Forbidden love for a Barkley
Part Thirty One:
"Pride and Prejudice, pt. 7: Hostibus Sociis"
After following the raccoon, chipmunk, and deer, Nick and Carmine would come into contact with a black bear. Fearing the bear would go berserk and maul them to death, Carmine started saying the "Hail Mary" prayer two times; once in English and once in Italian only for Nick to stop him & tell him to let the bear sniff them that way it wouldn't think they were a threat of some kind or that they were afraid of it. Fear is one of the first things one could show when encountering an animal or anything, really. While the bear was sniffing them, Jarrod & company had split up and started the search as planned, going in three different directions. Jarrod and his group would encounter the unlikely team up of a porcupine, pigeon, and wolf & Paulie and his group would meet an unlikely trio that consisted of a skunk and three geese. Like Nick and Carmine, the groups would be understandably weirded out by this, because these animals are bitter rivals by nature and would kill each other by instinct. It wasn't making any sense as to why these animals would even join forces except that they knew something the humans didn't. Well, some humans, because it wouldn't be long until Stefania, Massimo, and everyone else had a feeling that the animals wanted the humans to follow them. Jarrod and Paulie were very skeptical of this and for good reason, because Nick, Carmine, and Mavis could be laying out either badly injured or worse while everyone else was distracted by nature, but eventually, the two men relented and went along with everyone else and their new furry & feathered friends. Meanwhile, Nick and Carmine were led to a cliff by their new furry cohorts and met up by a newbie: a blue peacock while the bear jumped over the cliff & landed on the ground below which resulted in the deer pawing the ground four times, the raccoon whimpering, and the peacock to arrive, look down below, then back at the duo, and let out a crowing wail, clearly telling them something. Now, Nick suggested that the bird wants the men to look down to which after debating, Carmine did and gasped which led Nick to ask him what was it. The questons that remain are as follows: What did Carmine see?, Will Jarrod and the others meet up with them?, Will old grudges be temporarily set aside or put to bed for good?, Will Jarrod reveal his plan?, and most importantly, will Mavis be found? Stay tuned and find out!
Author's Note: I do NOT own The Big Valley or its characters. I ONLY own this fic and the characters of: Stefania Mangano, Carmine Mangano Sr, Carmine's friends, Paulie Mangano, Italia Mangano, Chet and the men Heath rounded up, Jess and Mavis Chaney, the Animal Team, Leonard Barkley, Seth & his gang, and the Mangano family. This is the seventh and final part of multi chapter saga. As you can very well see by the title, I modeled this chapter after the Jane Austen book, tv shows, and movies of the same name. Full disclosure...ehhh, you get the idea by now :D
WARNING: There may be some instances of profanity/intense language in this chapter + a life or death situation. If it makes you uncomfortable, I understand and...you get the idea by now when it comes to the "WARNING" label :D
(Flashback to part 30)
"Benedetto arte tra le donne, e benedetto è il frutto-(Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit-)" Carmine stopped saying the Hail Mary due to his voice getting shaky and turned to Nick, "Nick, that-that's a-a bear! Get away from it!"
"Carmine, that would be the worst thing I could do." Nick said through clenched teeth while trying to play it cool as the bear continued to sniff him.
"How on God's green Earth do you figure that?" Carmine asked.
"If either of us gives off an inch of fear, the bear could choose to rip us limb from limb. Now, just remain calm and let the bear sniff us." Nick told him, before holding his hand out for the bear to sniff.
*Meanwhile, with Jarrod and company*
As planned, Jarrod and everyone else had split up and started the search. With Chet and the other men headed north & Paulie and his friends headed east, Jarrod, Heath, Victoria, Jess, and Stefania headed west. While they were all full of dread and fear, they tried to remain optimistic, strong, and positive at the same time. After all, it was the best strategy and one shouldn't always assume the absolute worst, right?
It wouldn't be too long into the search when everyone came to a screeching halt upon seeing a small figure running towards them.
"What is that?" Heath asked.
"That could be Mavis!" Jess said before calling out to the figure, "Mavis! Mavis! Mavis, over here!"
"Uh...Signor Chaney." Stefania got a good glimpse of the figure then a look of concern on her face.
