The Family Auditore – Chapter 6 – Friendships and Storytelling
It was a week later when a cry was heard from Federico's room.
Federico and Luc, the manservant for the household, ran up the stairs and into the room. They were the only men there. Giovanni and Ezio were at the bank working and Petruccio was in his bed as he often was. The youngest member of the Auditore family was sickly and was never out of his bed for long. Maria was out somewhere and Claudia came from her room only to have Federico press her back as he drew a dagger.
They found Isabelle weeping loudly as she held the limp form of Honey, the stray she had taken in. Federico sheathed his dagger in his boot and sighed. He took a breath and looked down as he came to her. The beast had been very sickly though the girl had tried to nurse it.
It had finally succumbed. It was limp and the poor girl was fretting over it as though she were trying to get it to breathe once more.
Federico took a breath. She laid the small thing in the bed she had made for it and sobbed, her arms around herself. He nodded to the manservant to take the bed and corpse away as he knelt and hugged his wife.
"It is for the best, Isabelle. It was in pain and…"
"I could have made her better, but you made me put her on the floor to sleep where it was cold!" She practically screamed at him.
He was startled and watched her stand and move away from him. "Belle, mia Cara, she is dead. You cannot help that."
She whirled on him. "Leave me alone."
"But…"
"You never wanted her. You hated her. You…"
"She is in a better place now. Perhaps there is a heaven for dogs." He said spreading his hands. She was standing like a fighter. He had no idea why she was so angry, but the look in her eyes made his heart ache. Did she truly think the beast would have lived?
She picked up the turtle and carried him with her as she moved, tears nearly blinding her. He moved and stood before her. "Piccola, come, let me hold you. You need comfort." He said gently, but she was beyond reason.
"Go to hell." She hissed as she pushed passed him and went out of the door slamming it behind her.
Federico took a breath as he stood back a moment in shock. He had not liked the beast, it was true, but his wife had wanted to care for it, to mother it. Once it stayed out of his bed, he was fine with her nursing it, though the late night feedings got to him a bit. Still a minor inconvenience as such things were to him. The little puppy had stopped eating two days ago and Federico even admitted he would have given anything for it to live and see his wife happy, but it was not to be. It had been too sickly. He would get her a new puppy. One that was not a stray. One she could love, pamper, and have to keep her warm in the cooler months.
Isabelle ran down the hall and into a room. She had no idea where, but she went in and found a quiet corner and sobbed as she held herself.
Petruccio was reading in bed. He was startled when he saw the woman come into his bedroom. She was crying so hard she did not see him. He watched unsure how to help her as she dropped into the corner, hitting the wall with her small fist and holding herself as she cried.
When she started to calm, he looked down at her gently. He moved out of bed. He had never seen her before. Was she a new maid? He had not been allowed out of his room for some months. He dropped to his knees, his body weak from weeks of bed rest combatting the malady that affected him.
She heard him and looked up startled. "Who are you?"
"Petruccio." He smiled. "Are you an angel?"
"What?" She asked.
"Did you fall from heaven and that is why you are sad?"
She looked at the sickly boy and cocked her head. "You are Federico's youngest brother."
"Yes." He smiled. "But who are you? You look like an angel."
She smiled and laughed a little. She wiped her eyes. "I'm Isabelle."
"What is that?" He asked.
She looked. "Oh. He is my turtle. Ezio brought him for me."
"Can I touch him?"
"Sure." She said lifting for the younger boy. "He loves lettuce."
The boy smiled.
ZzZ
After an hour Isabelle had calmed down enough she could talk. Petruccio was a gentle soul and he spoke softly with her. She was calm and he gently spoke with her. After an hour, however, he began to tire and she helped him back into bed.
She then started to read to him from a book on his shelf. It was a copy the legend of Faust. The translation was not as good as the original her Hessian nursemaid used to tell her, but it would do. The boy listened intently as she read.
She was framed in sunlight from the window behind her. It had been a long time since anyone other than his parents and his nursemaid had come to visit. He liked her. She treated him like a person not as a kid who was more often sick than better.
Petruccio's nursemaid walked in with his meal of hot soup, yeasty bread, butter, and a small mug of beer.
Isabelle rose to her feet.
"Do you want some?" Petruccio asked. "I never finish it all."
"No. You eat what you can, little brother." She said. She went to him and kissed his brow.
He took her hand. "Come back and finish the story."
"I will." She promised.
She looked up and saw her husband leaning against the doorframe. She closed her eyes and steeled herself for a lecture. Petruccio smiled. "All sorts of visitors." He smiled. "Hello, Federico."
"Hello, baby brother." He greeted unfolding his arms from his chest. "I see you have met Isabelle." He watched her retrieve her turtle from where he had been moving toward a darker corner.
