Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

herself, rushing to the shrine of the great Madonna to light several candles. After she had prayed avidly, she swung around. "How is he different'?" She dared Nicoletta to keep any more information from her.
    "I cannot explain to you even how I am different. Only I know things I should not, I feel illness when I touch people, and a warmth rises in me to heal them. I know how to mix herbs into medicines, and I know which mixture will help when I touch the ailing one, but I cannot explain how. It is similar with him.
    He has not my same ways, but he is'different' all the same."
    "It is whispered he is in league with…" Maria Pia could not bring herself even to whisper the name of the devil. She went for the holy water and sprinkled it at the doors and windows, then shook a healthy dose of it onto Nicoletta. "His home is dedicated to pagan, heathen deities. There is evil lurking in that palazzo."
    Nicoletta shivered. She agreed with Maria Pia about the evil; she had sensed it, also. Who could not?
    But she did not necessarily agree that the don was in league with the devil. The memory of him standing with his arms wide, vulnerable to the stiletto, and, later, lowering his head with his hands over his eyes, tore at her heart. "Because he has the 'gift' does not mean he is worshipping false gods. It is rare for men to carry it but not unknown, Maria Pia. You yourself told me that when I was but a babe."
    "You cannot defy the law, Nicoletta," Maria Pia repeated.
    "I would not think of defying the laws of our village." Nicoletta made the mistake of smiling, her dark eyes suddenly alight with mischief.
    Maria Pia hissed at her, slapping her hand. "Take care, piccola. You are more than my old heart can stand. The don is owed our loyalty and fidelity. We live a good life on his land, our bellies are full, and we Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    are protected from all invaders. Even the good and Holy Church, may the saints be praised, leaves us alone because of him, leaving off their witch hunts and onerous requests for tithing so heavily."
    "The law states that all eligible women must come forward. Perhaps I can make myself look younger.
    Too young for marriage. Perhaps your memory and that of Mirella has faded a bit as to the exact year of my birth. I am certain I am a year too young to be included. If it isn't me he is looking for, there is no harm in the charade. And if it is, it was a harmless mistake." She shrugged. "Many of the girls would willingly take the chance of becoming the bride of so powerful a man. Mayhap he will find one of them to his liking."
    Maria Pia regarded her steadily with one eyebrow raised high. She looked pointedly at the generous breasts and rounded hips Nicoletta had been endowed with at an early age. "I do not think he will swallow such a tale, Nicoletta."
    Nicoletta made a face. "I will bind myself a bit with cloth. And I will stay out of the way. We can spread the word that people think me half-witted and that I am a year too young for marriage in any case, should anyone be asked."
    "Nicoletta!" Maria Pia was shocked at her and showed it. "The villagers will remain silent on your behalf, but no one must tell an untruth. The good Madonna cannot protect us from such a folly. What a thought!"
    Nicoletta remained unrepentant. "And you must talk to Cristano, Maria Pia. He is becoming a nuisance.
    Many of the girls would love to catch his eye, but he looks only at me."
    Maria Pia clucked her tongue. "Cristano will grow to be a fine man. You are lucky he is looking your way. It is not good to know you are so beautiful, Nicoletta. Beauty will not last forever and you could be caught in your might-have-beens like that old fool Mirella."
    "But Cristano would be one of those cocksure, handsome husbands who is always making enormous demands on his wife while ever looking to greener pastures, Maria Pia. I would not be a wife likely to smile with forgiveness and pleasure when he returned to my bed." The very thought of sharing a bed with him was repugnant to her, so much so that she shivered and rubbed her arms. "I know Cristano will mean well, yet he will strike his wife if she looks at another man and blame her for the attention of another man's smile. He thinks much of himself; he will expect his wife to care for the children and home all alone while he spends his time idly drinking and gaming with the men. This is not a marriage to me." Nicoletta broke off