Rose Red

by Speer, Flora

  “Perhaps I am wondering if you want me because you love me,” Bianca said, “or whether it is because marriage to me would legitimize your control over Monteferro.”

  “I hold Monteferro too firmly for it ever to be taken from my grasp,” Vanni stated boldly. “If anyone dares to question my right to rule, Andrea will come to my aid at once, as I will go to his aid if his position in Aullia is threatened. I want you – and I do need you, Bianca – but for love, not for reasons of state.”

  “You love me?” Bianca raised questioning blue eyes to his face, not yet daring to believe, seeking in his expression confirmation of his claim.

  “Can you doubt that I have wanted you since the first moment I beheld you?” he asked. “I have never disguised my desire for you, and when we met, I did not know who you were.”

  “That’s true enough,” she said. “At that time, you did not know me, or my family. To you, I was just a girl in a forest clearing.”

  “We were fortunate to meet and fall in love without the encumbrance of our family histories and your mother’s very proper reservations. I think them proper now,” Vanni said with a smile. “Now that those same reservations are of no consequence.”

  Bianca did not respond to these remarks. Vanni watched her pace across the terrace stones to the steps. She stopped with one hand resting on the urn while she looked at her mother’s garden and then at the mountains. He heard her sigh, but he had no inkling of what she was thinking.

  “Bianca? Will you marry me? I cannot imagine that your mother will refuse her permission now.”

  “Can’t you?” Bianca asked. She fell silent for a moment before she went on. “How long it seems since the day, less than a year ago, when Rosalinda came home from a ride into those mountains, to tell me she had seen a bear on the path. Now the bearskin is gone, and in its place I see silk, gold, jewels. A famous title.

  “I am greatly changed since that day.” She faced him again. “Nor am I any longer the silly girl who was jealous of her sister, as I was when you first saw me. Be warned, Vanni, I will continue to grow and change so long as I live.”

  “I have changed, too,” he said, “though not enough. I have no great skill in statecraft, Bianca. Andrea is the twin who was taught to rule, while I was permitted to live a freer life. But I suspect your mother has trained you well, and you could teach me what I will need to know. Together, you and I could repair the wrongs done to Monteferro during Marco Guidi’s rule and make it a great city again. But I do not think I can accomplish all I want to do there without you at my side each day, and in my arms at night. And when our lives are done, I want our children to inherit a prosperous and secure Monteferro.”

  “Our children?”

  “Your mother should approve the idea of Girolamo Farisi’s grandchildren ruling the city that once was his,” Vanni said. “Don’t you agree?”

  “I will not marry you for the sake of Monteferro, though I know my duty well enough,” Bianca said. “I have been told about my duty since I was old enough to understand the word. You do not know me at all, Vanni, if you think I will be content with only a title and duty. I want passion! I want to give way to a desire that will never end. I want a man who will love me until death parts us, and who will be faithful to me as my father was to my mother. Why are you smiling at me like that? Have I said something you think is funny?” she asked in an offended tone.

  “Sweet Bianca, you have just said what is in my heart, what I have been trying to tell you all this while. Obviously, I have not said it very well, or you would not doubt my love for you.”

  “Then say it again,” she demanded. “Say it simply and clearly, with no mention of the duties and responsibilities that will await us in the future, should I decide to accept your proposal.”

  “Bianca Farisi, I love you with all my heart,” Vanni said. “I will love you until the day I die. I will love you even after I die, when I hope we will meet again in the next world and spend eternity together there. I will never want another woman, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy. I ask you again, will you marry me? If, of course, your mother has no objection?” He ended his passionate declaration with a boyish grin.

  “I will see to my mother,” she said with firm assurance.

  “Then, you will marry me?”

  “Yes, Vanni, I will.” A tear of joy glinted in Bianca’s eye. It was quickly blinked away, to be replaced by a mischievous twinkle. “Now that you have asked me as I wanted to be asked, you may kiss me if you like.”

