Throughout the night, Claudia was at her Uncle's bedside, holding his cold hands and rubbing warmth into them. The Dottore had come and administered medicine and then assured her that her Uncle was going to recover despite her fears. Claudia had barely listened to anything.
She was just so relieved to know that her Uncle was going to survive. He was still unconscious, but his breathing had returned to normal by the next night and she was finally able to sleep.
"You should get some rest." The Dottore told her two nights later.
"I am sleeping." Claudia said, though her sleep pattern was sporadic and she had slept a total of four hours in those two days.
"You can leave his bedside." The Dottore told her. "In your condition…."
"Shhh." Claudia put a finger on her lips.
The Dottore nodded.
"I will feel better when he is." Claudia assured him.
"Take care of yourself." He said, and picking up his bag of ointments and vials, left the room.
As soon as the door was closed, Claudia sat by her Uncle's bedside again and took his hand in hers again.
"Please get better soon." She said thoughtfully. "I need you to be there for me." Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffed. "You and Madre are all the family I have. Please wake up."
But her Uncle didn't and she had cried softly then. The hours passed slowly and she had fallen asleep in her chair when a thumping sound awoke her. She blinked in the darkness and reached for another candle on the bedside table, when she decided not to. Her Uncle didn't need the light in his current condition and she had no desire for it either.
But she could use a little water. She felt for the pitcher in the darkness and then poured some water into the glass and drank it all. The water felt good as it ran down her throat and cooled her stomach. She hadn't eaten much in the past few days either.
She put the glass and pitcher down and was reaching for her cushion when she heard the thumping noise again. It hadn't been a dream. She got up and was certain she had heard La Volpe's voice. Claudia groaned. Now what was he up to?
She decided it was better to just ignore him for a few days until her Uncle was better. Then she would deal with him, and her Assassin duties and the yet another stain on Machiavelli's image.
It was his signature. Her mind kept repeating the words but once again her heart deflected those terrible thoughts and words. Yes it was his signature, but the motive couldn't be his. Machiavelli was simply not capable of this.
It was his signature. A voice in her head continued to nag these words as if saying it in a closing argument. She had none to counter this.
She picked up the pitcher again to drink water when she realized it was almost empty. She would have to refill this again in case her Uncle got up and asked for it.
She walked over to the door and put her hand on the handle and turned. Instead of opening, the door made a clicking sound and refused to open.
Claudia frowned and wrestled with the door handle, but the door wouldn't budge. It was locked from the outside. But why? And who had done this?
She put down the pitcher on the side table and then pushed open the windows. The cool night air brushed her face and she instantly felt revitalized as the threads of her tiredness disappeared. Very carefully, she slung her leg over the edge and then the other, until she was on the rooftop. Her boots made a clacking sound as it walked over the tiles and she paused for a second before continuing down more softly.
With a hand on her concealed dagger, she jumped down and landed easily on her feet. She walked over to the front door and gently pushed it open. Inside, it was dark with only a lone candle in the meeting room throwing its illumination.
She held her breath as she heard muffled voices. They belonged to La Volpe and she recognized the other as her Mother's.
What was going on?
Her hands no longer clutched at the weapon concealed within the folds of her pale pink gown but now grasping the lace on her bodice.
She peeked in and saw her Mother and La Volpe in the corner of the room and standing by the small table where cups of tea were laid out.
"My spies tell me he'll be attending a play. We'll get him then." La Volpe said in a low tone.
Claudia blinked. Why wasn't she called for this meeting? Clearly it had something to do with her next assassination target.
"Molto bene allora." Her Mother said. "The time has come for all of this to end."
Claudia started to step into the room, when La Volpe spoke. "Claudia will not be an obstruction?"
"She doesn't need to know." Her Mother's voice sounded quiet and strange, as if she were passing a death sentence. And she was! Claudia felt her heart skip a beat and put her hand on her mouth to muffle her gasp. No it couldn't be! They couldn't be talking about Machiavelli.
"If she finds out…"
"She won't!" Her Mother said decisively. "I've locked the room, so she will not hear about what is going on. I'll keep her distracted tomorrow while you do what must be done. I cannot allow that traitor to hurt my family anymore."
Claudia slinked back, feeling as if suddenly she was alone in the cold darkness and having the last of her breath being strangled out from her.
She kept stepping back until her back hit the door and then she turned to push it.
"Machiavelli dies tomorrow." La Volpe said grimly. "I'll kill him myself!"
Claudia rushed out and stopped herself from falling down to her knees. She started to run then, not aware of what she was doing or where she was going. In her haste, she bumped into a group of men and women and vaguely heard them hurl curses at her.