"Mavis! Mavis, over here! Mavis! Over here, honey!" Jess continued to yell and started waving his hands.
"Uh...Jess." Heath said.
"Not now, Heath!" Jess replied before continuing to wave his hands, "Mavis! Come here, sweetness! Over here!"
"Jess, I don't think that's Mavis." Jarrod shook his head.
"Mavis! Over here!" Jess ignored Jarrod and continued to wave his hands & yell out.
"Porcospino." Stefania gasped.
"Huh?" Heath turned to her.
"Porcospino." Stefania pointed at the figure.
"What's a porcospino?" Jarrod asked.
"That's how you say porcupine in my language." Stefania replied.
The porcupine approached the group and whined. This was followed by a howl then the appearance of a white wolf. The wolf walked up to Jess and whimpered as if to tell him something.
"Porcospino e un Lupo? (Porcupine and a Wolf?)" Stefania scratched her head.
"A porcupine and a wolf working together and being friendly to each other? They're usually bitter enemies!" Jess was confused just like anybody would be if they saw two animals who were enemies by nature suddenly act friendly and work together.
The wolf barked followed by the porcupine grunting and wailing. It was obvious these animals were conveying a message to the group.
"I think they're trying to tell us something." Victoria spoke up.
Before anybody could speak up, a cooing sound was heard followed by a white pigeon perching itself onto a branch of a nearby tree for a brief moment before flying to Jarrod's right shoulder and landing onto it.
"Jarrod?" Heath raised an eyebrow.
The pigeon cooed, again before flying off of Jarrod's shoulder, landing between the wolf and porcupine. The trio looked at each other for a moment then back at the group.
"I think they want us to follow them." Stefania saw that the animals appeared to be either distressed or concerned about something.
The pigeon cooed again before taking flight, going towards the way the porcupine came, circling three times, then flying back to the group and landing on Stefania's shoulder this time. The wolf walked up to her, sniffed her hand, and licked it before howling, again.
"I think we better follow the fur-feathered team." Stefania said while petting the wolf's head.
"You think we should? Their arrival might be a red herring." Jarrod wasn't too sure.
"It might be a red herring and it might not. Jarrod, they just might lead us to Nick and my papa." Stefania nodded.
"Who just might have seen Mavis." Jess added, "We can't afford to wait any longer."
"Kids, lead the way." Stefania said to the fur-feathered team.
The fur-feathered team did what she said and started to lead the way for the group.
"Giddyup, Jingo. Giddyup." Jarrod tapped his horse with the reins and started following the fur-feathered team, everyone else following suit.
*With Paulie and his friends*
Over in the east part, Paulie and his friends were searching everywhere and calling out Carmine's name, in the hopes that he would, by a miracle, hear them and reunite with them, but so far, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
That was until the men stopped when they saw something running their way. At first, they were confused as to what or who it may be until one of them got a good look at the figure that was headed their way and by the looks on each of their faces, it was most likely something that wouldn't get a warm reception.
"Puzzola! Puzzola! Puzzola! Puuuuuuuuzzolaaa!" Luca's eyes were the size of plates.
"Sei sicuro che non sia Carmine? (Are you sure it isn't Carmine?)" Arturo asked while smirking.
"Cosa ti fa pensare che sia Carmine?! (What makes you think it would be Carmine?!)" Paulie shot Arturo a glare.
"A volte tende a comportarsi come una puzzola. (He tends to act like a skunk at times.)" Arturo shrugged.
Massimo, Luca, Enzo, and Vito all nodded in agreement while trying hard not to laugh.
"Beh, non posso permettermi di dissentire. A volte si comporta come una puzzola pronta a sparare in qualsiasi momento. (Well, I cannot beg to differ. He sometimes does act like a skunk that is ready to spray at any given moment.)" Paulie conceded.
"Non fargli sentire quello che dici. (Don't let him hear you say that.)" Massimo chuckled.
"Sì, perché potrebbe decidere di spruzzare l'acqua su uno di noi. (Yeah, because he may choose to spray one of us.)" Arturo slapped his knee.
The skunk walked up to Luca and squealed, before walking around him and sniffing.
