Allie had resolved to never speak with Fabrizio again. But the stubborn man had become more brazen in his attempts to contact her, including bribing a servant to unlock the back garden gate while Allie enjoyed her morningpassegiata—strolling back and forth along a narrow path under Aunt Whipple’s watchful eye.
Kendall didn’t permit her to walk in the garden at the center of Grosvenor Square, fearing she would bolt . . . which was precisely what she would do, but still . . .
She would have liked to roam in a larger space—a park or a meadow, perhaps. Or best of all, an Italian mountainside a thousand miles south.
Furthermore, how annoying to discover that servants who were hesitant to be bribed with her smiles and shiny coin readily succumbed to an unsavory reprobate.
“Charming bit of logic there,” Allie retorted. “So you’re now claiming I would havewantedto be sold?”
A loud snort sounded behind her. Allie whirled to look at Lady Whipple. Thankfully, her elderly aunt remained as she had for the past hour—head back and snoring in a heavily stuffed armchair that two footmen had set on the grass beside a purple flowering azalea.
Lady Whipple did not always sleep in the garden. Usually, Allie had to contend with her aunt’s relentless questions as she relished hearing about drama. And Allie’s war with Kendall was the very definition of such drama.
But today, the sun had worked its warm magic, setting her aunt’s eyes to closing. More helpfully, her aunt’s hearing had deteriorated as of late, so slight noises would not rouse her.
Thankfully, Kendall himself was absent, having climbed atop his favorite stallion this morning and headed off to attend to ducal duties.
“Madonna!” Fabrizio exclaimed. “Why must you twist my words,cara mia?”
“I amLady Allegrato you,” Allie bit out between clenched teeth. “You lost the right to call me anything else when you drugged me with laudanum and handed my unconscious body over to my brother’s hired thugs.”
Fabrizio at least had the decency to flinch.
“I assistedLa Giovine Italiafor years,” she continued, stabbing a finger at him, “and the only request I made was to be treated as a colleague-in-arms. Your quick defection to Kendall’s demands demonstrated louder than any sworn oath that you did not value me. So why have you approached me, Fabrizio? As far as I’m concerned, you are my brother’s minion now.”
“Kendall has forbidden me to speak with him!” Fabrizio threw his hands in the air in a decidedly Latin gesture of exasperation. “The payment for handing you over came with the stipulation that I never contact him again. If I do, he will give my identity to the authorities inSüdtirol. Kendall also refuses to speak with Mazzini.”
Mazzini was in London attempting to drum up support, specifically monetary, forLa Giovine Italia. Allie had yet to see the man, mostly due to the fact that Kendall never permitted her to leave the house. The evening recital had been a notable exception.
“And because Kendall is no help,” Fabrizio continued, “we have turned to you.”
Allie sighed. Of course they had turned to her—a woman they saw as weak and easily manipulated. A woman who had done their bidding hundreds of times in the past.
Never again.
When would shefinallylearn that men were not to be trusted? That they would always play her false?
Taking a step back, she crossed her arms over her chest.
“This is me sayingno. No, no, no!” she continued in crisp Italian. “Tell the whole world what you know. Ruin me. I. Do. Not. Care. I have no money to give you, and even if I did, I would not spare alira. Besides, how do I know you aren’t gambling again instead?”
Fabrizio inhaled sharply. “I am firmly Mazzini’s man. All that gambling nonsense is in my past,bella.Mazzini would have my head otherwise.”
“What if IwantMazzini to have your head?” Allie asked conversationally. “That sounds rather appealing at the moment.”
Sighing, Fabrizio pressed his palms together in an attitude of prayer. “Per favore, mia signora.Please.”
Oh yes, she would make this blackguard grovel before she was done.
“Instead of blackmail, you should have begun with negotiation, Fabrizio. I might be able to procure the funds you seek in exchange for assistance with my own troubles.” Allie’s mind raced with possibilities. Could she trust Fabrizio to help her escape Kendall’s clutches? Or would that just toss her from the skillet into the fire?
“Truly?” The hope on his face was almost comical.
She would have to ponder the idea thoroughly. But in the meantime, let the scoundrel hope.
At the very least, denying him later would prove deliciously rewarding.
“Possibly. I must think upon it. Now, go away.” She made a shooing motion with her hands. “If you are caught here, I will scream and turn you over to the constable. Or worse—to Kendall himself.”
