Gentleman in the Shadows Read online

  The baby bed gleamed in the low lighting as Luca uncovered it. He made it from a single piece of walnut, padded and covered it with a tight layer of the finest silk. It was easy to imagine a cooing newborn girl lying on the flowered lining of the tiny bed with its carved florets and birds.

  Standing over the cradle, Luca decided to make another one. This one he would line with a prime piece of leather and decorate with horses and deer for a boy.

  He needed another walnut tree suitable for curing and carving. With a bounce in his step, he gathered tools and materials and placed them in the spot by the fireplace where he would do most of the work.

  Just before dawn, Luca crawled into bed, tired and content. Ros jumped onto the bed with him and curled up near his feet. Within minutes, they were both fast asleep.

  Two hours later, Luca awoke invigorated and eager to start his day. With Rosalyn out of the house, he looked to the workshop and then to the dense, distant woods.

  Out there, somewhere, the perfect walnut tree awaits. he thought.

  Before he set off for the wilderness, he went to the shop and devised another project. A rocking chair for his mother would be a good conversation piece for Giuseppe and Francesca’s unannounced visits.

  They thought his work on toys and furnishings was in vain. In his mind, he called it being prepared. Even if the unimaginable happened, and Luca ended up with another woman, he would still need the furniture. Everybody required a chair to sit in or a bed to sleep in, after all. It was a good cover story, if he ever needed one.

  After a light breakfast, he set out to find the sturdiest tree for the cradle, which he might or might not need in the future.

  Chapter 4

  Having survived the prolonged, awkward encounter and broken conversation with Carlos, Shayna didn’t rise for her usual breakfast the next morning. From her position on her bed, she squinted at the dazzling shaft of sunlight cutting through the opening in her drapes and thought of her mysterious visitor. The light filtered through the sheer curtain surrounding her bed, washing everything inside in a bright, warm glow.

  His accent played havoc with her mind. The night before, it sounded Swiss to her ears, but in the brightness of a new day, she thought it was forced, fake, and used to shroud his identity.

  The familiarity lingered, though. She was sure she had met him in the past. But she didn’t know where or when. Had she encountered someone in Switzerland who was so smitten he had followed her home to Tuscany?

  On one hand, she counted off all the men she spoke to at the cottage. Two were grandfatherly, two were boys of ten and fourteen, the other was the boys’ father, a happily married man with more children at home.

  Her lady’s maid knocked on the door lightly. She detested starting her duties so late and had always kept Shayna on a stricter schedule, but she had been lenient since Leonardo’s passing.

  “Yes, Maria. Come in, please.” Shayna struggled to the side of the large bed.

  Why her mother had insisted on such colossal beds for her girls was beyond Shayna. She would have preferred a much smaller, cozier, and easier to escape bed. When she drew back the sheer, the glow transformed into a piercing shaft of pure bright light. To regain focus and banish the stabs of pain, she blinked several times and then forced her eyes to stay open as Maria entered her room.

  “I was beginning to worry about you, Miss. You’re usually up much earlier than the others. Are you feeling well today? Should I call for Lilliana?” She parted the drapes without a hint of grace.

  Shayna covered her eyes and held her breath. A sudden sharp pain ripped through her head and turned her stomach. “I’m not sure. I don’t feel well at all this morning.” She curled onto her side with her back to the window and Maria, keeping her eyes shut tight.

  “Did you drink wine last night, Miss?” Her tone was motherly, and she didn’t try to hide the tinge of disappointment.

  “Only a tiny bit from a glass which Carlos almost dumped in my lap just before one this morning. I didn’t like the taste, so I didn’t finish it.”

  “There is your problem. You need to eat something and move about slowly. You’ve never had wine before. At that late hour, your stomach was empty. You fell asleep with the grape spirit in your belly and now it’s making you regret it.” Now she was all business. It was Maria’s way to figure out the problem and attack it head-on, fix it, and move on with life.

