Belladonna (SECRETS OF THE ETERNAL ROSE)

by Paul, Fiona

  Cass reclined on the bench inside the felze, and Siena and Feliciana knelt on the boat’s stamped leather base, facing her. The three girls tucked their heads tightly together, speaking in hushed tones.

  “What happened?” Siena asked, reaching out to push her sister’s hood back just far enough so she could see her eyes. “Did he hurt you?” Cass knew that Siena was referring to Dubois.

  Feliciana shook her head and bit her lip. “No. Not like that. Joseph was . . . fond of me.” She avoided her sister’s eyes, and Cass wondered what Joseph Dubois had done to show his affection, and how Feliciana had grown so familiar with him that she would use his given name. “All the girls had whispered that he was fond of Sophia, too, and that she might be with child.” Feliciana faltered slightly over the words. “When she disappeared, I figured she had run away. Maybe gone to the Chiesa to live until the baby was born.”

  Cass watched as the gondola passed the Chiesa delle Zitelle, which sat on the island of Giudecca, almost directly across from the entrance to the Grand Canal. It functioned as both a house of worship and a refuge for single women. Whether healthy or infirm, unmarried girls and prostitutes often sought shelter there.

  Feliciana shuddered. “But then I overheard him speaking to a man I’d seen around the estate—another Frenchman—about what needed to be done about Sophia. Joseph told this man to make the problem go away.”

  Cass’s throat squeezed shut. Cristian.

  “Then I heard that her body was pulled from the Grand Canal. After that day, I began to cross paths with this man more and more. I was afraid maybe he’d seen me the day I heard him speaking to Joseph.” Feliciana’s eyes went dark. “I didn’t want to be next.”

  Cass reached out and gave Feliciana’s hand a quick squeeze. “You’re safe now,” she said, hoping it was true. Once Feliciana was inside the villa, Cass would inform her about what had happened over the past few weeks. It wasn’t safe to talk about it further here. In Venice, even the water had ears.

  Siena was staring at Feliciana. “So you and Signor Dubois were—”

  Feliciana shook her head forcefully. “No. But it would have come to that.” And then, seeing Siena’s look of shock, she added, “Oh, don’t be naïve. No woman refuses that kind of request from her master, not if she wants to stay employed.”

  Cass twisted around the edge of the felze to sneak a glance at their gondolier. The man was staring down at the lagoon, watching his oar move through the water.

  Feliciana laughed bitterly. “Poor Sophia. One of her roommates told me that Sophia believed she was going to be transferred to Dubois’s mainland estate, into her own set of chambers. Instead she was transferred into the ground.”

  “Why didn’t you come directly to San Domenico?” Cass asked. “Siena and I would have helped you. We would have protected you.”

  Feliciana scoffed. “But what about your aunt? Was I to just show up and say, ‘Scusi, Signora Querini, will you take me on again?’ The old woman might have sent me directly back to Joseph. Even if she didn’t, how was I to know I wouldn’t be bringing danger to the villa?”

  “You still should have gotten a message to me,” Siena said accusingly. “I thought you were dead. We both did.”

  Feliciana reached out and gripped her sister’s arm. “I never should have left you. I thought if I did well at Palazzo Dubois, I could persuade the master to hire you on as well. I never meant for us to stay apart.”

  The gondolier had crossed the lagoon and was now cutting between the Giudecca and San Giorgio Maggiore. They’d be at the northern shore of San Domenico in just a few minutes. “He said he would take us around to Agnese’s private dock,” Siena said.

  “And then what?” Feliciana asked, dropping her hood low once more.

  “Siena will enter the servants’ door while we wait on the side lawn,” Cass said. “We’ll keep ourselves tight against the villa so we won’t be visible from any of the windows. Siena can come get us once she thinks it’s safe to sneak you inside.”

  After the gondolier had moored at Agnese’s dock, the three girls disembarked. Siena disappeared inside while Cass and Feliciana skirted the edge of Agnese’s property, staying out of view of the windows. After a few minutes, Siena returned, and the three girls crept in the main door of the villa and quietly up the stairs. The portego was empty except for Agnese’s butler, Bortolo, who was napping as usual. The girls proceeded quickly to the back of the villa, where Cass and Agnese had their bedchambers. The three of them squeezed through the doorway to Cass’s room all at once, and she closed the door with a click.

