Chapter Seven
Confronted by Basta, Dafne could only think to evade his question. She tried to sound casual as she answered him,
"Resa, what do you want with her?"
Her response only agitated him further. He closed in on her but to her relief, his knife was nowhere to be seen.
"You should know!" Basta hissed, "You follow her around like a duckling. You know what's she done."
Nearby, Vannetta was starring at him in wide-eyed fear. But Basta's attention was fixed on Dafne.
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," she said.
"Don't play games with me," he seethed and grabbed her by the front of her dress.
Vannetta let out a small scream. Go find someone, Dafne willed the girl with her mind, go get Mortola, anyone. She winced as Basta's fingers clenched through the cotton into her flesh. His face was so close to hers, anger etched on his sharp, lean features.
"Someone left a snake on my doorstep," he told her and as he spoke, the smell of peppermint flooded her nostrils, "And I know Resa is the one behind it."
"How do you know?" Dafne gasped, grimacing through the pain.
Basta gave a short derisive laugh, "Oh it was Resa alright. The snake was in a washing basket."
Dafne tried not to betray anything in her face, "That doesn't mean it was her. It could have been any of the maids…"
"None with Resa's hair," Basta snarled triumphantly, "I found a few blonde strands on the basket. Besides I knew it was her, she's the only one that would have had the courage to do it."
Dafne's heart sank. Basta was assured in his belief that Resa was the culprit and there was no way she could convince him otherwise. Not when he had evidence. What could she do? There was no way she was giving up Resa's whereabouts to him. Her expression must have revealed her indecision as he said,
"Tell me where she is, little mouse," his tone was wheedling, "Resa might be brave but I'm not so sure about you. You don't want me to hurt you."
No! Dafne thought, no, I can't give in to him! She couldn't cling to self-protection like a life jacket, not when Resa was at risk of being harmed if she did. She knew that Resa would have done the same thing in her place.
She looked Basta straight in the eye,
"You're already hurting me!" She yelled at him, "I'm not telling you anything!"
She began struggling and Basta let out a cry of frustration, tightening his grip,
"You stupid girl! Why are you doing this? I'm only going to give Resa what she deserves. Why put yourself in danger?"
"Because Resa deserves to be left alone," Dafne said through gritted teeth, "She only did it so you would stop harassing her. Can't you see that?"
Her words stung him because he pushed her away from him like an offending insect. The force caused her to fall over. She glared up at him. Breathing heavily, Basta's hand hovered at his hip. He's going to bring out his knife, Dafne thought fearfully. But then he seemed to compose himself and turned to Vannetta instead. The girl was still rooted to the spot.
Silly girl. She should have run when she had the chance.
"I guess I'll just have to ask someone else," Basta said agreeably as if his assault on Dafne had never occurred, "Here girl, do you know where Resa is?"
Vannetta withered under his gaze.
"Stay away from her!" Dafne cried out, scrambling to her feet.
Basta looked over his shoulder, smiling,
"You know what I want. Give it to me and I'll leave the little one alone," His hand strayed deliberately to his waist again, "Otherwise I'll just have to tickle it out of her."
Dafne had been prepared to put herself in the line of fire but she couldn't in good conscience endanger Vannetta's life as well. Basta had anticipated this and that was why he was using her as leverage. She looked anxiously at the frightened girl, angry and ashamed that he could manipulate her so easily,
"Don't hurt her," she said, relenting, "Resa's in the laundry room."
Basta looked pleased.
"Good girl," he muttered and he pushed past Vannetta on his way to the backdoor. Dafne immediately went over to her.
"Are you alright?" She asked. Vannetta nodded shakily. "Stay here," Dafne told her before dashing after Basta who had already gone inside.
She called out his name as she went, hoping to intercept him before he reached his destination. But even if she managed to catch up, she was physically incapable of overpowering him. It was like pursuing a hungry tiger stalking it's next meal. She could seek out Mortola but the old woman was more likely to punish Resa for provoking Basta in the first place. Dafne remembered how she had seemed relish Resa's last misfortunate encounter with Basta.
No, she was alone in this.
She rounded a corner and caught sight of Basta going into the laundry room.
"Basta!" She yelled. It's too late, too late… Dafne hurled into the room.