  Shayna envied her the simple resolution to all problems. She wished her issues were so simply resolved. She couldn’t attack Mother or Alexandria from any angle to mend her troubles with them. The absurd thought of a confrontation with them made her chuckle. The light laughter shot bolts of pain through her head again, and she groaned.

  “If you vomit, please try to hit the basin by your bed. It’s much easier to clean up than the floor.” Maria patted Shayna’s shoulder and smiled sweetly at her.

  “My head is going to erupt.” Shayna muttered into her pillow. “If the wine did this, I never ever want another sip for the rest of my life. How do they all drink so much of it?” Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes and she sniffled.

  “Oh, you don’t want to cry. Heavens, no. That will make the pain unbearable, Miss. Be still and quiet for a bit. I’ll help you get up when I come back with a light lunch. Lie still as you can until I return.” She hurried out of the room.

  After several minutes, Shayna managed to sit on the side of the bed again. This time the sharp throbbing didn’t increase, but it didn’t ease either. In the midst of agony, her mind touched on the stranger, and her lips curled into a tiny smile.

  Is he suffering with a headache today, she wondered? He drained a flute of wine before he bolted away.

  With hands blocking the sunlight, she studied the cool stones under her feet, worn smooth by centuries of use by her forebears; anything to distract her from her misery. Once again, her mind turned to the previous evening’s events. Mother keeps a list of invitees for every event, she thought. Would I recognize his name if I saw it?

  Beginning to form a plan, her thoughts raced, and the shards of glass inside her head began to dull. She could use the process of elimination and come up with the name of the mystery man.

  She didn’t know all the people at the party, which meant she might need to enlist the help of her sister. An unsavory thought because at some point, she would have to explain why she was marking off names. Then she would have to tell her about the enigmatic gentleman.

  Somehow, Shayna feared telling the story would break the enchantment of the man and his visit. For the moment, he was her secret. If she told Alexandria about him, it would taint the encounter. She didn’t want the fascination to fade.

  Maria came back with two thin slices of warm bread, one with a slight layer of jam smeared over it, and two glasses, one filled with orange juice and the other with water. She set the tray on the side of the bed close to Shayna.

  “This should help you, Miss. Eat the plain focaccia and drink the water first. If those don’t hurt you, have the others. They’ll give you some strength. You should be fine by dinner.”

  Shayna tried to broaden her smile, but a lightning bolt of pain shot through her head. “Is it late?” Shayna began to nibble.

  “It’s half-past noon.” Maria pulled a simple dress from the wardrobe, and went back to open the window, allowing in fresh air. Then she laid out the brush and a ribbon on the dressing table.

  She’s setting up the torture chamber, Shayna thought miserably. Aloud, she said, “I can’t believe I slept so long.” She sipped the water, and her stomach churned momentarily, threatening an upheaval if she persisted.

  “Oh, you’re still up before the others. Your mother will be in bed all day, I suppose. Poor thing did too much last night and is in terrible shape for it today. Your sister was all right for the most part, but she simply refused to get up.” Her eyebrows drew together, and her jaw clenched, but she said nothing more.

  The unflappable Ziti, who could put up with the
devil, was Alexandria’s maid, so Maria was under no obligation to do anything for her; the two never got on well and were both miserable if they had to deal with each other. The eldest Ricci daughter could be too difficult for anyone to handle. Some days were worse than others, but her maid weathered the frequent tempests without a problem.

  At times, Alexandria was the sweetest person in the world, carrying herself with such grace, poise, and good humor as to stir Shayna’s admiration. During those times, Shayna looked up to her older sister and loved her more than anything, but as soon as she realized how good she was being, she figured out a way to make Shayna want to deny she was any relation. Her tongue could be a double-edged sword, cutting to the bone, leaving Shayna hurt all the way to her soul.

  It took Shayna half an hour to eat her meager meal, but it stayed down, and she livened up afterward. When she sat for Maria to do her hair, the items on the dressing table didn’t look so much like devices of punishment anymore.

