The air was thick with music and laughter from the partygoers and everywhere she looked, she could notice guards eyeing everyone with a discerning vigilance.

Dressed in a lavender colored dress, Claudia felt an unease that she thought was alarming since she found herself wishing she was wearing her Assassin robes instead. Something about dressing up and walking arm in arm with Duccio was making her feel breathless and enveloping her with yearnings of the past. She couldn't do this again. The last time, she had run away and hidden only for Machiavelli to find her hours later. She couldn't do that again and let the guild spend precious time looking for her only because she couldn't come to terms with her own turmoil of emotions.

Duccio was being his charming self and offered her drinks and tidbits every now and then, but she was too distracted by the guards to fully pay attention to him. A few days ago, there had been only one or two guards stationed at every corner, but tonight, she was certain there were at least thrice that.

Her uneasiness deepened when she saw a group of guards whispering amongst themselves and she heard the name Pazzi loud and clear. It was obvious that Vieri's corpse had been found and they were on the lookout for the killer. For her.

Claudia let Duccio drag her away from the crowds to a secluded area where she could process her thoughts. But as she walked past another group of guards, her anxiety returned.

"Francesco is deeply aggrieved by his son's death." She heard one of them say.

A Brute standing next to him, idly played with his axe. "He has announced an award to bring the head of the killer. Seems like a great opportunity to make some easy florins."

"Stupido! Now is not the time to think of the florins. Francesco has gone mad with grief. Who knows what he would do now."

Another guard stepped in the group. "I heard he's in Firenze. He wants his son's body to be brought there for burial."

"Whoever killed him, made a huge mistake. They should have known better than to make enemies with the Pazzi."

Claudia swallowed and dropped her handkerchief to listen more. They were after all talking about her.

"It has to be the Assassins."

"Bah!" The Brute scoffed. "The Assassins have been wiped out. The last of them, that ubriacone Mario Auditore, will meet his demise soon if he was behind the attack."

"Hardly. He can barely hold up a sword." Another guard laughed.

"I shudder to think what chaos Francesco is going to bring to Firenze."

"Claudia, are you alright?" Duccio asked.

Claudia picked up her handkerchief and nodded quietly. Firenze. Francesco was in Firenze and as was his reputation, there was no doubt he would be causing a riot. All because of her!

Duccio led her to the docks and Claudia twisted the handkerchief between her fingers. Uncle Mario was away on some errand. Had he gone to Firenze? What if he was caught and murdered?

And then another thought came to her. One so terrifying that when Duccio touched her lightly to help her get into the gondola, she nearly screamed.

Uncle Mario may not be in Firenze, but Machiavelli was. He was too overconfident and if he had perchance committed an offense while enacting his Assassin duties, he may be severely punished.

Duccio made her sit in the gondola and Claudia felt her heart sink and her breath stuck in her throat. It was getting difficult to take in a breath now. Machiavelli was in in danger because of her. What had she done?

"You seem distracted." Duccio said after some time.

"I'm not." She managed to whisper. What else could she tell him?

Duccio smiled. He rowed silently for a while and then when they were further into the waters, he stopped and sat down next to her. Taking her hand in his, he gazed into her eyes and Claudia felt her fears for Machiavelli's safety slipping and another one clamoring up.

"Claudia." He began and her instincts already warned her about where this was headed. "I am a buffone, an idiota, every single parola you can think of that would insult me. I was too immaturo to have let you go in the first place. Losing you, made me look deep within myself and years later I have finally understood that I have made mistakes."

"Duccio…" she interrupted, but he placed a gentle finger on her lips and she shivered.

"Let me finish, amore mio." He clasped his other hand over the hand he was holding. "But my biggest mistake was to not see what and who I had. You can make a better man out of me, Claudia Auditore. And so I ask you humbly…"

Claudia sucked in her breath and wished she could pull out her hands from his grasp and just jump into the water. But then she remembered how her Mother had wanted nothing more but for her to settle down; even more than for her to become an Assassin.

"Claudia." His voice was husky. "Will you marry me?"

She bit her lip from screaming out loud. What should she do? How should she answer?

"Well?" Duccio prodded earnestly.

Claudia blinked at him. "There is a condition." She said. "And only after you agree to it will I accept your proposal."

When they reached the thieves Hideout, Claudia was still shivering, but not from the cold.

"My er….friends live here." She told him as he looked all around him.

He gave her a charming smile that had melted the hearts of every girl in Firenze and then took her hand.

Claudia saw Rosa and Ugo sitting on a bench and talking amicably for once. She smiled at them and wondered if years from now, this would be her and Duccio.

