The Carnelian Legacy (24 page)

“Eyes so beautiful—I remember eyes such as these when I first came to the palace…” Cozimo gazed intently at her and blinked several times before his eyes glazed over.

Marisa curtseyed and tried to suppress a giggle. Arrie motioned silently that the old man was a bit eccentric.

Darian said, “You will meet my mother, sister, and the rest of my staff later, but for now, you may go and rest before dinner. Baroness Cinzia will show the way to your chambers.”

As the baroness smiled gracefully and took her arm, Marisa felt clumsy. The woman led her down a vaulted corridor that emptied into a magnificent lobby. A grand staircase split in the middle and curved gracefully up on both sides to the second floor. The marble floor contained intricate mosaics of battle scenes and there were several life-sized portraits hanging on the walls.

As they ascended the stairs, she studied the paintings’ subjects and noticed that they all seemed to possess similar traits. It was downright eerie the way the faces in the portraits seemed to be staring right at her.

After they had reached the second-story landing, the baroness led Marisa down a plush, carpeted corridor. From the ornate details on the ceiling and walls, it was obvious to Marisa that these were the rooms where important guests stayed. The doors were hand-carved with nature scenes of trees, rivers, and flowers. Every bit of available space along the wall was covered with a royal portrait. Her eye caught on a particular painting when she suddenly recognized a face.

In the portrait, there was a much-younger version of the baroness standing next to a strangely familiar young man. Marisa studied the painting. He looked a lot like Arrie.

“Is that...”

Somehow Cinzia understood what she was asking.

“Yes. That was my husband and I just after we were married. He was Arrigo’s father,” she said sadly.

As Marisa listened to the translation, she felt sorry for this woman who had lost her husband so young. She suspected there was more to the story but since she was unable to speak Crocine, Marisa could only nod to Arrie’s mother.

The baroness walked to a door half way down the hall with an intricate flower carved into the wood. When Cinzia opened it, Marisa was astonished by what she saw.

The chamber was a bedroom and living room suite all together with a fireplace, a separate bathroom, and a dressing room. Although it was slightly smaller than her room at Abbadon, it was much more exquisite. There was a wooden four-poster bed large enough for two people but not nearly as large as the ridiculously oversized one she’d slept in at Savino’s castle.

After the coolness of the corridor, the room felt like an oven. Marisa struggled to unhook the clasp of her cape but impatiently pulled the whole thing over her head. Realizing the clasp had gotten caught in her hair, she groaned and tried to work it loose. Finally free of the cape, Marisa threw it over the back of a chair and explored the magnificent room.

“Beautiful,” she said, admiring the comfortable sitting area. There was a couch and bookcase filled with all kinds of books written in what Marisa guessed must be Crocine.

Cinzia opened a side door and showed her a smaller bedroom where a young woman sat. “This is Anna. She will help you during your stay at the palace,” she said.

The young girl with long dark hair jumped to her feet and curtseyed to them. Marisa nodded warmly. Cinzia moved to a large set of floor-to-ceiling windows that opened out onto a large stone terrace. She opened them and the two women stepped outside. Noticing that her room shared a balcony with rooms on either side, Marisa wondered who the occupants were.

The sweeping vista beyond the citadel walls was spectacular. Because her room faced west, Marisa had a magnificent view of the setting sun as it slowly dipped behind the distant mountains. She spotted the nearly-full moon rising on its path across the sky. The heavens were turning pink and purple with slight tinges of orange.

Still in awe of the amazing view, Marisa walked over to the railing and leaned over. Everything below her began to spin and she hastily drew back from the edge. She closed her eyes and willed the dizziness in her head to stop.

“Lady Marisa, you must prepare for dinner now,” Cinzia called to her.

Marisa walked to the cabinet to find something to wear for the evening and began ruffling through the dresses. Her hand flew to her ear when she realized the earpiece was missing. Guessing that it must have fallen out when she was messing with the cape, she dropped to the ground and began searching the floor. When she finally found it under the nightstand, she put it back into her ear and froze.

Marisa glanced at Cinzia. “Were you just speaking English a minute ago?” she asked.

Cinzia just looked at her, smiling and shrugging her shoulders, clearly not understanding what she was saying.

“Okay, that was weird,” Marisa muttered.

“Dinner will be served shortly, milady. We will fetch you once you’ve had the opportunity to freshen up.”

Cinzia had been speaking Crocine all along, so how could she understand her? Marisa listened to the English translation in her right ear as she smiled and curtseyed to Cinzia.

As soon as Cinzia left her room, Marisa peeked into Anna’s room and motioned she wanted to take a bath. Anna scurried around to fill the tub.

Strolling out onto the balcony, Marisa watched as the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the stars began to twinkle. Below her window, the night watchmen were lighting torches along the walls of the citadel, creating a soft glow across the courtyard.

A door shut loudly behind her. As she saw a candle being lit in the room next to hers, Marisa drew back quickly into the shadows. She slowly leaned over and peered through the window.

Sitting on the bed at the far side of the room was a beautiful young woman slightly younger than Marisa. She had dark eyes and an olive complexion, and her long, black hair was twisted into an elaborate braid down the entire length of her back. She wore a dark blue dress and a single strand of sapphires around her neck. From the elegant way she was dressed, Marisa guessed she must be a member of the royal family.

