Chapter Twenty One

Carlisle

I decided the first thing I should do would be to warn Jasper that he was in even more danger if he didn't already know and hope that he had a plan of action. I could suggest he took Bella to Isle Esme but I was afraid it put them in an isolated position that gave the Volturi the chance to act without any restraint and Aro knew of the island I had bought as an anniversary present for Esme so he might think of sending the guard to look there. I should also tell him of my conversation with Eleazar and my decision not to speak to Aro although I would not say it was in order to keep my family safe, he didn't need to hear that. It was also the reason I was about to ask him not to approach any of the family for help or bring Bella to us although he would probably understand that Aro might well have eyes on us for just such a possibility. Warning Jasper was what I should do first but it was not what I would do, I'm afraid Jasper came a poor second to the family although I would never admit to as much out loud.

The most urgent action was to call the family and tell them that any contact with Jasper would be dangerous, Emmett and Alice were the two most likely to offer him help especially if they were reminded of Bella, Edward too possibly. I hoped that Garrett would know better and make sure Alice stayed well clear of trouble, he was no great fan of the Volturi in any case but, and it was a huge but, he and Alice were close friends with the Whitlocks who were also Jasper's closest friends and if he needed help chances were that they would be there for him.

So, I tried Garrett first laying out the situation as succinctly as I could and was relieved when his first reaction was to tell me that they were about to go on vacation to Europe, alone.

"Peter's been acting really strangely recently, he thinks there's trouble brewing and I don't want to get involved, I've done my fighting and now I just want a quiet life with Alice so I'll lose her cell phone and make sure we are away from any other forms of communication."

"What if she sees something Garrett, you can't stop her visions."

"I don't need to Carlisle, they've been on the blink now for years, Alice doesn't see anything clearly, only snatches that make no sense. It really upset her at first but now she's gotten used to living without them I think she's quite relieved. It was always a burden to know what the future holds and a curse when she didn't see something crucial."

I hadn't been aware Alice's problems with her gift had gotten so bad and it concerned me, was it connected with this strange loss of memory we all seemed to be suffering from and Jasper's unease? The more I thought about it the more certain I became that William was indeed at the bottom of this and that it was all connected but it occurred to me that if Alice had suffered then what about Edward?

He'd said very little before he left but he had been uncharacteristically quiet over the past couple of years, not his usual, slightly wearing arrogant self. I needed to speak to him too and I called his number in Milan only for it to be answered by a strange female voice.

"Hi there, I'm afraid Edward isn't here right now."

I explained who I was and she seemed to recognize the name,

"Carlisle? Oh yes. Edward has told me a lot about you... Oh sorry, I'm Beatrice, his fiancée."

I stopped unable to continue, Edward had become engaged and hadn't even bothered to tell us? That was very uncharacteristic of him, what was going on? Beatrice filled the silence at length,

"I guess he didn't tell you? He was going to write but I suppose it must have slipped his mind. Anyway, what was it that you wanted?"

"I…...I wonder if you could ask Edward to call me as soon as he gets back, it is rather urgent."

"Well, I don't know when that will be and we have a reception tonight at the Armani/Privé club which Edward and I are hosting. It might be tomorrow before he has time. Are you sure you don't want to leave a message? I'll make sure he gets it."

There was no way I was leaving a message with a woman I didn't know so I had to be satisfied with asking her to get Edward to contact me as soon as he was able. How I was going to break the news to Esme I didn't know, it had been enough of a shock to me. Edward and I had always been so close, yet now? My whole world seemed to be crumbling around me. Only then did I try Jasper's cell phone but it went to voice mail so again I was forced to leave a message and hope he would get back to me soon.

Marcus

I knew my dear brothers would be taking action soon, they must know that there was a leak out in the human world even if they were not yet aware of exactly how the leak had occurred. There were several pieces of business that needed attending to and the first and most important was Alec. Did he really think he could go around speaking disparagingly of me? He had always been self-opinionated and arrogant but over the years this had become progressively more apparent. He hated that Jane was Aro's favorite as he thought his gift was more valuable than hers. Well, he was about to find out that he had yanked a tiger by its tail and this particular tiger was more formidable than he could ever have imagined.

My first port of call was the cemetery outside the town walls where I knew I could find Lilliana who went every day to lay fresh flowers on her grandfather's grave. She knew me by sight, I had been talking with her grandfather on more than one occasion when she visited and she was aware that I helped the family when times were tough as they had been since her father lost his job at the garage after a vehicle lift came down on his leg crushing the lower part and leaving him permanently disabled.

She was where I expected to find her kneeling by the headstone and arranging some wild flowers in a small glass jar, stopping from time to time to wipe away her tears, innocent tears that Alberto did not deserve.

I made sure she saw me coming, I did not want to scare her,

"Hello, Lilliana."

She stood up and brushed her tears away on her sleeve then smiled up at me,

"Hello, Signor Marcus."

"I was sorry to hear about your grandfather but I hope you and your father are both well."

