Glittering Promises

by Lisa T. Bergren

  “A baby! Did you keep it?”

  She smiled sadly. “No. I wanted her to have two parents, and I knew a couple who had longed for a child for years. They welcomed her with joy. Others…older children who aren’t quite as adorable, too young to work, too old to melt a person’s heart, are more difficult to place.”

  Her eyes moved to the hillside, where six workers were patiently pruning the vines. It was only then that I noticed two were young, just barely older than children, not quite adults. She looked at me. “Giuseppe and Silvi, just fifteen and twelve. Two children left behind last fall when their widowed mother took sick and died.” She shrugged. “What was I to do? Some of my Triguetti cousins took them in, thank God. But they cannot take in all my strays. Italian families are large, leaving many mouths to feed. I need a place to look after them until I can find them proper homes.”

  “It’s a fine goal,” Will said. “But does the government do nothing for them?”

  “They are not Italian citizens, therefore they are not the government’s responsibility. Or so they say,” she said, splaying her hands in a helpless gesture. “Besides, it’s the church’s place to help orphan and widows.” She lifted her arms. “And are we not the church?”

  I stared at her, considering her words. “And if you can’t find them all proper homes?” I asked. “What will you do then?”

  She shrugged. “I will take care of the rest. Educate them, feed them, house them.” She lifted her brows. “Love them.”

  I was overcome by her generous spirit, even if I was wary about her intentions when it came to Will. “I’ve never heard of anything so lovely,” I said, lifting a hand to my chest. “To invest your own time, your own land and resources… Please, I’d be honored if you allowed me to help.”

  “Excuse me. What?” she asked, her long brown eyelashes blinking slowly.

  “I want to help. Get you to construction now, not later, so that you can give those children and others a home,” I said, nodding to the vineyard. The more I got going on the idea, the more it pushed my jealousy back into a more comfortable corner.

  “But I—” she stammered. “I couldn’t…”

  “Don’t you see?” I said, taking her hand and looking into her eyes. “I long to do just this sort of thing. If I am to be a woman of means, I want to use those means for good purposes, wherever the Lord leads. And your purpose is a good purpose. You said it yourself. Are we not the church? You and I? Will?”

  Still, she hesitated.

  “How much will it take? How much do you need to begin?” I asked.

  Her eyes set to figuring, looking to the sky. She named an amount in lire, and Will quickly translated the sum in American dollars. “That’s it?” I asked, delighted. “I shall see that you obtain the funds you need.”

  “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Truly, you’ve made me happier than I’ve made you, allowing me to contribute to this project.”

  “What project?” Andrew said, arriving at the side table and pouring a glass of water. I stared at him in mute surprise. I thought everyone but Will had left for the day to Montalcino.

  “Eleonora has an orphanage she intends to build. And I have just committed to assisting her.”

  Andrew let his glass drop a few inches as he stared at me, and then he rubbed his forehead as if I’d given him a sudden headache. “A word, Cora? May I have a word?”

  Everything in me wanted to say no, but I didn’t want to put our hostess into an awkward spot. Andrew took my arm, pinching it as he led me to the far end of the patio. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

  “It really is no concern of yours, Andrew,” I said, wrenching away. I looked back at Will and saw he’d risen in concern. But I waved him back. It was time Andrew and I had it out…

  “You are giving away your fortune even before it is fully yours,” he said, lifting a hand and looking at me as if I were ridiculous.

  “Nonsense. I already have far more in my account than I can use in a year. I intend to put the rest to good uses like this,” I said. “Ways I can assist others. That is what the good Lord would want me to do.”

  “Spare me your moralizing sermons. Do you want to be a woman in business or a woman running a foundation? Because we can certainly speak of a foundation if—”

  “Maybe both!” I said. “I haven’t decided yet. And it really is none of your concern, Andrew. My father has made it more than clear to you that the Dunnigan mine is our affair, not yours.”

  “And yet he also expects me to tutor you along.” He lifted his chin and folded his arms, giving me a cold stare. “I am your business partner, whether you like it or not. And I must insist you quit handing out money to every stray cat we run across until we know exactly where we stand,” he said lowly.