  Feliciana shocked everyone by dropping her hood to reveal an almost-bald head. Siena whimpered, and Feliciana patted her sister on the hand. “It’s just hair. It’ll grow back. Though the sister who razored it all off did seem to take a cruel pleasure in the task.”

  “So you actually joined a convent?” Cass asked incredulously. The vibrant Feliciana in a nunnery made about as much sense as quiet Siena becoming a courtesan.

  “My options were limited,” Feliciana said. “I went to the Chiesa delle Zitelle and they found me a spot in a nunnery on San Giorgio Maggiore. But the nuns were hateful. They were always waking me up at all hours of the night to pray. Each time I was late or ‘insolent,’ they forced me to wear a garment woven out of goat’s hair under my habit. It rubbed my skin raw and kept me from sleeping. They also made me empty the chamber pots for the whole convent and scrub the floors until my fingers bled.” She glanced down at her cracked and swollen fingertips and winced. “And then last week I saw one of the Sisters speaking to a man who looked familiar. I was afraid Joseph had sent his men to find me. I escaped the convent after dark, and returned to the city. I passed the days at the Mercato di Rialto and spent my nights locked inside the Ghetto with the Jews, hiding in the back room of a butcher’s shop. I knew eventually I would find someone I could trust at the marketplace.”

  Siena reached out to touch the fuzz of blonde hair that was left on Feliciana’s scalp. “I still can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered.

  “Believe it.” Feliciana wrapped her bony arms around Siena’s neck, and the two sisters embraced. Feliciana turned to Cass next, gripping both of her hands and leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. “You saved me,” she said. “Both of you.”

  Cass tried not to flinch. Siena’s sister smelled almost as bad as the marketplace.

  Feliciana pulled back and held the end of her sleeve up to her face. “Ugh, I smell like rotten squid.” She looked pleadingly at Cass. “For the good of everyone here, would it be possible to wash up?” She turned her eyes on Siena.

  “Absolutely,” Cass said. “Siena will get you anything you need.” She cleared her throat meaningfully. “Just be discreet.”

  Siena scampered off. Cass still hadn’t worked out exactly where she could hide Feliciana. The servants were notorious gossips, and all of Venice would know of her reappearance by the end of the week if any of them spotted her. Cass wished she could stash her former handmaid in the butler’s quarters; she was in no danger of being spotted there. Bortolo was so blind that if spindly Feliciana stood holding out her arms, he’d probably mistake the girl for a coatrack.

  That gave Cass an idea. Just across from the butler’s office was Agnese’s storage area. If Cass could manage to sneak the key, Feliciana could hide out on the villa’s lower level with minimal danger of being discovered. It would be much safer than if Siena tried to hide her away in the servants’ quarters.

  Siena returned with two clay jugs of warm water and a bundle of clothing tucked under her arm. She poured the water into the basin that sat in Cass’s tiny bathroom. Stripping out of her cloak and dress, Feliciana stepped into the bathroom in just her chemise. She had grown so thin over the past month that Cass could see her ribs through the thin garment. “Burn those clothes, will you?” Feliciana said.

  Siena gathered her plain skirts and sat daintily on the bed next to Cass. Her eyes flicked back and forth from th
e doorway to the bathroom to the tiny prayer alcove just outside. Below the crucifix mounted on the wall, a small statue of Cass’s favorite saint sat on a marble pedestal. San Antonio. Cass often prayed to him about things that were lost. Now she thanked him for things that were found. Warmth bloomed inside of her as she heard Feliciana singing to herself as she washed up. She might be thin and bruised and bald, but Feliciana was still the same vivacious girl who had been Cass’s handmaid for the better part of four years. At least her ordeal had not dampened her spirits.

  “I think we should hide her downstairs for the time being,” Cass said quietly, knowing this would disappoint Siena. “Agnese’s storage.”

  “I was hoping she might stay with me.” Siena picked at her skirts.

  “It’s too dangerous,” Cass said. “Someone will see her, and then the whole marketplace will be buzzing with the news that she’s been found.”