  “If I like?” His embrace lifted her off her feet. With Bianca’s hands braced on his shoulders, Vanni whirled her around and around, while he grinned up at her and laughed for sheer happiness. Then he let her slide down along his body, so she would feel his hardness and know how urgently he desired their marriage.

  “Oh,” she said in reaction to his obvious eagerness.

  “Yes,” he whispered. “Oh, indeed. But I will wait, Bianca, until we are properly wed and blessed by a priest. Then you and I will share a glorious marriage night.”

  At last, with Bianca standing on her feet again, Vanni’s lips touched hers in the kiss she had granted. Slowly they sank to the terrace steps, to sit there with their arms entwined while they shared the longest, sweetest kiss either had ever known.

  When Vanni pulled Bianca closer still, his arm brushed against the white rosebush. Disturbed by the movement, a few of the late-blooming roses on Bianca’s bush released their petals, which drifted over the lovers like fragrant snowflakes.

  * * * * *

  “Dukes?” Rosalinda exclaimed to her sister. She got off her bed to pace across her bedchamber to the window. “Both of them? They succeeded so well and so quickly?”

  “I think Vanni could succeed at anything he wants,” Bianca said, touching the gold ring set with a sapphire that Vanni had removed from his own hand and placed on her finger. It was too big, so she had wound it with ribbon to make it fit, but she would not hide it. “I am going to marry Vanni. He asked me yesterday, and I agreed.”

  “What does Mother have to say about your decision?” Rosalinda asked.

  “She doesn’t know yet. She has decreed a household meeting in the sitting room this afternoon. We plan to tell her then. Rosalinda, if Mother objects, will you speak on our behalf? I love Vanni so much, and I know he loves me. I made sure of his affections before I agreed to marry him. But we are not certain what Mother’s reaction will be to our announcement.”

  “Of course I will tell her I think you ought to marry,” Rosalinda said, “though what weight my words will carry, I cannot guess. Why don’t you tell her now, before this meeting she has called? She might be more likely to agree if you and Vanni speak to her in private. I’ll go with you if you want.”

  “We can’t. She is with the priest and has been for more than an hour. I cannot think what she has to confess that would take so long,” Bianca said.

  “The priest? He’s here? Then Andrea is here, too? He hasn’t left the villa since he returned with the priest, has he?”

  “Vanni said Andrea wanted a hot bath after days of riding, and then a nap, but he will join us this afternoon,” Bianca responded to her sister’s questions.

  “He didn’t even come to see me.” Rosalinda’s voice betrayed all of her hurt and disappointment.

  “So much has happened in the last few days,” Bianca said, trying to comfort her sister, “I am sure Andrea will speak to you soon, and you will have a chance to tell him your wonderful news.”

  “I’m not certain I should tell him,” Rosalinda said. “I don’t want him to feel an obligation he would prefer not to assume.”

  “What nonsense!” Bianca exclaimed. She was sorely tempted to shake her sister and might have done so if Rosalinda had not looked so dejected. For the present, Bianca decided, words alone would have to suffice. “I am sure Andrea is as true to you as Vanni is to me.”

  “But you have not lain with Vanni yet, have you? It makes a differenc
e, Bianca. Mother has told us often enough about noblemen who toy with girls and then shirk their responsibilities after the girls are ruined.”

  “Andrea would never do that. Rosalinda, he does care for you. If he didn’t, I couldn’t have been jealous, could I?”

  “That was last spring. So long ago.” Rosalinda’s voice caught on a sob. “Andrea has had what he wanted from me. Several times. Now, he doesn’t care anymore.”

  “This is your condition speaking,” Bianca said. “You have kept your secret for too long. Too much has happened to you in the last few days. At least those wounds Stregone inflicted on your arm were not serious, but I would not blame you if you took to your bed in tears after that terrible scene at the waterfall.”

  “What about you?” Rosalinda asked. “During that same scene you were made to recall the hour when our father died, in all its frightening detail.”

