The Scarletti Curse

by Christine Feehan

  Giovanni leaned close to her, his hands caressing as he deftly plaited her hair into a long, thick braid. You will sleep, cara, with no nightmares. I insist on this, and you will learn, I always get my way.

  The words brushed intimately in her mind. Nicoletta could tell the connection between the don and her was growing stronger; his words were much clearer, and he used little effort now to reach her. She curled up beneath the coverlet, his voice a soft murmur, not aloud but rather in her mind, where no other could hear, no other could intrude. He talked to her softly, soothingly, weaving tales of adventure, of daring, of beautiful foreign lands, driving out the nightmare images. All the while he held her close to him, his hands moving in a caress over her silky hair. There was such gentleness in his hands, such tenderness in his voice, that Nicoletta relaxed and drifted into slumber.

  Chapter Ten

  Light streamed through the thick stained glass, and colors danced on the mural. Reds and blues highlighted the strange carvings. Nicoletta awoke to a small body nestled beside hers. Cautiously she turned her head, eyelashes fluttering open. Sophie lay curled tightly against her, her dark hair spilling around her face. A melted candle lay on the floor beside the marble wall where the child had left it, a testimony to her courage in braving the dreaded fantasmi in her effort to get to Nicoletta. Her little hand clutched Nicoletta's thin white night shift.

  Nicoletta gently removed Sophie's grip on her shift and sat up. Maria Pia was no longer in the room, indicating it was probably fairly late. Nicoletta didn't often sleep past early dawn. There was a hushed silence in the palazzo. Nicoletta stretched lazily and padded across the chamber to perform her morning ablutions. Her hair was still damp when she loosened it from the thick braid the don had woven for her the night before.

  She closed her eyes against the memories crowding in: Lissandra's blood and her young, desperate face looking to her for a miracle Nicoletta couldn't provide. Then she glanced at the innocent child sleeping so peacefully in the large bed. This child she could and would help, she vowed.

  Nicoletta did not want to think too closely about her own behavior with the don last night. He had taken her blouse right off her, exposing her body to his burning gaze. At the time she had been in shock, but now her memory was vivid, far more vivid than she would have liked. The look in the don's eyes had been intensely possessive. In her mind, she had felt his honest attempts to comfort her, but his gaze had held stark, raw desire. Her body grew hot and uncomfortable at the memory.

  She sighed and deliberately turned her attention back to the painted mural and the carvings in the marble wall. With the rays of the sun pouring through the stained glass, prisms of color bathed and illuminated the relief. Across the coverlet, red, green, yellow, and blue hues fashioned a beautiful rainbow. Nicoletta looked back at the panel of windows. It caught her interest, it was so unusual--very tall, with a virtual tapestry of pictures woven into its various circular panes. Scenes of the life of the aristocracia. Winged guardians watching over the famiglia aristocratico. Weaving among the panes were leaded vines drawing the scenes together. It was truly a work of art, and the metal filigree had a strange effect on the mural on the far wall. The serpent coils looked completely different, almost like spiral staircases leading down to the bottom of the sea.

  Sophie stirred, her little hand moving around in the bed, obviously seeking Nicoletta. When she discovered she was alone, she gave a startled gasp and sat up, her eyes wide with fear. Nicoletta instantly hurried to her side. "I am right here, bambino.. Surely you are not afraid. You braved i fantasmi last night to share my room. In the light of day, nothing can scare you."

  Sophie circled Nicoletta's neck with her thin arms. "I was afraid you would not come back. Margerita said you were an evil witch and Zio Gino would never marry you. She will insist he make you go away or have you stoned or drowned. She does not like you and does not want you here." She burst into tears and hugged Nicoletta tightly. "I want you here, Nicoletta, and I do not think you are a witch."

  Nicoletta stroked Sophie's tangled hair soothingly. "Margerita was just trying to scare you with her silly tales, Sophie. Your zio is a great man. Not even the powerful Spanish king has dared to invade his lands. The king has swallowed our neighbors, but he has not managed to defeat your zio. A mere bambina such as Margerita will not change his mind." She kissed the child's head and reached for her comb to begin taming Sophie's tangles. "Margerita has a wild imagination." Nicoletta was very gentle as she eased the knots from the child's hair.