  “Eleonora is hardly a stray cat!” I whispered. “And I know where I stand financially, and I assure you, I have more than enough to do this!”

  “Yes, well,” he said with a sniff, “she is hardly the ilk of those we prefer to socialize with. If you insist on doling out hand-outs, there are more advantageous ways to do so.”

  “You are—”

  He held up a hand. “All I’m asking, Cora, is that you return home and assess where you are before you begin giving away funds that might be better used to build the family business.”

  So there it was. He was afraid I would spend all available capital before he had the opportunity to make use of it himself.

  “You listen to me,” I said, reaching up to tap his chest. “I may be new to business, but I am not new to utilizing my brain. I am quite clear on what I have at my disposal, and I am not out buying one thing after another, as some of the other grand tourists are bent on doing. But I may very well invest in people. Projects, as God leads me to do. And if you have difficulty with that, well, you—you… Well, I assure you, I don’t care!”

  I turned back to the others, wishing I could’ve poured even stronger words on him, but I knew it was quite enough for today. Will, still standing, watched Andrew over my shoulder as I approached, his look silently daring the man to try to take it further.

  “You are an uncommon woman, Cora,” Eleonora said, rolling the blueprints into a tube. “I believe the world has just begun to see what our lovely Cora Diehl Kensington has to offer, no?” she asked Will.

  He smiled back at her, his hard expression disappearing. Andrew went inside, slamming the door, but Eleonora ignored him. Her eyes brightened. “I have a plan for us today, since the others have abandoned you.”

  “Oh? What is that?” I asked, glancing toward Will. I’d hoped we might spend a few hours alone…

  “Eleonora would like to take us someplace I’ve never been,” Will said. “A place Antonio mentioned enjoying in the past. The baths at Saturnia.”

  “The baths?” I asked blankly.

  “Toscana is dotted with hot springs, and in the south, the baths of Saturnia were those that many Romans favored,” he said.

  “Oh, it is divine,” Eleonora said, reaching out to touch my arm. “But we must be off soon if we’re to get there in time. It’s quite a journey.”

  “As long as we can leave Andrew behind, I’m game,” I whispered.

  Two hours later, we arrived at Saturnia. I could hear the roar as soon as our driver pulled off the dirt road and turned off the motorcar’s engine. My eyes widened. “Is that water?”

  Will smiled. “I think so.”

  “Indeed,” Eleonora said. “My cousin was raised in the town above and spent many an afternoon playing in these waters. What you hear is the waterfall—Cascate del Mulino.”

  Will opened the door for us. “The walls you can see above us are medieval, built by the Aldobrandeschi family. They surround an old Roman gate, dating back to the second century BC. As you’ll see for yourselves in a moment, this place is special, even as it was to the Romans and Etruscans before us.”

  We walked down the road and around what appeared to be an old stone bathhouse. A
nd then I came up short, staring in wonder. Before us was a series of beautiful turquoise pools, steam rising from each. At the top was a twenty-foot waterfall thundering in a torrent over the edge and down into the pool below, which subsequently fed the others, each one pouring into the next. On the extreme right, the pools drained into a river below us. “Oh,” I breathed. “This is lovely. So lovely! Is the water quite hot?”

  “Deliciously hot,” the woman said, taking my hand and pulling me along. “Come, let us change. I’m eager to sink into those waters.”

  We parted from Will, who went to the other side of the bathhouse to change. I was struggling with the buttons on my skirt, and soon Eleonora was asking if I was ready when I hadn’t even fully undressed. “Go ahead,” I called. “I’ll be out in a moment.”

  “Are you certain? Do you need assistance?”

  “No, no. Just some stubborn buttons. I can manage.”

  “All right. See you soon.”

