Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

two people in the world. Nicoletta was deeply aware of his palm shaping her throat, his fingers on her bare skin. There was so much heat in him, he was burning his brand into her soul. Staring directly into her defiant eyes, he smiled, a slow, humorless curving of his perfect mouth. "The marriage will take place as soon as the Holy Church is satisfied."
    His hand slipped slowly, reluctantly off her skin, and he turned around and walked calmly back to the group of elders. The heat lingered on Nicoletta's skin where his palm had been. Maria Pia rushed to her side, slipping her shawl around the young woman's head and shoulders to give her a semblance of privacy as she escorted her through the crowd to their hut. Nicoletta could hear the elders protesting, but she knew they would have to give in. The Don didn't argue with them; he simply waited until they had talked themselves out. Then he advised them of his plans in his soft, commanding voice.
    Once behind the closed door, Nicoletta flung herself across the room. "I will not become his bride. I will not! I -do not care what the elders say. I do not care if he threatens to have me burned at the stake. I will Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    not! He cannot just take me from my home to that horrible, horrible palazzo and rip my world apart!"
    Maria Pia remained silent, allowing Nicoletta her angry outburst in the safety of their home. She watched the young woman pace back and forth across the room, far too upset to stay in one spot. "Any of the other girls would have been happy to marry him. He knows he could have chosen any of them! Well, I will not do it. He cannot make me." Nicoletta wrung her hands. "Do you think the elders will talk him out of it? Perhaps they will convince him I am a half-wit. Only a half-wit would dress as I did today. Surely he does not want to marry a dolt!"
    "Nicoletta, did you see his face when Cristano protested his choice?" Maria Pia asked quietly. "Don Scarletti is not a man who will give you up."
    "Well, he is just going to have to." Nicoletta flung the shawl and scarf onto the bed, yanked the shapeless dress over her head, and tossed it aside. She pried at the cloth binding her aching breasts. The disguise had been a silly idea from the beginning. She threw the cloth after the shawl in protest. "I am not an object, Maria Pia. No one owns me! I will go to the holy father and protest immediately. The don cannot do this." Nicoletta pulled on her skirt and blouse with quick, angry movements. She was breathing fast to keep from weeping like a babe.
    Maria Pia bowed her head, fighting back tears. She had known all along this day would come. The Church would not help Nicoletta; the priest would insist she marry the don. Scarletti was too powerful for the priest to alienate. He had ties to all the great political leaders, and his army was a strong one. If Don Giovanni Scarletti wanted Nicoletta, no one would stand against him. The village elders couldn't risk his wrath; they needed his land and his good will and protection. With a bride chosen from their villaggio, their status would rise considerably. No one would save Nicoletta from her fate. No one could save Nicoletta, not even Maria Pia.
    Nicoletta stood in the middle of the room pulling the knot out of her hair, letting the thick mass fall in waves down her back. That she was still shaking added fuel to her anger. It infuriated her that a man had the power to take control of her life. Maria Pia didn't have to point out that she was helpless against the don; she knew she was ranting and railing against an inevitable fate.
    She made herself breathe slowly, deeply, in and out. No one else could extricate her from this situation.
    "The elders will ask the priest to perform the ceremony as soon as the don wishes," Nicoletta said heavily. She glanced through the window at the crowd outside. The fog was thickening, and the air was chilly, but the throng was as dense as ever. Nicoletta knew the don was still in the villaggio. Negotiating.
    The eloquent, arrogant Don Scarletti would eventually ensure that the elders were more than satisfied with the match, though most likely he had not expected any opposition whatsoever.
    "They are selling me to him!" she burst out tearfully, unable to contain her fear. She would have to leave her beloved home, her mountain, everything and everyone she knew and loved. She would have to leave it all behind.
    "Piccola,"