She kept running, her eyes blurring with tears until she eventually collapsed on the bridge and sobbed out loud.
"Stai bene?" A woman asked.
"She's probably crazy." Her husband told her and dragged the woman away. Claudia tried really hard to get her tears under control and look for Machiavelli, but in her heart she knew her search would be futile. Machiavelli knew how to hide and she was unaware of his hiding places.
If only he had trusted her to reveal his secrets to her, but now when she needed to see him the most and warn him, he was gone.
"Why?" she cried out. "Why?"
She clutched her chest and sobbed, not understanding why Machiavelli had to be so secretive and why he didn't trust her and why he was now going to be killed.
"Where do I find you?" she sobbed.
"Signora? Are you alright?" It was a city guard and Claudia wiped her face, and stared at him. "You should go home now."
Claudia got up and started to walk away, only for her to stagger. Her legs felt heavy and her heart felt heavier. She didn't know where she would go; all she knew was that she wasn't going back to the Hideout. She would roam the whole city of Roma to look for Machiavelli, even if it took every bit of energy and every single breath from her.
She had reached yet another bridge, when her legs cramped and she fell on the ground. A sob escaped her throat and she bit down on it and looked up at the sky, praying for strength and feeling only weaker.
"Are you hurt?" a woman asked.
Claudia looked up and saw a woman wearing a heavy brown cloak with hood, peering down at her. The woman let out a gasp and then pulled down the hood to reveal dark wavy hair tied back with a jeweled clip and doleful brown eyes. Her small mouth was open in surprise and Claudia finally remembered who she was.
"Claudia?" The woman was none other than Marietta, the woman who had taken her husband away from her.
Claudia put up one hand on the ledge and pulled herself up. She wanted nothing more than to just walk away from this woman, but she was the only person who would know where Machiavelli was.
"Marietta." Claudia said, wiping her face and smoothing her dress. "I need your aid."
"Of course." Marietta said. "But let me take you home."
"I need to see him." Claudia said. "I have to warn him."
Marietta narrowed her eyes, as if not understanding. Just then a guard walked towards them and Marietta pulled the hood back over her head. "Seguimi." she whispered and started to walk away.
Claudia followed her to a small house at the end of the street and walked inside, hoping to see Machiavelli inside. Instead, she found the small dingy house to be empty. Apart from a table and a small bed, the rest of the house was in shambles.
Clothes stuck out from a closed trunk and crumbs of food littered the floor. There were no books and no paper or pens anywhere. She couldn't imagine Machiavelli without those implements around him. But then what did she really know about him?
Marietta tossed her cloak on the bed and walked towards the windows to draw a coarse linen cloth over that served as curtains.
"Let me get you some tea." Marietta offered. "You look cold."
"I need to see him." Claudia said. "It is very important that I see Machiavelli."
Marietta frowned and poured the tea into two cups. Putting both of them on the table, she continued to look thoughtful. "I'm afraid I have no idea where he is at the moment." She said. "He used to do his Assassin work here, but I haven't seen him quite some time."
Claudia looked down at the cup of tea and picked it up, only to put it down again. Even though her mouth and throat felt dry, the thought of putting anything in her mouth, made her nauseous.
"How can you not know where he is?" She screamed.
Marietta stepped back in fear. "I-I haven't seen him since some months ago." She replied.
"I know about you and Niccolò, so you needn't feel the need to lie to me!"
Marietta gasped. "He told you? He promised he wouldn't. But then you are his wife, so I suppose he didn't have to hide from you." She was babbling now and Claudia started to get angrier.
"I've not come here to discuss your affair with him." She snapped. "There is more…"
"Wait!" Marietta said. "My affair? With Niccolò?"
"Si. I know." Claudia said quietly.
"I am not having an affair with him!" Marietta said in disbelief.
Claudia gripped the top of a chair with both hands, trying to steady herself. "I saw you both." She said through gritted teeth. "I saw you both kissing."
"Oh no!" Marietta looked aghast and then Claudia saw her cheeks color. "You saw that?"
Claudia nodded quietly.
"Claudia, it is not what it looks like." Marietta said.
"This doesn't matter anymore." Claudia said and felt her lips trembling. "Our marriage is over. But what I've come here for is his safety. Something is about to happen and I need to warn him. His life is in danger."
It seemed that Marietta had only heard the first part of her conversation for she gasped loudly. "Oh dear! Oh no! Did you break your marriage because of that kiss?" Marietta put her hands on her face. "What have I done?"
Then she looked at her angrily. "What the hell have you done?"