"She is an angel brother. She read to me. How long will she stay with us?"
"A long time, I hope." Federico said looking at her as she rose.
"Who is she?"
Federico smiled. "My wife."
"You were married? And no one told me?"
Federico came forward and lifted a hand. "You were very ill little brother. But now you have someone to play nursemaid." He nodded to his wife. "Now finish your dinner. She can return tomorrow."
"Goodbye, Petruccio." Isabelle said.
"Addio Bella Angelo!" Petruccio said.
Federico held the door open as Isabelle walked out. He shut the door behind him and regarded his wife and lover as she stood in the hallway. She moved to the railing to look down at the family entry hall below her.
"Isabelle." He said gently.
She ignored him until his hand gently found her shoulders. She jumped a little, but then turned in his embrace. Federico was a handsome young man, taller than his father and even Ezio. He stooped a little and kissed her gently. She did not react at first, but as he deepened the kiss she let out a muffled sound. Her hands went to his shoulders.
"I…" she whispered.
"I know, Cara." He whispered. He continued to kiss her, his hands moving into her hair and around her back.
He led her back to their room and smiled at her. She put down the turtle and looked about. "Where…"
"Honey will be buried in the flower garden, my love." He said gently. He spread his hands trying not to anger her any more.
She nodded. "Thank you." She said in a small voice.
She turned away and moved to the window. The window opened to a Venetian style balcony. She looked out over the city. Tears rolled down her cheeks softly. Her husband came to her. His arms wrapped about her middle and gently he held her. She turned in his embrace and pressed her face to the opening of his shirt. She wept and he held her to him.
He sighed realizing how much he had matured in the recent time. A woman in tears would have, before his marriage, caused him to try to avoid the situation. Women were unpredictable and sobbing often gave him a sense of loss. Now, as a married man, all he wanted to do was hold, protect, and kiss the tears away from his beloved wife.
He could admit that now. He loved her. Dearly.
She was no longer an object his father had brought him and forced him to marry and beautiful he took her happily to bed with him, she was now his wife, his beloved wife, and he sighed. He was maturing. He had once put his desires above all else. Now, he was a husband and his wife's happiness was more of priority than his own.
Tenderly his kissed her brow. "Hush, Belle." He cooed after a few moments of holding and rocking her.
Her face lifted and he bent his face to her and nuzzled her. His lips kissed her puffy cheeks and eyelids. She made a small sound. Like a whimper. He then bent and lifted her in his arms, on arm under her legs and the other around her back. She looked at him startled as he carried her away from the window. She weighed less than he expected and he smiled as he sat her on their bed.
She looked up at him and sighed. He went to a basin and gently wetted a cloth. He wrung it out and smiled at her gently. "Lie down, Cara." He said gently.
She laid on her pillow and looked up at him as he sat down beside her. The bed sank under his weight, but he gently folded the cloth and laid it across her puffy eyes. She took a shaky breath and almost instantly relaxed a little. He smiled as he gently lifted a hand touched her cheeks softly. He then shifted and her hand moved and caught his sleeve.
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips. "I am not going anywhere, sweetheart."
She nodded as he let her hand drop to his leg so she could feel him as he reached down and pulled off her slippers on her feet. He placed them by the bedside and removed his own before turning to her gently. He shifted over her to his side of the bed and laid down beside her. He kissed her shoulder and draped an arm over her midriff, just below her ample bosom.
They stayed like that for some time. She fell asleep. He had felt her breaths become more even and slower. It was good she rested. He dared not move lest he wake her. He kept himself at her side. He had kept watch over her, listening and feeling her breathe. She had been overwrought. He sighed his hand only moving slightly to lightly caress her in a feather-light touch once in a while.
Dusk came and the sunlight was rapidly disappearing. Tenderly, he bent his head to her cheek. He kissed her, allowing his stubble to gently scratch her face as he moved to her lips. She woke and stiffened a little before he moved closer, his body pressed to hers, letting her feel his warmth and love.
She lifted the cool mask away and looked to the window then her husband. "How long have I slept?"
"A couple of hours. Be easy. They will call us for dinner soon." He said looking down at her, his face within inches of her own. He pressed a kiss to her again. "Are you better? Your face is not as puffy."
She sighed. "I…"
He nodded and nuzzled her tenderly before kissing her nose. He sat up and she sighed as his warmth left her. He pulled on his boots and then helped her sit up. Gently he got off the bed and knelt before her. He gently lifted her skirts to her knees so he could put her small slippers back on her small feet. Her feet were cool again.
They walked downstairs together and went to the dinner table as the others gathered. The family ate together. Federico gently held her hand under the table when he was not using it, letting her know she was there to comfort her.
