Marcello & Grace (Royals of Valleria #2)

by Knightly, Marianne

  “I could talk to her, you know. See how she feels.”

  “Jeez. Are we back in school again? Are you going to pass her a note before our history lesson?”

  “No, silly. We’ll just have some girl talk. I wonder what she’s doing today.”

  “She said she was going to garden this morning. You could probably catch her if you want to, but don't hurry off on my account.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Cat said as she stood to leave. “I’ll have to change quickly then. If only my room wasn’t so far away.” She sneezed. “Oh, I hate allergies.”

  “Don’t start pestering her, Cat. She’ll think I sent you.”

  “But you just did.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “You did, but I don’t mind. It’s my sisterly duty, after all, to help you.”

  God help him from nosy sisters. “Cat, please.”

  “No, no, no,” she said as she moved towards the door. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll come up before lunch and tell you everything I’ve learned.”

  “Cat,” he said as she slipped out the door with a wink. “Cat!” When she didn’t answer back, he slumped back in his chair and groaned. What would Grace think?

  ***

  Grace was walking down the same paths she and Marcello had taken just the day before. Had it only been a day? Could a person’s life change so much in one day?

  As she recalled her own past, she remembered a person’s life could change much faster than that. Sometimes it only took a moment. One moment. One fist. And your life was changed forever, even if you didn’t realize it at the time.

  Shaking away those thoughts, she decided to focus on the positive. It was warm outside, though the sun was fighting against gray clouds that signaled that rain was looming. By her guess, she could get at least an hour of work in before she was resigned to spend the day indoors. Of course, the cloudy sky meant she hadn’t needed to wear her overly large hat again but she had anyway. After all, she liked it and so had Marcello.

  She had already visited the gardening shed and was swinging her basket lightly when she heard her name called. As she turned, she saw Cat running towards her, wearing something very un-Catharine-like. Old jeans, torn unfashionably at the knees, hung loose on her, as did the oversized tunic shirt she wore. Her hair was swept back in a messy ponytail.

  “You seem to be in a hurry,” Grace said. “Did you need something?”

  After a few moments in which Cat caught her breath, she said, “I just need some time alone with my dear friend, that’s all.”

  The smile on Cat’s face had Grace narrowing her eyes slightly. However, since she wanted to spend time with Cat, too, she let it pass. “Come with me then. You can help me in the garden.”

  “Isn’t it going to rain soon?”

  “Probably.”

  “Shouldn’t we at least carry an umbrella or something?”

  Grace laughed as they started down the path again. “Come on,” she said as she tugged Cat along. “It’ll be an adventure.”

  After a few minutes, Cat asked, “How are you doing? I know last night must have been upsetting for you.”

  The scene from last night had her back stiffening, but she relaxed and let it pass. “Lord Picford, you mean.”

  “Lord ‘Prickford’ more like,” Cat said and Grace couldn’t help but laugh.

  “That’s a good one. I’ll have to remember it.”

  “I dare you to forget it. Have you forgotten the nickname I gave your worthless husband?”

  Grace laughed again. “Oh, my. ‘Ninny Nithercott’. I had. I’d completely forgotten.”

  “Tell me,” Cat said as she looped her arm with Grace’s. “Tell me how you truly are.”

  As Grace’s laughter and smile faded away, she considered and decided to be honest. “This morning, I’m good. Great, even,” she said. “It’s not always like that. It definitely wasn’t like that when Daniel was alive. Not even right after he died.”

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You shouldn’t have gone through all that alone.”

  “I was too ashamed to ask for help. That’s how you feel when you’re being abused. Well, that’s how I felt anyway. Other women deal with it in different ways.”

  “What really happened? I know there’s something else. If you’d rather not tell me, I understand. If there’s a way to help you, though, I hope you’ll let me know.”

  Grace took a deep breath, and began to tell Cat all that she had told Marcello last night, and more. As a woman, Grace knew Cat would understand some things better than Marcello would. She may tell Marcello these other pieces of her past later on but, right now, she needed a woman’s ear and understanding.

  “Oh, Grace,” Cat said just as they reached the garden almost an hour later; their pace had slowed without either of them realizing it.

  “You don’t need to say anything, Cat. I don’t need words of compassion or pity. I just needed a friendly ear, so thank you.”

  Cat pulled her in for a hug. “Anytime, you hear me. Even after I leave, you can call me anytime.” As she pulled back, she asked, “Would you like me to extend my stay? I’m more than happy to.”

  The offer was tempting for Grace, particularly if it meant Marcello may stay as well, but that was no guarantee. “Thank you for the offer, but I imagine rescheduling your life is a massive undertaking.”