"Cosa sta facendo quella puzzola? Per favore, dimmi che non farà quello che penso! (What's the skunk doing? Please, tell me that he isn't going to do what I think he is!)" Luca sounded a bit alarmed.
"Forse gli piaci. (Maybe he likes you.)" Enzo spoke up before giggling.
Vito, Paulie, Arturo, and Massimo joined Enzo in giggling that would turn into them laughing their behinds off.
"Se mi spruzza addosso, vi prendo, ragazzi! (If he sprays me, I'm gonna get you guys!)" Luca groaned out of annoyance.
The sound of honking was heard and before the blink of an eye, three geese ran up to the men, honking like crazy and flapping their wings.
"Oche? (Geese?)" Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Prendiamone uno. (Let's catch one of them.)" Vito spoke up.
Luca and everyone else turned and gave him weird looks.
"Una di queste potrebbe essere l'oca di Natale. (One of them could be the Christmas goose.)" Vito suggested before licking his lips.
"Scusa un attimo, hai detto oca di Natale? (Pardon me just a minute, did you say Christmas goose?)" Paulie walked up to Vito.
"Mmmmhmmm." Vito nodded before licking his lips again.
"Idiota! (Idiot!)" Paulie smacked him upside his head, "Carmine potrebbe essere qui steso, morente o gravemente ferito, e tu potresti pensare solo a riempirti lo stomaco! (Carmine could be laying out here dying or badly injured and all you think about is filling your stomach!)"
"Posso farci qualcosa se ho fame? (Can I help it if I'm starved?)" Vito shrugged.
The geese continued to make their honking sounds and flapping their wings, drawing the attention of Massimo and the rest. It was obvious that the geese and the skunk were trying to convey a message of sorts.
"Paulie, Vito, potreste smetterla di fare quello che state facendo? (Paulie, Vito, could you stop what you two are doing?)" Massimo asked while looking at the geese and skunk.
"Per cosa, Massimo? (What for, Massimo?)" Paulie and Vito said in unison.
"Penso che le oche e le puzzole siano arrivate da noi per un motivo. (I think the geese and skunk may have come to us for a reason.)" Massimo replied.
"Oh, sicuramente avranno una ragione. (Oh, they definitely have a reason alright.)" Paulie said in a very sarcastic way.
"Ho capito! Pensi che io sia pazzo! (I get it! You think I am crazy!)" Massimo shook his head in disgust.
"Non solo pazzo. Anche ingenuo. (Not just crazy. Naive, too.)" Paulie told him.
"Paulie, questi animali potrebbero condurci a Carmine. (Paulie, these animals may lead us to Carmine.)" Enzo chimed in while petting one of the geese.
"Potrebbero anche essere una pista falsa. (They could also be a red herring.)" Paulie replied.
"Tu e la tua falsa pista siete i benvenuti a restare qui in negazione, Paulie. Anzi, vai avanti e resta qui mentre noi tutti continuiamo ad andare avanti. (You and your red herring are welcome to stay here in denial, Paulie. In fact, go ahead and stay here while the rest of us keep going.)" Massimo told him before turning to the geese and skunk, "Guidare la strada. (Lead the way.)"
"Il resto di voi non ci cascherà e-(The rest of you aren't going to fall for this and-)" Paulie was cut off.
"Paulie, queste bestioline potrebbero essere le uniche che potrebbero condurci a Carmine. Ci dispiace, ma è un rischio che siamo disposti a correre. Forse ti sveglierai e ti unirai a noi. (Paulie, these critters may be the only ones who could lead us to Carmine. We're sorry, but it's a chance we are willing to take. Maybe you'll wise up and join us.)" Massimo replied before following the geese and skunk, Luca and the others joining him.
"Ragazzi, state andando nella direzione sbagliata! (You guys are going to go the wrong way!)" Paulie called out to them.
Massimo and the others ignored him and kept following the geese and skunk.
"Vi dispiacerà tutti quando arriverete a un vicolo cieco! (You'll all be sorry when you reach a dead end!)" Paulie called out once more, getting ignored yet, again.
Realizing that they may have a point, Paulie reluctantly run after them in order to catch up.