  “Well, it’s a strange thing about that,” Bianca responded, pleased to have Rosalinda thinking about something other than her own unhappiness. “Reliving every detail of what happened on the day Father was killed, and not just the selected bits and pieces that I repeatedly dreamed, seems to have banished my worst fears. I will always mourn our father’s untimely death, but now I find that I can put aside my grief and remember how much Father loved me, and how much I loved him. In remembering, I have been freed of guilt and sorrow, so that I can go on with my life as I am sure Father would have wanted.

  “Now, listen to me, my dearest,” Bianca said, returning to her original subject. “I am going to marry Vanni. Nothing will prevent it. And, no matter what Mother says, no matter what she wants you to do when she learns of your pregnancy, you will always have a home with Vanni and me in Monteferro. We will not desert you.”

  Bianca did not think Andrea would desert Rosalinda, either, but she could see that her sister was in no state to believe in Andrea’s love. Bianca seriously considered going to Andrea’s room, to shake him into wakefulness and tell him to get himself to Rosalinda at once and declare his love for her. All that kept her from immediate action was the sure conviction that Rosalinda would soon discover her sister’s hand in the affair and not only blame Bianca, but refuse to credit anything Andrea said as a result of Bianca’s interference.

  Nor could Bianca tell Vanni about Rosalinda’s pregnancy. It was Rosalinda’s secret to tell, not Bianca’s. She could only hope that Andrea had good reasons for his reticence and would soon explain those reasons to Rosalinda.

  At the present moment, all Bianca could do was help Rosalinda to dress in the gown in her wardrobe with the fullest skirt and the highest waistline. While she drew the laces as tight as possible without making her sister uncomfortable, Bianca reflected that Rosalinda’s condition could not remain a secret much longer.

  No one else ever learned exactly what passed between Eleonora and Father Tomaso, the elderly priest who had come to the villa with Andrea, but he was waiting with her in the sitting room when the other members of the household joined them in late afternoon. They were all there: Rosalinda and Bianca, Bartolomeo and Valeria, and Vanni with Andrea, who came in a bit after the others had assembled. Francesco was already seated in the most comfortable chair. He kept his left arm against his side in a protective way, but otherwise he showed no ill effects of the wound he had suffered on the previous day.

  “Now, then,” Eleonora began, looking from face to expectant face. “Before anything else, I must offer a profound apology to you, Andrea, and to you, Giovanni, for the hatred I have held against your father and for my stubborn belief that he, whom I knew to be a man of honor, would stoop to commit or to condone a treacherous assassination.”

  “Madonna Eleonora, please,” Andrea interrupted, “there is no need for this apology.”

  “Allow me to continue, Andrea. This is part of my penance.”

  “Then, by all means, madonna, say what you must.”

  “I have in the past spoken unkind words to both of you young men, and I have made rash accusations against you. I am sorry.” For all her professed regret, Eleonora’s head was still held high and she did not tremble or reveal any other sign of deep distress as she spoke. She looked anything but penitent. She looked, in fact, like a duchess holding court, and Andrea and Vanni both smiled at her pride, for they understood that emotion, having a fair share of it themselves.

  “Madonna Eleonora, I accept your apology in my father’s name as well as for myself, and I thank you for it,” Andrea said with formal gravity when she was done.

  “And so do I,” Vanni added. Then, before Eleonora could go on, Vanni said, “This seems an auspicious moment in which to renew my suit for Bianca’s hand.”

  “Indeed?” Eleonora looked down her nose at him. Her eyebrows rose by an inch or so. “Francesco has told me several times that you are not as frivolous as you appear to be.”

  “No, I am not,” Vanni said. “Madonna Eleonora, you of all people will understand when I say that in any court, even the respectable court my father maintained, there are always opposing factions struggling for power and for the friendship, or at least the confidence, of the ruler. In such a climate, twin sons are a danger.

  “To prevent any group from using Andrea and me against each other or against our father, as soon as we were old enough to understand the situation, our father himself advised us to allow the world to believe that my only interests were elegant food, fine wines, pretty women, rich clothing, and grandiose displays of wealth. If I could appear to be frivolous enough, Father hoped no one would attempt to set me in power over Andrea’s slain body. In truth, it was not a difficult masquerade for me. I only had to emphasize certain of my real interests, and besides, I never had any desire to rule Aullia.”

