Once Ezio was sure that he was far enough away and that none of Francesco's guards were following him, he slowed his pace to a walk. He looked down at the knife in his hand. It still had Ambra's blood on it. Of course, it only barely covered the tip, but it was enough. Ezio of course did not think that, along with everything else that might happen to her, that he might be forced to hurt Ambra. He chalked it up as necessary and shook it off as he cleaned the blood off on his pants. There was no point in feeling sorry for it, as he was positive that she was already thinking up ways to get back at him for it.
He just hoped that his actions would not have negative repercussions for her. Aware that Grimaldi might be suspicious of why Ezio had killed Angelo, he knew that Ambra was far from clear. Not to mention, there was the issue of her sister. That is, if Adamo was telling the truth. Ambra had not demanded proof, but that was because she was surprised. Ezio was confident that once she had recovered from the shock, she would start asking questions. She would demand to see her sister before she made any further promises.
At least, he hoped that she would. She was smart, though, and he trusted her. Besides, there were more important things to worry about. Like the fact that Ambra and Francesco had been brought to Venice for the sole purpose of drawing him out. This meant that Adamo had to know about his past with her. There were very few people who knew of his history with Ambra, and Ezio already had some suspicions on who might have told.
"For her sake, I hope that I am wrong …" Ezio trailed off as he stopped and looked back in the direction of her palazzo. He wished that it was safe to turn back, to witness the aftermath. But it wasn't. At least not for her.
)o()o()o()o()o(
"Are you all right?" Francesco demanded as he ran out into the street. Ambra had been walking slowly towards him, as if she was in a daze. She figured that the shocked response would be most appropriate. Soon, she was in Francesco's arms. He didn't seem to care about the blood that was flowing from her chest; he just hugged her tight. "Come, let's get you inside." He turned and guided his wife towards the door. "The party is over!" he shouted to his guests.
"No," Ambra protested. "They don't have to leave. We can't let him have his way … it was such a nice party."
"Everyone will understand," Francesco assured her. "And there will be plenty of chances for more parties. But for now I want to get you in bed. Valentina! Good. Please fetch me a cloth and some warm water, please? I am going to see to Ambra myself."
"Si, Signore," Valentina answered as she quickly hustled down the stairs towards the kitchen. Ambra looked over her shoulder as he party dissolved into nothingness. Oh yes, Ezio would definitely be paying for this.
"What happened?" Ambra inquired. "One second everything was fine and then the next there was chaos."
"Ezio Auditore is what happened," Francesco muttered darkly as he opened the door to the bedroom they shared. "He killed Angelo DeGregorio. You remember him, don't you?"
"Yes," Ambra answered as she swallowed.
"And also one of his colleagues … I'd never met the man before. I didn't even recognize his face, let alone know his name. Don't worry, my love. It is being taken care of and cleaned up right now."
"Good," Ambra answered. "I hope that he didn't get blood on the carpet."
"We can get new carpet," Francesco promised her. "What's important here is you. Are you all right? The child?"
"I'm fine," Ambra assured him as she turned her back to Francesco. "Can you untie these? I'm lucky that I haven't gotten blood on this dress already."
"Yes, of course," Francesco answered as his fingers nimbly undid the laces of his wife's bodice. He helped her get out of the dress, and looked at her as she stood there in his chemise.
"Is Adamo angry that you didn't let him kill me?" Ambra asked.
"Probably," Francesco answered with a shrug. "But it doesn't matter. You couldn't possibly think that I would have traded you for him, could you?"
"I wasn't sure," Ambra answered honestly. The only reason she had not been fearful for her life in that situation was because she knew that Ezio would not really hurt her. Sure, she had a small scratch on her chest and a little bruise on her neck from where he had tightened his grip, but other than that she was completely unharmed. Francesco stopped looking at her body and instead looked into her eyes. Ambra was shocked to see they held genuine hurt.
"You can't really think so poorly of me, Ambra," he said softly.