*Back with Nick and Carmine*
15 minutes had passed and the raccoon, black bear, deer, and chipmunk were leading Nick and Carmine to an area that looked like it led to a cliff. The two men found it completely odd as they had not recalled ever being in this area as of recent and that this was not where their families were camping out. Something was definitely up.
Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, the animals came to a halt which made the men do the same.
"Why did we stop?" Nick asked.
"Do I look like I have the answer for everything?!" Carmine asked in a snarky way.
"Carmine, you don't need to bite my head off." Nick told him.
The bear jumped over the cliff and landed on a ledge before jumping again and landing on the ground below. The bear let out a noise that sounded of distress. This made the deer paw the ground four times and the raccoon whimper. From behind a nearby bush, a loud squawking could be heard.
"Now, what in the world could that be?" Nick turned his attention to the bush.
Out from behind the bush came a beautiful blue peacock. The bird walked up to the edge of the cliff, looked down, then looked back up at the men, and let out another sound, this time a loud crowing wail.
"It's as if-" Nick was cut off.
"He wants us to look over the edge, but why?" Carmine finished Nick's sentence, "What the hell could be down there?"
"Maybe somebody fell over?" Nick suggested.
"Bulls*t. Who'd be stupid enough to fall over a damn cliff?!" Carmine shook his head.
"Carmine, it does happen." Nick replied.
"Impossible! I mean what are the odds that-" Carmine stopped mid sentence, looked down below, and gasped.
"What? What is it?" Nick had a look of concern on his face.
(Now)
"Nick..." Carmine took a few steps back and put his hand over his chest.
"Carmine, you alright? Do you need a doctor?" Nick's concerned look never leaving his face.
"No, I don't need a doctor! I don't need a doctor of your kind to tend to me! I don't want that witchcraft you call medicine even if I did need it which I do not!" Carmine snapped before looking down at his arm, seeing Nick's hand on it, and looking back up at him, "Take your hand off me. I dislike being touched!"
"Carmine, this backbiting isn't getting us anywhere. Now, putting your hatred for me aside and remembering our current situation, did you see anything down below?" Nick took his hand off of Carmine's arm.
"Yes, I did, Nick." Carmine nodded.
"What was it?" Nick asked.
"Un bambino." Carmine sighed.
"A child?" Nick's eyes got big.
"Yes and you understood what I just said?" Carmine was surprised that Nick understood him.
"Well, Stefania has taught me some of the Italian language. I'm still learning more and more." Nick smiled.
"Do me a favor, will you?" Carmine asked.
"Alright." Nick nodded.
"Keep my people's language off of your tongue, eh?" Carmine folded his arms, "I don't want to hear any more white heads speaking our language. It's an insult."
"I thought we were putting differences and everything else aside, Carmine." Nick sighed.
"We are, but I just needed to tell you to never again speak the language of my people. I don't like it." Carmine looked him dead in the eye.
"Oh, brother! Alright, how about we focus on your hatred later and the poor child down below, hmmmm?" Nick did a facepalm.
The peacock squawked again and the deer pawed the ground two times.
"I am so going to kick myself for saying this, but you are right, Nick. Fair enough." Carmine reluctantly conceded before looking down at the child, seeing that it was a little girl, and getting a concerned look in his eyes, "Poor little thing. Who could've pushed her? Why?"
"Carmine, I don't think she was pushed. I think it was a freak accident. I think she was running all carefree then while not paying attention, she just fell down." Nick looked at the motionless child lying beneath Carmine and him, "I just hope that she isn't...well, you know. The only way to find out is for us to go down to her."
"Us?" Carmine raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Carmine. Us as in you and me." Nick nodded, pointed at Carmine then at himself, "Us."
"I don't know, Nick." Carmine sounded a bit hesitant.
"Whaddya mean you don't know?" Nick barked.
"I don't know. I don't f*in' know." Carmine replied.
"Dammit to hell, Carmine! There's a child down there! A child who needs our help!" Nick slightly raised his voice, "Don't tell me that you're going to withhold help. Please, don't tell me you're going to do that!"
"Do I have any other choice?!" Carmine asked.
