Page 93 of Thus with a Kiss I Die

Now I was glad I hadn’t pushed her down the steps. Discipline had its own reward, I reminded myself.

“I suppose he’s enamored of you, too,” she said.

“In his way.” I said frankly, “He says I have nicetette.”

“That’ll do for a start. He was a good boy. Respectful of me even when he sent my whole family into exile. You’ll have a decent-enough marriage.”

“Yes, Lady Pulissena.”

“I suppose that’s not enough for you, though, daughter of Romeo and Juliet. You want love and passion and all that romantic nonsense.”

“My parents are very happy.”

“Still?” She managed to sound scandalized. “Merda,how long has it been?”

“Almost twenty-one years.”

“That’s hardly fair that one couple should have so much pleasure in each other, when most women have to settle for a stupid old man with ambitions above his station and a worthless stepson from his first marriage who dragged me down and left me alone in exile.”

“Well. That was plain enough,” Elder observed. “Never a blissful union, but much disintegrated by Bastiano’s rebellion, I suspected.”

I offered her my arm. “Your men can wait out here.” Because I wasn’t inviting unvetted strangers into the palace. “I’ll escort you to Prince Escalus, podestà of Verona.”

“I know what his title is.” She was testy, but she took my arm and we slowly, very slowly, made our way into the palazzo. As we walked, she asked, “Are the rumors true? That Ursula is dead?”

“She was attacked, but not killed.” That was something else about which Cal could inquire.

“Stop!” she commanded. We did, and Lady Pulissena put her hand over her heart as her chest hurt.

Callously Elder said, “Don’t let her die. Not yet! She’s got information we need.”

“Cal!” I shouted down the corridor. “We need you!”

“No!” Lady Pulissena snapped. “No, I’m fine. I simply thought . . .”

Cal appeared in the great walk and hurried toward us.

She watched him approach. “That’s Callie? Prince Escalus? He comes when you call. You’ve trained him well.”

I could snap as well as she could. “I haven’t trained him at all.”

“Yet he comes.” Her gaze slid between him and me. “All the gossip is true. You didn’t want this match. You want the rich boy from Venice.”

“The handsome, intelligent man from Venice.” I may not have been as soft-spoken as I should have been, for I took it ill she thought me so avaricious.

Cal seemed not to notice, but Elder did. “Defensive, are we?”

“Lady Pulissena, welcome home.” Cal gave her his arm. “Come, we’ll find you a seat.”

“I want to see Ursula.”

Cal cast me a surprised glance.

I shook my head, denying knowledge of this.

“I heard she was dead.” As if to loosen it, Lady Pulissena tugged at the velvet over her chest. “I thought I’d missed my chance to . . . pass some time with her.”

“Each hour finds her much convalesced,” I assured her. “You can wait until you’ve had a chance to recover from your journey.”