"You can't possibly know what I am capable of thinking," Ambra responded coldly, taking no sympathy on him. Francesco sighed as he sat down on the foot of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"When I saw that animal with his hands on you," he began, "I felt more rage than I have ever felt before in my life. The only thing that kept me standing still was the knife at your throat. I didn't think he would hesitate to kill you if I made any wrong movements."
"Am I supposed to think that you are brave enough to engage an assassin in hand to hand combat?" Ambra inquired as Valentina entered with the bowl of warm water and clean rags. "Grazie, Valentina."
"No," Francesco answered, "but you should believe that I would do anything for you," he told her as he stood up and crossed the room in two strides so that he could stand right in front of her. "God damn it, Ambra. You want me to admit it? Fine. I'll admit it. I killed your father. Is that what you wanted to hear? I killed your father because I wanted you so badly, but I knew that the only way I would have you was if your father was dead and your mother forced you to marry me." Both Ambra and Valentina froze where they were. However, Valentina quickly recovered herself and decided that it was a good time to leave the room.
"Yes, Ambra, I committed a mortal sin for your sake. No amount of repentance I can do will change that. I killed a man. I am going to hell because I wanted you so badly. But I would do it over again in a heartbeat. You are the one thing in my life that I am proud of, Ambra. Do you think I would just give you away for Ezio Auditore to kill? Do you think I would waste it like that?"
"You gave me away to Adamo happily enough," Ambra told him, surprised that she actually had the ability to speak. Of course she had suspected this for quite some time, but it was very shocking to hear the words from Francesco's mouth. Openly.
"I did not do that happily," Francesco assured her. "And he promised me that he would not hurt you." Francesco shook his head. "But that's not the point, Ambra. The point is … I would die before I let anything bad happen to you."
"If this is supposed to make me feel anything, Francesco," Ambra began as she took the rag and warm water and began cleaning herself up, "it's not working."
"Because you are heartless and cold," Francesco answered.
"If I am so, it is because you made me this way," she answered as she glared at her reflection in the mirror. It was difficult to see herself by the candle light, but she didn't dare look anywhere else. "I will never forgive you, Francesco. I will honor the vow that I made before God, and I will serve you faithfully as a wife because I don't have any other choice, but I will not forgive you, and I am sure that I will never love you."
"You could kill me," Francesco suggested as he stood behind her. "I would not resist you if you really had it in your mind to end my life."
"You may have damned me in life, but I will not allow you send me to hell after I'm dead," Ambra answered. "As it is, I know that at least when I am dead, you will not be able to plague me."
"So that's how it is, then," Francesco murmured, the look in his eyes changing from soft and sympathetic to hard and full of hate. "You will not love me, and you will not kill me." He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around roughly, grabbing her by the hair and forcing her to look him right in the eyes. "Then you will fear me. I will have some emotion from you, and I do not care what it is."
"What is there in you to fear?" Ambra sneered. "You're a fool and a coward." Francesco threw her away as he turned in discuss. Unbalanced, Ambra fell into her vanity, upsetting the perfumes and make up that she kept there. The mirror fell and crashed onto the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces. Ambra thought about how easy it would be to take one of those pieces and shove it through his neck. Then, she remembered the blade that was hidden at her wrist. That would be just as easy.
She stared at his back as he glared out of their bedroom window and realized that what she was doing was extremely foolish. Ezio needed her husband to trust her. Without his trust, she was useless to him. Slowly, she crossed the room. She touched him lightly, but he did not respond to her.
"I'm sorry, Francesco," she said softly after a minute or so.
"You're not," Francesco assured her.
"I am," Ambra insisted, loathe to take back her words, but knowing that it was necessary. "I … I'm just in a bit of shock. I've never had a knife to my throat before. I was frightened, and you took so long to tell the guards to stand down. I was angry at you-"
"Save, it, Ambra," Francesco interrupted. "Leave me alone."
"No," she insisted. "Not until you listen to me. I don't want you to be angry with me, Francesco. I know I can be hurtful at times … but you have to understand … you have hurt me, too."