"Hello Resa," Basta was saying, his voice quiet with menace. Resa glared him from across the room. She was standing next to an ironing board. An upturned iron was sitting on its surface and Dafne could see the steam rising from it. "You probably thought it was a clever trick what you did to me."
He took a threatening step towards Resa and one of Resa's hands wrapped around the iron's handle in warning. Basta stopped advancing,
"I've gone to a lot of trouble for you, Resa," he said and for a moment Dafne could have sworn that he sounded genuinely hurt, "I'll be damned if I let you make a fool out of me."
His last words were as keen as a knife's edge. Basta began to move forward. Without thinking, Dafne threw herself in his path,
"You're a fool if you think hurting Resa is going to make you feel better." She told him, her voice stronger than she expected.
Her presence seemed to aggravate him. He regarded her as though she was a persistent fly.
"Ah, you again!" Basta growled, "Your choosing a bad time to grow a backbone. Get out of my way."
Dafne shook her head violently, "I'm not moving."
"Look, this doesn't concern you. It's between me and Resa," Basta said impatiently, "I don't hurt people when it's not necessary so if you'll just leave…"
"I'm not leaving until you do," Dafne shot back determinedly.
Basta jabbed the air in her direction exasperatedly,
"You weren't half as stubborn as this when I first met you," he said to her and then glared at Resa over Dafne's shoulder, "I'd say that would be your doing, you little wench. After all you're the one she's trying so hard to protect. Believe me, she didn't put up this much of a fight in her old master's house."
"Shut up!" Dafne found herself shouting at him, "Shut up!"
The vehemence of her outburst made Basta turn back to her in mild surprise. He realised that he had struck a nerve and said in a low voice,
"You don't like hearing that, do you, little mouse. You weren't so brave back there, were you? Not when I used my knife to make you squeak. Maybe you need to be reminded of that."
Then he drew out his blade and Dafne couldn't help cringing at the sight of it. The last time she had seen it, Basta had put it to use – slashing Cockerell's face. Before that, it had been on her skin. She was part of its recent history although it had not yet had a taste of her blood. But as Basta ran his finger up the length of the knife, it struck Dafne that this was part of a performance designed to scare her.
He was using it in the same way he had used Vannetta against her. But this time she wasn't falling for his tricks.
"I don't need to be reminded of the way you work, Basta," she told him, "I know how you bully people. You tried to do it to Resa. You put a snake in our room. Resa was only giving you a taste of your own medicine."
Basta starred at her. Her words seemed to have stunned him. Then he scowled,
"You think you know everything, little mouse," he retorted, "Well, you don't and if you're not going to move, I'm going to make you."
He came forwards and Dafne instinctively reached out with her hands. They made contact with his chest.
"No wait!" she cried, a note of desperation in her voice.
Basta stopped, looking down at her hands. He seemed puzzled. Was it because she was touching him? This is my chance, Dafne thought, while he's distracted. A name flashed in her mind. Capricorn. Resa was Capricorn's favourite maidservant. Hadn't Fiammetta mentioned that if Basta did hurt Resa that Capricorn would hold him accountable? Basta was Capricorn's right hand man, a coveted position from what Dafne had seen and it wasn't likely he was going to jeopardise that just to settle a personal score. Not when it meant earning the retribution of his master.
So she said it, "What about Capricorn?"
Didn't she see a flicker of worry cross his face as she said his master's name?
Basta scowled at her,
"What about him?"
He had halted so Dafne withdrew her hands. She had his attention, now she had to make the best of it.
"Think about it. What's Capricorn going to think when he finds out that his favourite maid has been hurt? He's not going to be happy."
Basta's face became strained as if he was in the grips of indecision. Dafne pressed on,
"And I wouldn't like to be in your shoes when that happens."
Basta narrowed his eyes as if he was scrutinising her face for any sign of deception. Dafne tried to make her features slack like a doll's so no emotion could be read out of them.
Basta frowned.
"Capricorn trusts me. I've been with him since the beginning," he pointed in Resa's direction scornfully, "She's just a stupid maid. Why should he care what I do to her?"
Dafne shrugged as if indifferent,
"Well, you could take that chance. You know Capricorn much better than I do."