  She left, and in time, I managed to undress and don my bathing costume, a woolen short-sleeved dress that reached my knees, with pantaloons beneath that extended to my calves. I stuffed my skirt and blouse into my satchel and hurried out to join the others. But I halted at the doorway. Will held Eleonora’s hand, helping her into the first pool. And the woman was in the tiniest bathing costume I’d ever seen—with no sleeves at all, a big bow beneath her breasts, and a skirt that stopped mid-thigh. Her hair was tucked into an adorable little cap, making her look chic. I looked down at my own bathing costume, suddenly feeling frumpy and out-of-sorts. I looked around for other women, but there were only two men in the distant pool beside a stand of cattails, looking with interest at my scantily clad hostess.

  Eleonora took a step, then stumbled and shrieked. Will narrowly caught her and steadied her, laughing with her but clearly looking uncomfortable. My eyebrows rose, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I stepped out into the light, and as if they sensed me, both turned to look toward the bathhouse. Will set Eleonora to rights and took a step away.

  “Ready, Cora?” he asked, confused by my hesitation. “Come. It isn’t too hot. It feels lovely.”

  I bet it feels lovely. Did it feel even lovelier holding her? I thought darkly as I set my bag with the others and then made my way to the rocks that were waist-high. Will trudged through the water and reached out a hand to help me over. I took it, not looking at him.

  “Cora? Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Will. Fine.”

  “Well, all right. You don’t seem…” His words dropped off as I passed him.

  Sharp rocks bit at my tender feet, and I abruptly paused and almost fell, just as Eleonora had done.

  “Whoa,” he said with a smile. “Perhaps not so fast?”

  I shook off his hand in agitation, feeling first the weight of my ill-placed jealousy and then the assured righteousness of it. Was I imagining it all? “I’m all right.”

  He frowned and grabbed my hand again. “Cora, what is the matter?”

  I looked up at him and then glanced over to Eleonora, who was two pools away now. I shook my head. I was being silly. Imagining things. She was simply being kind. Friendly. How could I begrudge her care for Will? Didn’t he inspire respect from everyone he met? And she had likely just fallen, exactly as I had done, stepping on sharp rocks.

  His eyes, watching me intently, widened in understanding, and then narrowed, one eyebrow lifting. “Why, Cora Diehl Kensington, are you jealous?”

  “No. No!” I said, shaking my hand loose and moving toward Eleonora. I felt exposed and silly. In more ways than one.

  He quickly overtook me, now smiling broadly, hands on his hips. But he at least had the sense to lower his voice before gloating. “I never imagined the day. I have to say, it feels grand. But, Cora,” he said, cupping a hand around my neck and using his thumb to coax my face toward him, “you”—he leaned his forehead against mine—“have nothing to fear.

  “Nothing?”

  “Nothing,” he said with a promise in his voice.

  “You watch yourself, William,” I said, lifting my head and staring steadily into his blue eyes. “Our hostess is beautiful and charming. Beguiling.”

  He smiled, as irritatingly pleased as possible. Then he took my hand. “Come on. I want to see something Antonio told me was here.”

  We pressed on, clambering over the next pool wall and then the next until we joined Eleonora in the deepest pool with the waterfall. She barely paid us any attention as she allowed the water to pound over her shoulders.

  I sank deeper into the hot water. It smelled some of sulfur, but also of fresh grass and hot stones. Will went to his knees, letting the water cover his shoulders. His bathing costume was sleeveless, and I admired the broad strength of his muscles even as I smiled at the relaxation that stole across his face.

  He opened his eyes and caught me staring.

  I smiled, feeling suddenly shy, and he grabbed my waist under the water, turning me toward him. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” I said.

  “No. I just wanted you to get used to the heat. This is what I want to show you.” He took my hand, and we moved to the left of Eleonora. “Take a deep breath, and close your eyes.”

  I did as he asked, and he pulled me forward. I almost opened my mouth to shout, but he was moving slowly, the water pounding down on my head, my neck, my back, until we were under it. On the other side.

