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.After much concentration, she spoke, and if the pronunciation was a bit garbled, there was no mistaking her meaning.“No, signora.Signor Benedict, he is proud.”“I don’t know, Speranza.” Cassie stroked her hand over her midriff again, then touched her wedding ring.“He only married me because of the bambino.”This time, her message went astray, and it was pretty obvious from Speranza’s knowing smile that her reply had more to do with Benedict’s sperm count than his sense of honor.“Si.Signor Benedict è molto virile!”“He’s all that and then some,” Cassie agreed ruefully.“The trouble is, I can never tell whether he’s simply being kind and decent because he got me pregnant, or if he really cares about me, regardless of the baby.”She knew she was she was pouring out her heart to someone who hadn’t the faintest idea what she was running on about, but the relief of being able to give voice to feelings she’d kept bottled up for so long felt wonderful.What Speranza made of it all, though, was impossible to tell.She clucked to herself, regarded Cassie thoughtfully when the spate of words came to an end, then took her hand and, turning it over, carefully inspected the palm.Finally, she pushed the untouched milk closer, flexed the muscles in her skinny, wrinkled arms, and announced, “Is figlio.Drink, signora, per bambino.For boy baby to be forte like Papa.”Whether it was the lively delight in Speranza’s dark eyes, or the sight of her surprisingly firm little round biceps that had Cassie bursting into giggles, hardly mattered.It was enough that, for what seemed like the first time in forever, something was truly funny.“Oh, Speranza,” she spluttered, almost choking on the milk, “you can’t begin to know how good it feels to laugh again!”But the merriment died as swiftly as it had arisen when a voice, sharp as a knife blade, cut through the cheerful atmosphere to inquire, “So what is it you find so amusing, Cassandra, that you take my servant away from her duties in this fashion?”Wiping her eyes, Cassie looked over her shoulder.Elvira stood in the doorway, her face livid with controlled rage and her fury-filled breathing stripping every vestige of lightheartedness from the room.How long had she been hovering there, like a big black vulture come to wreak vengeance on heaven knew what? Had she heard them talking about the baby? And what sort of price was Speranza going to have to pay for fraternizing with the enemy? Because that this was one of those days when Cassie had once again been cast in the role of adversary in her mother-in-law’s eyes, was pretty hard to miss.“Please don’t blame Speranza,” she blurted out, leaping from the rocking chair so suddenly that her stomach churned.“I came here uninvited, looking for a cup of coffee, and didn’t mean to distract her.”Speranza, though, didn’t seem the least bit fazed by her employer’s annoyance.She favored Elvira with a stream of unintelligible Italian, raised one hand and gave a minikarate chop to the crook of her other elbow in a universally understood gesture of disrespect, and went unhurriedly about her chores, slapping and shaping the dough on the table as unconcernedly as if such confrontations were all in a day’s work.Ignoring her, Elvira pounced on the glass of milk Cassie was sneakily trying to pour into the sink.“What is that for? Is your constitution so delicate that you cannot tolerate good Italian espresso, like the rest of us?”So she hadn’t heard about the baby! Cassie almost sagged with relief, but it quickly turned to dismay when Elvira tossed the same question at Speranza, this time in Italian.Without a moment’s hesitation, the old servant flung back a reply, and among the words she spat at her employer, bambino rang loud and all too clear through the room.As the import of what she heard sank home, Elvira grew so still and quiet, she might have been turned to stone.Outwardly, Cassie pretty much did the same, although her heart was flopping around behind her ribs like a landed fish.Otherwise, not a sound disturbed the utter silence, except for the ticking of the big old clock on the wall, and the rhythmic thump and slap of the dough hitting the tabletop.Finally, Cassie could stand the tension no longer.“Well, now you know what Benedict and I have been trying to hide from you, though why we ever bothered is beyond me,” she said, and went to leave, even though that meant stepping closer to Elvira than she’d have liked.She wasn’t normally given to wild imaginings, but there was something about the woman that made her skin crawl.Even at her best, Elvira was strange.At her worst, as now, she was outright chilling.“Sciatonna!” she hissed, making no attempt to move out of the doorway as Cassie approached.“Slut!”Heart still hammering, Cassie brushed by her, intending to go to the suite.Its heavy furniture and gloomy draperies might not make it her favorite place, but at least it offered some sort of sanctuary.Elvira never ventured up there, instead preferring to confine herself to the two lower floors.Today, however, she seemed as anxious for Cassie’s company as Cassie was to be rid of hers, and kept pace with her as she climbed the stairs.Exasperated, Cassie stopped on the first landing and spun around to face her.“Leave me alone!” she cried, past caring about keeping the peace a moment longer.“I’ve got nothing more to say to you.”“But I have much to say to you,” Elvira taunted, her eyes blazing.“You think to trap my son with this child you claim is his, but it will take more than such a ploy to tie him to you.”“I’m not tying him against his will, Elvira.He chooses to be with me.”She tried to push past, but Elvira blocked her passage.“He longs to be free of you! Why else do you think he spends as much time as possible away from this house? He cannot wait to escape your incessant neediness.”“I have never once tried to keep him from attending to business.”“No?” Elvira clutched both fists to her chest in a melodramatic gesture of pleading.“Oh, Benedict,” she chanted, her voice rising from its usual contralto to a maddening parody of Cassie’s lighter tone, “I’d so love to spend an afternoon with you at the Museo Nazionale in Reggio Calabria….Benedict, your sister tells me there are some marvelous Byzantine ruins in the area.When are you going to take me to see them…? Show me where you went to school, Benedict…where you played with other boys your age.”She dropped her hands and assumed her usual tone
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