  "I do not want you to ever go, Nicoletta," Sophie confided. "You could marry mio padre and then you would be mia madre."

  "I am to marry your zio, Sophie, so I will be your zia and live here in the palazzo. We will always be together, and if I ever have a bambina, you will be the zia, and you will help me so much." She hugged the child to her. "Do you suppose we should go to the kitchen and ask Bernado to fix us a treat? I think we overslept."

  A smile crept into Sophie's eyes, dispelling her troubled look. "I must dress." Then her face clouded. "Did you hear them last night?" She scooted around Nicoletta to the alcove where the chamber pot was.

  "Hear them?" Nicoletta echoed. For some reason her heart jumped at the phrasing. Her hands curled around the bed post. "What did you hear last night, Sophie?"

  The little girl came back to Nicoletta, her large, dark eyes solemn. "I heard them whispering again. They found me in the nursery. I thought I was safe there, but they are coming for me. That is why I came and hid in your room."

  Nicoletta felt her heart pounding out a drumbeat in her ears. She believed Sophie. She had heard the strange murmurings her first night in the palazzo. And Giovanni Scarletti could project his voice directly into her mind. Could it be that he was conducting some strange experiment with his ability, and poor little Sophie was feeling the effect of it?

  "Come here, bambina," she invited softly, holding a hand out to the little girl. She was aware of Sophie waiting anxiously to be condemned for lying as she had been in the past. "I want you to tell me whenever you hear those voices. You were very brave to come through the passage to me. I am proud of you."

  "I think they will get me soon," Sophie confided, her lower lip trembling. She took Nicoletta's hand. "They got mia madre, and Margerita says they will take me away, where I will never be in her way again."

  "Margerita seems a very unpleasant young woman," Nicoletta pointed out, "and she is not very bright. Your zio has said you must attend me in the wedding. No one disobeys your zio." But Nicoletta's teeth nibbled nervously at her lower lip. She'd had a strange premonition of danger when Sophie mentioned the whispers in the night. Nicoletta had the feeling the child really was in danger, but why? What danger could she possibly represent to anyone? She was not in line to inherit the palazzo, not with Giovanni about to be wed and Vincente and Antonello so young and virile. Certainly one of the three brothers would eventually produce a male heir.

  "I do not want to go back to the nursery," Sophie said. "I only hear them at night, but I have never heard them there before." Her dark eyes were trusting as she looked up at Nicoletta. "What if they are there now?"

  "I will go with you to the nursery and help you dress," Nicoletta offered instantly. "You must tell me immediately every time you hear the voices, Sophie. Come, we are already late, and Maria Pia is sure to scold us when we arrive in the kitchen."

  They walked together out into the wide corridor, Nicoletta nodding to the two guards. As she took Sophie down the hall, Nicoletta couldn't help marveling at the beauty of the building. It did have a strange, haunted feeling to it, an oily evil that seemed to hang in the eaves and cling to the strange carvings. Perhaps it was emanating from the grim, demonic sculptures staring at them so solemnly. There appeared to be many eyes watching them at all times, and Nicoletta feared some of them were human.

  Sophie suddenly gasped and tightened her grip. "Nicoletta!" Panic-stricken, the child halted in the middle of the corridor, staring in stark fe
ar at the man coming toward them from the opposite direction. He was tall and thin with silver hair sticking out in all directions. He would have been handsome still had his face not been twisted into a permanent scowl.

  Nicoletta watched as servants scurried out of the eldest Scarletti's way, crossing themselves, clutching crucifixes to them as talismans. As the don's grandfather approached several workers, they hastily turned away from him, as if they thought him a devil and dared not look upon him. She watched the old man's face. It was proud, arrogant, twisted with a kind of fierce anger. His head was high, and he struck several retreating servants with the cane he used more as a weapon than as an aid for walking.

  "Run, Nicoletta," Sophie whispered. "We must run." She tugged and pulled at Nicoletta to get her going but did not let go of her hand. Sophie would not run away herself and abandon her only friend. When Nicoletta refused to move, Sophie scuttled behind her for protection, attempting to hide in the folds of her wide skirt.

