and the me standing here—and if we were to see each other, the paradox of the two of us being in the same place at the same time could destroy the river entirely. The barriers are already so fragile, the river is already so unstable, I don’t want to risk any further damage.”