The Second Installment
Rodolpho and Silvia were waiting tensely at window, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the young couple without seeming overly obtrusive. It was virtually impossible.
"My dear, you must try to calm down," the man ordered his wife. "I trust them not to do anything stupid, and her guard is out there somewh–" He gripped her arm.
"Oh, Goddess, there they are! And...Arianna...what is that? She looks like a bandit!"
"An angelic, beautiful bandit, mind you." Silvia remarked in as careless a tone as she could muster. "A bandit in nuptial white."
Rodolpho's face was white with strain. There were too many "ifs" in this situation. He hoped for all their sakes the rendezvous had gone less oddly than it seemed from the window niche.
Silvia caught herself biting her lower lip, a habit she'd long since broken. "Should she have said yes? She does love him, doesn't she, but still, I'm not sure. I – Rodolpho, for once, I'm not even sure what I want for her."
"My dear, he is a stravagante, and she is the Duchessa of Bellezza. They are enamored of each other, and for your purposes, it's as powerful alliance as ever there was."
"Mm," Silvia agreed, but looked away. "But how powerful is he? Stravagating has become difficult for him, or so I hear."
"Dottore Crinamorte and I are hard at work in the matter of his training."
"Yes, yes. I know, and I am quite fond of Luciano. But he will have to prove himself – the Dukes of Bellezza have been few and far between, but they have all been redoubtable figures."
Rodolpho didn't continue the argument, but he was not at all content by his wife's change of heart. Ah, he thought, let her be. After all, she's only had her daughter for two years. It's not surprising she wants to keep her for herself.
oooooo section break oooooo
Arianna's spirits were high again as Luciano, firmly holding her hand, held open the wooden door and drew her inside the warm dining hall of the inn. She broke out into a smile, but noticed Luciano staring concernedly at her mother. As soon as all the eyes of their party were upon her, and hardly able to contain herself, she cleared her voice and began.
"Father, Silvia," she struggled to keep a hint of composure to hinder herself from gushing, "I would like to announce that Luciano and I are engaged to be married."
Rodolpho was first to react. To Arianna, he looked slightly dumbstruck, but altogether quite delighted.
"And we heartily approve, do we not, my dear?" Rodolpho turned and gave her mother a significant look.
Silvia seemed on the verge of saying something else, but caught herself and replied (in as warm a tone as she could muster), "Of course we do. Yes, we're thrilled."
Back in Torrone, her relatives would have fallen on her with hugs and kisses, inquiring about the date, the dress, and how it had happened, proudly boasting how long they had known he was bound to ask any time now...but here, although her father seemed approving enough, clapping his future son-in-law and ex-apprentice on the back, her mother looked cold and distressed. Arianna recognized from experience the distinct look of wanting to be somewhere else, but being obligated by courtesy to remain. To her rising anger, she could see nothing but that expression spreading and deepening on Silvia's countenance. Determined not to let her mother ruin this wonderful night, she decidedly ignored the ex-Duchessa and instead turned to stare up at Luciano.
"Well, Luciano, how long do we have before you must get back into the cart? We're still in the outskirts of Giglia, you know."
Suddenly, the engagement stress was put off and Rodolpho offered to help re-pack Luciano with the statue of Arianna. "After the next stop, you can ride with us," he reassured the boy as the cart prepared to leave. "And, Luciano–"
"Yes?"
"Congratulations. And thank you."
Franco cracked his whip and rode off into the darkness.