  Nicoletta squeezed the child's hand in reassurance. She waited calmly while the older man came toward them, his scowl darkening with every step, his bushy brows meeting in a fierce, straight line. Nicoletta smiled at him when he was almost upon them, dropping a graceful curtsey and pressing Sophie to do the same. "Good morn, Signore Scarletti," she said determinedly. "We are going to the kitchen to see if we can coax Bernado to fix us something to eat, though we are very late. Would you care to join us?"

  The old man's step faltered. He spluttered an unintelligible answer, looking suddenly vulnerable. He stood still for a moment in apparent indecision, then resorted to shaking his cane at her. It looked a halfhearted attempt to Nicoletta, but Sophie ducked her little head back behind Nicoletta, frightened, and the guards rushed forward protectively.

  Nicoletta laughed softly, the sound merry and inviting in the wide halls. "If I had a cane, good signore, you could teach me how to duel. We could have much fun here in the big palazzo, although I am certain we would be severely reprimanded by the don." She leaned close to him. "He can be quite fierce in his reprimands, but I am willing to risk it if you are."

  There was a small silence. Nicoletta sensed the guards tensing to spring should they need to protect her from her own folly. Several of the servants had turned and were watching the exchange in horrified silence.

  The old man stared at her. For a moment his mouth appeared to twitch as if he might be struggling to smile, but he seemed to have forgotten how. Muttering beneath his breath, he pushed past her without speaking and hurried on down the corridor. Once he looked back, and it seemed to Nicoletta, as she watched him, that his old eyes were watery.

  "Nicoletta," Sophie said softly, "the don's nonno does not like anyone, and no one likes him. Zia Portia says he will kill me one day in my sleep if I do not stay out of his way. He killed his own wife. Even Margerita is afraid of him. You cannot talk to him, Nicoletta. It is possible even Zio Gino cannot protect you from his nonno."

  "It is possible we need to be his friends," Nicoletta pointed out gently. "It is not good to be always alone, Sophie. And I do not think your Zio Gino would ever allow his grandfather to kill you in your sleep. You are much loved by your Zio Gino, and who else would keep track of my shoes for me if you did not?"

  Sophie laughed. "I have never seen you wear shoes, Nicoletta. Do you even have shoes?"

  "Little imp," Nicoletta scolded teasingly. Sophie was exactly what she needed after the trauma of the night before. The child was engaging and sweet and eager to please. She didn't have Ketsia's self-confidence, but she was growing quickly in assurance. As long as Nicoletta remained beside her, Sophie seemed a normal child, happy and curious and willing to please and play. She winked at the little girl. "Guess what we are going to do today!"

  "What?" Sophie asked eagerly, skipping in her exuberance. She pushed open the door to the nursery and stopped to allow Nicoletta to go in first.

  Nicoletta entered without hesitation. "We are going exploring." She laughed softly at Sophie's horrified expression. "We are. We are going to clean the passageway between the nursery and my room. I do not want all those terrible spider webs hanging from the walls."

  Sophie shook her head so vigorously that her hair flew in all directions. "We cannot go in there. What if Papa catches us?"

  Nicoletta helped the child dress. "That is the fun of it, silly piccola. We have to sneak. You will be the lookout."

  "What is that?" Sophie asked. It sounded an important job, and a bit thrilling.

  "After we tease Bernado into getting us a meal, we shall go back to my room and lock the door. While I am in the passageway, you will stay in my room and watch that no one finds us. We will make up a signal, like singing or humming, to warn me if someone is coming." Nicoletta laughed gaily. "And after we see to the passageway, we will have to do something about making this room much nicer for you."

  Sophie shook her head quickly. "The voices found me here. They do not want me in here. I have to sleep with you." Her eyes were large and somber. "I am not making it up. Zia Portia says I am a wicked child to tell such tales, but I heard them. I hid beneath the covers, but they would not stop."

  Nicoletta brushed Sophie's hair once again after the child changed her clothes, more to give herself time to think and to soothe the little girl than anything else. "Sophie, could you understand the words? Do the voices ever say things to you?"

  "They want me to go away. They are like Zio Gino's nonno. They want me to go far away and never return." Sophie reached up to take Nicoletta's hand, opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, tears shimmered in her eyes.

  Nicoletta knelt instantly and gathered the child into her arms. "Tell me, bambino. Do not be afraid to tell me."