After dinner he took her to their rooms. They played a chess match, a game she was still learning. Federico was gentle with her and showed her how to play so she could keep up with him and Ezio. She was learning fast and he admired how long she lasted on their second round.
After when she pouted looking at the board trying to reason how she had last, he rose and went to her. He gently caressed her neck and after a few moments her eyes closed and she could no longer think of the chessboard before her. All she could think about was her husband's fingers caressing her scalp tenderly to relax away the tension there. God knew where he had learned that, but he was good at it.
He bent his head and began to kiss her neck and before long she was in his arms, soft, yielding, and wanting. He made quick work of her dress. Her face was still somewhat puffy from all the tears she had shed, but he kissed her cheeks anyway. He lowered her to the bed and blew out the candles around the room before returning to her.
She found his lips on her collarbone and she sighed allowing him to do as he willed. When they both finally succumbed to the plateau that awaited them, they both held each other close, listening to the other breathe and pant.
"I love you." Federico told her softly.
"I love you too." She answered him as she looked up into his eyes as he held her.
ZzZ
Three days later, Isabelle had finished with her daily promise to see Petruccio every day. He loved her reading to him and speaking to him. The young boy was only twelve, but had a curious mind. He offered to watch Isabelle's turtle for her so she could go about her other daily activities. She accepted. He needed a friend.
Claudia eagerly came up to Isabelle as the elder girl was shutting the door to Petruccio's room. "Isabelle!" She said urgently.
"What is it?" Isabelle asked turning to her.
"I have met someone."
"Oh?"
The girl smiled. "He is handsome and charming. He is coming to the market. Come with me sister."
"What is his name?"
"Duccio de Luca."
Isabelle sighed and then nodded. "All right. I will come with you."
Claudia giggled gleefully.
The pair walked out and went around the market. Claudia then pulled up short and nodded to a rather handsome young man standing by a stall sniffing something in a bottle. Isabelle looked at his blonde hair and as he turned she noted his face.
Ezio and Federico were far more handsome, but Duccio certainly was not hard to look at. Isabelle giggled a little as Claudia whispered to her.
Duccio came to them. "Oh, what beauty stands before me?" He said. He smiled and bowed. "The women of the Auditore household made one want to weep."
Both women laughed softly and he took the hands of each and kissed their knuckles. "Claudia, who is this lovely woman?"
"My sister-in-law, Isabelle."
"What family do you come from?"
"De' Medici." She said without flinching. She had grown accustomed to the name and used it often when asked. After all, all her paperwork said she was Lorenzo's orphaned cousin.
His eyebrows lifted. "I am thrilled to know not all of that family are pox ridden sons of whores."
Claudia gasped and slapped him in the chest. "Duccio!"
"It is true. She is definitely too beautiful for them, but I can see why you married into the Auditore." He bowed. "I must take my leave." He bent and kissed Claudia gently. "Until later, my sweet."
Claudia watched after him clearly smitten. Isabelle stepped before her laughing as she waved her hand before her face. They both laughed and returned home to the palazzo.
ZzZ
It was a week later when Duccio came with his father.
Claudia and Isabelle stood together in the background as the men spoke. Giovanni agreed to an engagement and they agreed on a dowry price. Claudia would become Duccio's wife when she turned sixteen.
The girl was so giddy.
Isabelle went upstairs to see what her husband was up to. He was in their room reading. He looked up upon seeing her and smiled as she came to him.
"Claudia is engaged."
"So soon? She is barely fourteen."
"Father will let her marry in two years."
He nodded. "That is fair enough." He set his book down and patted his lap. She sat down and looked at him. "What do you think of him?"
"Duccio is charming, but there is something about him. He has a feel to him. It is hard to describe."
He shrugged. "Many teenage boys I am sure have that feel."
"You didn't."
"I am not sure if I am relieved or insulted, wife."
She laughed and leaned down to kiss him before rising to her feet.
"Where are you going?" He asked taking her hand.
"I need to visit little brother. He has been lonely."
"I know. Just do not over tire him."
She gave him a look. "I know what I am doing. It is a nice day. I was thinking to have him go to the balcony and get some sun."
"Not too much. He is paler than the rest of us."
She nodded. "An hour at most."
He smiled and rose to his feet. "I will help you. I have heard his legs have been not working well."
"It is because no one lets him use them."
"I will let him walk if he wishes, but I do not want either of you to be hurt."
She nodded and allowed him to follow her. She peaked into Claudia's room and saw her hard at work on a love letter to Duccio. She smiled and then continued to Petruccio's rooms with Federico behind her. It was slow going, but they got Federico's youngest sibling out into a chair outside. A lovely breeze made the air move.
Federico stayed nearby as Isabelle read t the younger boy who listened to her words intently.
Federico smiled.
Another Auditore under her spell.