  Cat sighed as they took a seat on a bench. “That’s true, but it’s not impossible by any means.”

  “Thank you, truly, but I’ll be fine. For the first time since I met Daniel, I think I can say those words and actually mean them, not just act like I do.”

  “I’m glad.” With a sly look, Cat asked, “Would my brother have anything to do with this change?”

  “What?” Grace asked, completely startled by the unexpected question.

  “Marcello. You like him, don’t you?”

  Looking for an escape, Grace spied some weeds in the garden and headed over to them, leaving Cat on the bench. “Your brother is very nice, yes,” she said as she kneeled between rows of vegetables and began to pull furiously at the weeds.

  “You think he’s more than just nice,” Cat said as she walked over to her, casting a dim shadow over her work.

  “What makes you think that?” Grace asked as she began to stab the dirt with her trowel to loosen a particularly obnoxious weed.

  “Maybe it’s the way you look at him, or the way he looks at you.”

  “How does he look at me?” Grace asked, pausing just enough to look up and see Cat’s self-satisfied smirk. “Never mind. It’s not important.”

  “I think it is. I mean you did spend the night together, didn’t you?”

  “What?” Grace gasped as she tried to sit back but instead stumbled onto the dirt. “What? Who told you that?” Had Marcello told?

  “Don’t upset yourself,” Cat said as she helped Grace stand. “I was looking for him this morning and was in his room when he came through the adjoining door to yours. I put two and two together.”

  “Oh.” Grace could not seem to read Cat’s face. Was she upset that she and Marcello had spent the night in each other’s arms? Grace had enjoyed it, all too much, if she were honest with herself. “It’s not what you think. We didn’t, I mean, we haven’t-.”

  “I know,” Cat interrupted. “When I started yelling at Marcello for taking advantage of you, he essentially said the same thing.”

  “Oh.”

  “He likes you, Grace. A lot.”

  “He does?” Grace asked, unconsciously gripping the trowel tighter in her hand.

  “He really does.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Just that and maybe more. I won’t break his confidence, just as I won’t break yours.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “I know you’ve been through a lot, but as his sister I just have to ask you not to break his heart.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “You may not mean to, but i
t could happen all the same.”

  As thunder boomed overhead, they both briefly looked up at the now darker sky. “Let’s head back,” Cat said. “We can talk more on the way.”

  A few minutes later, when they were back on the path, Cat asked, “What do you feel for Marcello?”

  It took her a few moments to answer. “I feel happy. Confused. Conflicted. Excited. Safe,” she added in a murmur. She had felt safe in his arms last night and that morning. Not one nightmare had made it through the safety and warmth of his arms.

  “Did you feel the same things with Daniel?”

  “No,” Grace said easily. “Not really. Daniel’s and my relationship was exciting, at least until we got married. Looking back, I realize I was the only one who was excited. Daniel smiled and laughed, but they were at me, not with me, if you catch my meaning.”

  “It was like he was indulging you.”

  “Yes, that’s it. That’s exactly it. He would indulge me in public, only to beat me or worse when we got home, just because he felt like it.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “That’s truth. My therapist, she’s really helped me see things weren’t my fault. That indulging someone doesn’t always equate with abuse, and that sort of thing.”

  “It sounds like she’s helped a lot.”

  “She has. She does. She’s on vacation right now, so I haven’t spoken to her lately.”

  “What do you think she’d say about Marcello?”

  “She would probably ask me how I felt about him, or about a relationship in general.”

  “And?”

  Grace sighed as rain sprinkled over them. She guessed they may just make it to the house in time. “I never thought I would ever be in a relationship again. I never thought I would be able to trust anyone else. It took me months before I could even trust my therapist.”

  The rain fell just a little bit harder and they picked up their pace. “I like Marcello,” Grace said. “I do. He’s kind and warm and funny. He doesn’t push me for anything, but sometimes I wish he would.”

  “Like Daniel used to?”

  “No! No, nothing like that. I, well, I can’t talk to you about it.”

  Cat laughed as the rain fell a little harder and plastered her hair across her cheek. “Oh, I see. Push you indeed. Well, I don’t need the gory details, but you can talk to me about these sorts of things.”

  “It’s just that I’ve never felt anything before like I feel with him. It’s nothing like Daniel, nothing. I didn’t know there was something like this out there. That there was someone like him, who would want me. It has me wondering about all my choices in life all over again.”

  “Oh, Grace. I’m so glad he makes you feel that way. You deserve it, you know. You deserve him.”

  “I’m almost ready to believe it.”

  “Well, I am ready to run for the house before I get drenched anymore. Come on,” Cat said as she grabbed Grace’s hand and they both ran giggling and screaming through the rain to the house.