"Claudia!" Uncle Mario said, opening the door to the Hideout. "I was worried about you."

Claudia went into his arms and hugged him. "And I was worried about."

"You have succeeded?" He inquired and then cast an uneasy glance at Duccio who stood idly by watching niece and uncle.

"Yes. But I worry about the repercussions." She whispered.

"Don't be." Her Uncle assured her.

"Claudia!" Her Mother said, coming to join them. "You are back. Duccio, hope you had a lovely evening."

"We have an announcement to make." He said happily.

"Oh?" Uncle Mario was still frowning at him. He looked down at her and she shied away.

"I have asked Claudia to marry me."

"Che e' una notizia meravigliosa!" Her Mother exclaimed.

"Hmm." Her Uncle grunted.

"I am so very excited for the both of you." Her Mother said and embraced Duccio.

"However, Claudia has presented me with a condition."

"Oh."

"Si, she would like to wait for some time to get to know each other." Duccio said. "It is only fair as I have only earned her distrust after my misdeeds back in the day."

Her Mother's smile fell. "Of course. Claudia, perhaps you would like to go change your clothes?"

Claudia nodded, understanding that her Mother wanted to speak to her privately.

"It is time for Duccio, to go home anyway." Uncle Mario stated a bit gruffly.

"A presto." He waved and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

Claudia started to go in when her Uncle stopped her. "Nipote, are you sure about your decision?"

Claudia glanced hastily at her Mother and then looked down. "I think so. Si."

"But why wait?" Her Mother asked. "Duccio has reformed and he seems like such a nice boy now. So respectful and so charming."

"Madre, you are forgetting that I am an Assassin now." Claudia told her and from the corner of her eye she saw Uncle Mario smiling at her proudly. "I cannot shun my responsibilities now."

"Your Father was an Assassin too and he still managed his marriage."

"Madre, that is true but he was married to a woman who knew he was an Assassin."

"Duccio can handle it."

Claudia laughed at that. "Duccio has always been a codardo, Mother."

"He was young then."

"I will have to tell him, but not yet." Claudia argued. "I have to be sure he can handle this and not reveal our secrets to anyone."

"He won't." Her Mother told her. "You must have a little trust."

"And you must have patience!" Claudia almost screamed and then regretted it. "I mean….mi dispiace Madre. I did not intend to raise my voice." She went to her Mother and put her hand on her cheek. "I will get married Madre, but not until I have killed Francesco de Pazzi."

"Ah yes!" Uncle Mario jumped in. "Francesco is probably on a warpath now that his son is dead. We will need to be vigilant and require all the help we can get."

Claudia glanced at Uncle Mario and wondered if her Uncle really didn't like Duccio or was just annoyed that she may be giving up being an Assassin. Regardless of his motives, she was grateful for his favor and said nothing to him. If he was helping her buy a little more time, then why should she intrude?

"Bene." Her Mother agreed disappointedly. "But once Francesco meets his demise…"

"I will marry Duccio." She promised.

Her Mother kissed her cheek and then went inside. The minute she had, her Uncle turned to her.

"You are happy with this?"

"I think so. But enough of this. We must discuss our next strategy. I fear for the safety of our fellow Assassins." Claudia said. "Francesco is in Firenze, I've heard. And so is Machiavelli."

"Niccolò is doing fine. I have received his correspondence."

Claudia felt herself ease with this information even as another thought occurred to her. Why wasn't Machiavelli writing to her? She dismissed those thoughts. "So he is fine?"

"He can take care of himself, piccina. It is you I was worried about." He grinned then. "Not anymore now. You have the Auditore blood boiling in your veins as well!"

Claudia nodded. "How do we deal with Francesco?"

Uncle Mario took out a few pages from his pocket. "Our thieves acquired this from Vieri's corpse."

"I didn't know he was carrying the codex pages!" Claudia said. "I was careless."

"That is what the thieves are for." Uncle Mario said dryly. "I was with Leonardo the whole evening and within the pages of the codex, we found a letter. Francesco's Uncle Jacopo de Pazzi is conspiring."

"About what?"

"We have yet to uncover that. Whatever it is, the four men listed here are the key to that. We must find them."

Claudia took the letter from his hands and went through the names. "They are stationed in Toscana, according to this."

Uncle Mario put his hand on her shoulder. "Then that is where we'll go. With them out of the way, Francesco and his Uncle will be rendered helpless."

Claudia looked down at the letter again. This mission couldn't come at a better time. She was confident of her abilities now and knew that her targets wouldn't be so hard to eliminate. Besides, this would give her the time she needed to sort out all her feelings regarding Duccio.