The Black Madonna (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 1)

by Stella Riley

  The natural result of all this was that when Signor del Santi finally arrived towards the end of the first week of October, she greeting him with a furious, ‘Have you no consideration? Where the devil have you been till now?’

  And Luciano snapped back, ‘Busy. What’s the matter? You’re not pregnant, are you?’

  There was a long, blistering silence during which Tabitha ducked smartly back into the parlour and informed her mother and brother that the groom had arrived – but in the sort of mood that would probably have the bride throwing him out again.

  In the hall, Kate said frigidly, ‘No. I’m not. So you’ve no need to sacrifice either your person or your time and may take yourself back to London with a clear conscience, if you like. After all, none of this was my idea.’

  Sparks flared in Luciano’s eyes and for a moment she thought he was going to reply in kind. Then, dropping his hat on the chest in which she kept the firearms, he said tiredly, ‘Christ, Caterina. What do you expect when you go for my throat before I’m properly over the threshold. It’s a long ride, you know.’

  ‘Quite. Is that an apology?’

  ‘If that’s what it takes to earn me a chair and a glass of wine – yes. Well?’

  Kate’s own flash of temper evaporated, leaving her suddenly ashamed and she said, ‘I’m sorry – I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. It’s just that these last months have been more difficult than you can perhaps imagine.’

  For very good reasons, Luciano took his time about replying. In the last eight weeks, he’d been regularly hauled in and out of Westminster on suspicion of carrying messages between the King and various foreign governments. He’d been forced to answer endless stupid questions, had his house searched and all his paperwork examined, and finally resorted to buying his way out of trouble with a hefty donation to the Parliament’s war effort. Then, as soon as the danger of being clapped in gaol appeared to be over, there had been a mysterious fire in the shop which only Giacomo’s sharp nose had enabled them to catch in time and, two days later, they’d all got up to find the kitchen unaccountably swarming with rats. By then, of course, it was perfectly plain to Luciano that the deus ex machina was once more at work – and so it came as no surprise at all when he was set upon in the tavern one evening and given a thorough kicking on account of supposedly being a Papist agent.

  It had taken nearly two weeks for the bruises to fade from his face and the scrapes from his hands so that he could present himself apparently unscathed at Thorne Ash. His ribs, on the other hand, were still tightly-strapped exceedingly painful … but that was something that could be hidden at the cost of one enormous sacrifice. At length, he said lightly, ‘I think I can appreciate the awkwardness you’ve been facing. But if the family’s speculation is beginning to wear you down, by all means let us go and put an end to it.’

  ‘Presently.’ Despite the fact that he looked bone-weary and very much in need of the wine he had asked for, Kate was determined not to allow him into the parlour just yet. Keeping her head high and her voice level, she said, ‘Since, as I said, I’m not pregnant, there’s still time for you to change your mind about this marriage. I assure you that I’ll understand. But you must decide now – for once you go in to Mother and the twins, you’ll be committed.’

  An odd expression crossed his face and then vanished. He said quietly, ‘But I’m already committed. Why else am I here?’

  ‘I wish I knew.’

  ‘You do know. Caterina, we’ve had this conversation before and there’s really no more to be said. Right now what I ought to be doing is seeking your mother’s permission – if, that is, she’s well enough to receive me?’

  ‘Oh – she’s well enough,’ came the grim reply. ‘Just don’t be surprised if she reminds you that marriage under an assumed name tends to be regarded as illegal.’

  His hand closed on her wrist. ‘What?’

  Kate looked at him with faint exasperation.

  ‘Look. I’m trying very hard not to ask too many questions. But you really can’t be surprised that we’ve guessed certain things – or that Mother’s known all along that your name is Falcieri. She probably knows other things, too … and if she doesn’t, she’s bound to ask.’

  ‘A general airing of my personal concerns? I think not.’ His fingers released her and he offered her his arm. ‘But by all means let’s see what she has in mind.’