Basta glared at her,
"Yes I do," he snapped but was contemplative, no longer as confident in his purpose.
He's reconsidering, Dafne thought, at least thinking about it.
"I'm sure Cockerell would love to take your place if your wrong," she said, hoping that mentioned his rival would sway him even further.
But Basta gave her such a piercing look that she tensed. Then to her amazement, he laughed out loud.
"Cockerell replace me, hah, that's a good one," he said with amusement, "He wets his pants every time he sees my knife!" he waved the blade at Dafne, "Do you know why he's called Cockerell?"
Dafne shook her head half-heartedly. Basta leaned towards her,
"Because he crows like a rooster," he said with a sneer, "And that's all he is, just a loud voice. I bet he gave you that idea himself."
He looked suspiciously at her.
"But Capricorn's not like that," Dafne said quickly, changing the subject, "I mean, why else would you follow him."
Basta chuckled darkly.
"Oh Capricorn's done many horrible things in his lifetime. Stuff that would haunt your little mousy dreams if I told you about it."
There was a pride in Basta's voice that disturbed Dafne. How could he idolise such a man? But if she could use this to her advantage, to persuade Basta to leave…
"Then I wouldn't like to get on his bad side," she remarked as if making an innocent comment.
Basta scoffed,
"Capricorn doesn't have a good side," he told her, "You either please him or you disappoint him."
Basta seemed to reflect on his own words and Dafne seized the moment,
"Please Basta, if you hurt Resa, you're going to regret it," she said, a note of desperation in her voice, "You know that."
She starred at him imploringly, hopeful. Basta made a noise of irritation in his throat and then after what felt like an age, he sheathed his knife.
"I suppose," he grumbled.
He addressed Resa, calling out to her over Dafne's head, "But don't think that I'll forget this Resa. It won't be long before Capricorn tires of you and when that day comes," his eyes met Dafne's meaningfully, "your friend isn't going stop me."
He turned on his heel and stalked off.
Lucky for us we're going to get away before that happens, Dafne thought as she watched him go.
A hand fell on her shoulder. She turned her head,
"Resa," she said to the woman at her side. Resa smiled and mouthed "thank you".
Dafne smiled back.
"That's okay. But I'm sure you would have been able to handle it yourself."
Resa shook her head vigorously, squeezing her shoulder.
"I suppose I was managed to do it without belting him with an iron," said Dafne.
Resa laughed, a clear, tinkling sound. She had come out of the encounter unscathed and Dafne was glad that she had come to her friend's assistance. She had to admit that Basta still scared her but at least for the moment she no longer had to worry about him seeking revenge. Now she and Resa could concentrate on escaping and the sooner they were free of Capricorn and his minions the better.
"I'd better go check on Vannetta," she told Resa, "She's probably worried to death about us."
Resa nodded. Vannetta was still waiting anxiously in the backyard. When she saw Dafne approach, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you okay?" she asked breathily. Dafne answered affirmatively. "And Resa?"
"Yes," Dafne said with a small smile. However despite the good news, Vannetta still seemed troubled. "What's wrong?"
With some reluctance, Vannetta told her,
"A boy came while you were gone…" she paused uneasily but Dafne gave her an inquiring look and she finished, "He was looking for you."
Silvio, Dafne thought instantly.
"Did he say why?" She asked Vannetta.
The girl scuffed her feet self-consciously,
"No, when I told him you weren't here, he left," she looked questioning at Dafne, "Was that the right thing to do?"
"Oh, um, yes," Dafne replied but secretly she was wondering why Silvio had sought her out.
"It's just," said Vannetta, "I see him with Basta before and I thought that, maybe…" she trailed off.
But it was clear what Vannetta had meant. Capricorn's men treated the boys in the village like servants, forcing them to wash their cars and the like, tasks they were too lazy to do themselves. If Silvio kept company with Basta then it was easy to assume that he answered to him. But was the girl mistaken? After all Dafne had pondered over their relationship herself. Regardless, Vannetta had only been trying to protect her from what she had seen as a potential danger.
Dafne gave her a reassuring smile, "Hey it's alright. Come on, let's go inside."
She would try to talk to Silvio tonight during dinner.
To Be Continued…