"Yes, you do have another choice and that is helping the little girl down there." Nick sounded firm.
"Uh huh. Okay, say if I do lend a helping hand and her parents show up, do you know what'll happen next?! Huh?! Do you?!" Carmine started.
"Yes, they'll thank us both. What's wrong with that?" Nick clearly didn't see or understand what the problem was.
"YOU'RE NOT EVEN LISTENING!" Carmine shouted, the shout being loud enough for not only his voice to echo throughout the area, but enough for all of California to hear him.
"Owwww! Carmine, that was right in my ear!" Nick rubbed his ear.
"Well, you're not even listening, because while the parents may thank you, when they look at me, they'll immediately think that I was the one who hurt their child which will lead to me being lynched and I can't afford to take that chance!" Carmine shook his head.
"Carmine, just how do you know that? I mean do you honestly believe that?" Nick was still rubbing his ear.
"After what happened to my papa, my brother Santo, my niece Serafina, my daughter Allegra, and more recently, my other daughter Stefania, what do you expect me to believe?! Your people are good? I don't think so! That your kind won't make up dirty lies about those who are different let alone murder us in cold blood or violate our women? Gimme a break! Your kind murdered my papa solely, because he was different and couldn't speak english too well! Just flat out murdered him! Jessica Ballinger made up a horrible lie that led to my brother Santo's lynching! A filthy lie from a blonde white woman! A filthy lie!" Carmine ranted and kicked the ground, "Then, if that wasn't enough, the likes of Jack Clevenger and Matthew Sturgis attack my niece Serafina and daughter Allegra! Just attack and try to have their way with them before leaving them like they were a pile of trash! Poor things were badly bruised and traumatized! Serafina fled back to Italy for a while, because of it only to return as of recent and speaking of recent, look what happened to Stefania! Look what you did and let happen to her!"
"For the umpteenth time, I'm innocent in all of this! I didn't murder your father, I didn't cause your brother to be lynched, I didn't attack Serafina and Allegra, and I...did...NOT attack and violate Stefania nor did I let it happen! What the hell is it going to take to convince you?!" Nick raised his voice then took a few deep breaths, "What is it going to take? What? Because I'm getting sick and tired of being accused of something I neither caused nor did! I would never ever harm Stefania or hurt her in any way. Ever. I care about her a lot. In fact, you may say that I've fallen for her. Your daughter is an amazing woman."
"You're damn right she is!" Carmine raised his voice.
"She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on and the first woman I really opened up to. I've never opened up deeply to any other woman I have met. Never. Stefania made me feel comfortable enough to do so." Nick's eyes started to glaze over.
"Oh, you're just trying to get on my good side!" Carmine scoffed.
"No, I'm not, Carmine. I mean it when I say that your daughter is the most amazing, beautiful, and lovely woman I ever met and laid eyes on. She understands me in a way that no other woman not even my mother or sister can. I have never fallen for a woman as I have for your daughter. Not in this way." Nick explained.
"Oh, don't give me that bushwa! If you're saying what I think you are then you are no different than Pasquale! He too said he fell for my precious Stefania only to rip her heart to shreds!" Carmine ranted some more and shook his finger, "I vowed to protect her from that and if you're claiming to have fallen madly in love with her, I'll be damned if you even try to rip her heart to shreds, let alone allow you to have a relationship with her!"
"Carmine, with all due respect, you can't prevent your daughter from being a woman and if she has fallen for me like I have for her, you can't stop that either." Nick ran a hand through his hair.
"The hell I can't! You just watch me, Nick Barkley! You...just...watch me, because no man on this Earth is worthy of having my daughters & nieces and no woman is worthy of having my son, Junior. I would say sons, but it is a little late for Vincent on that aspect and when they get old enough to get into the game, no man will ever be worthy of my precious granddaughters, Cara and Mariah." Carmine slapped a nearby bush, "And you...you are not even worthy of being in my presence and I'll have you know that nobody...nobody will ever ever love my nieces, granddaughters, sons, and daughters more than I will!"
"Not even worthy of being in your presence? Good lord, that sounds eerily familiar." Nick was not too surprised at hearing that, having heard it many times in the past.
