Rose Red (31 page)

“Not you.” Bianca drew a deep breath and
shifted to a more comfortable position. “Not Mother. I do not think
she has ever been foolish in her entire life.”

“Oh, my dear, you have no idea how foolish I
have been,” Rosalinda whispered. “As for Mother, I suspect she was
on the verge of a foolish act and regrets her weakness now, and
that is why she is so angry with Andrea and Vanni. And with
Francesco. Especially with Francesco.”

Bianca sighed again, and her hand in
Rosalinda’s went limp. Rosalinda smoothed back her sister’s golden
hair and kissed her brow. Bianca did not respond. Sure that she was
asleep, Rosalinda tiptoed out of the room.

In her own bedchamber she paced back and
forth, not in anger as her mother had done, but in grief and loss.
The tears came slowly, seeping out of her eyes and running down her
face. She did not sob or rub at her eyes as Bianca did when she
wept. Rosalinda just kept walking across her room, again and again,
trying to think, to find a way out of her own problems, and
Bianca’s. As she paced, Bianca’s question resounded in her
mind.

“
Now that we know everything, do you still
want Andrea?”

Rosalinda did not know the answer to that
question. Physically, she wanted him. Her body ached for his touch,
but she was not sure that Andrea loved her. He had lied to her, by
what he had said and by what he had deliberately left unsaid. He
had admitted that he was using Eleonora to get what he wanted.
Rosalinda thought he had been using her, too. He had not hesitated
to make love to her while he was hiding in the attic room because,
in Andrea’s mind, Rosalinda already belonged to him! She had been
promised to him, and he was merely taking possession of his gift a
few months ahead of Eleonora’s schedule. And no one had bothered to
tell Rosalinda. After the revelations of that evening, Rosalinda
doubted that she could ever trust Andrea again.

But she was carrying his child. She was
certain of it now. If her mother was right in her accusations, the
baby growing beneath Rosalinda’s heart was the grandchild of the
man who had plotted to kill that baby’s other grandfather. She was
glad now that she had postponed telling Andrea about the baby. He
would go away on the morrow unaware that one passionate act had
resulted in a new life. Rosalinda would see to it that he would
never know.

She would not have to bear the baby alone.
Her mother would soon become aware of Rosalinda’s condition, for
someone was bound to ask why she had no monthly linens to be
washed. When that happened, Rosalinda would have to reveal her
secret. Her mother would be disappointed in her, and more angry
than ever with Andrea, but this would be one more of those unhappy
events in her life that Eleonora would learn to survive.

“No, not unhappy.” Rosalinda put a hand on
her abdomen and spoke to the baby growing there. “I will never let
anyone make you feel unwelcome. Your Aunt Bianca will love you
almost as much as I do. She will dote on you, and so will Valeria
and Bartolomeo. They both love children and regret that they were
never able to have any of their own.

“Mother will forgive me the very first moment
she sees you,” Rosalinda went on, still speaking to the baby. “And
as for me, I will give you all the love you deserve, in addition to
the love I would have bestowed on Andrea, if our lives had been
different. You will grow up here, at Villa Serenita, safe and
happy. I’ll teach you to ride. I’ll show you all the mountain paths
I know. If you are a girl, Bianca can teach you fine needlework,
for I am not very clever at it, and Valeria will show you how to
cook. If you are a boy, Bartolomeo and Lorenzo and the other
men-at-arms can teach you manly skills. Boy or girl, Mother will
surely want you to learn Latin. I warn you now, my little love,
declensions are no fun.”

“Rosalinda?” Unheard by her sister, Bianca
had crept into the room. “I woke up and couldn’t fall asleep again.
Who were you talking to?”

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you,” Rosalinda
said, brushing at her wet cheeks.

“You didn’t.” Bianca drew nearer. “You’re
crying. You never cry. What’s wrong?”

“The same thing that made you cry.”

“No,” Bianca said. “You aren’t like me. What
happened this evening might make you angry, or determined to do
something to change an unhappy situation. It wouldn’t make you
cry.”

“I can’t tell you what’s wrong,” Rosalinda
said. “Not yet.”

