Starling (149 page)

cage. But Montaigne was wrong. Marriage can set you free of the cage
if you find the right person.” She looked pleadingly at Falco, praying
he would understand. “Luca da Peraga is the right man for me.”
“I know,” Falco repeated. He rubbed at the scar beneath his eye.
“It doesn’t mean that I don’t care—” She stopped. “Wait. You
know?”
“I didn’t come here to ruin your wedding, Cassandra.” Falco
smiled crookedly. “When I saw you with Luca, it looked to me as if
you were where you were supposed to be. I suppose I just had to lay
eyes on you one last time to be certain, you understand?”
“Oh, Falco.” Cass dropped his hands and wrapped her arms
around his neck. “I will never forget you,” she murmured.
“Nor I, you,” Falco said after they had broken apart. “I’m returning to Florence, but I truly hope our paths cross again.” He turned to
leave, but then stopped. “Tell Luca that he’d better take good care of
you. If he hurts you, I’ll come back for him.” He winked. “I’ll come
back for both of you.”
Cass watched his form retreat. As he turned into the hallway, she
called out to him. “Falco.”
He glanced back. “Yes?”
“You can stay if you like,” she said. “For the wedding.”
Falco smiled slightly. “I feel as if I’ve overstayed my welcome as
it is.”
With that, he vanished into the corridor and Cass’s heart dipped
low inside of her chest. Sadness pricked at her like pins, but she had
done the right thing. Falco was vibrant, exciting, and unusual. The
passionate way that he had touched her had made her whole body
come alive for the first time.
But he wasn’t the man who loved her just as she was. He wasn’t the
man who made her want to be a better person.
That man awaited her in the garden.

Bortolo escorted Cass from the kitchen door to the rose trellis at the
back of Agnese’s garden. Luca watched her approach, his face a study
in neutrals, his eyes beginning to mist over. The garden was packed
with servants, courtesans, mercenaries, and a handful of girls Cass
knew via Madalena. It was not the crowd of people she had dreamed
would attend her wedding one day, but everywhere she looked, her
eyes fell on a friendly face. And what could be better than that?

Well, Luca, of course. He wore his finest green silk tunic and a
pair of black velvet breeches, his hat and boots adorned with pale
blue ribbons Cass suspected Narissa had selected for him. Bortolo
released her arm, and Cass took her position across from Luca, with
the priest standing in between. She couldn’t resist lifting one hand to
stroke the faint hint of beard showing on his cheeks. “
Bongiorno,
”
she whispered.

“
Bongiorno.
” He took her hands in his own and squeezed them.
“In case I forget to tell you later, this has been the best day of my
life.”

The priest cleared his throat. She and Luca fell silent as he began
to speak. He talked of bonds, of water and blood and what it meant
when a woman and a man entered into the covenant of marriage. He
talked of the sun, of doves flying free, and of God looking down to
bear witness. Cass barely heard most of it. She was getting lost in
Luca’s eyes. Life had torn them asunder and she had broken laws,