"Oh? Another papa got wise to you, eh?" Carmine raised an eyebrow.
"Well, not exactly. You see, the last person who said that to me in so many words was Marquis De Lacaise during that forest fire a couple years ago. He ruined my dream of being with his daughter, the lovely mademoiselle, Michelle De Lacaise." Nick started to think about that ghastly forest fire, the Marquis, and Michelle.
"As much as I hate French aristocrats let alone France, I can't say I blame the Marquis. You probably got too friendly with his precious Michelle and he stopped you before anything bad could've happened to her." Carmine assumed.
The bear roared from where it was standing down below and the peacock squawked, clearly reminding them that there was still a child needing their help.
"That's not how it happened and I'll go into details later. Right now, there's a child who needs us!" Nick quickly shifted topics and got closer to the edge.
"Again with the 'us'?" Carmine said to himself while very reluctantly joining him.
"Okay, Carmine. You go down there and-" Nick was cut off.
"Why do I have to go down there?! Just why do I need to be the first one?!" Carmine angrily waved his hand.
"Carmine, I'm ju-" Nick was cut off, again.
"What's wrong? You too pretty to go down there?! Too full of pride in your looks to get yourself dirty?! Hmmmmm?!" Carmine asked in a very nasty way.
"No, I'm not. I'm trying to think of a plan and I need your help, but then again, if you wanna talk about pride, are you too full of pride to put aside your differences with white people in order to lend a helping...haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!" Nick shouted the last part after being caught off guard off when the ground beneath him collapsed, causing him to fall and roll down the cliff, landing very hard on the ground next to the motionless child.
"MADRE DI MISERICORDIA! (MOTHER OF MERCY!)" Carmine shouted while the look of shock and horror spread across his face.
Then, as fate would have it, right after he shouted, Jarrod and everybody else plus a team of animals came rushing to the scene.
"Mr. Mangano, thank God!" Jarrod had a smile on his face and breathed a sigh of relief only to look around for Nick.
"Papà! Papà! Oh, papà, grazie a Dio! (Dad! Dad! Oh, dad, thank God!)" Stefania ran over to her father and hugged him before slowly pulling back and looking around, "Dov'è Nick? (Where's Nick?)"
"Oh, ho capito. Ora inizio a capire il quadro completo, Stefania. Mi vedi, ma subito chiedi di Nick Barkley! Nel caso te ne fossi dimenticato, sono tuo padre e sono quasi morto anch'io! (Oh, I get it. I'm starting to get the whole picture now, Stefania. You see me, but right away you ask for Nick Barkley! In case you have forgotten, I am your father and I almost died, too!)" Carmine folded his arms.
"Papà, non sei giusto. Non hai idea di quanto tempo abbiamo cercato te e Nick, e di quanto ci siamo incolpati. (Dad, you're not being fair. You have no idea how long we all have been searching for you and Nick plus how we all have been blaming ourselves.)" Stefania's eyes started to glaze over, "Non hai idea di quanto mi incolpi per questo! Papà, tu e Nick siete il mondo per me! (You have no idea how much I blame myself for this! Dad, you and Nick mean the world to me!)"
"Stefania, figlia mia, bambina, non dovresti incolpare te stessa. Non è colpa tua. (Stefania, my daughter, baby girl, you shouldn't blame yourself. It is not your fault.)" Carmine's tone went from being brash to gentle after he saw his daughter's eyes glaze over.
"Non è vero? È per colpa mia che Nick è stato ferito. È per colpa mia che tu e Nick siete stati spazzati via! (Isn't it, though? It's, because of me that Nick has been hurt. It's, because of me that you and Nick were swept away!)" Stefania quickly wiped away her tears.
"No, bambina. No, no, non piangere. (No, baby girl. No, no, don't cry.)" Carmine wiped another tear away from Stefania's eye with his thumb.
"Papà, per favore, dov'è Nick? I Barkley meritano di saperlo e...lo voglio anch'io. Per favore, papà, per favore. (Dad, please, where is Nick? The Barkleys deserve to know and...so do I. Please, dad, please.)" Stefania pleaded.
"I hate to interrupt this conversation, but have you seen my daughter?" Jess spoke up as he made his way to Carmine.