She nodded,

"We moved into Nonno's house, the rent is paid until Christmas and we had to move out of our old one. Thank you for the money you sent for the funeral it helped a lot."

"You are welcome and I will continue to help you and your father as I helped Alberto but in return, I need you to do something for me."

She nodded again and smiled shyly,

"Of course."

"It's very simple Lilliana. One day soon someone may come to you and ask you about some documents and photographs..."

"Nonno's secret file?"

I was shocked, she knew about them?

"Yes. Did he tell you about the file?"

"No, not really, he just said it was why you helped our family and I was to tell no one about it, not even my father. He made me promise on the bible."

"Good, well if someone comes and asks you about your grandfather's file I want you to tell them that you gave it to Alec. Can you do that?"

She studied me for a long time before answering,

"Nonno told me I should stay away from Alec, that he was a very bad person and that no good would come of a friendship with him but he was always kind to me Signor. Will this get him into trouble?"

I wasn't going to lie to the girl, she deserved better,

"Yes, it will, but better that than you and your father out on the streets don't you think? And in return for this small white lie, I will ensure that your grandfather's house is put into your father's name so you can live there as long as you want and I will pay the pension I paid your grandfather to your father instead. Is that a fair exchange?"

She thought about this worrying her thumbnail but finally nodded as I had known she would. Her father had no chance of getting work and the small amount he received from the government barely fed them and kept a roof over their head, what I was offering was the best they would ever get and she knew it.

"OK. If anyone comes I will tell them that I gave Alec the file."

"You must say that he asked you for it because he had overheard your grandfather talking to himself one night when he had been drinking and wanted to see what was in the file, that's all."

She nodded and I handed her a small purse of money,

"This is the first pension payment, buy some food and if there is any left over maybe a new dress for yourself. When are you due to see Alec again?"

She shrugged,

"If I pick flowers on Saturday for the church he will be there in the woods."

"Then pick them on Friday instead this week and stay close to home."

I left her confident she would do exactly as she had promised. When you were poor I had noticed, money spoke louder than mere affection.

I made my way slowly back to the Citadel content with my plan to ensure I was safe and Alec was taught a harsh lesson but I was unhappy with The Major, something told me that he would not kill the girl Bella Swan which could only mean one thing, he had feelings for her. This was curious, I could understand love, I had been in love myself but I also understood betrayal and by ignoring my orders The Major was betraying me, so he too would need to learn what it meant to incur my wrath.

When I got back to my usual post in the archives I found Aro waiting impatiently and before I had a chance to greet him he began accusing me of knowingly allowing materials dangerous to our world to be handed to a human where they were likely to be used to reveal our existence. I waited until he finished and then frowned shrugging my shoulders.

"Brother, I have no idea what you are talking about. What documents?"

That stopped him in his tracks,

"Alec told me you knew all about them, that you paid a family in Volterra to stop them from using the documents against us."

"Alec? And how does he know all this? He thinks I was being blackmailed?"

I threw my head back and laughed,

"And you believed him?"

"Are you saying he lied? Why would he do that?"

"I have no idea, nor do I care, now if you have quite finished I have work to do."

He grabbed my arm, something I was expecting, but he knew it was useless, he would see nothing I did not want him to see. It had taken me centuries to perfect the trick but once I did I was finally free of my brother's snooping.

"I have answered your questions, Aro, why don't you question Alec further although I doubt he will give you the truth. Alec wants recognition, he is arrogant and ambitious, perhaps he thinks if he topples me he can take my place."

We both knew he would be forced to rely on Alec's spoken answers, his gift meant his thoughts were constantly clouded from Aro's gift, he was the only other person in the Volturi who was immune to Aro's snooping and I could see the idea annoyed my dear brother.

"What about the Sonsino's?"

The question was thrown at me just as he reached the door but I merely turned and smiled at him,

"More lies from Alec I presume?"

"But you don't deny knowing the name?"

"I doubt any of us will forget it after all Alfredo Sonsino almost blew our cover centuries ago. Are you asking if I help the family from time to time? Yes I do because centuries before Alfredo there was a female called Rosanna, do you remember her? She was Didyme's maid for a time before she caught the plague and my wife promised her that we would ensure her family didn't starve. I am merely keeping my dear dead Didyme's promise. Besides isn't Alec keenly interested in Lilliana Sonsino? Also a descendant of Alfredo's."

Aro looked away, he still mourned his sister just as I still mourned my wife even after all these centuries.

When he left I sat down at my desk relieved it was over, Aro never took any notice of the humans who served us here in the Citadel in order to keep our cover intact so he was hardly likely to remember one out of hundreds and there was no way of finding out after so long.

Now all I could do was to wait and hope Aro sent someone to speak to Lilliana. I knew he wouldn't go himself, he shied away from direct contact with humans unless it was a mealtime. I daydreamed of the fun I would have watching Alec try to wriggle out of this one, I could see him under Chelsea's control before this was over.