  “Miss, you must have slept soundly. Your hair barely has a tangle at all. I believe this is the easiest time we’ve ever had with it.” As she pulled Shayna’s hair into a sweeping, loose, up-do, she laughed and fastened the bun with a white ribbon and jeweled pins.

  “I felt as if I died and came back to life when I woke up.” They both giggled, Maria acting a bit uncomfortable at the mention of death. Shayna hadn’t thought about it before she said it.

  People were strange about such things, Shayna noted. Not only her maid, but everyone. There was a period of mourning after a passing. During this time, everybody mourned. Afterward, the grief should be put aside, she believed. The tragedy and demise would linger in the minds of family and friends indefinitely, but it shouldn’t rule every minute of every day or influence every turn of words from then on. Why else have a period of mourning? It was a time for the living to recover from the loss and to show respect for the deceased.

  By no means was Shayna wholly healed from her father’s death. Never would there be a time when she didn’t think of him fondly and miss him dearly. However, the pain had lessened with the passing of time. It lived in her chest, a leaden weight she would carry forever, as secret and personal a thing as her feelings about the man at the party.

  Finished with Shayna’s hair, Maria placed a hand on each of the girl’s shoulders. “You’ll be fine, Miss. My mother used to tell me ‘this too, shall pass’. It’s true. No matter what you are going through today, it will end in time. Wounds heal. Hurt goes away. Pain dulls. It’s the nature of time.” Then, she did something she hadn’t done since Shayna was in her nursery years; she bent and planted a gentle kiss on top of her head. When she stood, tears shone in her dark eyes.

  Shayna patted Maria’s hand, wondering if she had read the thoughts in her head, then looked into the woman’s reflection in the mirror and said, “Thank you, Maria. I love you for always being here for me. You were always, even when my own mother was not.”

  “Oh, dear.” The older woman pulled her hand free and used it to wipe away her tears. Then she hurried to the bed and began tugging the covers straight. “That’s all of that I can take, now. You should take a walk on the shaded side of the castle, Miss. Get moving and get some fresh air. I have to finish up here.” She sniffled.

  Shayna’s heart went out to the childless woman who had always treated her as a mother would treat her own child. Nodding, Shayna stood and walked to the door, not wishing to intrude upon the weak moment any longer. Outside the door, she paused wanting to ask Maria to accompany her, but she thought better of it. In Maria’s current emotional state, it might do more harm than good.

  As she passed Alexandria’s room, her sister didn’t cross her mind. She was on a mission. The party list would be on Gianni’s desk in her small parlor at the end of the hallway. Father had allowed her to convert the small second level sitting room into her office space, even affording her a davenport with ink pots, quills, and a ledger to keep up with certain household expenses. These expenditures were not primary ones. She oversaw payments for dinners, parties, her and the girls’ servants, and everyday clothing she commissioned from a nice, dependable woman in town.

  Later, she took responsibility for other minor fees, but nothing as important as the money from the family businesses, or the Ricci fortune. That had been Father’s business, and he shared it only with his brother, Paolo. This was a major and constant point of contention for Shayna’s parents. Paolo and Gianni hated each other and had for as long as Shayna could remember.

  Paolo wasn’t warm and doting, but he wasn’t cruel to the sisters either. When they were younger, Shayna and Alexandria overheard arguments between their uncle and father. The focal point of the quarrels being their mother. The girls were too young to know what the squabbles were about or what they meant. As she grew older, though, Shayna mulled over the conversations, concluding Gianni’s reputation had not been good in her youth, and she had not been a virgin bride.

  Paolo said Shayna was the only true-blooded Ricci Gianni would ever produce. At the time, Shayna thought he meant she acted like her father’s side of the family. Three years ago, she heard it again when her father and uncle argued, but that time, her more mature brain deciphered it as having a totally different meaning. Alexandria wasn’t a Ricci.