"And I'm sorry for it," he answered as he finally turned around and glared at her. "I want nothing more than … to make things right, Ambra. I'll do anything it takes, I swear. I can become a husband that you will be proud to have." Ambra didn't say anything. She even stopped herself from shaking her head. For the first time, she realized that there really was something wrong with Francesco. He was probably legitimately crazy. For some reason, he thought that she could really love him again after his admission of murder. He seemed to think that it was normal to kill the father of the girl he was suiting when he was informed that he couldn't have her.
For now, Ambra was going to have to let him think it. She didn't understand it, and she certainly wished that she didn't have to, but she was going to have to deal with it.
"You have had a trying night," Ambra said to him. "I think you should go to sleep. I will have Valentina clean this up in the morning." She gestured towards the shattered mirror. Francesco nodded.
"Will you come to bed with me?" he asked. Ambra looked at him, and then at the bed. Sensing her hesitation, Francesco stopped her from speaking. "I understand. You need time. I will give it to you." He kissed Ambra on the forehead. "Go to sleep, my love. We'll both feel better in the morning."
)o()o()o()o()o(
The next day, Ambra stared at her window, contemplating whether or not she should open it. She stared down at her chest, where the wound Ezio had inflicted had scabbed over. It itched like hell.
Maybe she wouldn't let him see her until it was completely healed. That would show him for sure. It would probably only take a few days.
"He had better be praying that it doesn't scar," she thought out loud as she turned away without opening the window. She knew that she was being silly, that Ezio had needed to show that he was willing to kill her if it was necessary, but Ambra saw him as her protector. He should have thought of something else. As Ambra went to sit down on her couch, Valentina came in carrying her clothes for the day, all freshly pressed. It didn't matter, as Ambra didn't seem to have anywhere to go, but she only had so much longer to wear the clothes that she liked.
"Francesco is gone, my lady," Valentina reminded her. "Would you like me to open the window so that Messer Auditore knows that he may enter?"
"No," Ambra answered flippantly. "I'm angry with him."
"What for?" Valentina answered.
"For giving me this," Ambra answered as she pointed to her chest.
"It seemed that it might have been necessary at the time," Valentina said to her mistress as she went about the room tidying things up. "What was he doing here, anyway? That was extremely reckless."
"I don't know," Ambra answered with a shrug. "I certainly did not tell him to come. And the party was going so well, too."
"It was a great success until the little mishap," Valentina agreed. "But you will be happy to know that the blood made no lasting damaged. Ezio was nice enough to kill them on the marble instead of the carpet. It was easy to clean."
"Oh, well thank heavens for small mercies, hm?" Ambra replied sarcastically.
"There will be other parties, Signora," Valentina assured her mistress, annoyed that she was so upset over something so silly. Ambra did not know what it was to have true worry, it seemed. This spoiled little girl from the countryside knew nothing of life. She stayed shut up in her palace all day, just waiting for her lover to come in through her window. Valentina doubted that she had ever worked a single day in her life.
Ambra, of course, could not be bothered with what her maid was thinking. Now her thoughts had turned to her sister. Allegra was in danger because of her, and Ambra was going to have to do something about it. She was sure that Grimaldi would be expecting some sort of rescue attempt. Doubtless sending Ezio into one would be as good as sending him into a trap. No, she was going to have to be a little subtler with this issue.
"Help me get dressed, Valentina," Ambra ordered as she stood up. "We're going to be paying the Grimaldis a visit."
)o()o()o()o()o(
Ezio stared at Ambra's window, waiting for the moment that she would throw it open. He was eager to talk to her, to once again apologize for last night. After all, if he could have been more discreet, there would have been no need for bloodshed, as minor as it was.
However, the window stayed firmly closed, and Ezio was starting to become anxious. He knew that Francesco was gone. He had seen him leave an hour earlier. He hadn't been waiting for an hour, of course. He had done a few other things and then come back, expecting Ambra to be ready to receive him, but she wasn't.
"What is going on …" he murmured beneath his breath. His question was partially answered a few minutes later when he watched Ambra walk out of the door, accompanied by only her maid. Obviously, Francesco had the carriage, and clearly Ambra was ready to walk. To where, he had no idea, but he was intent on finding out.
After insisting that the guards need not accompany her, that she would be fine with just her maid, she set off to the right.
