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Afterward, when they lay entwined and at peace, Serena
rested one palm on his cheek and studied Dante. He returned
her gaze, his entire expression soft as she had never seen it
before. In the sunlight, his eyes were a warm, clear, brown,
not nearly as dark as she had thought. Deep inside, she knew
she would be learning to read these eyes for a long time. "Tell
me what you are thinking," she asked.
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"I was thinking what a perfect wife you will be for me."
Pained, Serena closed her eyes. "Dante, I..."
"Shh." He laid a finger on her lips. "One thing at a time.
Before you say you will not marry me, tell me first, when did
you stop hating me?"
"It is hard to hate a man who has saved your life, you
know." With a gentle smile, she brushed his hair off his brow.
"But I think I stopped hating you before that, when I realized
that my game had hurt you."
"I was not hurt," he said. "I was shocked, and angry."
In absolute disregard of masculine pride, she shrugged as
if it were all the same.
He snorted. "Now tell me this, cara mia, when did you
know you loved me?"
Serena stiffened. She wanted to run. Dante tensed too.
She knew he was ready to pounce on her if she tried it.
Slowly, she let out her breath and sank back into the pillow.
For two or three heartbeats, she hesitated, but there was no
denying the truth. He had her trapped. "Last night, as you
kissed me."
Breaking into a triumphant grin, Dante kissed her and kept
kissing her until she smiled like a fool.
"Very well, Signore Valaresso, tell me when did you
manage to forgive me for my whoring and lying?" Though she
meant to speak lightly, she stumbled on whoring.
Pain flickered in his eyes. "When I fought to save you from
the fire, Serena, and I feared you might die anyway,
everything became very clear to me. I understood that
everything I had been angry about was meaningless. You are
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not like any woman I've ever met, that is true, yet you fit me
like no other could. You came to me like a gift, but I was
going to throw you away out of pride." Taking both of her
hands in his, he rushed on. "Thank God the house burnt. I
would burn it down myself again it if I knew it would bring me
to the right way of thinking. I want you, Serena, as my lover
and as my wife, as the mother of my children. Please say you
will marry me."
Serena searched his face and saw nothing but sincerity. He
did not offer marriage because he should, he offered it
because he wanted her. He could have any lady in Venice and
he wanted her. It was the worst possible thing she could
imagine.
"I called you terrible names, I know. I even evicted you. I
do not know how to make amends."
She shook her head and collected herself enough to speak.
"I do not mean to be such a waterspout. Believe it or not, I
rarely cry." She brushed her knuckles along his cheek and
began to speak to him as if she were telling him a story. "For
a long time you have been at sea, Dante, traveling all the
world so that you could come home one day. Now you are
here, ready to make a life for yourself on land. You want to
surround yourself with a big family of your own and continue
the Valaresso line." He nodded, encouraging her to go on.
"That is why you cannot marry me. You see, I am barren."
His expression became very serious, very intense. She
tried to meet his eyes and smile at him bravely. "So you see,
you simply must marry someone else. It makes perfect
sense." Her eyes drifted to the window, where she saw a
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single gull beating its wings against a blue sky. "As I have
said, I would rather be your mistress anyway."
"Do you know you are barren?" he asked. "Who told you
so?"
"No, but I was a wife for seven years. If it were going to
happen, it would have happened by now."
She saw his shoulders relax. "Serena, your husband was
an old man." He kissed her hand. "And he was not a
Valaresso. No woman can resist the seed of a Valaresso. It is
a well-known fact."
That made her laugh. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. He
pulled her close and added, "And this is another known fact.
Women conceive when their lover pleases them. Did you
know that? No? Well, there it is. Now you have no excuse not
to marry me."
"But what if ?"
He stopped her question with his fingers and said fiercely,
"No. There is no changing my mind on this matter. If the
Valaresso line ends with me, it will end with a happy man."
The tears started again, but this time she smiled through
them. "I do love you, Dante Valaresso."
He covered her hand in kisses. "Then let us console
Marissa. Say you will marry me."
Serena saw the love shining in his eyes. She wanted to
throw her arms around him and say "yes" a thousand times.
What she actually said was a little different. "With all my
heart. As long as you agree to a few conditions."
Dante groaned. A long, suffering groan.
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"You must understand, Dante, the first time I married, no
one asked my opinion on the matter at all. For seven years, I
have promised myself that if I married again, it would be on
my terms."
Impatient, he circled his hand. All he wanted from her was
a simple "yes," nothing else really mattered, but his woman
was full of strange notions. "Just what are these conditions,
beloved?"
She sat up, tucked her legs under her, and folded her
hands like a nun. A nun with spectacularly tempting breasts
poking through her curtain of hair. "They begin with my good
friend, Piero Lombardo."
"And what of that gentleman?" Dante grumbled.
Her face hardened, ready for a fight. "He has no intention
of retiring."
"So you want me to marry both you and Lombardo? Fair
enough, I will."
Blinking in surprise, she said, "That is all? You have no
more objections? Is my painting career not offensive to you?"
Dante enjoyed her discomposure very much and thought
of a way to increase it. "Serena, I am a man of business, and
now I see in this Lombardo fellow a source of profit. I take it
you have an arrangement with a dealer now?"
"Yes, he knows me as Signora Lombardo. Signore
Lombardo is very reclusive, you see."
"I can imagine. Artists are such eccentric characters. How
much of a cut does this agent take from your sales?"
"Fifty percent."
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"This will be the new arrangement. I will represent
"Signore" Lombardo to the public from now out, through my
warehouses. In exchange for my professional services, I will
take seventy-five percent of each sale."
Her mouth dropped open most charmingly. "Seventy-five
percent! Fifty was robbery!"
"I will sell more of his work, at higher prices. Believe me, I
will be worth my commission." His lips twitched as he tried to
keep a straight face. "You see, now that I'm going to
bankrupt myself rebuilding our palazzo, I have to exploit
other income sources, like this one, just to be able to save
enough for our daughters' dowries."
Then he saw that she also had to struggle to maintain her
business-like demeanor. "I reluctantly agree to your
outrageous terms on behalf of Signore Lombardo."
Dante crossed his arms behind his head, well content with
this second round of negotiations. "Is there more?"
"Oh, yes. Next is the question of my freedom. I hate being
locked up. If I am to marry you, you must guarantee me the
freedom to go out and explore the city as much as I please,
wherever and whenever I please " She held her hand out to
beg him be quiet long enough to finish. " incognito, of
course. I have no wish to embarrass you."
"What wife makes these demands?" He threw his arms
wide in exasperation. "Where do you get these ideas?"
"Books," she chirped. "And that reminds me of another
condition. I also expect that I will be allowed to read anything
I like, and that you will not complain of the booksellers' bills. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]