Carpathian 10 - Dark Symphony

position to uphold. You shouldn't be making a fool of yourself over a man."
    The whip of contempt in Tasha's voice made Antonietta wince. "I was in my own private quarters, so I don't see how I could have been making too much of a fool of myself."
    "You're acting like a lovesick teenager. It's embarrassing. And that dog is annoying. He's too big and gets in the way all the time. Why would you want a dog underfoot? I don't know what Byron was thinking giving him to you. If Marita finds out he's dangerous, there will be hell to pay."
    "Why would you think he's dangerous?" Antonietta allowed her exasperation to show.
    "You may not like Byron, Tasha, and that's okay with me, but don't you make trouble for Celt just out of spite."
    "I'm never spiteful." Tasha's feet beat out a rhythm of annoyance. "Five minutes with a man, and you're turning on your own family. I hope you realize you're totally infatuated. It's sickening to watch you make an utter fool of yourself, but by all means, don't listen to my advice."
    "I haven't heard any advice," Antonietta said, "just sour grapes."
    Unexpectedly, Tasha laughed. "That's so true. I'm so jealous I could tear out that man's eyes. I want to be involved in a love affair. In a drama. In something. Someone tries to murder you, Paul even shoots you. You spend an entire day in mourning. It was so perfect, the palazzo silent and all of us caught up in your grief. And then I come up to find a man in your bedroom and you positively glowing. It's enough to make me throw myself from the battlements in absolute envy. Well," she hedged, "the lower balcony."
    "He's so wonderful," Antonietta said. She found it easy to walk with Celt beside her, his body posture guiding her far better than even Justine had managed.
    "I'm sure you think so. He still frightens me, Toni, and I don't know why. Paul said he saved your life at the risk of his own, yet I'm still afraid of him. There's something about him that isn't right."
    "Everything about him is right for me." Antonietta went down the long, sweeping staircase with total confidence. Sometimes she felt Celt shared his eyes with her. She saw nothing, yet she knew exactly where to step as if he were guiding her through imaging in her
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    Dark Symphony
    Page 87 of 188
    mind.
    Tasha placed a hand on Antonietta's arm to stop her before she turned toward Don Giovanni's rooms. "Why was Paul in the passageway? And why would he have a gun? Did he tell you?"
    "He owes money to some dangerous people. He said he purchased the gun for protection.
    And he was in the passageway to steal the Scarletti treasures and pawn them to pay his debts."
    Tasha shook her head sadly. "I thought he quit gambling. He promised us. He didn't tell me he needed money. Did he go to you? Or Don Giovanni? Why would he make a decision to steal from the family?" She sank down abruptly on the bottom stairs. "I'm sorry, Toni. I didn't know. I thought he would come to me if he were in trouble. I'm so ashamed."
    Antonietta heard her weeping softly. She laid a comforting hand on her cousin's shoulder.
    "You aren't responsible for Paul, Tasha. He's a grown man, and he makes his own decisions.
    He'll have to face up to this. He nearly killed both Byron and me. Hopefully, he'll think about that and get help before it's too late."
    Tasha lifted her head, swiping at the tears, careful of her makeup. "You have to tell Nonno the truth."
    Antonietta sighed. "I suppose so, but I'm not looking forward to it." Where are you? She needed comfort. A battle with her grandfather over Paul's fate was more than she wanted to deal with. She had a mad desire to dash back up the stairs and lock herself in her bedroom, keeping Byron a prisoner there.
    I am raiding your kitchen, looking for clues. I think my detective skills need work.
    Antonietta wrapped his laughter around her like an invisible shield.
    I like the idea of being your prisoner, by the way. Especially if the door were locked, and your family stayed away for a very long while. There are traces of the same substance I found in you, your grandfather, and Paul in the remains of the food in the rubbish.
    Antonietta's smile faded. If she believed Byron, someone in her own home was trying to kill all three of them. There's no mistake? You're certain?
    Cara mia,