Stravaganza: City Of Stars Part 13

'Forgive me, your Grace,' he said, turning swiftly back to his host and blushing to the roots of his hair. 'I was indeed surprised to see my cousin here so much so that my manners have deserted me. I trust I find you well?'

'Never better,' said the d.u.c.h.essa and she smiled at him with genuine amus.e.m.e.nt.

At that moment Gaetano had the astonishing thought that this beautiful young girl knew all about him and his boyhood romance with Francesca and that she was deliberately throwing them together. But why would she do that? To test his resolve? To remind him that marriage was supposed to be about love? He looked past her to see Rodolfo regarding him with the same expression. These two were a dangerous pair, he decided.

For the rest of the banquet, Gaetano devoted himself to the d.u.c.h.essa, although always aware of the rustling beside him and the sound of Francesca's laugh as she flirted with her other neighbour. Behind his courtly words, his mind raced. Was Francesca married? And if so, where was her husband? Gaetano was pretty sure that it wasn't the man on her other side, who appeared to be quite young. He found it very hard to concentrate on what he was here for.

Tomorrow he was to have a private audience with the d.u.c.h.essa, at which he must formally make his proposal to her. They both knew the purpose of his visit and he wondered what the outcome would be. Was he expected to declare undying love? He could just imagine the quizzical look she would give him. The Duke had given him no guidance on how to woo her.

When the d.u.c.h.essa rose from her seat, the rest of the company stood too. She led them into another room, where musicians were already playing and cl.u.s.ters of little chairs were arranged around low tables. She asked Gaetano to excuse her while she had some words with the admiral of the Bellezzan fleet and he was alone. Francesca was sitting at a little table across the room and he found himself drawn to sit beside her. There could surely be no objection to his sitting with his cousin? Especially when there was no one else there he knew.

'So what are you saying?' said Ralph. 'Russell has stolen some toy of yours? That's a bit pathetic, isn't it?'

Georgia ground her teeth. 'It's not a toy,' she explained again, trying to keep cool. 'It's an ornament which I saved up to buy from an antique shop.'

'It doesn't really matter what it is,' said Maura, using her let's-be-scrupulously-fair voice. 'Ralph, I'm sure you agree that Russell should respect other people's belongings.'

The four of them were sitting round the kitchen table that Wednesday evening. Georgia had requested a family meeting and Maura had immediately realised that something was seriously wrong. Family meetings were rare events, held only when an important decision had to be made or conveyed.

'Who says I took her stupid horse?' said Russell truculently. 'Why would I? She probably just put it somewhere and forgot it.'

Ralph immediately switched sides.

'Georgia says you took it,' he said acidly. 'And she seems to think you did it to annoy her.'

Russell shrugged. Bad move. It annoyed both parents.

'Well, did you?' asked Ralph.

There was a silence. Georgia held her breath. If Russell denied it, could she possibly ask to have his room searched? Would Ralph go along with that? He seemed to be backing her up now, but she knew how quickly adults could veer from one side to another during a dispute. What happened next could determine her whole future in Remora.

Roderigo was beside himself with guilt. The flying horse had been entrusted to his care and now she had gone. He brought Diego out to tell the story of her disappearance again to the two distinguished visitors from Bellezza. The Horsemaster's boy from the Ram was already in Santa Fina, scouring the neighbourhood for any trace of the black filly.

'The lunge snagged on a tree,' said Diego, looking haggard. He had given his account several times and did genuinely believe that he had witnessed an accident. But he had a nagging discomfort at the back of his mind, knowing that he had not kept the flying horse the secret she was meant to be.

'It was last night,' he continued. 'I had her out for exercise as usual and was flying her on the lunge. Then it caught on a tall tree at the edge of the paddock and it broke. She was away before I could do anything about it.'

'I have men out searching everywhere,' said the wretched Roderigo. 'Surely we shall soon have her back. She will fly home to where her mother is.'

'If no one else finds her first,' said Luciano.

'We moste goe to the mothire,' said Dethridge, and the two Stravaganti went into the stables to visit Starlight. She was standing very still in her stall.

