Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 4: A String of Lie

"You have no right to make such vile accusations against me!" My shout echoed off the study's dark wooden walls. "I did not ask for any of this. Your father forced me into this role, as you well know."

Luca simply smiled, cold and mirthless. "So you say, little flower. But now there are...doubts. Concerns you harbor ambitions inappropriate for one's station."

"What is the meaning of this?" Don Bianchi thundered, rising from his high-backed leather chair to loom over me. His hawk-like gaze flickered between his son and I, two rapiers ready to strike.

I forced steel into my spine under that penetrating stare. "He tells vicious lies. I am loyal only to you, Don Bianchi, as any daughter would be to her father." The false words tasted bitter, but my survival depended on them. I sank into a low curtsy, the picture of obeisance. Inside, my heart battered a frantic rhythm.

The Don slowly retook his seat, fingers steepled under his chin. "Explain yourself, Luca. These are distressing accusations you make against our Lily."

Triumph sparked in Luca's eyes, though his expression remained grave. "It pains me to level such claims, Father. But certain reliable servants have come to me with...tales about our girl's unused chambers. Tales of boys from the village, apparently. Secret midnight visitors." His dark gaze drilled into me. "Tell me such claims are false, little sister."

Fury roiled through me. What deception was this? I had been under constant guard since my arrival. Not so much as a kitchen boy could reach my wing unnoticed.

I made my voice a whip. "You know well they are impossible lies. I am accompanied day and night within these walls. No one enters my chambers uninvited." I searched the Don's face for any glimmer that he believed his son's slander. But his inscrutable mask revealed nothing.

Luca glided forward, suddenly smiling. He lifted my limp hand in his own as though we shared the closest of bonds.

"Come now, even we have all been young once. No need for modest lies, little flower. A pretty thing like you, I would spin tales too were I locked so long alone." He stroked my wrist almost tenderly, sending revulsion skittering through me. I longed to wrench away but did not dare in front of his father.

"The nights must grow very boring indeed up in your tower." Luca's thumb traced delicate circles over my racing pulse. "No one could blame you for seeking...companionship. But we really must impress upon these admirers the need for discretion."

At last I found my voice. "If you believe your own vile fabrications, you are a fool or a knave. I do not know what game you play, but enough."

With all the force I could gather, I pulled away from his grasping fingers. His gaze chilled several degrees. Behind us I heard the Don shift, leather creaking.

"Please, Father. You know me faithful," I implored. "I remain here only to repay my family's supposed debt. I seek nothing beyond your good graces."

I sank again into my deepest curtsy before the Don, ignoring Luca's venomous glare burning holes into my bent neck. Several endless heartbeats passed in silence. Finally Don Bianchi cleared his throat.

"Enough, Luca. The girl has convinced me of her...sincerity." The pause twisted my stomach into knots. "For now, let the matter rest. But I shall discover the truth soon enough."

Relief left my knees near buckling. I sensed the danger was not fully passed, but for this moment the viper left me unbitten.

I dared then to lift my eyes just as Luca swept into an elegant bow. But not before I glimpsed the malevolent rage contorting his beautiful features into a mask of shadow.

"As you command. I only wish to protect our family's interests." Venom laced his dulcet tones. With an icy glance my way and swirl of expensive tailored coat, Luca quit the study. The doors fell ominously shut behind him.

I scarcely breathed as the Don studied me in weighty silence. At long last he too gained his impressive height, buttons glinting on his bespoke vest.

"You are excused as well...daughter." He fairly spit the word. "I shall determine the truth soon enough. Pray it aligns with your telling."

Message received. My continued welcome, tenuous at best since Rose's death, now balanced upon a knife's edge. I dipped into my best curtsy yet, willing my knees not to tremble.

"I am yours to command. Please inform me at once how I might prove my loyalty." Risking his displeasure, I raised my eyes beseechingly to his.

For one heartbeat, sadness and regret seemed to peer at me from behind his flinty gaze. Then the curtain fell once more.

"Go. We are finished here." He waved one dismissive hand.

I retreated swiftly, relief and foreboding tightening my throat. Once beyond the heavy doors, I sagged against the paneled wall, fighting waves of panic. Around me the manor lay cloaked in evening shadows, its opulence no comfort.

Oh Luca, I thought savagely, what further schemes will you conjure to destroy me? He knew well the seed of doubt now planted could spell my ruin.

I longed desperately to seek comfort from my family. But messengers came and went only at the Don's leisure. I was well and truly ensnared, forced to weather this storm alone.

Well. Not entirely alone, I realized with dawning hope. There were yet a few souls who offered kind words and compassion within these gilded walls. I would start with them.

Gathering my courage and skirts, I slipped silently through the manor like a ghost. Downstairs, most grand rooms sat empty or hosted only a few guards playing idle games of cards. But I had no aim to join them. Instead I slipped through an unassuming door into brightly lit kitchens aromaed heavily from that night's sumptuous many-coursed feast.