  Of course, Shayna never breathed a word of it to anyone and never dared to question her father. If true, it would explain many things which had come across as odd over the years. It also explained why the sisters didn’t resemble one another after early childhood. Still, it was an uncertain truth Shayna would take to her grave.

  The recent visit Paolo paid Gianni was a boisterous affair at best. Shayna happened down the hallway and overheard them in her mother’s office. Paolo threatened to expose her darkest secret unless she produced a document. Shayna had no clue what paper he wanted, but it must have been important if he was willing to give up Gianni’s confidence to get it. Shayna thought it was the fact that Gianni wasn’t a virgin when she and Leonardo married, but she couldn’t be sure. There was also the likelihood he would publicly, through court, question the paternity of Alexandria.

  But Paolo wouldn’t be so cruel, she thought.

  The part of the argument she heard was unpleasant and left her with questions. Not of a life-changing nature, though. All wealthy families quarreled after the death of the patriarch. It was the natural order of things. Shayna let it alone and did not question Gianni about it. Her mother wouldn’t be forthcoming with the requested information, anyway. At least not to Shayna.

  Paolo accused Gianni of spending money on unnecessary frivolity and squandering the fortune on her and Alexandria’s parties and dresses, and by putting on deceitful airs, which he would not sit by and watch. Afterward, he demanded her to produce the paper within a month, or he would expose Gianni to all her aristocratic, rich, and fickle friends.

  The argument happened before the big party and Shayna wondered if Paolo was insulted because Mother hadn’t thought to invite him and his family to the affair, although she didn’t believe Paolo was the type to take offense over an invitation to a celebration.

  Shayna, brushing aside the memory of the ugly argument, continued to her destination.

  Mother’s office was tidy and neat like Father’s was. Unlike Leonardo’s, hers lacked the locked drawers, concealed shelves, and the tiny secret room located behind a false wall. Smiling at the recollection of how she found the hidden room, Shayna walked into the workspace and began her search.

  A few minutes later, she stood at the window with the long list scrawled in her mother’s handwriting. There were at least a hundred names on it. Had there really been so many people at the party? It had been crowded, but Shayna doubted all the people listed had attended. Maybe she was wrong; she had no way of knowing until she had checked them off.

  With the paper in-hand, Shayna made her way out of the castle through a small side entrance without drawing any attention from the staff. She mastered the art of remaining unseen as
a child and carried it easily into adulthood. Alexandria had always been the one who wanted to be noticed by anyone and everyone.

  Slowly strolling through the walled garden, Shayna read the list of names. None jumped off the sun-dappled page demanding her recognition. Perhaps her mystery man was not someone with whom she was acquainted after all. Sitting on a bench under the bower of an old oak tree, she looked over the attendance roll a second time. This time she used a small stone to scratch a thin line through the names of the women. Next, the men she had seen strutting around the gathering.

  Though it shortened the record considerably, there were still many names she didn’t recognize. Tossing the rock back to the ground, Shayna plopped the paper in her lap and sighed. The wind carried the sweet scent from the rose arbor to her, and the muscles in her shoulders loosened.

  The robins hopped across the grass, picking at the bounty of worms and crawling bugs. Overhead, bee-eaters dipped and dove at flying insects and bees. A hawk perched atop the wall and considered Shayna with its head tilted at a severe angle. A sudden hush descended on the garden as the other birds took flight or hid from the sleek predator. As she preferred the company of the smaller songbirds, Shayna flapped the paper above her head and shooed the hunter away.

  Once again considering her troublesome issue, she knew it was necessary to ask for assistance. Alexandria or her mother would be her last resorts. They would have too many questions Shayna wasn’t prepared to answer. Maybe one of the staff would recognize the men who attended, which would help her narrow her list more.

  If questioned, she would think of something to tell them. She didn’t want to reveal the gentleman in the shadows to anyone yet. Not until she knew more about him anyway. The secrecy, the mystery still fascinated her and made her pulse quicken.

  After folding the paper into a tight little square, she tucked it behind the wide sash of her dress and then moved her arms up and down to ensure it was secure.