'She is not eating,' said Roderigo, shaking his head.

Dethridge went over to the grey mare and fondled her ear, whispering into it. Starlight tossed her head and looked as if she understood what he was telling her.

'It was just a joke,' muttered Russell grumpily. 'I was going to give it back.'

'Go and fetch it immediately,' said Ralph sternly.

While Russell was out of the room, Ralph apologised to Georgia. He was obviously hugely relieved that his son had owned up. But not as relieved as Georgia was. At that moment she felt willing to forgive Russell anything, as long as he returned his talisman to her.

That feeling changed as soon as she saw what he was holding in his hand when he came back into the room.

'I'm sorry,' he said, feigning contrition. 'It seems to have got a bit damaged.'

The little Etruscan horse lay in the palm of his hand with both its wings snapped off beside it.

Gaetano's all-important meeting with the young d.u.c.h.essa took place not in her state rooms at the Ducal palace but in her father's roof garden. The Regent's manservant, Alfredo, showed the young di Chimici up into what appeared to be a marvellous floating garden high above the city. Gaetano saw immediately that the terraces and paths stretched into a distance further away than should have been physically possible. But his awe was tempered by the fact that the Stravagante did not appear to be anywhere there. At least his audience with the d.u.c.h.essa would be private.

Arianna was sitting on a stone bench scattering seed for a magnificent peac.o.c.k. She was simply dressed in green silk, with a plain silk mask. There were no jewels in sight and her hair was loose on her shoulders. She looked the girl that she was, a year younger than Gaetano but already ruler of a great city-state. Gaetano suddenly felt sorry for her.

At his greeting, she rose and the peac.o.c.k scuttled away; he heard it scream in the far distance.

'Good morning, Principe,' she said. 'I hope you enjoyed your dinner last night?'

'Very much,' he replied, though having no recollection of any dish that was served. It crossed his mind fleetingly that this was not like him.

'I hope also that it was a pleasure to see your cousin again,' continued the d.u.c.h.essa. 'I was not sure if she would accept my invitation. You may know that she stood against me in the Ducal election?'

'So I gather,' said Gaetano, who had heard all the details from Francesca the night before. 'I am sure your Grace understands that it was not my cousin's idea.'

'Oh it was your cousin's idea all right,' said the d.u.c.h.essa. 'Just not that cousin's. Your family have many plans for Bellezza, don't they?'

It was hardly diplomatic language, but Gaetano had realised that this was to be no conventional courtship or proposal. Directness was going to serve him better than any courtly pretence.

'Your Grace,' he said. 'I think you know why I am here. My father wrote to yours proposing an alliance between our two families. I am supposed to ask for your hand in marriage.'

'And is this you doing it?' asked the d.u.c.h.essa, arching one eyebrow. 'Should you not kneel and profess undying love?'

'How can I?' asked Gaetano. 'I don't know you and until I know someone I cannot love her or pretend to do so. But I have been brought up to obey my father. And I shall make this marriage if you are willing. And if we were to be married, I should strive to be a good husband and devote myself to your happiness.'

The d.u.c.h.essa's manner softened. 'You are honest, Principe, and I like you the better for it. But if you are to make a bargain in the marriage market, you should be able to inspect the goods.' She began to untie her mask. 'And during our courtship, if that is what it is, I think we should call each other by our given names. Mine is Arianna.'

'I am Gaetano,' said the young di Chimici, as he looked on the face of his father's enemy and liked what he saw very much indeed.

'It's broken,' said Georgia, feeling sick.

'Yeah, sorry, I said,' said Russell. 'It was an accident.'

'It was covered in bubble-wrap,' said Georgia. 'You must have unwrapped it.'

'It can be mended,' said Maura, anxious to keep the peace. 'I can stick it together for you so that you won't be able to see the join. It will be as good as new.'

'You did it deliberately,' Georgia said to Russell, 'because you knew it was important to me.'

'Why is that, George?' Russell said, almost pleasantly. 'I can't see why that horse thing matters so much. It's only an ornament and you have lots of china horses quite childish really. Perhaps it's something to do with that creep you bought it from that old guy you're so friendly with?'