  “Yet you seized Monteferro, and you do rule there,” Eleonora stated rather coolly.

  “Monteferro I will rule for Bianca’s sake only, and with her help if you will permit us to marry, madonna, for I do perceive how well you have taught her to assume the role of duchess. You will find me ever loyal to your daughter. In fact, I love Bianca so well that I will never be capable of causing her any distress.”

  “You are a man,” Eleonora responded to this passionate declaration. “Therefore, in one way or another, you will cause her distress.”

  “No, madonna, I assure you,” Vanni cried. It was plain that he wanted to say more on the subject, but Eleonora cut him off, addressing herself to the priest.

  “You see, Father Tomaso, the impetuosity with which I have been dealing of late,” Eleonora said. A corner of her mouth turned upward as if she was fighting the urge to laugh. “Now that you have heard this young man’s pleas, do you still agree with my decision?”

  “Certainly, Madonna Eleonora, I see no other path for a responsible mother to take.” Father Tomaso’s face was grave, but his wise old eyes were dancing with a humor that more than matched Eleonora’s own.

  “Very well, then, since I have the approval of the Church,” Eleonora said. “Bianca?”

  “Yes, Mother?”

  “You are to wed the Duke of Monteferro. Do not object. It is your duty to obey the wishes of your elders.”

  “Yes, Mother.” Bianca looked stunned to be so easily given the permission for which she had been prepared to fight. She recovered quickly, however, and smiled and put her hand into Vanni’s.

  “We will waive the banns,” Eleonora informed the company. “The ceremony will take place as soon as the contract is signed. Rosalinda, take your sister upstairs and find her something suitable to wear. Valeria, make up Bianca’s bed with clean sheets. Her room will do very nicely for a bridal chamber. We will forego a grand wedding feast in favor of a formal reception once we are in Monteferro.”

  “Mother, what are you saying?” Bianca cried.

  “That you and Vanni will be married tonight,” Eleonora replied.

  “Madonna, the hour,” Father Tomaso protested.

  “I know it is already far advanced,” Eleonora told him, “but I believe we
can have all in readiness by midnight. Bianca and Vanni will be married shortly after the new day begins. Then, Father Tomaso, you can return to your village, and the newlyweds will be on their way to Monteferro by dawn.”

  Only a rather lewd laugh from Francesco halted Eleonora’s fevered planning. She turned to the condottiere with a questioning look.

  “Ah, madonna, I do admire you,” Francesco said. “How I wish I could order my soldiers as skillfully as you arrange the lives of those around you. Will you allow me to make a pertinent suggestion?”

  “What is it?” Eleonora regarded him with some indignation over his interruption.

  “As you predicted, and thanks to your good care, my wound is healing quickly and cleanly,” Francesco said. “If you will postpone the journey to Monteferro for a day or two, I will be sufficiently recovered to accompany you. The delay will also give Vanni and Bianca at least a brief time to – er, become more intimately acquainted. Which is, if you will recall from your own history, an important aspect of a successful marriage.”

  “A point well made, Francesco,” Vanni said. He grinned his thanks at his friend, who winked back at him. “Madonna Eleonora, we will not depart for Monteferro until the day after tomorrow, and we will leave then only if my sweet Bianca agrees to do so.”

  “But there are arrangements to be made for your formal entry into the city with your duchess,” Eleonora protested.

  “Since I am Duke of Monteferro, it is for me to make the arrangements,” Vanni told her. “I shall do so with the help of my wife, and of my brother and ally, the Duke of Aullia,” he finished with a firmness that made Eleonora look at him with new respect.

  “Have you any objection to the wedding plans I have put forward?” Eleonora asked him in a gentler tone.

  “None at all,” Vanni said. “I do thank you, Madonna Eleonora, for understanding how eager I am to marry your daughter. Bianca, have you any objection to wedding me this night?”