"What are you doing, Ambra?" Ezio asked himself as he kept her within his sights, but remained distant. She rarely went anywhere without a real escort, as she didn't know her way around the city. He assumed that Valentina might, but Ezio doubted the maid's ability to defend herself in a fight, let alone Ambra. Vaguely, Ezio considered the possibility that he was being slightly overprotective. Worrying about Ambra certainly dominated his time.
However, he dismissed that notion as he began to follow her. Anyone who wanted to criticize his anxiety for the mother of his child could either get over it or … as a matter of fact, that was the only option.
)o()o()o()o()o(
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Madonna?" Valentina asked as she and Ambra stood at the door of the Grimaldi palazzo. "I feel like it might be unwise to walk straight into the house of a man who probably means you physical harm. Alone."
"I'm not alone," Ambra reminded her maid. "You are here." Valentina sighed audibly as the door opened to reveal one of the Grimaldi's servants. Clearly he recognized Ambra, for he looked extremely surprised to see her.
"Signora DeLuca …" he trailed off. "I – can I help you?"
"I was hoping that your master might be home," she answered.
"He has been gone since early morning," the servant answered. "He did not specify when he would be returning. However, my mistress is available, if you think that she might be able to help you."
"No," Ambra answered quickly. The last thing she wanted to do was speak with Elettra Grimaldi. "No, I don't think that she could help me. Could I possibly leave a card so that your master knows that I was asking after him."
"Of course," he answered as he led Ambra to the corner of the entrance hall, where a silver plate full of blank sat. Ambra left her name and the time that she called on a card and gave it to the butler. "Grazie." The servant nodded as he led Ambra and Valentina back to the door.
As he closed the door behind them, he shook his head. Obviously, the woman was crazy. The entire staff was aware of what had passed between Ambra and Adamo Grimaldi. The last thing any of them would have expected was for her to show up there. Accompanied by only her maid, no less.
"She must have a death wish …"
)o()o()o()o()o(
While her sister was wandering around in the high-rent district, Allegra Conti was pacing back and forth in the small room in which she had resided few days. Adamo Grimaldi had told her that he would be there at some point in the day, and she was becoming anxious. She was very much aware of the situation in the world outside her. If Adamo had followed through on his promises, Ambra would now know that Allegra was in the city.
Obviously, Allegra could not be positive about how her sister might react, but she hoped that she would react as a sister should. Otherwise …
Allegra was snapped by her reverie by the sound of the locks on the door tumbling. She stood up and straightend out her dress as she faced the door. When Adamo Grimaldi entered the room, he was greeted with the sight of Allegra Conti standing straight, dressed well in blue silk, her green eyes staring directly at him. She didn't look much like her sister. No, only the eyes were an echo of the woman who was giving him such problems lately. Allegra's face was completely without freckles, and her hair was a respectable dirty blonde.
"I hope that your new accommodations are to your liking," Adamo said as he looked around the room.
"They're certainly more comfortable than my cabin on the ship," Allegra told him as she stepped towards him. "I don't know why you made me take a boat the entire way. It would have been much better if I had traveled by carriage."
"It was the quickest way to get you here," Adamo answered as Allegra stepped into his embrace, surprising Adamo slightly. He did not put his arms around her, but rather he put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm's length.
"Then I guess I can forgive you," Allegra purred. "After all, I have been waiting for months for you to send for me. I was beginning go think that you had forgotten me, or that you were starting to prefer Ambra."
"Believe me, that will never happen," Adamo assured Allegra. "Your sister has given me more headaches than I like to admit."
"She always was a little stubborn," Allegra responded as she sat down on her bed. "I guess that she has been giving you problems? I would not know because you don't keep me updated on anything. I can't tell you how many days I eagerly awaited the post hoping to get a letter from you."
"Well, Ambra has kept me very busy," Adamo answered as he walked over to the window at the side of the room and looked down at the street. He could see his men waiting by the doors of the inn in which he had paid for a room for Allegra to live during her stay in Venice. "Of course, it doesn't help that the information you gave me did not help at all."