Maura and Ralph's antennae quivered. 'What man is this, Georgia?' asked Maura.

'It's the old bloke at the antique shop,' explained Russell. 'She's always popping in to have tea with him. I'm surprised you let her do it. My mates think he's a pervert.'

Chapter 14.

Wings The row rumbled on for ages and Russell slipped away, smiling quietly to himself. Georgia could almost hear him thinking, 'my work here is done'. He had succeeded in diverting all the flak from himself to Georgia, who was now suspected of a clandestine friendship with a dirty old man. A broken ornament was hardly a comparable offence.

But it was to Georgia. She knew that Russell had broken it on purpose. She also knew that Mr Goldsmith wasn't the sort of person Russell had made him out to be and she answered Maura and Ralph's questions distractedly, much more concerned about the talisman. Would it still work if it were mended in the way Maura had suggested?

'Look,' she said eventually, exasperated. 'Why don't you come and meet him? He's a perfectly nice old man and we talk about stuff like the Etruscans and the horse race in Siena. There's nothing sinister about that, is there?'

Maura sighed. 'It often starts like that, Georgia. A paedophile will "groom" a prospective victim by giving her presents and seeming to be harmless.'

'Mr Goldsmith isn't a paedophile!' shouted Georgia. 'And he hasn't given me presents only biscuits. Why don't you ever listen to me? I saved up and bought the horse. And now Russell has broken it and you won't even do anything to him. Mr Goldsmith is my friend. Practically the only one I've got.' At least in this world, she thought.

Niccol took Falco back to the summer palace in his carriage. It grieved him to part with his youngest son again so soon. But if that was what would make the boy happy, he would go along with it. And Falco did seem much more cheerful, chatting happily to his father about Gaetano's trip to Bellezza and the state visit of the d.u.c.h.essa for the Stellata.

'Do you think she'll like him, Papa?' he asked. 'I don't see why she wouldn't he's so nice.'

'Liking him doesn't come into it,' said the Duke. 'It's a question of whether she likes the other terms of the offer.'

Falco knew his father too well to ask what the other terms were. 'Do you think she's looking forward to the race?' he asked instead.

'How could she not?' said Niccol. 'It's the big moment of the Reman year what the whole city lives and breathes for.'

Falco had seen every Stellata from the year he was five to the year he was eleven. Since the accident, though, he hadn't had the heart to watch twelve healthy young men race round the Campo on magnificent horses.

'You will let me bring you back for the race, won't you?' said Niccol. 'You said you'd see it this year and I'm sure it would do you good. You can sit on the stage with your brothers and me and your uncle and our honoured guests.'

'Yes, Papa, I'll come,' said Falco, but his heart was heavy, knowing he might not be in Talia by the time of the race.

Raffaella was an unexpected guest at Paolo's house when Cesare, Luciano and Doctor Dethridge returned from Santa Fina. They had no good news to report. And the female Manoush seemed to know of their trouble already.

'Aurelio sent me,' she said simply. 'He said you might need help.'

'Has the harpist second sight?' asked Paolo.

'He sees what others do not,' said Raffaella, 'even though he can't see what others do.'

'Tell her,' said Luciano. 'We can trust the Manoush.'

'Something precious of ours has gone missing,' said Paolo. 'A horse of a special nature. She is only a week old but much bigger than an ordinary horse of that age. She has the gift of flight.'

Raffaella went quite still. 'A zhou volou?' she said reverently. 'You have one?'

'We had one,' said Cesare bitterly.

'It was our good omen,' said Paolo. 'Born in the Ram and destined to bring us good luck, we hope. Now, things are different. Someone may have stolen the luck.'

'Then it will turn to ill for them,' said Raffaella. 'With your permission, I shall put the word out among our people. We have family everywhere in the region; someone may have seen something.'

'How do you know about this kind of horse?' asked Luciano.

'We know about all kinds of horses,' said Raffaella. 'The zhou volou is a good omen for the Manoush too.'

Cesare hesitated. 'Forgive me for asking,' he said, 'but if your people value the flying horse, would they return her to the Ram?'