As usual, staff still bustled about clearing dishes and scrubbing acres of pans despite the late hour. Among their ranks moved a particular tall, broad-shouldered figure I was most anxious to find.

I edged into the chaos, attempting to appear as if I had every right to be there. A few still spared me curious glances. Despite the months since my arrival, the daughter of the Don rarely had cause to visit their domain.

I spotted Marco hauling a heaping crate of vegetables toward the larder. Tall and tan, muscled from hours tending the sprawling grounds, Marco had always offered me a smile or tip of his cap when our paths crossed outside. I prayed his kindness held true.

Heart thudding, I intercepted him as he passed through an arched doorway. "A word, Marco?" I kept my voice low. His dark eyes registered surprise, then wariness as they searched my face. I tried to convey urgency through my gaze.

With a swift glance to ensure we were unobserved, Marco ducked with me into a shadowy alcove lined with shelves bursting with enough tomatoes to feed an army. We were utterly alone. Marco cocked one thick brow at me expectantly.

Haltingly I told him all - Luca's cruel game to discredit me, the Don's growing mistrust, my fear of whatever sinister trap they had surely laid to prove me false. Marco listened intently, frown carving deeper lines into his sun-browned face.

"Is there none you can turn to for aid?" He asked when finally I finished my breathless tale.

I wrung my hands. "Only you, it seems. Luca has too many ears among the guard." I dropped my voice further still, nearly whispering. "There are passages, are there not? Hidden ones."

Marco's eyes shot wide at my boldness, but he gave one swift nod.

"Built long ago in case of siege. But sister-" he dropped his voice at my frantic glance around "- to use them is beyond dangerous."

I reached to clasp his dirt-smudged hand in both my own. "Please, Marco, I must get word to my family. They are pawns in this deadly game."

Conflict seemed to war across his features. After a silent battle, he heaved a great sigh then lifted our clasped hands to lay one calloused paw gently atop mine.

"Ci proverò sorella. I make no promises. But for you, I will try."

I could have wept in relief. On impulse I stretched to graze a kiss over his rough cheek. "Grazie mille. I will be forever in your debt."

A crash resounded from the kitchens. We sprang apart as a kitchen maid appeared searching for more flour sacks. With a meaningful glance I slipped back into the shadows before she glimpsed me. My mind already spun ahead to Marco's next step.

I lay restless that night, thoughts consumed by Marco, my family beyond these walls, Luca's serpentine plots. Sleep remained elusive despite the late hour.

Instead I found myself wandering the extensive library adjacent my rooms, trailing restless fingertips over the endless leather spines. Here resided the histories of the empire Don Bianchi commanded, rife with secrets both trivial and deadly. My formal lessons covered but a fraction.

I paused, struck by inspiration. If charges of treason awaited me, I would arm myself with all available knowledge beforehand.

With renewed vigor I yanked down heavy logs full of family records, business ledgers, correspondence. Anything I could scour for truth behind Luca's lies. For long hours I pored under flickering lamps over the Don's forceful script, accounts of exports and black market trades, names of known enemies now dead by his hand.

The night wore on, my shoulders increasingly bowed by revelations of the ruthless lengths the Don employed to safeguard his power. The forces allied behind Luca should not be underestimated.

Rubbing gritty eyes long past midnight, I replaced the last disturbing folio just as soft footfalls sounded outside the library doors. I straightened, alarmed at any witnessing my surreptitious research. As handle began to turn I spun searching for cover from view.

Too late - a tall figure slipped sinuously through, letting the oak door fall closed. Shock rooted me in place.

Speak of the devil, there stood the smug devil himself observing me through hooded eyes.

Luca leaned casually upon the door regarding my clutter of open books and rumpled hair, still dressed in all his finery despite the hour. Slowly he detached to prowl closer, an elegant panther having cornered his prey.

"Well now. Burning the midnight oil, are we?" His amused gaze passed over my pile of documents peppered heavily with notations in the Don's own hand. "Or is that secrets oil?"

I forced nonchalance I did not feel. "Reading soothes me when I cannot sleep. Surely no crime to indulge in the library's offerings."

Casually as possible I stepped sideways to obscure more papers, but Luca moved with me. His sharp gaze lingered on a shipping manifest atop my pile.

"Crime indeed not. Though choice of reading material proves rather...revealing."

He reached one long elegant finger to trace down the manifest's list, the brush of his knuckle sparking heat beneath my skin. I barely dared breathe.

"Export records? Black market contacts?" His midnight eyes lifted to capture mine, glinting. "My, my. Such dry material for a lovely girl's diversion. However does this hold your...interest?"

He prowled closer, backing me against the desk's carved edge. Eyes locked fiercely on mine, he lifted one hand to toy idly with a lock of my unbound hair, sending my pulse into overdrive. Fear and unwanted thrill warred inside me.