“Why not, when you know all of my secrets? I
won’t tell anyone else if you don’t want me to. Is it something to
do with Andrea? Why do I even ask? Of course it is.”

“I have to tell someone,” Rosalinda
whispered. “I’ve been hiding this secret for more than a month and
every day I’ve grown more certain of what is happening to me.
Bianca, will you swear not to speak a word of what I’m going to say
until Mother knows of it?”

“I swear,” Bianca said, coming closer
still.

“I am with child by Andrea.” It was a great
relief to Rosalinda to say the words aloud. By doing so, she gave
form and substance to what was happening within her body.

“You and Andrea? That night when I saw you
together in the servants’ quarters?” Bianca gasped at the enormity
of her sister’s confession. “Oh, Rosalinda! Does he know?”

“I haven’t told him. After what happened
tonight, I don’t think I can tell him.”

“Oh, my poor dear.” Bianca touched
Rosalinda’s arm, her eyes wide with surprise and sympathy. Then the
sisters were holding on to each other, both of them in tears. All
differences between them were forgotten. They were allies again, as
they had been in childhood, and Bianca remembered that she was the
elder. It was her turn to offer comfort.

“It could easily have been me,” Bianca said.
“I would have done nothing to stop Vanni, no matter what he wanted
to do with me. I cannot blame you, Rosalinda, for I have given way
to the same desires. Only tell me what I can do that will be of
most help to you, and I will do it.”

“At least we are so private here that no one
outside the villa will know,” Rosalinda said, trying to find a
brighter side to her situation. “There will be no great scandal
over this. Mother would hate a scandal. So would I. Not for myself,
but because scandal would mark this innocent child before it is
ever born.”

“There is one possible solution, if you are
willing,” Bianca said. “Andrea does want to marry you.”

“After what I learned about him tonight, I’m
not sure I want to marry him. And you heard Mother. She would never
allow it. And if I were to run away and marry him, what a huge
scandal that would create! What would the people of Aullia say?
Once they learn who my father was, what would my impetuous action
do to Andrea’s chance to become Duke of Aullia? There is nothing
else for me, Bianca, but to stay here and tell Mother the truth and
face her wrath. At least I won’t have to tell her for a few weeks.
She may be calmer by then. And I am glad it isn’t you. I cannot
imagine what Mother would do if the daughter she hopes to make
Duchess of Monteferro were to announce that she is with child while
still unwed,” Rosalinda finished on an unsteady laugh.

“Don’t joke about this,” Bianca said. “Now, I
want you to listen to me. Whatever happens, no matter what Mother
says when she learns of your condition, or how angry she is, you
and I will face this problem together. I will not be separated from
you, and I will help you all I can. Nor will I allow Mother or
Valeria to insist that an unmarried girl cannot attend a lying-in.
I swear to you, Rosalinda, I will be with you, holding your hand,
when your baby is born.”

“Thank you,” Rosalinda whispered. “I am so
glad you are my sister.”

“It’s about time I showed some courage. You
know, we could use the small room next to this one for a nursery.”
Leaving Rosalinda’s side, Bianca went to the wall, to knock softly
on it. “One of the men-at-arms is an acceptable carpenter in his
spare hours. I heard Valeria say so after he made some extra pantry
shelves for her. We’ll have him cut a door just here, and put a
nice frame around it. Then you will be able to get to the nursery
without going into the corridor when you want to tend the baby.
Isn’t there a cradle in one of the storerooms upstairs?”

“‘Bianca! “

“There, I’ve made you laugh. I knew I could.
Rosalinda, did you know that Ginevra, one of the women who helps
Valeria in the kitchen, is expecting a baby?”

“So I have heard,” Rosalinda said,
remembering the useful information Ginevra had imparted to her.

“Well,” Bianca went on, “Valeria told Ginevra
to rest as much as possible. Therefore, you must rest, too. You are
not to walk back and forth all night in your bare feet. Get into
bed right away.”

“Have you become a midwife?” Rosalinda smiled
at her sister’s enthusiasm, but she was forced to admit that she
was tired. It had been a long, eventful day, and her body craved
rest. She got into bed as ordered, and Bianca joined her. They fell
asleep curled up in each other’s arms.

