Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

Nicoletta laughed softly and lifted the hem of her skirt to show him her offending bare toes. She then took the old man's arm. "If you wish to walk in the hills, Nonno, I will be glad of the company. I have planted many wonderful healing herbs that Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    need tending. I must see to them very soon." She yearned for the hills and their solace with every fiber of her being.
    The old man patted her hand gently. "Stay close to your guards, Nicoletta—if I have your permission to address you as such."
    She smiled up at him. "I did not ask your permission to call you Nonno. I hope that we become good friends. You are my famiglia now."
    "Giovanni may wish it otherwise," the don's grandfather said tightly.
    "Tell me your story, Nonno. I do not wish to hear gossip from those who can only make up tales," she encouraged. "I am not afraid of the truth."
    He looked back toward the guards, then down at her upturned face. "You are either a very brave girl or a very foolish one. I do not know the truth." Ashamed, he dropped her arm and turned away from her.
    "They think I killed her. My beloved Tessa. That I could do such an evil thing. I think of her every moment, a torment I can never be free of. I cannot speak of such a vile thing." He shook his head again, walking heavily back into the room, his shoulders rounded with a terrible weight.
    Nicoletta followed him into what looked like a small study. The furnishings were heavy, the colors dark, but windows lightened the room so that it seemed airy. There were no carvings, no monstrous sculptures here. Parchments and several well-worn maps lay on the desk. She glanced at them as she followed the old man to the wide row of windows. It looked as though Signore Scarletti was drawing new maps of the don's lands and the surrounding areas. The lines were neat and precise. She could see that some of the older maps were thin and worn from use.
    "Perhaps you should speak of it," Nicoletta said bravely. She was very aware of the open door, the two guards positioned uneasily just outside, ready to rush in should there be need.
    "I cannot." Tears ran down his worn face. "Leave me now." It was a fierce whisper, a plea of sheer torment.
    Nicoletta went to him, putting her arms around him in an attempt to comfort. "I cannot leave you like this. It is madness to hold such a terrible thing inside. Do you think me so weak that I would condemn you? Run from you?"
    He put her from him, his body shaking with some terrible truth. His fists knotted at his sides. "She was like you. Sunshine followed her wherever she went. Her laughter filled my heart. She was so beautiful.
    Like a rare gem." He looked at her. "Like you. She was very like you. Giovanni was insane to bring you to this place." His voice abruptly swung out of control, ranting in Latin, condemning his grandson to the fires of hell.
    Nicoletta crossed herself even as she shook her head at the clearly agitated guards. They consulted together briefly, and one quickly moved away. She hastily lay a calming hand on the eldest Scarletti's arm. "Do you believe in the Scarletti curse? Is that why you think I am in danger? I am very strong, Nonno, and I am not afraid to face danger." Deliberately she named him grandfather to aid his attempt to regain control.
    He looked down at her with sorrow-filled eyes. "My Tessa was not afraid either. Giovanni is much like I was. I see the way he looks upon you. With his heart. His soul. Yet he sees much. Sunshine follows you, Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    and so do other men's eyes." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Do you understand what it is like to be consumed by another being? To live for only that purpose, that smile, those eyes, to need so much that you cannot breathe if she is not with you? It is a fire in the blood that cannot be quenched. You watch her every movement, the slightest gesture." He closed his eyes tightly against the memories haunting him.
    Nicoletta went very still, yet she held onto his arm even as he was confirming her worst fears of the Scarletti curse. Black-hearted jealousy. It ran deep in their veins. It created monsters where gentlemen had once stood.
    The eldest Scarletti touched her silken hair. "Giovanni is like that with you. He cannot take his eyes off you. He has seen the others watching you. Il demonio is in Giovanni, just as it dwelled in my own