  Dorothy received both Luciano and his condolences politely but with a complete absence of warmth, directed Tabitha to pour him a cup of wine and allowed Toby to take charge of the conversation. Only when the barest demands of hospitality had been met did she calmly despatch Tabitha to the hen-house, Toby to inspect a leaking roof and Kate to the nursery – with the uncompromising addition that she didn’t want to see any of them for at least an hour.

  Kate met her betrothed’s enigmatic gaze with a perfectly expressionless one of her own and debated the wisdom of pointing out that she had a certain right to attend the coming interview. Then, recognising that her presence might do more harm than good, she rose and shepherded the twins smoothly from the room. It was time Luciano and her mother reached an understanding … and for that they needed to be left alone.

  The door closed behind them and Luciano remained quite still, waiting for Dorothy to speak. Finally she said flatly, ‘You were Richard’s friend. I won’t pretend I ever understood why – but I know he had a high regard for you.’

  ‘It was mutual.’

  ‘Quite. And for that reason I am prepared to treat this conversation in confidence. I am not, however, prepared to be kept in the dark. If you want to marry Kate, you’re going to have to tell me exactly what it is that you’re trying to achieve with regard to the death of your father. Well?’

  There was silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire in the hearth. Then, Luciano said slowly, ‘I question neither your word nor your right to ask … and if you insist on my telling you, then I will. But it would be better for all our sakes if you didn’t know.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because the whole business has become much more dangerous than I expected. And I would prefer that the only life in jeopardy was my own.’ He paused, frowning down at his hands. Then, meeting her eyes, ‘Richard could have told you everything you want to know. If he didn’t, it was as much out of concern for your safety as my own insistence on secrecy. In short, what you don’t know can’t hurt you.’

  ‘And Kate?’ Dorothy eyed him witheringly. ‘What about her? Won’t marriage to you put her squarely in the firing-line whether she knows or not? Or – if you’re in as much danger as you imply – is she likely to find herself a widow almost before she’s a wife?’ Rising, she swept away to the window in a swish of black damask before turning to say sharply, ‘It doesn’t seem to me that ignorance is much defence against these things. And that being so, what in God’s name do you think you were about to make this marriage necessary by seducing her?’

  The merest suggestion of colour touched Luciano’s cheekbones and he said bleakly, ‘I have no excuses for that. And you can’t possibly blame me any more than I blame myself.’

  ‘I daresay. But what use is that? And I’m not looking for excuses. What I want is a reason.’

  It took him a long time to reply. And finally, as if the words were being forcibly extracted, he said simply, ‘I don’t have one. All I can say is that I’ve known for a long time that she loves me … and, for almost as long, that I want no one but her.’ He stopped for a moment, then added raggedly, ‘But the tragedy is that, if I’m to keep her safely out of my tangled affairs, I can’t tell her how I feel. And if you know a greater punishment than that, I’d be glad to hear it.’

  Entirely without warning, Dorothy found herself experiencing again the same unfamiliar mixture of sympathy and reluctant liking that she’d felt for him the night he’d described the battle at Edgehill. But although it was stronger now than it had been then, it was still not enough. She said, ‘I can’t begin to
comprehend this mess. So I think you’d better start at the beginning – telling me only what you feel you can. And then you can try convincing me that Kate shouldn’t know.’

  A wry smile twisted his mouth.

  ‘That’s the easy part. If she knew how much … how very much I love her, she wouldn’t rest until she also knew exactly what I was about. And having found that out, she’d refuse to stay out of it.’

  ‘True. Have you realised that she’s already guessed part of it?’

  ‘Yes.’ No longer troubling to veil his expression, Luciano looked straight into Dorothy’s eyes. He said, ‘There is a man whose name I don’t know but who I can prove arranged the conviction of my father. Unfortunately, he now knows precisely who I am and what I’m doing. And that is where the danger lies.’

  She frowned. ‘You’re sure of this?’

