Dane (27 page)

Pinot jumped from his seat at the front of the equipage to hand her down and then drove off to an adjoining lot with the other conveyances, where he would spend the evening gossiping with the coachmen.

Tonight‟s event in Circo Massimo was meant to encourage interest in the ongoing digs in the neighboring Forum, and various statues had been temporarily relocated here. Carved of white marble, they lined the well-groomed lawn on either side of the Circo like ghostly soldiers.

In the middle of the lawn, gleaming candles bobbed like fairy lights in the hands of the guests. Decorative lanterns had been set out to mark the pathways. Situated in the valley between Aventine and Palatine hills, this oblong track where chariot races had once delighted ancient audiences was now filled with banquet tables and a large wooden platform for dancing.

The pinnacle of society were in evidence here, their purses fat.

Guards policed the perimeter above the valley, ensuring that the guests and their jewels were safe from vagabonds who roamed the areas nearby.

Torches lit the stairs, which had been built at intervals on the sloped sides of the Circo for the occasion. Along these same slopes, marble seats had once risen high for the crowds of ancient Romans who‟d come here seeking entertainment.

“A bit of the goddess Luna for you, signorina, to light your way?”A candle was handed to Eva, representing the Roman goddess of the moon.

Smiling, she accepted it from the attendant and went to take the arm of the escort who was charged with guiding guests down the steps so no one would take a tumble. A strong arm suddenly usurped the escort‟s, taking hers. She looked up, but her hopes that it might be Dane were quickly dashed.

“Good evening, Signor Patrizzi,” she said, trying to hide her disappointment. Only a week ago, she would have been delighted that he had singled her out.

“Gaetano, please. We‟re friends now.” He covered her hand on his sleeve with his own. “Very good friends, aren‟t we, Evangeline?” The determined look in his eye was worrisome. Was he in a mood for proposing? She wasn‟t ready. Not yet.

“Oh, look at the delicacies that have been laid out for us,” she enthused when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Pointing toward the tables in unfeigned delight afforded her an excuse to move away from him.

Under a series of striped awnings, tables groaned with crostini, ravioli, cakes, cheeses, and every other sort of foodstuff. In the middle stood an enormous ancient fountain shaped to resemble the Roman god of the grape, Bacchus. Wine bubbled from a half-dozen spigots hidden within it. Much of the fruit on view was delicate and had been grown here in this world from ElseWorld seed. Tomatoes shaped like stars, grapes of unusual flavor. It seemed impossible that humans didn‟t notice the change in their produce and menu. But the differences had come on gradually, and the magic that draped all of Rome and Tuscany had fortunately lulled them into acceptance.

She sensed Gaetano‟s impatience but took her time examining the items on display, conversing with the cooks regarding the merits of each and greeting acquaintances as they passed. With furtive glances, she searched the distance for any sign of Dane, hoping he might rescue her from an imminent proposal. A perverse desire on her part, since she‟d been wooing this very gentleman for weeks.

“Evangeline, I would speak with you on a particular matter,”

Gaetano began, in a pompous, rehearsed tone.

“Oh?” She sensed what was coming and her heart thudded with a peculiar desperation to stave it off. Silently, she lectured herself. She must let him propose, for the good of her girls, herself, Odette, and Pinot.

She and Dane could still have one another occasionally. It had all been decided. So—

“Eva!”

She turned, vastly relieved to see Alexa waving and hurrying in their direction. “Look, there‟s your sister!”

“She can wait.” Taking her arm in a proprietary manner, Gaetano tried to steer Eva away.

“Oh dear.” Eva dropped her candle purposely and it winked out, allowing Alexa to catch up with them.

“Darling!” Alexa kissed her cheeks fondly when she reached her side. “Oh, have you lost your candle? Tano, why don‟t you go off and get her another? That will allow me time to tell her my news!”

Gaetano tried to protest, but Alexa waved him off. “Do run along, brother. You already know, and I want to tell Eva when it‟s just us.”

With an abbreviated bow and a disgruntled sigh, Gaetano marched off on his mission.

“You‟ll never guess!”Alexa whispered, drawing her away from the tables.

