Chapter 12
The next morning, Alex woke up rather late. The room was empty, but she could hear voices downstairs. Slowly she pulled on the pants that Ida had given her, a better fit then the last pair, and went over the events of last night in her head. A deep sadness built a cold home right below her breastbone, but she ignored it.
As she walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, her heart began to beat wildly. Her greatest fear was that she would find a grown up Scipio in the kitchen. What would she do then? What could she do? But as she came into the kitchen, she found only Hornet and Ida sitting at the table.
"Where are the boys?" Alex asked, a small wave of relief washing over her before another wave of anxiety crashed down.
"The Hartleibs called late last night to tell Victor that Bo had run away again, so Victor went out and found him."
At this a large smile cracked over Alex's face, but she allowed Ida to continue.
"Bo's safe, sleeping in my room. But we can't seem to find Prosper, the boys have gone out looking for him." Ida explained.
Hornet appeared to be gathering thoughts like fish in a pond, with a very concentrated look. Alex looked at her for a moment, then to Ida.
"Prosper is with Scipio, they went to the Merry-Go-Round." Alex said, pulling up a chair.
"That would explain where your boat has gone." Hornet said to Ida, wiping a hand across her face to rid herself of bleary eyes. Ida nodded.
"I imagined it was something like that-" she didn't get to finish her sentence as Riccio and Mosca came barging into Casa Spavento through the kitchen door.
"We looked everywhere, Piazza San Marco, the Rialto, the Sandwirth and nearly every pasticceria shop in Venice." Riccio said breathlessly, sitting down with a loud thump next to Alex.
"There is no need, we've discovered where he's gone." Ida frowned and bit her lip. "We've really got nothing to do but wait. I suppose I could make you guys some breakfast." Without a response from any of the children, she stood up and disappeared into the pantry.
Breakfast was short, neither Hornet nor Alex had much of and appetite and so Mosca and Riccio made short work of the eggs and sausage. Alex chose to collect the plates and busy her self with the washing up, while the others moved into the living room. She had barely cleaned two plates when she heard the front door open, and a strong commotion coming from the entrance hall. Maybe the Hartleibs had found out about Bo…or the boys were back. Either way, she couldn't bring herself to leave the kitchen.
The sound of the kitchen door opening told her that it didn't matter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scipio's black mask land soundly on the kitchen table. She froze, as her heart rose into her throat and pounded a loud rhythm on her chest.
"I'm back." She heard him say, in a half-whisper.
"I noticed." she replied, without turning around. If there had been any change, she couldn't tell by his voice. His demeanor was different though, much softer, much more direct.
"Are you going to look at me?" he asked, and she thought she heard him take a step forward. It was hard to tell, with the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.
"Do I even want to?" Alex asked, wishing she could shut her eyes tight and make it all disappear.
Then something touched her hand, making her jump. She felt strong fingers close tightly around her own, and begin to pull her around. She gave in, turning to look at him. The plate she had been holding in her other hand crashed to the ground with a wet shattering noise, but Alex hardly noticed.