  ‘Oh yes. At present he is merely toying with me. A series of sadistic little games intended to cause damage and disruption. But he could tire of that at any moment; and when he does, he’ll go for the kill. Unless, of course, I can get to him first.’ He waited, continuing to hold her gaze and then said bitterly, ‘This is the point where – if you have any sense at all – you will tell me to go away and not come back. I’m a foreigner and a usurer and I’m deeply in debt to my uncle in Genoa … on top of which I’ve somehow got to live long enough to kill a man who will otherwise kill me. Not very good, is it?’

  ‘It’s disastrous,’ said Dorothy frankly while, against her will, a small bud of respect slowly started to unfurl. ‘But more calamitous still is the fact that Kate loves you – and won’t give you up, whatever you do.’

  ‘Yes.’ The strain was beginning to manifest itself on his face. ‘You probably won’t believe it, but I tried quite hard to prevent that.’ He hesitated and then added vaguely, ‘Another of my great successes.’

  ‘So I see. And yet, despite all of these things, Richard would have countenanced a match between you.’

  This time Luciano said nothing, merely bending his head over his hands.

  A minute passed, then two. And finally Dorothy said carefully, ‘I never knew him to be wrong about a person’s character and, that being so, it seems unlikely that he would have made his first mistake in you. I also … I also know what it is to love someone in the way I am beginning to believe you love Kate. And therefore I suppose we’d best discuss how this wedding is to be managed.’

  Very, very slowly, his eyes rose to meet hers. In a tone of complete surprise, he said, ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘No. But that’s something I’ll just have to live with – just as you will have to find a way of sorting out your affairs as quickly as possible so that you can start offering Kate a normal life. Then, if you succeed in doing that, I may feel justified in welcoming you to the family.’

  Luciano rose to face her.

  ‘But not before?’

  ‘Well, be reasonable,’ said Dorothy. ‘What did you expect?’

  * * *

  They eventually agreed to send Toby discreetly for Parson Fletcher so that the wedding might take as privately as possible in the chapel. And thus it was that, less than three hours later, Kate found herself dressing for the occasion in something of a daze.

  ‘What are you doing?’ demanded Tabitha when she saw the gown her sister had chosen. ‘You can’t get married in black. It’s the very last thing Father would have wanted. Find something else.’

  ‘Such as what?’ asked Kate. Her fingers were frozen and her mind felt numb. ‘I’ve nothing in white or grey and it doesn’t seem right to be wearing colours.’

  ‘Why not? I shall – and so, for this one night, will Mother.’ Then, when Kate continued to stand irresolutely in the middle of the floor, ‘For heaven’s sake – this is your wedding! Spare a thought for Signor del Santi at least!’

  A faint grin touched the still face.

  ‘That’s no argument. He’ll wear black himself.’

  ‘So?’ Tabitha dived head-first into the clothes chest. ‘You’re going to the altar looking like a bride if I have to dress you myself. Ah. What about this?’

  Kate stared at the bronze and amber gown she’d last worn for Gianetta’s wedding … and on which, for the first and only time in their long acquaintance, Luciano had complimented her. She said weakly, ‘I don’t know. It’s barely decent.’

  ‘Nonsense!’ Tabitha laid the bodice tenderly on the bed and turned her attention to shaking out the skirt. ‘He’s seen you in it before – and will soon be seeing you in a good deal less. If,’ innocently, ‘he hasn’t already?’ Upon which masterly note she set about readying the blushing and silenced bride for her nuptials.

  Kate added the final touch herself. She clasped the rose-gold bracelet round her left wrist and, when Tabitha stared at it awe, merely smiled and refused to comment.

  The chapel was ablaze with candles and someone had apparently found time to raid the garden for the last of the roses. There was no music and, with her hand on Toby’s arm and Tabitha two paces behind, Kate walked down the aisle to the echo of her own footsteps. But Mother was there in her best emerald silk – and Meg Bennet and her father, along with Goodwife Flossing and the Woodley brothers; and, a little apart from the others and turning slowly to look at her, Luciano.