  When they reached the back door to the kitchens, Grace left her gardening basket on the stoop and stepped inside after shaking off the rain. A few servants brought them some towels and they trod through the house. At the landing to the second floor, Cat left for her room with a quick wave.

  Grace stood in front of her door, not wanting to go in quite yet. She glanced down the hall at Marcello’s door and decided she wanted to see him. Maybe she needed to see him, just to confirm she didn’t dream her feelings for him, or his for her.

  She knocked softly on the door. She heard his voice inside speaking to someone else. Should she enter?

  After another knock with no reply, she cracked open the door. “Marcello?” she said.

  As she stepped inside, a glass was hurled at the wall near her, shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces of shimmering crystal. Grace let out a cry of fear and then shuddered. Her body suddenly froze as she took in the sight of Marcello. His eyes, which had been dark with anger, turned suddenly shocked at the sight of the broken glass and of her. He haphazardly hung up the phone and threw it on the bed.

  “Grace,” he said as he stepped towards her. “My God. You could have been hurt.”

  She stepped back only to find the door blocking her escape. Her arms were in front of her in automatic protection, while her hands had instinctually formed tight fists.

  “Please don’t step away from me,” he begged. “It was an accident. The glass just flew from my hand.”

  His words once again reminded her of Daniel’s but his face, it was his face that had her calming. His face was nothing like Daniel’s after an ‘incident’. Marcello’s face was full of regret, and fear that she may have been hurt. Marcello had not wanted to hurt her; Daniel had done nothing but.

  The stark realization had her relaxing her stance and Marcello walked to her. He lifted his hands slowly to her face, and she didn’t feel fear at his touch.

  His hands were gentle as they ran over her face and through her braided hair searching for any pieces of errant glass. His gaze lingered on her body and she suddenly realized she had come to see him in a wet shirt; he could probably see everything.

  When she moved to cover herself with her arms, he paused her movements. “You don’t need to hide yourself from me, Grace. I love looking at you. I love being near you. Hell, Grace, I love you. I would never hurt you. Do you believe me?”

  He loved her. Did he realize that was the first time he had told her? She was breathing heavily now, as though she’d run a marathon. She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t even sure how she felt. “I believe you,” she said.

  “Thank God,” he said and pulled her closer. Her wet clothes seemed to be ruining his, but he didn’t seem to mind. “I’m so sorry,” he said as he kissed her head.

  She let out a sigh and wound her arms around him. “Why were you upset when I came in?”

  He took a deep breath and lifted her eyes to his. “It was work.”

  “You can’t tell me, then.”

  “I’m not supposed to but I’m going to. My God, Grace, I could have hurt you.”

  Hearing him more upset about the incident than she was, she knew in that moment that he would never hurt her, not physically. Emotionally, well, that was something else. Physically, however, she knew she was safe.

  “Let’s take a walk,” she suggested.

  Marcello glanced outside at the steady rain. Thunder boomed occasionally, but no lightening. “It’s raining pretty hard outside.”

  “It’s just a little rain,” she said. “Come on. I want to show you something.” After a moment, he nodded. She took his hand and led him down the stairs and back through the kitchen.

  Armed with an exceedingly large umbrella easily made for two people, they walked the same paths they had yesterday. This time, however, when they met the fork in the road, they took a new path. “This is the way to my private spot. I suppose it’s not very private in the end, but it’s where I went when I needed some time alone. I’ve come here a lot over the years.”

  They broke through a patch of trees, some of them turning with the season, and neared a large stream that tumbled into a small lake.

  “It’s beautiful,” Marcello said.

  “Isn’t it? Grace said with a small smile. “Even when it’s dark and stormy and gray outside, everything here seems bright, even in the winter.”

  They crossed a stone bridge over the stream hand-in-hand, and continued on the path through another set of woods before nearing what was referred to as the Temple of Emma. It was a folly - a small stone structure built long ago by a previous fanciful owner of the estate. The structure held no real purpose, though it was a sight to behold as it rested easily on the bank of the lake. It was equipped with a smooth, white stone facade and sturdy columns, and topped with a gray-tinted domed roof. The Temple seemed to both stand out and hide among the trees; Grace had become used to doing that herself and felt a kinship with the place because of it.

&nb
sp; Grace left the umbrella just inside the covered entrance and drew Marcello inside. The Temple's interior was surprisingly bright for such a dismal day, and channeled natural light in a clever way. That was another reason Grace had loved the space; it had always been bright in a life that had often been so dark.

  Inside was a soft couch placed more for function than décor. A small sink had been retrofitted for her by some trusted groundskeepers; Daniel had known nothing about it. She had needed the sink to tend to her wounds, when she’d had them.