Raffaella looked at him gravely. 'We are not horse-thieves,' she said. 'Even of ordinary horses. The winged one would be a sacred creature to us and we would return it to its proper guardians.'

'I'm sorry,' said Cesare. 'I want to trust you, but I'm just so worried about Merla. I helped deliver her.'

'I understand,' said Raffaella. 'I would feel the same.'

It had not been easy, stealing the flying horse. Enrico had hidden in the bushes again at midnight while Diego let the filly exercise her wings high up above the stable yard. The lunge was even longer than before and it did tend to get entangled in tree branches. At one such moment, Enrico had crept from his hiding-place and cut through the leather, holding tight on to the part that was still linked to the flying horse.

This had made her tug harder against the restraint of the much shorter length of lunge, which made it more difficult to lead her away from the stable. Enrico had to guide her from many feet below, till she was flying over a field where he could gently reel her in till she stood on firm ground again. And all the time it was impossible to see her against the starless sky. She folded her strong black pinions and stood shivering, while Enrico spoke soothingly to her and draped a blanket over her tell-tale wings.

But now Enrico was well established at Santa Fina. His note from the Duke had gained him entry into the di Chimici summer palace, where he had a very comfortable room with all the food and drink he could consume. He had smuggled the black filly into a stall in the stables, where he quickly made friends with Nello, the Duke's head groom. Nello was well aware of his master's nature, so when a strange man turned up in the middle of the night with an obviously stolen horse, he didn't turn a hair. Even when he saw what kind of horse it was. The other servants were equally discreet about the new visitor; it didn't pay to ask too many questions where the Duke's affairs were concerned.

Enrico explored the palace, amazed by the sheer number of rooms and the size of the staircases.

'Dia!' he exclaimed to himself. 'I had no idea just how rich these di Chimici were.'

Today the palace was buzzing with activity. A message had come to say that the Duke was bringing his youngest son back to the palace for a few weeks. Falco was a great favourite with the household because of his sweet nature and angelic looks and the tragedy of his situation. The cook was bustling around making his favourite dishes and the maids were cleaning his bedroom and dusting all the formal rooms so that there should be nothing for the Duke to find fault with.

Enrico was watching from the loggia above the main entrance when the carriage came into view on the road from Remora. He decided to make himself scarce until the Duke had established his son in his quarters. He headed back out to the stables to check up on his prize. Actually, he was avoiding contact with young Falco; Nello had told him all about the accident and Enrico, who would slide a blade between a man's ribs without a second thought, if he was being paid enough, was squeamish about illness and physical defects, especially in children.

Georgia lay on her bed, clutching the broken horse, tears scalding her cheeks. In the last twenty-four hours her world seemed to have collapsed. She wished for the millionth time that she had stravagated on Tuesday night instead of wimping out. Now she didn't know if she would ever be in Talia again. And Russell had got away with his mean trick and was spreading vile rumours about an innocent friendship. How did he do that? He was in the wrong, no question about that, but she was the one that Ralph and Maura were arguing about downstairs. How she hated him!

She thought of Gaetano and Cesare and Luciano and how they treated her with respect and affection. Falco too. And lately she had caught him looking at her with something more in his expression. There was her new friend Alice at school too. They had started having lunch together regularly and had met a few times after school. It felt good to have a female friend again. If it weren't for Russell, her life would definitely be improving. Now she just felt trapped, unable to escape from the strain of living in the same house with someone so hateful. And she wouldn't even be able to visit Mr Goldsmith if Russell succeeded in his scare campaign.

Suddenly she wished she were a di Chimici, with the money and the power to have her enemies eliminated. She wouldn't have hesitated at that moment to send an a.s.sa.s.sin to Russell's room. Then she was horrified at her own thoughts. So that was what it was like to be someone like the Duke! The only difference between them was that he did have the power and money. Georgia felt ashamed.

There was a knock on her door.

'Georgia,' Maura called softly. 'Can I come in?'

'My Lord!' came a whisper from behind the Duke. By a strong effort of will, he managed not to jump but turned round slowly.