"What do you mean?" Allegra inquired, her heartbeat quickening a few beats.
"I mean," Adamo began, frustrated, "that your sister has had very little contact with Auditore since she got here, and whatever contact that was obviously didn't mean much, for he held her at knife point last night in front of a room full of people." Allegra's eyes widened to the point where Adamo thought that they might have fallen out of her head. Once more, he sighed.
"Well, how was I supposed to know what would happen once she got here?" Allegra inquired. "I only told you that they had a past, and that if he knew she was in Venice, he might be inclined to rekindle an old flame."
"Yes, and all of the effort has come to nothing, it seems," Adamo snapped at Allegra, causing the girl to flinch. "I finally told her that I have been holding you hostage because I had no other options, only then did she say that she would even try to seek Auditore out." It was clear that Adamo was becoming very angry. "When I came to Monteriggioni looking for something to hold over the assassin's head, I thought that I had found everything I needed when you told me about your sister. But of course, your family has only been the cause of headaches."
"I gave you no guarantees!" Allegra exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, woman," Adamo spat as he crossed the room in one stride and loomed over her. "You will not speak to me that way." Allegra back up a little and then turned her back on him and walked over to her bed.
"I'm sorry," she answered. "I'm just … upset that I wasn't able to help you in the way that I thought I could."
"Yes, well, hopefully all hope is not lost and you can be of some use to me," he muttered. "Your sister knows that you are in Venezia. Doubtless, she is going to ask for proof of your safety and well-being. She is not like you, it seems. She appears to actually care for her family."
"Of course she does," Allegra scoffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "As soon as she was married, she forgot all about us. Of course she threw money our way every once in a while, but if I saw her once every two months it was a lot."
"Yes, well, you are going to be seeing her again soon, I am sure," Adamo told her as he approached her and stroked her cheek softly. "And you're going to have to be very convincing."
"I will say and do whatever you want me to," Allegra assured him as she looked up into his eyes. "Anything."
"Good," Adamo said, his mouth curling into an evil smile as he used the hand that had been softly stroking her skin to deliver a hard smack across her face. "We'll get started, then."
)o()o()o()o()o(
"If you don't mind my asking, Madonna," Valentina began, "what were you planning on doing once you had gotten an audience with Signor Grimaldi?"
"You know, Valentina," Ambra answered, "I hadn't really thought about that. I never really think that far ahead. I was hoping to ask him about my sister. He is apparently holding her hostage. But, who knows what turns the conversation would have taken? Adamo is not very predictable. He seems to always have an Ace in his hand. I find that having a plan where he is concerned is often futile."
"So you were just going to walk into the house of a man who tried to rape you and … make it up as you went along?"
"Yes, Valentina. My, you can be rather slow sometimes …"
"Well, where are we going now?" Valentina inquired. Ambra stood in the street and looked in all directions. Naturally, she didn't have much of an idea of where she was, nor did she have any idea where she was going. She doubted that Adamo would keep Allegra in his house. That would be too easy. Ezio would be able to get into it very easily. No, he would be hiding her somewhere. If only she had gotten there sooner, she would have been able to follow him to wherever he was keeping her.
Ambra was doing her best to hide her anxiety over her little sister, but it was getting harder and harder. She had an idea of what the man was capable of, and her guilt over the fact that she had just exposed her sister to his cruelty was almost too much to bear.
"I wish that you would tell me what you're thinking as you're thinking it," Valentina told her. "It would make this a lot less stressful."
"I don't know what I am thinking," Ambra answered. "I don't know what to do next. I have no idea where we should start looking."
"Well, I know that you do not want to talk to him," Valentina began, "but I bet that Ezio would have some idea." Ambra narrowed her eyes at her maid, who did not back down. "I'm serious. He knows the city, he knows its underground. He could help you and would jump at the chance to do so."
"You talk about him as if I don't know him very intimately," Ambra stated. "Of course Ezio will be willing to help, but as soon as he gets involved, he will want to rescue her, and as soon as he does that, Adamo is going to know that I am in league with him. If I do this myself, it will look more like I am operating alone."
