The Scarletti Curse by Christine Feehan

amusing, Nicoletta was certain to get a long lecture
on growing up and becoming a lady.
    Ketsia quickly ran downstream several paces and snatched up the footwear
just as Maria Pia came into view down on the trail. The older woman stopped to
catch her breath, waiting for them to come to her, clearly out of breath, as if
she had been hurrying to reach them.
    Nicoletta took the shoes from Ketsia almost absently, her face lifted to the
wind. She opened her arms to the earth, and turned in the four
directions—north, south, east and west—seeking information. She glanced
skyward, searching for the raven, studying the birds, listening to the insects.
Puzzled, she turned once again toward Maria Pia.
    "Do not stand there gawking,
piccola.
Don Scarletti has summoned
the healer once again. You did not come. I waited, but you did not answer the
call." Maria Pia sounded impatient.
    Nicoletta began walking slowly, thoughtfully, toward her, swinging her shoes
absently. 'There was no call, Maria Pia. There is no one sick at the
palazzo."
    "You must be mistaken. He sent word that he wanted the healer and her
assistant to return." Maria Pia put her hands on her hips, scowling
fiercely at Nicoletta. "Why are you carrying, not wearing those
shoes?"
    Nicoletta didn't appear to hear her. "There is no illness, Maria Pia,
and no injury. I do not know why the don has summoned the healer, but it is not
to attend the sick."
    The color drained from Maria Pia's face. "Are you certain? You
know?"
    "I know. There are no disturbances. I feel nothing of consequence. I
would know. I have never been wrong, not even as a
bambina,
and I have
grown much in the last few years."
    Maria Pia cleared her throat noisily and made several not-so-subtle gestures
toward Ketsia with her chin to remind Nicoletta they were not alone. "I
was there when his servant arrived. He said to come at the first
opportunity."
    Nicoletta whistled softly, a sound that had Maria Pia gasping anew at the
young woman's wild, unbridled ways.
    "You do not see?" Nicoletta asked. "Look at his order. 'At
the first opportunity.' He did not command the healer's presence as he would if
a member of his household was ill. He sent for the healer in such a way that
she could complete her work should she be aiding some other who is ill. He has
not summoned the healer because her skills are needed. He has another motive."
    Maria Pia devoutly crossed herself repeatedly. "He has found us
out!" she wailed. "He knows we deceived him. Our lives will be
forfeit."
    "He could not know." Nicoletta pointed out calmly. "He may
suspect, but he cannot know. It's possible this is a test."
    "Your disguise did not work." Maria Pia sounded fearful, and for
the first time she looked her every decade.
    "Not with Don Scarletti," Nicoletta agreed, unruffled. "But
we made no false claims outright. He cannot condemn us. There was no dangerous
deception. I altered my appearance, that is true, and praised you as a healer
but how can he prove peril or malice in such things?"
    "Don Scarletti does not need proof, Nicoletta," Maria Pia said
hopelessly. "Remember who he is."
    "I do not think he has called the healer to condemn her and her young
assistant to death. What does it matter to him if we use the illusion of
servitude to protect me?"
    "You are the one who heals, Nicoletta. Even as a mere
bambina,
you had the gift. I can aid you, and I have some experience, but I am not able
to cure as you can. I do not even understand what it is you do or how you do
it."
    "The don does not know that I am the healer, Maria Pia," Nicoletta
said firmly. "He cannot know. Perhaps this is a test. He may be suspicious
and is hoping we will do something to give away our secret."
    "He has set a trap for us." Maria Pia let out her breath slowly.
The thought of her and her precious Nicoletta coming under the close scrutiny
of a man as powerful as Don Scarletti was terrifying. "Perhaps it is time
to send you away from here," Maria Pia ventured