"Tell me I'm wrong, little sister." Luca's gaze burned with intent, his voice dropped to smoky velvet. "You've developed quite the...taste for power since your arrival. The library merely whets your appetite."

The words were a clear trap. My answer could well seal my fate in this house. I tilted my chin, defiant.

"You know well my only goal is continued sanctuary for my family. I research ways to prove myself valuable to the Don." Then I gambled all with my next low blow. "Surely you understand ambition...brother."

For an electric moment Luca only gazed at me, unmoving. My breaths rasped loud in the midnight hush. Then slowly, wonder of wonders, his sculpted lips curved in a grin of genuine amusement. He released me to throw back his head and laugh.

"Well played. Perhaps we are kin after all in spirit." His laughter died too soon, mirth evaporating. "But tread carefully, my intrepid sister. The stakes climb precipitously high."

With that he turned abruptly to stalk from the room. I watched his departure, bewildered and admittedly intrigued by this new mercurial mood. At the door Luca granted me a parting gift over one shoulder - a true smile that threatened to buckle my knees.

"I begin to see the appeal in keeping you, little flower. Do take care not to pluck yourself free." Then the shadows swallowed his enigmatic smile, leaving butterflies waging war in my belly.

Utterly unsettled, I abandoned my misbegotten research to return to bed. But Luca's parting taunt echoed through restless dreams.

I kept to myself the following day, buried in my regular studies under Isabella's strict tutelage. The hour grew late, and I had yet to glimpse Marco to discover if he made progress on my messages. Apprehension gnawed ceaselessly at my bone.

When the dinner gong at last released me I begged off sick from another tense meal under the Don's weighted stares. Feigning exhaustion, I retreated early to pace my lavish suite of rooms like a caged beast.

Well past respectable bedtime, a soft tentative knock interrupted my vigil. Heart seizing, I rushed to crack open the heavy door. There stood Marco haloed by flickering sconces, face drawn with tension. Wordlessly he pressed a folded slip of paper into my palm then spun to vanish back down the shadowed corridor.

I slammed and bolted my door, fingers trembling as I unfolded the creased letter. It contained only two hastily scrawled lines, but kindled hope anew inside me.

Sister,

We have received your messages and share grave concern. Take heart that you are not alone. Shelter awaits should escape be necessary. Burn this note.

It bore no signature, but I needed none. My father lived. While I yet drew breath under this roof, family waited to aid me if called upon. I had to trust it would be enough.

I held the precious note over a candle flame with unsteady hands until even the ashes crumbled away. Tomorrow I dared hope to glimpse Marco and discover how much my family knew regarding my plight. For now, simply learning of their continued health and willingness to harbor me lit a small flame of courage inside my heart.

I confess the next days brought me nearly giddy, so profound was my relief. After weeks enduring the Don's mercurial whims utterly alone, just knowing my family remained ready to receive me should opportunity for escape arise felt akin to reuniting with long lost limbs.

In truth I hardly dared dream such a chance would come. My life's thread lay trapped in this elegant spider's web with Luca holding the shears. But now finally I felt less utterly helpless, and it was intoxicating.

Nearly a week passed without sight of Luca to further threaten my increasingly precarious position. I continued lessons as usual under Isabella's stern tutelage, reading dull financial ledgers of the Don's labyrinthine assets late into each night to prove my worth. Other than terse greetings at dinner, the Don himself mostly ignored me.

I longed to thank Marco for his selfless risk or discover how much of my plight was known to my family. But days passed without a glimpse of my quiet, broad-shouldered guardian. Questions multiplied inside me though I could ask none of them directly.

When at last I identified Marco's hulking form across the east gardens one sunny afternoon, my elation faltered. He stood among a small group of menials, but his posture oozed tension as a second figure advanced on him. Squinting against the glare I quickly identified Luca's imposing height, spine prickling. Neither man looked pleased.

As I watched, Luca stepped into Marco's space wearing clear menace. Their conversation grew sharply heated though no actual blows landed. Finally with a rigid bow, Marco turned on his heel towards the sheds that housed his quarters. Luca watched his retreat with hooded eyes.

I wavered, unsure whether to attempt to intercept Marco and satisfy my frantic questions of what had passed between them. But Luca's lingering presence deterred me. Jaw tight, I vowed to arise early and catch Marco privately to learn what darkness now blanketed his mood following Luca's confrontation.

Despite restless thoughts chasing sleep, I must have eventually drifted off. I startled awake much later to an odd sensation...that of gentle fingertips trailing down the nape of my neck.

Bewildered, still caught in hazy half dreams, I sighed and leaned indulgently into the caress without thought. The hand trailed lower, teasing my collarbone before dipping playfully lower still...

All vestiges of sleep shocked instantly away. I jerked upright with a gasp, clutching silk sheets to my pounding chest. Frantically I scanned my dim surroundings.

There, lounging with casual grace in a brocade chair mere feet from my mussed bed, sat the last soul I hoped to see

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter