by Debra Dunbar
It wasn’t long before four winged shapes approached over the lake, two from the north, and two from the east. Irix helped me through the hole in the side of the villa and down onto the lawn where we watched the dragons circle and come in for a landing next to the broken tree.
All four of them shifted into their human form. And were naked. I’d never get used to this. It was like being at a nude beach where I was the only one with my clothing on.
It didn’t seem to bother the dragons. Daniela and Sergio walked forward, then sat on a pair of stone benches. Catarina and Bianca did the same.
“First, please allow me to extend my apologies toward losing my temper and injuring Bianca,” Daniela spoke first. “I can promise you that will never happen again. And as I told Amber, I’m willing to allow Bianca and a family member of her choosing access to the villa without any harassment on my family’s part. She is free to walk anywhere in our territory aside from Villa Sommariva as long as her intentions are peaceful, and we will not bother her.”
Catarina gave a stately nod. “And I apologize for our attack on your treasure. Our retaliation was excessive.”
Daniela smiled wanly. “I’m a mother. I understand a knee-jerk overreaction when it comes to our children. Or grandchildren.”
I held my breath. Hoping that things would continue to move forward without any intervention on mine or Irix’s part.
“Bianca has told me that your family had nothing to do with Guido’s death, or the damage to our holdings last night.” Catarina reached out a hand to smooth her granddaughter’s hair. “And I owe a debt of gratitude toward your son for protecting her from an assassin.”
I noticed that she hadn’t named Marcus. It must hurt to know that her own brother murdered her son, and would have killed her granddaughter. She had pride, and clearly some painful truths were best kept private.
Daniela nodded. “Do you accept our offer of peace?”
Catarina hesitated. “A cease fire, perhaps. I cannot see there ever being peace between our families, and what is between your son and my granddaughter will have to end. That pains me greatly, but I see no other way.”
“Yes,” Daniela quickly replied. “Our family would never accept a mate-bond between a Sommariva and a Montenegro, especially with our heir.”
“Then they will lose their heir,” Sergio snapped. “Mother, I have asked Bianca to marry me and she has accepted. We will leave, and you will never see us again if you don’t accept our mate-bond and acknowledge it.”
“Me, too,” Bianca told her grandmother. “Either the family accepts us, or we will leave.”
I suddenly saw a sliver of common ground, because we happened to be standing right on it. Bianca had welcomed the enemy into her home, made it a neutral spot. The villa was hers, but was in Sergio’s territory. It was both of theirs. It was where both families overlapped, and hopefully where they could come together.
“Wait just a moment,” I told them all. “Here’s where we are so far. Both of you agree that Bianca gets access to her villa without any hindrance or threat. There will be no retaliation for previous attacks. Neither of you will do harm either to each other or to the other’s property.”
I waited for both women to nod.
“Sergio and Bianca have stated that they are mate-bonded and will be married. That’s not up for discussion. It’s happening. Done. No argument. What is open for discussion is where they will live and if either of them will continue to be the heir.”
I could practically hear the sharp, pointy dragon teeth grinding.
“If Bianca is no longer the heir, my treasure will go to a distant cousin from my great-uncle’s line,” Catarina ground out, as if the very idea caused her pain.
Daniela sighed. “Mine as well upon my death. I don’t want my son to vanish, never to see him again, but I don’t want him a target for assassination from his very own family.”
“Sergio is welcome within my villa,” Bianca spoke up as if she was reading my mind. “This villa is my treasure. We will both abdicate and live here. My treasure is his treasure.”
There was a moment of ominous silence. “That is not wise, Bianca,” Catarina told her firmly.
“But–”
“No,” the older woman said. “I know you love him, child, but establishing your treasure as a neutral territory opens up all sorts of other problems. You’ll never be safe here. Your treasure will never be safe.”
“He is my treasure,” Bianca insisted. “He is my mate. We will be married. Then what is his is mine.”
“Perhaps…” Daniela tapped a finger against her lips. “They are young. Let us declare a peace—not a cease-fire, but a peace. Villa Montenegro will be neutral ground, if Bianca consents to allow her treasure to be called such. I will designate a few of the towns around the villa likewise to be neutral territory. We will arrange meetings, non-confrontational events where both of our families in small numbers can be present and can grow used to each other’s presence. Perhaps in time this peace will be strong enough for our families to unite through a formal announcement of Bianca and Sergio’s mating.”
Catarina thought for a moment. “Very small numbers at first, and we should be present during these events to ensure that no blows are exchanged. Do you truly think it will work?”
Daniela smiled. “I’ve recently discovered that my father was meeting your son Guido in local taverns to play backgammon. If the two of them can manage to build a friendship, then I’m hopeful others in our family can as well.”
“Can you wait?” Irix asked the two teenagers. “You’ll need to continue to hide your romance for a while, maybe slowly bring it into the open as tensions between your two families decrease.”
Bianca and Sergio’s eyes met. The boy grinned. “Sure. As long as I’m not grounded and have the freedom to come and go as I please, to visit friends and possibly even spend the weekend away. With friends.”
Bianca blushed. “The one passageway will need extensive repairs, but the others will always be open to you, Sergio. I meant what I said. My treasure is your treasure. This is your home. And I hope you plan to spend as much time here as you can.”
Catarina sighed. “I see a million things that can go wrong with this, but I’ll do it for my granddaughter. I remember what it was like to lose your heart. And I remember what it feels like to have your life-mate gone forever. I don’t want her to suffer that pain.”
Understanding flashed across Daniela’s face, because she too had lost her mate just as Catarina had lost hers.
“Peace? And shall we pray that soon that peace may lead to friendship?” Daniela put out her hand.
Catarina reached across and took it in her own, shaking the woman’s hand firmly. “To peace. And future friendship.”
I let out a breath. It seemed that for once, this Romeo and Juliet story wouldn’t end in tragedy after all.
Chapter 27
Our tests had been rescheduled for the next morning. I’m sure the other attendees appreciated the extra time to study, but the delay wouldn’t benefit me. By the time Daniela and Catarina had hammered out all the details of their peace, and we’d helped Bianca put up tarps and section off the portion of her villa that was now in serious need of repair, it was late afternoon.
Irix and I were hungry. And I’m not just talking about missing lunch either. I was shaking like I’d run a marathon, and my fiancé looked positively haggard. I wasn’t sure what we’d be able to attract right now, but taking care of our demon needs was paramount.
Irix was so exhausted that he didn’t even protest my climbing into the driver’s seat of the Panda. Bianca had given him some of her Uncle Guido’s clothing from a bedroom closet, and surprisingly it all fit reasonably well. None of it was cheap, so of the pair of us, Irix was far more appealing. I was filthy, sweaty, with a blistered burn on my left arm that wouldn’t heal until I got laid. Bianca had also generously offered me some of her attire, but the girl was barely five feet tall and about thirty po
unds lighter. I took one look at the slacks and light-weight sweater and knew I’d look ridiculous, even if I managed to get it all on without ripping it apart at the seams.
Miraculously, Irix and I had scored. Repeatedly. And although I knew I needed to study, some things took priority, so I ended up not hitting my books until well after sunset. And I was pretty sure it was evident in my test scores.
By noon I had a raging headache. An essay exam. A verbal exam. A tasting of three white and three red wines, and then the presentation of my recipe.
The recipe had been the most nerve-racking. They’d asked me all sorts of questions about how I planned on enhancing the orange blossom aromas, or balancing the something with the something else. I had no idea. I was an elf. I just stuck my finger into things and manipulated the structure through my non-human skills. I knew that wouldn’t fly here, and they’d probably be appalled at the idea of me sticking my finger in vats of wine anyway. Originally we were supposed to do our testing, then leave at noon and come back the next day for results, but now it was all squished into Friday, so we sat in the courtyard overlooking the vineyard with the few scorched rows and waited for the others to complete their tests and everything to be tallied up.
“How did you call those reds?” Eva asked me in between bites of ham and cheese. It was her third sandwich. I’d learned over the last week that my new friend was a nervous eater.
“2014 New Zealand Red Zin, 2015 Italian Cab, and 2012 French Cab.”
She grimaced, stuffing the rest of the sandwich in her mouth.
“What? Did I blow it? How did you call them?” I was panicking. I’d been panicking since last night, but now I was really panicking.
“I had the Red Zin a California.”
“It was a California,” Celio told us, his voice full of smug confidence. “Did you guys call the Gewürztraminer?”
I muttered something unintelligible. Gewürztraminer. I’d totally screwed that one up.
“It’s okay,” Eva told me. “I’m sure you killed it on the written exam.”
That one had been less nerve-racking. Actually I had some confidence that I might actually have scored reasonably well on that one. There had been a lot of viticulture and botany questions, and I’d been able to memorize enough of the chemistry stuff that I was fairly certain I at least passed. The oral exam hadn’t been as horrible as I’d feared either.
“They’re calling us back in,” Marta said. She stood, smoothed her hands down her pants, and gave me a nervous smile.
We all followed her in, Eva grabbing another sandwich from the table in the hall.
We sat. They passed out our scores. I paged through mine, relieved that I hadn’t done as poorly as I’d feared. Then as one of the presenters went on and on about how well we’d all done, and that each of us had promise and a brilliant future, Catarina and Bianca came in.
My stomach turned into a gigantic chunk of lead. Eva frantically ate her sandwich. Celio clenched his teeth, staring straight ahead. Marta twisted her hands together and bit her lip. Every one of the attendees looked like they were all on the verge of a heart attack.
Catarina took the stage. I saw Bianca wink at me and smile.
No. No. Please don’t let me get this for the wrong reasons. I glanced over at Celio and knew how much he’d hate me if I won because of the friendship I’d developed with Bianca, because of how I’d helped her and Sergio.
Catarina repeated all the praise the presenters had just heaped on us, then looked down at the sheet of paper she held.
“Our new apprentice enologist is…Marta Lefebvre.”
Everyone let out a breath. The room applauded as Marta cried and laughed at the same time. Catarina finished her speech, thanking us all for attending and wishing us luck in our professional careers. We all took turns hugging and congratulating Marta, and the room slowly began to clear.
It felt so anticlimactic. There were still ham sandwiches on the table in the hall. Notecards and papers were scattered around where attendees had abandoned them as they walked out of the castle to their cars. I watched as they headed back to their lives, feeling as if I’d just turned a corner in my own.
“I wanted you to win.”
I turned around and saw Bianca behind me.
“I really hoped you win because I would love to have you here with me for the next two years. You did well. Everyone did well.”
“Marta deserved it,” I told her. “She’s really good. Not just as an enologist either. She’s good with people. She’ll be great at teaching and mentoring others. I think you’ve got one of the best.”
Bianca gave me a quick hug. “I know, but I still wish you’d won. Will you and Irix be able to come out to the wedding? Sergio is thinking next fall. It might be a small, private ceremony depending on how this peace is progressing between our families.”
I looked down at her hands and saw the big honking diamond on her finger. She wiggled it at me with a happy grin.
“It was Sergio’s grandmother’s. I met his grandfather last night. He’s…he’s really scary, but he gave us his blessing once he realized that I wasn’t there to steal his treasure, and that Sergio would be calling the Montenegro treasures his own.” She blushed. “And he grabbed my butt when he hugged me.”
I shook my head. “He grabbed mine, too. Don’t let him get away with that. He doesn’t get a pass on groping his granddaughter-in-law just because he’s old and in his Melancholy.”
She laughed. “I won’t. Although I don’t think he’ll do it again. Sergio told him next time he groped me, he’d find himself with a stump instead of a hand. Can you and Irix make it to the wedding? Please say yes!”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to make it,” I told her, thinking of what I’d be doing in the fall. Irix and I would be in New Orleans, with me working with Jordan. I was confident that I could get a week off to fly to Italy. “Do you think you and Sergio could come to our wedding? We’re tentatively planning for early May.”
She bit her lip. “It’s scary to think of being so far from our treasure, but…yes. Yes, we will come. We need to trust our families to guard our treasures without us, and I truly want Sergio and I to see some of the world before we become too bonded to our villas and castle. Yes, we will definitely come.”
“We’re leaving Sunday,” I told her. “One more day in Italy. Will we see you before, or is this goodbye?”
She grinned. “I think Sergio was hoping to take you and Irix around to the parties on the lake Saturday night, so I’ll see you then.”
Good, because this trip suddenly seemed to be winding down too fast. Yesterday Irix and I were facing a dragon, and not twenty-four hours later I was saying goodbye to new friends, and putting away any hopes I’d had about a career in the wine industry and two years in Italy.
I lingered a bit in the hall, then headed out to the parking area where my car and a red Fiat were the only two still in the lot. Sitting over on the short stone fence where Eva and I had been earlier was Celio. I don’t know why I didn’t just get in my car and head back to Lake Como, but instead I headed over and sat next to him.
“I’m sorry you didn’t win,” I told him.
His laugh had an edge of bitterness to it. “Don’t you mean you’re sorry you didn’t win?”
“I knew the afternoon of day one I wasn’t going to win. I don’t have the background or experience that the rest of you do. I’m glad I came. I learned a lot and met some really cool people, but Sunday I’ll head back to the States and put my botany talents to use in a different way.”
He turned to me in surprise. “You’re giving up? Don’t give up. You’ve got loads of natural talent. You just need to work in the industry for a few years and get some experience. In five years, you could be teaching at this thing if you stick with it.”
Wow. Celio had actually said something nice to me. Color me shocked.
“I was kinda at a crossroads when I came here. A friend of mine had offered me a job down in
Louisiana studying the bayous. She works for the park service down there now, and is forming her own non-profit. She’s already been awarded a grant for the work and is starting this spring. My fiancé has a house down there. I’ve got friends there. The job is really interesting, and I know I could make a difference….”
“Then why spend a week here, studying like crazy for an enology apprenticeship?” he asked.
I sighed. “When I applied for the internship at DiMarche, it was a total long shot. It sounded cool, and I was a bit shocked when I got it. And I loved working in the vineyards. I thought… I guess I just wanted to see where this would take me. I knew this would be a long shot as well, but if I’d gotten it, I would have thrown myself into it one hundred percent. It’s weird, thinking how very different my life would have been if you all had suddenly gotten the flu and I’d been the only one who showed up today for the testing,” I teased.
“Yes, well that’s the only way you would have won, Bimbo,” he laughed. “I still think you’re foolish for not pursuing this. You’ve got talent, and you’re really good with people.”
“Yes, I am. Especially presenters who are interested in lunchtime hanky-panky,” I drawled, remembering that he’d seen me sneak out with Leo.
He snorted. “Not just that. I saw how you built up a friendship with the Montenegros. You’re good with people. But I guess that will be just as useful a skill working on your bayous.”
“Maybe.” I swung my feet and looked out over the vineyard. “So what are you going to do now?”
He shrugged. “I still have my sommelier position in Paris, but I think I might see if I can get something with one of the wineries in Spain next year. As much as I love pairing the right wine with the right food, I really want to work more on the creative side.”
I climbed off the wall to stand, brushing the dirt off my slacks. “Well, best of luck to you, Eurotrash Snob.”
He stood as well and extended his hand. “You too, American Bimbo. Keep in touch? Now that you’re not in competition with me, I’d love to hear how things are going with those bayous.”