  I blinked, and looked around. It was a grotto of sorts, a room of stone, hollowed out over the years by the water. “Oh, Will!” I practically shouted to be heard above the thundering falls. “It’s so lovely.” I turned to go back, knowing we shouldn’t be here alone, in nothing but our bathing costumes, but he pulled me back around and into his arms, against his chest. He lifted me until our faces were at the same height as we sank down into the water. Then he bent his head and kissed me, long and hard and searchingly, demanding me, all of me. At first, I held back, but the longer we embraced, the more I gave in, wanting to be close to him as much as he wanted to be close to me. After a long moment, he pulled back and held my face in both his hands, tenderly, methodically kissing my eyes, my nose, my cheeks until I decided he wished to cover every inch of my face with his lips. And I wanted him to. That and more…

  “Oh, Cora, Cora,” he said, pulling me close until our noses and dripping wet foreheads touched. “Never doubt that you are the only woman for me. You were given to me by God Himself. I have eyes for no other. I promise you. Do you understand me?”

  His intensity almost scared me, but it thrilled me more. I nodded and kissed him, taking my turn to pull him close. After another long moment, he took my shoulders and abruptly set me aside. He lifted a finger, looking pained at the effort, shaking his head. “No more.”

  I smiled, knowing he was doing his best to retain some semblance of gentlemanly distance. “No more,” I repeated in a whisper, knowing he couldn’t hear me over the thundering falls, but he could see the reluctant agreement in my eyes. For the first time, I had an even stronger understanding of what might lie ahead in the marital bed. And it took everything in me to keep from throwing myself at him. He just drew me…drew me in such a deep way, as if there was something connected between us already, and I only wished to deepen that connection.

  I took his hand and moved to go, knowing we had been alone for far too long. What would Eleonora think of us?

  I put my hands on his shoulders and lifted up to kiss him once more, softly, lightly. I cradled his face and mouthed, “I love you.” And before he could say it back, I dunked under again and swam beneath the falls.

  Eleonora, I saw, had moved off to the far side and, with slender arms outstretched across the rim rocks, rested with her face to the sun, eyes closed. She was so comely, so inviting, that I was glad again for the reassurance Will had just given me. He rose then, silently, barely breaking the water as he emerged beside me, a grin spread across his face. “Hello, lovely,” he said, his hand against the small of my b
ack.

  “Hello, handsome,” I returned.

  “Come. Let us find some place to sit and rest,” he said, dropping his hand and swimming for the far edge, on the opposite side of the pool from Eleonora.

  I followed him, treading water, feeling like I was swimming in a vast tub.

  “It’s a bit warmer than the Rhone,” I said.

  He smiled at me over his shoulder. “Even the Mediterranean,” he said.

  He looked like he was searching below the water and then, apparently discovering what he sought, gestured for me to come closer. “Here. This should be the right height.”

  I felt the rock ledge beneath and sat down. It was perfect. Then he found a rock two feet away. He reached for my hand and pulled it under the water, entwining his fingers with mine, and leaned his head back against another stone, looking utterly at peace, as I felt. I wondered if there was any way for us to stay here in Tuscany. Forever. But I knew that it was an idle wish, a fantasy, an escape. And I wanted to find my way in the real world with Will, no matter what it took.

  “Legend has it,” Will said, “that Jupiter and Saturn were in a great battle. A thunderbolt fell from Jupiter, and it birthed the headwaters of these springs.”

  “A fitting legend for the place,” I said, easing my head left, then right, stretching my neck. “You’ve never been here before?”

  “No. I always wanted to come, but Uncle Stuart felt it was…unseemly.”

  “I see. But what a loss! This place is grand. Everyone should see it at least once.”

  Eleonora rose and swam closer to us. “If I stay in much longer, I fear I might fall asleep and never wake. Are you both ready for cooler waters?”

  Will glanced my way, leaving it to me.

  “In a moment,” I said.

  “All right,” Eleonora said. She lifted a finger of warning. “But don’t stay in too long. The Romans knew that a hot bath was to be enjoyed for a time, but too long and it became dangerous. Thus the move to cooler waters.” She gestured toward the river. I understood the plan, then. We’d enter each successive pool below us, gradually getting cooler, until we entered the cold river water mixed with the last of the heat. It was perfect.