* * * * *

It was not quite dawn when Rosalinda was
awakened by a soft knocking on her bedroom door. Bianca still slept
beside her, undisturbed by the insistent sound. Sliding out of bed,
Rosalinda went to the door. She had only opened it a crack when
Andrea pushed his way into the room.

“You may not come in here,” she protested.
“Mother has forbidden me to speak to you.”

“We are leaving shortly.” Andrea reached for
her, but Rosalinda moved away. With one finger on her lips, she
pointed to Bianca’s sleeping form.

“I won’t wake her,” Andrea said in a softer
tone. “I could not leave without saying good-bye to you. Rosalinda,
in spite of the quarrel last evening, I beg you to trust me, and to
believe in my honesty. I am sure that when I present Monteferro to
your mother, she will forgive me for not telling her who I am. Then
I will claim you for my own.”

“Claim me?” Rosalinda repeated. She was hard
put to keep her voice low and not shout at him. “How dare you say
such a thing? I told you last night that I am not a prize of
war.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Andrea insisted
with some impatience. “How else can a penniless exile win the woman
he wants, except by making his fortune in war? I agreed to your
mother’s plan because I knew it was the only way I could hope to
regain the position and the wealth that would make her consider me
as a suitor for your hand. That is why I insisted on her promise
that I might marry you once Monteferro was conquered. It was
because I want you, not because I think you are a piece of loot, to
be taken by the victor.”

“If you were another man, with a different
father, your scheme might have worked,” Rosalinda said. “You don’t
know my mother very well, Andrea. She will never forgive you for
what you have done. If it’s true that your father had my father
killed, there can be no future happiness for you and me. Even if
you could convince my mother to agree, I would still refuse, no
matter how often you declare that you want me.”

He had not said he loved her, only that he
wanted her. Tears of hurt and anger filled Rosalinda’s eyes.
Wanting was not the same as loving, and she knew the difference.
She wondered if Andrea did.

“Andrea?” Vanni pushed his way into the room.
“Francesco is looking for you. We have to leave now. Ah, Bianca, my
dear love.”

Seeing Bianca, who was, amazingly, still
asleep in spite of the two men in the room and their whispered
conversation, Vanni stole toward the bed.

“If you waken her, you will answer to me,”
Rosalinda said. “She only fell asleep a short time ago. Leave her
alone. Leave me alone. Neither of you should be here.”

“There are tears on her face.” Vanni bent to
kiss Bianca’s cheek. He spoke in a soft whisper, yet Rosalinda
heard him clearly. “I have a treasure to recover, that has been
stolen by a wicked dwarf. When it is mine, sweet Bianca, I will
return to lay it at your feet.

“Until we meet again, Rosalinda.” Vanni left
the bed and came to Rosalinda, to place a soft kiss on her cheek,
too. “When Bianca wakens, tell her that I love her. Are you coming,
Andrea?”

“In just a moment.” Andrea took Rosalinda’s
hand in his. When she tried to pull away, he would not let her go.
“You are my dearest treasure, Rosalinda, and no one can steal you
from me.”

“I am not yours,” she responded. “I do not
think I can ever be yours.”

“No matter what the future brings, I will
always desire you. And I will come back to you.” Lifting her hand,
he pressed his lips to her fingers. Then he was gone, leaving
Rosalinda to lean weakly against the door while she regretted the
things she could not tell him and the life they would not have.

Now that we know everything, do you still
want Andrea?
Bianca’s question came back to haunt Rosalinda.
Yes, she wanted Andrea. And she loved him, whether he loved her or
not. She felt as if her heart was torn out of her with his leaving.
She wished she could run to him and tell him about the child they
had made. She wished he had been honest about his identity from the
beginning.

Now that we know everything…
Did they know everything? Was
it possible that some valuable piece of information was still
lacking, perhaps a clue that Andrea’s father was not responsible
for the assassination of the Duke of Monteferro? It was the only
hope Rosalinda had, and she did not know where or how such
information could be found. She did not even know what it might
be.

“Not much of a hope,” she whispered, moving
to stand beside the bed where Bianca slept. “All I know for certain
is that, if they live and if they are successful, those three men
will return. When they do, perhaps we can think of a means to prove
or disprove my mother’s suspicions.”