Fortunes by Barney Leason

Author:Barney Leason
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504032841
Publisher: Open Road Distribution

Chapter Twenty

The Jaguar in the courtyard of Princess Elena’s house was the mate of Lucia’s in New York. Not lingering to hear the results of Father Foster’s meeting with the cardinal, Lucia drove Jerome to Milan the very next morning.

They arrived at the Principe i Savoia, a hotel of tarnished elegance down the boulevard from the monster railroad station, Stazione Centrale, in time for lunch.

“Here it is,” Lucia told him, “where I played with the beautiful people, before I was given my position with the Vatican Library. We sat here so often, Paolo, joking, laughing, and gossiping.”

“I suppose this is where you hung out when you were making your great movie,” he said.

She laughed. “That doesn’t matter. We were all so innocent.”

“The hell you were,” he said darkly. “You were decadent.”

“No, no.” The waiter saved her. “Let us order lunch, Paolo. I am very hungry. What will you have?”

“Veal Milanese,” Jerome muttered. “What else?”

“Don’t be rude.” Lucia smiled at the waiter fleetingly. “I will have the same and spinach … spinachi … and some potatoes and bread and a bottle of Chianti. Yes?”

“Yes,” Jerome said, “okay.” He studied her. Then, acidly, he said what he’d wanted to say all day yesterday. “Your cousin, the cardinal, was a pain in the ass.”

Momentarily, she looked perplexed. “I will not argue with you. But he has an interesting side—he keeps a mistress in Salerno.”

He couldn’t hate her, could he? He couldn’t but admire and love her, could he? When the wine had arrived and been tasted and poured, he lifted his glass. “I drink to you, Lucia Gogarty. I haven’t asked you this before and I do so now with some jocularity, meaning I’m not altogether serious, but would you like to add another name to your string to make yourself none other than Lucia Jerome?”

“No … no … too many names,” she said. “My suitcases, you see.”

Elena had kept the flat in Milan for some years. It was the remnant of her marriage. The apartment was located in a modernized palace in the old sector of the city, roughly in the triangle of stone and rock formed by the Piazza Cavour, La Scala, and the Duomo, or main cathedral. A garage had been excavated from under the building without disturbing its ornate stone exterior. Appearance was only one-tenth of the battle, for behind the shutters and heavy drapes more than modest wealth was hidden. The place smelled desolate when they stepped inside, but Elena came here so seldom that no regular help was kept on the premises. Lucia opened shutters and windows on the interior court of the building, and cold fresh air blew away the staleness.

Jerome saw that the spacious rooms were nearly as overloaded with art of various types as Lucia’s place in New York. There might be even more of it here, in fact, because the rooms were so much bigger.

He stared and Lucia chuckled. “It is … my business,” she said rapidly. “You see, friends … well, they

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