Carpathian 00 - The Scarletti Curse

Nicoletta…" There was iron in his voice. "Should you attempt to flee again, these men will suffer for allowing you to slip past them. I will hold them responsible should anything happen to you, or should you manage to find your way back into the hills."
    Anger flashed through her, and she lifted her head to glare at him through the tears swimming in her eyes.
    His hard features were an implacable mask. "I can find you anywhere, at any time. There is no way you can escape me. You know it is so."
    She swiped at her tears. "There is no need to threaten others." Her chin was up in challenge. "It is beneath you."
    His eyebrows shot up. "A compliment at last? A favorable comment on my character?"
    Maria Pia gripped Nicoletta's arm hard to stop her from retorting.
    "Signorina Sigmora, I trust you remembered to bring Nicoletta's shoes. It seems she cannot keep them on. She has injured her feet tonight. You will, of course, see to the cuts and bruises. Her leg is also still painful to her, so you must attend to that injury as well," commanded Don Giovanni Scarletti.
    "Of course, Don Scarletti, do not worry yourself," the older woman hastily assured him.
    "Nicoletta's injuries are not trifles, Signorina. I shall expect a full report on her condition on the morrow.
    The dressmakers will arrive at midday. I suggest you both get some sleep, as the night is nigh gone." He bowed low, that slightly mocking smile on his face as he closed the door.
    Nicoletta hugged Maria Pia to her again, then quickly examined her for injury. "His soldiers did not hurt you, did they? They must have terrified you when they woke you. I am sorry, Maria Pia. I should have considered the possible consequences to you of my flight, but I selfishly thought only that I could get away from him. Now we are both prisoners."
    "His men woke me and insisted I pack your things and mine, and they brought me here without harm. I Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    realized then that the don had gone after you, and naturally, he would not allow you to be alone with him.
    It would be unseemly."
    "Naturally," Nicoletta echoed softly, fighting back tears. Maria Pia's comment on the don's decency seemed almost a betrayal.
    Nicoletta pulled the don's coat closer around her, trying to absorb some warmth, though flames were dancing in the hearth, throwing off heat and helping to light the room. She looked around carefully. The room was large and ornate. The eaves were covered in carvings, and scenes from the Scriptures were painted on the walls, but she also saw depictions of the seas drowning poor souls, scaled sea serpents, coiled around the bodies as they sank beneath the water. In a niche in the wall was small golden replica of a boat with wide sails, detailed and very beautiful. The piece was unlike anything she had ever seen. It didn't seem to belong in the room with its plethora of tormented souls and the demons rushing to drag them to their deaths.
    "So, we are back in the palazzo," Nicoletta said softly. "I am sorry, Maria Pia, that I have managed to make both of us prisoners." She paced restlessly across the room. "But I could not make him change his mind. The don is determined to wed me. It is no mistake or terrible prank. He is insisting that I am suited to his needs." She sighed heavily. "I am not in the least suitable, and he knows it."
    "You must not defy him again, bambina" Maria Pia cautioned. "Did he strike you or punish you in any way?" Her voice shook with fear.
    Nicoletta immediately helped her into a chair. "No, no, Maria Pia, he was gentle with me." She paced the room again restlessly, back and forth like a caged cougar. "I do not think I can escape him. He… has a way of reaching out to me." She still couldn't bring herself to tell Maria Pia the complete truth about the don and his unique ability. "I think he could find me anywhere." She turned in circles, staring up at the apparitions covering the walls and ceilings. "We are in this hated house where some terrible, nameless evil lies in wait to devour me."
    Maria Pia stood and shuffled over to the young woman and gently pushed her into a chair. "You have had a shock. Sit quietly, bambino, and let me take care of your feet."
    "The house was staring at me when we walked up to it. All those hideous creatures perched atop it."
    Nicoletta rubbed her forehead tiredly. "How can he live here with all those terrible eyes staring at him, watching everything he does