  Without quite meaning to or even being fully aware of it, Kate stopped walking and took the time to glance from the sculpted Renaissance face of her bridegroom to the painted one gazing down on them from the chapel ceiling; Lucifer the beautiful and splendid, being hurled from grace. Then, looking back at Luciano, she met the shock of his laughter … silent, inviting and impossible to resist; and with the warmth of it flooding her heart, she took the last few steps to his side.

  The ceremony, kept deliberately simple, was soon over. In his usual enigmatic tone, Luciano promised to love, honour and keep her, forsaking all others; and Kate, wondering somewhat distantly at the back of her mind, how far he meant it, found herself suddenly transformed into Katharine Elinor Falcieri del Santi. She did not think she would ever get used to it.

  ‘Caterina del Santi,’ murmured her husband as he formally saluted her on both cheeks. ‘And then only to those you trust.’

  ‘How much trouble are you in?’ she whispered back, testing what her new status would do for her.

  ‘Trouble? What trouble? I’ll have you know I’m a respectable married man,’ came the calm reply. And, laying her fingers on his black brocade sleeve, he led her unhurriedly back up the aisle to the door and the congratulations of her family.

  Although, with so little time in which to prepare it, the bridal supper was by no means lavish, Goodwife Flossing had worked wonders to produce a succulent side of beef served with oyster sauce, jugged pigeons and a variety of custards and candied fruit. And though the spectres of Richard and Eden were in everyone’s minds, they did not colour the festival by sitting at the board. In fact, between wine, ale and good food, the party grew surprisingly merry; and Kate was treated to the novel sight of Signor del Santi setting out to amuse … and, as was his habit, succeeding.

  From time to time Kate’s eyes strayed involuntarily to the gold band he had placed on her hand. It was slightly wider than the wedding rings she was accustomed to seeing and, like her bracelet, it was intricately engraved with a design of leaves and flowers. It was also, amazingly, a perfect fit.

  ‘I hope you like it,’ said Luciano softly.

  She had discovered in the last hour that, no matter what he appeared to be doing, his attention never totally strayed from her. Something else she had not expected. She said, ‘It’s beautiful.’

  ‘I’m glad you think so.’ Tearing his eyes from the delicacy of her wrists, he refilled her glass and said casually, ‘I’ve something else for you, too – but I’ll require a favour first.’

  Feeling her colour rise, Kate turned to meet a smile that was half sardonic, half not.

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Yes. I’d be grateful if you could see to it that we’re sp
ared the circus.’

  And, smiling back, she said, ‘It’s done. Did you think I wouldn’t remember? And with only Toby and Tabitha, it wouldn’t have been much of a circus anyway, would it?’

  Although entirely unaware of it, she glowed with anticipation of the night ahead; and to Luciano’s own very real regret that it was not to be, was added concern. At best she was going to be disappointed – at worst, hurt. But unless he was prepared to explain the multi-coloured state of his rib-cage, there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it.

  Her pride, however, was quite another matter. So he continued to make flippant conversation and bathe her in the full extent of his charm until the moment arrived when he could spirit her discreetly away to her chamber.

  The bed had been given fresh hangings, a flagon of wine stood on the chest and a fire crackled cheerfully in the hearth. Suddenly shy, Kate stared round her and said breathlessly, ‘My goodness. Someone has been busy.’

  Luciano said nothing. Alone in this room and with his senses awash with her, it was going to be significantly more difficult than he’d thought. There were words he must not speak and a growing need to take her in his arms that he didn’t know whether or not he dared give way to. And most treacherous of all was the fact that if he did not do something sensible very quickly, he might no longer have a choice in the matter.

  Contemplating and then mentally rejecting the wine, he pulled a small box from his pocket and offered it to her.

  ‘I am about to say something you won’t like. I’m hoping, however, that this will soften the blow. Open it.’

  Very slowly, she lifted the lid. From its nest of black velvet, a tear-drop diamond surrounded by tiny emeralds and set in fragile filigree winked back at her. For several seconds, Kate simply stared at it. Then, raising her eyes to his, she said, ‘It’s exquisite. Did you make it yourself?’