“Then tell me,” said Eva.

Alexa took both of her hands in her own, her eyes alight with bottled excitement. “I‟m engaged!” she announced dramatically.

“What?”

“I‟m engaged—to be married.”

Eva squeezed her hands, completely taken by surprise. “But that‟s wonderful! How did it happen, and when? And why are we whispering about it?”

“Because Mother wishes to make a formal announcement in the papers before the news is spread widely. And perhaps because I‟m afraid to shout it to the world lest I find out it‟s a dream. You‟re the first I‟ve told.”

“And your fiancé? Who is it?”Eva smiled, wondering which of Alexa‟s many admirers had finally won her. “Signor Fitzgerald?”

Alexa wrinkled her nose. “No! Not him. Do you think I would be this elated? It‟s your protégé, Lord Satyr,” she announced, her eyes sparkling.

Blood fled Eva‟s face in a torrential rush, leaving her pale and momentarily speechless. Her vision swam with a prickle of spots, and a cold perspiration dusted her upper lip. Light-headed, she fanned herself in an effort to remain upright. “Dane?” she managed finally.

“Yes!” Alexa bounced to her toes, like Mimi when she was excited.

“I must admit to you that my mother had a firm hand in things, but I owe you great thanks as well, as you are the one who introduced us at the gala.”

No! She was to lose Dane so soon? And to her dearest friend?

Please, no, let this be a mistake. How she wished she could escape instantly in a poof of magic like in one of Mimi‟s fairy stories. But she couldn‟t even manage a conventional departure, for her knees were shaking too badly.

Beside her, Alexa rushed on, so preoccupied that she was oblivious to Eva‟s distress. “You‟ll wonder where the ceremony is to be. And the details of my dress. I‟m—“

“Is it a l-love match?”Eva interrupted weakly.

Alexa nodded. “On my side at least. I was drawn to him immediately. But in all honesty, I can‟t say that he has any great affection for me. I shall work on him, though. He must be enamored to some degree or he wouldn‟t have offered, no matter how my mother cajoled him, si?”

“But I thought you were so sure that a wedding night with him would frighten you out of your wits,” Eva argued, desperate to turn this nightmare around. “What about that statue with the two—?”

“That was just silliness. The ancient Romans had all sorts of strange ideas—faeries and the like. Men can‟t alter their bodies to grow a second appendage.”Alexa shot her a mischievous grin. “Although I wouldn‟t mind if it were true. As to our wedding night, I confess I‟m almost looking forward to it.”

Gaetano returned then, with a candle. And somehow Eva found herself setting it aside and whirling onto the platform of dancers in his arms without being quite aware of how she had gotten there.

“Finally, I have you to myself,” her partner said in a satisfied voice.

“Umm-hmm.” Leaving him to keep up the conversation, Eva let her mind race down a path she didn‟t want to follow. She would have to give Dane up! Her heart thumped with a dull, pounding grief. But she knew she must. For to take him as a lover—even only during Moonful—would be an unforgiveable betrayal to Alexa. The loss of him just when she‟d come to care for him threatened to make her physically ill.

“Well, Evangeline? I‟m asking you to marry me. To be my wife,”

said Gaetano.

She stared at him blankly. While she‟d been daydreaming, he‟d been proposing?

“It‟s what you want, isn‟t it?” he added. “I didn‟t mistake your interest?”

“You do me a great h-honor,” she stammered. “But—can you allow me some time to consider your offer? It‟s so. . unexpected.”

“I‟m disappointed,” he said, a coolness seeping into his voice. “I‟d hoped for a quick assent. But while you consider me, remind yourself of what it is that I offer you. Respectability. A fine family name and deep pockets. A secure future. I know these things must be important to you in view of your parentage.”

“What?”She shivered, suddenly fearing that Odette‟s dire predictions regarding the exposure of her species might be coming to fruition. She tried to pull away, but he continued dancing, carrying her along with him and holding her even tighter. He was stronger than he looked.

“I know that your mother was a courtesan here in Rome, and that you were born in Paris. That you‟re a bastard.”A life in Paris was a fiction she‟d woven for Alexa, but he‟d learned the rest on his own somehow.

