A Notorious Woman by Amanda McCabe

Author:Amanda McCabe [McCabe, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-02-01T15:33:52.006000+00:00

The door to Julietta’s shop opened, spilling out golden candlelight to the stones of the courtyard. Marc paused in his steps, his eager stride to her home, and slid into the darkened shelter of an archway, where once he and Nicolai had spied on that very building. Gossip was unavoidable in Venice, an inescapable part of life; it was nearly impossible to keep a secret in the close quarters of a water-bound city. But he saw no need to flaunt their new affair to every patron of the perfumery!

He adjusted his mask, the cloak hood that covered his hair, and watched as a tall shadow broke through the bar of light. The man half turned to take his cloak from the maid, and called out, “I will eagerly await your answer.”

Ermano. Marc shrank back even farther into the concealing gloom, his fingertips resting on the hilt of his dagger as he watched the man bow and reach out to teasingly flick one of the maid’s wiry ringlets. As the count made his way across the campi, marching through the gathering crowds as if he did not even see their curious stares, the door slammed shut and the shop was encased in darkness.

What was Ermano doing there with Julietta so late at night? What answer did he await from her? Perhaps he had come to inform her of the accusations made against her, to offer her “protection” in these dangerous days.

Marc’s jaw tightened, a wave of fury rushing through him at the thought of Ermano touching Julietta with his soft hands, drawing her body close to his. Never mind that Marc himself had planned to use Julietta, use her gifts, her passion; had coldly calculated what part she could take in his schemes. Those chilly ideas were swept away now in a burst of flames, of anger towards Ermano and his reptilian ways.

He longed to run after Ermano, to leap on him in the dark calle and plunge his dagger into the man’s throat. He would have his revenge at last, though not in the carefully precise, delicately plotted way he had thought. Ermano would have paid with his blood, and Julietta would be safe from him for ever.

Yet even as he turned towards the archway, watching as Ermano was joined by Balthazar and two other sword-bearing bravos, Marc knew such an improvised murder would do no good. Ermano might be dead, yes, but then so would Marc. No one would know the truth of the exalted Grattiano, and Julietta would be left vulnerable to enemies who would attack her through the lion’s mouth.

Not much longer, he told himself. Then he would have all he had worked for.

He swung back in the direction of the shop, hurrying across the flagstones. The crowd, rather sparse only moments before, had grown thicker, a tangle of masks and laughter. Torches flared into life around him, wine flowed red as blood in the fountain. Yet Julietta’s dwelling had grown dark, the only light a square of amber from her chamber window.

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