"You could always just tell Ezio about this plan," Valentina told her.
"The less he is involved, the better," Ambra told her.
"This is silly. You're just mad at him for scratching you. In all honesty, I think it was a great idea. What was he doing there anyway?"
"Angelo DeGregoio," Ambra answered. "He was there to kill him. I am not angry about his escape plan. In fact I think that it was wonderful. He managed to escape while diffusing any suspicion that we might be together. However, it was incredibly stupid of him to kill Angelo in my house. Don't you think his murder will arouse some questions?"
"Even if they do," Valentina began, "I doubt that they will have anything to do with you. Does anyone besides Ezio know of your interactions with Angelo?"
"I'm not sure," Ambra answered. "He could have told anyone. I imagine he told the other man that Ezio killed, otherwise he would probably still be alive."
"Well regardless of who he told," Valentina continued, "I doubt that you are helping matters by aimlessly wandering the streets. Who knows who is out here watching you? I think we should go home where it is safe." Ambra couldn't fault her maid's logic. Perhaps it had been foolish to go tearing into Grimaldi's house. What had she been hoping to accomplish, anyway?
"You're right …" Ambra finally admitted. "Let's go home." Valentina heaved a sigh of relief as the two women turned around and started to walk in the direction of the DeLuca palazzo. Ambra and Valentina had been walking for a few minutes when suddenly, Ambra was pulled roughly into an alleyway, her mouth covered by a strong, gloved hand. She struggled for a moment until she recognized the mechanism hiding on the wrist of her captor. Now, rather than try to attract attention, she rammed her foot down on Ezio's boot, hoping to get some sort of reaction, but he didn't even flinch.
"Compared to me, you are very small, dolcezza," Ezio reminded her. "If you want to do damage, you're going to need a weapon."
How's this for a weapon? Ambra thought to herself as she flicked her wrist down and turned her arm so that she could flail at Ezio's body. She made contact with something, and he hissed in pain but did not let go.
"That's more like it, amore mio," Ezio said as he finally released her. She reeled on him and fixed a glare upon his face, quickly scanning his body for any damage she might have caused. There was a small gash on his leg, but that was it. She sighed and looked at her cuff before allowing the blade to retreat into its hiding place. "Now, what do you think you are doing wandering the streets of Venezia with no one but a maid to protect you?"
"I would like to think that I can step out into broad daylight safely," Ambra answered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"If you were anyone but you, I would say that you could," Ezio told her. "As it is, there's probably a price for you somewhere. I'd just as soon not have to pay it. What do you think you're doing?"
"Have you been following me?" Ambra asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Ezio answered, "and honestly, I'm not sure what you were thinking going to the Grimaldi house. What did you think that you would accomplish?"
"The man has my sister, Ezio," Ambra reminded him. "I can't just sit in my house all day waiting for him to return her to me."
"Well," Ezio began, "as noble as that is, Ambra, he definitely isn't going to give up his bargaining chip. Even if he is keeping her in his house, which I doubt, he's not going to make it easy for you. I'll try and figure out where she is, but you know that I cannot rescue her, right Ambra? Not if we want to keep up this charade."
"I know," Ambra answered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest and hugged her elbows. "I just need to know that she's safe, Ezio. If any harm comes to her because of me …"
"Hush," Ezio cooed as he grabbed Ambra and pulled her into him. "I'm not going to let anything happen to your sister. I'll figure out where she is, all right? I don't want you to worry about it. I just want you to keep doing what you have been doing." He smiled. "How did your husband respond to Angelo's death?"
"I don't know," Ambra answered. "I didn't really talk to him about it. Last night we quarreled for a little after everything settled down."
"He didn't put his hands on you, did he?" Ezio inquired. Ambra shook her head.
"No, he wouldn't dare, now," she assured him. "He wants this baby very much." For the first time, Ezio really considered the fact that this baby would not be recognized as his, but Francesco's. Assuming, of course, that it didn't come out with dark hair and brown eyes. That would be a dead give away.
He waved the thought away. Ezio had about eight more months to deal with Francesco. With any luck, by the time Ambra had the baby, her husband would be dead.