  Siena nodded slowly. “You’re right.” She shot Cass a weak smile. “And I suppose your aunt’s storage room is better than the nunnery or the Ghetto. At least we can bring her food. And visit her whenever we want.”

  Feliciana emerged from the bathroom wearing a plain white bonnet and Siena’s newest servant’s outfit, a royal-blue-and-gray ankle-length dress that hung loosely on her gaunt frame. She flounced down on the bed between Cass and Siena. “Are you discussing what to do with me?” she asked.

  “We’ll keep you in my room until everyone falls asleep,” Cass said firmly. “Then we’ll sneak you downstairs. The servants don’t even dust some of those rooms, so at least we know you’ll have privacy.” Still, Cass didn’t know how long they could stash Feliciana down there before someone noticed Siena’s visits—or before Feliciana went crazy from boredom. But she wouldn’t worry about that now.

  A stern rapping sounded at the door. Cass froze. Siena let out a yelp. Feliciana sprang up from her seat on the coverlet and crawled beneath the bed, disappearing just as the door to Cass’s bedchamber flew open.

  “The Church foolishly equates the victimless act of heresy with the crimes of robbery and murder. It is an easy way to remove those who stand in our path.”

  —THE BOOK OF THE ETERNAL ROSE

  four

  Come in,” Cass said innocently. “Oh, look, you already have.”

  Agnese’s handmaid, Narissa, stood in the doorway. Her arms were folded across her ample belly, and her eyes narrowed disapprovingly at the sight of both Cass and Siena sitting on the bed. Siena jumped up immediately so as not to provoke a scolding about where servants should and should not sit.

  “Come along, Siena,” Narissa said, “or you’ll miss out on supper.” She raised an eyebrow at Cass, her gaze lingering on the sagging folds of Cass’s dress. “Will you be dining this evening, Signorina Cassandra? Or have you given up on eating altogether?”

  Cass was about to tell Narissa that she wasn’t hungry, but then remembered she had Feliciana to feed. “Actually I’m famished,” Cass said. “Can you ask the cook to prepare a full tray for me tonight?”

  Narissa nodded curtly before excusing herself and turning toward the door. Siena trailed behind the older handmaid, looking penitent.

  Cass counted to thirty before dropping her head over the edge of her bed and peeking underneath it. Feliciana looked almost comfortable stretched out on her back in the thin black space. Slipper lay nuzzled against her side.

  “Traitor,” Cass whispered at the cat. He gazed back at her with wide green eyes.

  “I probably still smell like squid,” Feliciana said, crawling out from under the bed and dusting off the front of her dress. “It’ll take me another bath and then some to get rid of that odor.”

  “I can’t believe you’re really here,” Cass said. She couldn’t wait to tell Feliciana about everything that had happened: the murdered courtesan, Falco, Madalena’s wedding, Luca’s arrest. But she didn’t want to start now, while she might be interrupted. “And just in time. Your sister almost went crazy with worry.”

  “Poor thing,” Feliciana said. “She’s always been the nervous one. Remember back when she worked in the kitchen and broke one of your aunt’s teacups? I found her up in our room, crying her eyes out, positive she’d be sent away.”

  “And the time that boy from the gardening crew flirted with her?” Cass said. “I thought she might faint right into the rosebushes.”

  Feliciana laughed. She asked Cass about each of the longtime servants, happy that so many of them were still working for the estate and doing well. “I never should have left,” she said. “Everyone here is so kind.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, everyone except for Narissa, of course.” Someone else knocked at the door and Feliciana sighed. She started to duck back under the bed.

  “Don’t worry, it’s just me.” Siena slipped into the room with a dinner tray laden with sliced chicken, herbed potatoes, cheeses, breads, and bowls of creamy soup. Cass and Narissa obviously had different ideas about what constituted a full tray. There was more than enough food for two famished people.

  Siena set the tray in the middle of Cass’s bed. “It’s for the two of us.” She winked at Feliciana before turning to Cass. “Your aunt said it would be fine if I dined in your chamber tonight since you’ve had a difficult day.”