"Chi è quest'uomo bianco?! Perché è qui?! (Who's this white man?! Why is he here?!)" Carmine got into a combative pose, clearly perceiving Jess as a threat.
"Papà, non è una cattiva persona. Si chiama Jess Chaney. Stava cercando la sua figlioletta Mavis. È scomparsa. (Dad, he's not a bad person. His name is Jess Chaney. He's been searching for his little daughter Mavis. She disappeared.)" Stefania quickly explained.
"Please, mister, have you seen my little Mavis?" Jess pleaded.
"I think so, because a bear, raccoon, deer, and chipmunk led Nick and me to right here. We also got met up by a peacock. The peacock and bear showed us that there's a child down below." Carmine reverted back to English.
"A child down-Mavis!" Jess ran over to the edge, looked down, and saw both the motionless child and Nick, who was barely coming to, nearly falling over the cliff himself only to be caught just in time.
"Are you insane, man? You could've fallen down there like Nick and that child did!" Carmine pulled him back, surprising everyone.
"Carmine, did you just pull somebody back and prevent their fall?" Jarrod spoke up.
"Yes, lawyer boy. I did and I hate myself for it." Carmine answered in a rude way.
"Mister, please let me go down there! My little Mavis is lying down there and heaven only knows whether she is okay or not. Please!" Jess pleaded some more.
"It is too dangerous to go down there! We need rope. Long rope or something." Jarrod told him, before grabbing his rope off of Jingo's saddle, taking his belt off, and tying one end of the rope to the middle of the belt.
Heath and the other men followed suit in grabbing ropes, tying them together, and tying one end to Jarrod's rope and the other to a nearby tree. Then, one by one, Stefania, Jarrod, Victoria, Jess, Heath, and company grabbed the rope, forming a human chain, Paulie and his friends joining in.
"Okay, Carmine, toss this end down there." Jarrod handed Carmine the end with his belt on it.
Carmine took it and stared at it for a while, looking a bit hesitant.
"Carmine, what are you doing? Throw it down there." Heath was a bit thrown off by this.
Carmine didn't say anything or move a muscle, still staring at the rope and belt combination.
"Papà, per favore! (Dad, please!)" Stefania pleaded.
"Oh, Carmine, you can't be too prideful to offer any help, can you?" Victoria spoke up.
"He must be, mother." Heath replied.
"Carmine Mangano, this has gone far enough. Now, come on, put your hatred for white people aside and please lend a helping hand." Jarrod told him, "You know deep down inside that it is the right thing to do, but it seems painfully obvious that your judgment has been clouded by both pride and prejudice. Two things that can be one's downfall at times."
"What good will it do me if I lend a helping hand?! You know how your kind is!" Carmine finally spoke up.
"Oh, really? How do you think others will react?" Jarrod folded his arms.
"They'll think I pushed Nick and that little girl over the edge and saved them out of guilt. Then, I'll be lynched just like Santo!" Carmine replied.
"Carmine, you've got that all wrong. Nobody will think that." Victoria shook her head.
"Yeah, Mr. Mangano, sir. Nobody will lynch you, especially for saving lives." Jess added.
"Just how do you all know?!" Carmine asked.
"We're all witnesses." Heath added.
"Papa, they speak the truth. Plus, this could be a moment where it'll be hostibus sociis or in our language, da nemici ad alleati." Stefania told him.
"What did she say?" Jess turned to Jarrod.
"Hostibus Sociis is Latin for enemies to allies." Jarrod told him, before turning to Stefania, "What was that second part?"
"The second part was Italian for enemies to allies." Stefania replied, before turning back to her father, "Papa, please toss the end of the rope with the belt down. Please."
"Carmine, I hate to admit it, but Stefania may be right about these people." Paulie chimed in.
"Please, Carmine." Victoria said, a pleading look spreading across her face.
To Be Continued...
Nick: Ohhhhh, my head!
Stefania: Nick! Nick!
Jarrod: Carmine, toss the rope!
Jess: Please!
Heath: Carmine, toss it.
Carmine: Wait for the next chapter.
Victoria: R&R, everybody. R&R.
Author's note 2.0: Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!