The young woman was engrossed in reading a letter. Marisa leaned over to get a better look. Her earpiece dropped from her ear and bounced across the stone floor of the balcony. The young woman glanced up at the windows and Marisa quickly pulled back. She waited a couple minutes before she stepped over to retrieve the translator. When she peered into the room again, the letter lay crumpled up on the floor next to the bed. The woman was sobbing pitifully into her pillow. Marisa knew those tears could only have been caused by a man.

Nobody is immune to shattered dreams,
she thought.

CHAPTER 18

ENCOUNTERS

ANNA
HAD
CHOSEN
AN
elegant evening gown for Marisa. Although she thought it looked too formal, she didn’t feel like second-guessing the young woman who seemed to know her way around a closet.

Marisa had slipped into the gown and was quickly running a brush through her hair when she heard a soft rap at the door. She opened it to find Arrie washed, dressed, and looking dapper.

“So what do you think of your room, milady?” he asked.

“It’s amazing.”

“Perhaps we can persuade you to stay for a while?”

She shook her head. “Only until I can get a place of my own.”

“Darian and I have been discussing that, and we have a few ideas. We’ll talk about it after you’ve had the opportunity to settle in.”

Marisa looked at him but said nothing. She knew Arrie had been charged with keeping Darian’s engagement a secret. The idea of him marrying Matilda was so depressing that she immediately pushed it from her mind.

“I shall not be joining you all for dinner this evening,” he said.

She frowned. “Why not?”

“I shall be dining with my mother. We shall see you all later this evening.”

“Wait a minute. Who am I eating with?”

“Darian, his mother, and his sister,” Arrie replied.

“He’s introducing me to his
family?
Great!”

“Now, Marisa, don’t work yourself into a frenzy. Everything will be fine. Just remember to duck when you face the firing squad.”

“Very funny,” she said, rolling her eyes.

As Marisa entered the dining hall on Arrie’s arm, she was sweating from nervousness. They strolled over to the gigantic fireplace where Darian was chatting with two women. Marisa saw the formal dinner gowns the other ladies were wearing and was immediately grateful to Anna.

“I shall see you later,” Arrie said, excusing himself with a bow.

The women turned toward Marisa and she sucked in her breath. One of them was the unhappy young woman who’d been crying an hour before in the room next to hers.

“Lady Marisa, please grant me the pleasure of introducing you to my mother, Her Royal Highness Princess Helena Arras of Ottaviano,” Darian said.

Princess Helena had dark eyes and hair, with clear skin and few wrinkles. She had the unmistakable air of entitlement and privilege about her, and Marisa guessed she was probably in her early fifties.

Marisa curtseyed as deep as she possibly could as Darian’s mother observed her carefully.

“And this is my sister, Her Royal Highness Princess Adalina Fiore,” Darian said.

The young princess smiled warmly at Marisa as both women curtseyed. Marisa wondered if Princess Adalina even knew that she’d been offered to Savino as his bride but had been rejected. Maybe it was the reason she’d been crying. If that was the case, making it through dinner might be difficult.

“Lady Marisa, my brother has told me all about you and I am so glad to meet you,” Adalina said, smiling.

Marisa heard an echo in her earpiece, and she did a double-take. She tapped her right ear and glanced at Darian, who nodded, already knowing what she was thinking.

“But how...?” Marisa asked.

“My mother felt it was just as important for my sister to learn English as it was for me,” Darian said. “She may not speak it as well as me, but then again, I’ve had more opportunities to practice this past week.” He winked at her.

“But how do you know about me?” Marisa asked Adalina. “We just got here a couple hours ago.”

“Yes, well, my brother was so excited when he arrived home that he came right away to speak with us. Apparently much has happened since he met with Savino and Mattie at Abbadon—”

“Yes—thank you, Adalina,” Darian interrupted. “Shall we go to dinner now?”

Darian offered his mother an arm as Marisa and Adalina followed them down into the Knight’s Hall. As they all sat down for dinner, he helped each of the ladies into their chairs.

Marisa admired the pewter plates and crushed glass goblets sparkling in the lights of the candelabras. She felt intimidated by all the formal dinners and liked the fact it was just the four of them now.

“Marisa, we don’t usually take our meals in the Knight’s Hall. But for tonight, I wanted you to have the special experience of eating in the most historic room in the castle. We’ve moved in here from our usual dining chamber.”

“It’s beautiful,” Marisa said. “And so
big
. I think you could easily squeeze the entire gym from South Medford High in here.” Her eyes roamed the interior of the great hall.

There were several banners and royal crests hanging high in rows along the walls. A large, blazing fireplace gave the hall a cozy feel and there were beautiful paintings of coronations and battles decorating the room. The table was piled so high with food that Marisa felt as if she could have been dining with King Henry VIII.

On the far wall, there were several groups of swords arranged in geometric, circular patterns. The handles were on the outside with their blades pointing inwards toward a coat-of-arms in the center. Some of the pie-shaped circles had more swords than others.

Darian saw Marisa’s puzzled face. “You are probably wondering about the swords.” he said.

“Yeah. Why are they like that?”

“It reminds us of our history,” Adalina explained. “Each of those circles of swords represents a different family that has ruled the land of Crocetta.”