  “She didn’t happen to mention if there had been any further news, did she?” Cass asked hopefully. Siena had been so stunned to discover her sister at the marketplace that she hadn’t thought to ask around about Luca’s arrest before hurrying back to San Domenico. Cass didn’t blame her, but she was dying to know what Luca had been charged with, and it was too late to go to the Palazzo Ducale today. She’d go first thing in the morning. By then, perhaps the misunderstanding would have been cleared up and Luca freed.

  Siena dropped her eyes to the floor. “She didn’t, but Narissa would have mentioned if a message had been received . . .”

  Feliciana looked from Cass to Siena. “News about what?”

  “Luca,” Cass admitted. “There’s been some trouble.”

  Feliciana’s eyes gleamed. “Is he still painfully short?”

  Cass smiled. The question was completely inappropriate, but coming from Feliciana she didn’t mind. “He’s actually grown about a foot,” Cass said. “And according to Madalena he’s become quite handsome.”

  “That doesn’t sound like trouble.”

  “It’s a long story,” Cass said. “We can talk about it tomorrow.” She couldn’t bring herself to discuss Luca’s arrest. Not tonight. Siena seemed to understand, because she stayed quiet as well.

  The three girls clustered around the tray, sharing the silverware and the food. The sun painted the sky outside the window a rainbow of oranges and pinks as it began to set. Slipper bounded up on the bed and sniffed eagerly at the tray. Cass tossed a small chunk of chicken in the direction of the armoire. The cat leapt from the bed and pounced on the hunk of meat, devouring it eagerly.

  “Quite the hunter,” Feliciana remarked. “I remember when he was just a tiny baby.”

  “He’s still a baby,” Cass said, thinking of all the trouble Slipper managed to get into. “He’s just bigger now.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot.” Siena held up a tarnished key: it was the key to Agnese’s storage room. “I managed to swipe it when I delivered her dinner tray,” she said proudly. “I already unlocked the door. I’ll replace the key after Signora Querini falls asleep.”

  “Thank you, Siena,” Cass said.

  The sun disappeared below the horizon and the stars began to appear. Siena clasped her older sister’s hands in her own, giving Feliciana a fierce hug before retiring to the servants’ quarters. Feliciana went to the window and inhaled deeply.

  “I’ve missed this sky,” she said. “There’s so much haze over the Rialto, you never get to see stars.”

  Cass thought about how she used to feel the same way, before her friend Liviana’s body had disappeared and set into motion a series of events that ended with Cass being attacked. Outside the window, the sp
ikes of the graveyard fence glittered in the moonlight, the high grass beckoning to her like skeletal fingers. No one knew where Livi’s body had ended up, but Cass suspected it lay piecemeal in Angelo de Gradi’s workshop. The courtesan Mariabella’s body still lay in Liviana’s tomb.

  And what of Sophia’s body, which had floated to the surface of the Grand Canal? She hoped Dubois had had the decency to bury her, so that her soul could ascend to heaven.

  But it was unlikely.

  “I’m sure you’re ready to get some sleep,” Cass said. She didn’t want to think of dead bodies or Joseph Dubois anymore tonight.

  Feliciana ran a hand over her bonnet, smiling once again at the night sky. “I’m just happy to be here,” she said. “It has been forever since I’ve felt safe. But I do, now.”

  Cass wished it were that easy. She didn’t feel safe anywhere. But she just smiled and nodded. Grabbing a folded blanket from the bottom shelf of her armoire and a pillow off her bed, she opened the door of her bedroom just a crack. The villa was dark and silent.

  She lit a candle that sat on her washing table and motioned to Feliciana. The two girls crept through the portego and into the dining room, where they descended the narrow servants’ staircase. San Domenico was built up slightly higher than the Rialto, so there wasn’t any standing water in the hallways, but the stone floor was damp and the air smelled moldy.

  “Sorry,” Cass whispered. “It’s probably not too much of an improvement from your previous accommodations.”

  “If you’re not going to wake me in the middle of the night and command me to pray, I’ll consider it an improvement,” Feliciana whispered back.

  Cass led Feliciana past the butler’s office to the far corner of the villa’s first floor, where an arched doorway was cut into the stone. She pushed on the wooden door and it creaked inward. Unlocked, just as Siena had promised. Cass held her candle high in the dark space. She had no idea what her aunt was storing down here.