“It doesn‟t matter to me,” he continued with grating magnanimity.

“I want you, Evangeline. Marry me.”

“Your mother won‟t agree,” she argued, weakening. She just wanted to leave. To go nurse her wounds in private.

“She will. She has.” The music paused and they found themselves along the edge of the platform. He tugged her down the three steps to the shadowy lawn.

Why was she hesitating? She couldn‟t have Dane as her husband, even if she refused this man‟s offer. Dane belonged to Alexa now. When Eva next met him, having a fiancé of her own in place would serve as a convenient barrier between them.

Gaetano‟s hand curved at her neck and his fingers slipped under her hair. Her head fell back and she gazed up at him through her lashes, wishing herself anywhere but here. His eyes filled with heat and an arm locked her close. She felt suffocated. Felt hope shrivel. His mouth lowered. He was going to kiss her. Ugh. She closed her eyes.

Suddenly, it came to her that if she wed this man, she would often find herself in the company of his sister and her new husband. No, that would be too awful! She would have to find another suitor. Just as he made to kiss her, she opened her lips to refuse him.

“Patrizzi!” snapped a voice as dark as a thundercloud. Dane.

They jerked apart to see him standing a few feet away, Alexa‟s arm tucked through his. Eva‟s eyes locked on those entwined arms, and she felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach. She couldn‟t bear this. She had to get away before she broke apart in front of everyone. But before she could make her excuses, Gaetano slipped a hand around her waist as if to claim her.

Dane included them both in his black, condemning look. Eva felt a trifle guilty, as if he‟d caught her betraying him. Nonsense! She was doing nothing of the sort. He was the one who had gotten himself betrothed!

Alexa clapped her hands in glee. “You‟ve asked her, haven‟t you, Tano? Oh, Eva, we are to be sisters! I knew he was set to propose, but I couldn‟t let the news leak beforehand.” She reached out to embrace her.

When she stepped closer, Dane did as well. His sleeve brushed Eva‟s bare arm. An innocent touch, but it sent a lick of fire through her.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears.

“Oh, I know how you feel. It was the same when I found out I was to wed Lord Satyr,” Alexa said when she drew back, completely misunderstanding the reason for her weepiness. “But stop, you‟ll make me cry as well and our faces will be spoiled.”

“You interrupted us, dear sister,” Gaetano chided. “I‟d only just asked her.”

All eyes went to Eva. “And I‟ve given you my reply for now,” she told him gently. She would refuse him, but not in so public a way.

A half hour later, Eva managed to find her way free of Gaetano.

She escaped the festivities and was leaving the ruins without farewells.

Tears that had simmered close to the surface since she‟d first heard Alexa‟s news now splashed upon her cheeks. Oh, Gods—Dane was to be wed! She lifted her skirts, scurrying faster and keeping her head down so no one would see. She needed to find Pinot. To reach the carriage. To make her way home to sob the night away.

Along the outskirts of the Circo, a hand caught her waist and another covered her mouth. The hard strength of a man came at her back, and she struggled. “It‟s me,” said Dane. She stilled cautiously and let him draw her farther away from the confusion and lights. Seconds later, they confronted one another in a secluded bosk beneath the shadows of umbrella trees at the Circo‟s edge. The atmosphere was brisk with the coming of autumn, and redolent of cypress and their mutual, impossible hunger.

Eva drank in the sight of him. He was so handsome in dark eveningwear, looming tall and strong, his crisp shirt gleaming white in the dim light. Her heart squeezed, knowing he could not be hers again.

“You‟re not going to wed him,” he announced, breaking the silence.

She sent him an affronted glare. “Yet you will marry Alexa?”

He sliced his hand in the air as if to cut that part of his life away from the life he wished to make with her. “She makes no difference to you and me.”

“Your auras are incompatible. You should have consulted me before offering for her. Do you love her?”she asked, hardly daring to breathe as she awaited his answer.

He shifted impatiently. “What do you think?”

“I‟m asking.”

“Her mother knows about our world and has threatened to expose the news,” he admitted.