  "Zia Portia told Margerita I am losing my mind like mia madre. She said mia madre heard voices at night, and we were both mad. I do not want to be mad." Her dark eyes held sorrow. "Do you think I am?"

  Nicoletta hugged Sophie tightly. "Well, I heard the voices also, Sophie. So if you are mad, and your madre was mad, then I must be mad, too." She smiled at the child, shaking her head. "There is nothing wrong with you, bambina, believe me. Nothing at all. We will find out just what is going on with those voices. Mayhap it is only a silly prank. There are many possible explanations."

  Privately, Nicoletta thought something very sinister was going on.

  Unbidden, the thought of the don's drawling voice crept into her mind. If he could send his voice to her mind, he certainly must be able to send it to others. But why little Sophie? What would be the purpose of driving a child insane? Nicoletta rubbed her temples and looked around the nursery. In the light of day, the room had every potential of being really beautiful. A young mother could manage to do quite a bit with such a room. Removing the heavy dark curtains would go a long way toward dispelling the gloom. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of Giovanni's voice brushing seductively in her mind. It created such an intimacy between them. But she could see the danger if such a gift was misused.

  Sophie didn't seem to notice that Nicoletta had gone very quiet as they left the nursery. She was happy enough with Nicoletta's reassurances, and she skipped along the corridor to the lavish staircase. Nicoletta followed at a more leisurely pace, the ominous meaning of the murmuring voices whirling around in her head. The voices had to signify something. Perhaps they were even a portent of death. Nicoletta believed it possible that spirits were living in the house, evil or good. At times the impression of evil was quite strong in the palazzo. Nicoletta shook her head. She didn't want the notion of evil to persist. She wanted to reason out the possibilities, not frighten herself with superstitious nonsense. More likely it was a living person behind the evil at the palazzo, not a spirit.

  Sophie had entered the kitchen before Nicoletta, and one of the guards had gone ahead also. She wandered in behind them and looked up in time to see the guard drinking from a cup and placing it carefully back in place at the table. He moved away, not looking at her, to stand again
st the wall.

  Nicoletta greeted Bernado. He was acting strangely, too, almost guilty. For a moment, when she sat down across from Sophie at the little table, she was afraid to eat, afraid the food was tainted. She touched the cup the guard had sipped from and replaced. She looked at him, then back at the cup. Realization dawned. She glanced at Bernado, who was suddenly very busy with his preparations. Celeste, his assistant, was stirring something in a large bowl quite vigorously. Only Sophie seemed normal, chattering away to everyone as she ate quickly, grateful for Bernado's cooking and for Maria Pia's scolding absence.

  Nicoletta pushed the food around on her plate. She glanced at the guard again. "The don gave you orders to taste everything I eat and drink." She made it a statement, but her dark eyes were steady on the guard's face, compelling him to answer.

  He tried to look away, then glanced helplessly at the other guard, clearly looking for aid. He cleared his throat. "Yes, signorina. It is one of my duties."

  She drummed her fingers on the table. "So if the food was tainted, you would become ill." Exasperated, she looked toward Bernado for help, but the cook steadfastly refused to look at her. He was busily checking Celeste's work. "I doubt tainted food would act that quickly. In any case, I would not want you ill because someone wanted to harm me."

  The soldier shrugged. "It is a common practice, signorina. It is done for all members of the household."

  "The don has his food tasted?" It seemed out of character for Don Scarletti to allow another to take risks on his behalf. The image of him standing with his arms out, away from his sides, as the killer attempted to assassinate him near the caves crept unbidden into her mind.

  The guard exchanged another rather sheepish look with his partner and then with the cook. A slow smile curved Nicoletta's soft mouth. "You do not have to answer. I think I understand." They could not speak of their "conspiracy" behind the don's back. It was obvious they were attempting to protect the don despite the fact that he would never allow them to endanger themselves by tasting his food. "But, of course, I do not want you ever taking such a risk on my behalf again. I mean it. I will speak to the don and have him rescind the order. There is no need, nor would I want the responsibility should one of you become ill. I do understand your need to protect... him." She glanced again at the wide-eyed child, who was distracted by Bernado's latest offerings. "Well, you know who I mean. But I am not of the same position he is." She said the last a little lamely. The two guards were grinning at each other and looking pointedly at her bare feet. They were not about to listen to her orders over their don's.