I wondered if today was going to challenge him enough.
The men in the room rose from their seats when I entered. My father-in-law, Donato, Mac, Guido, and an older man I didn’t recognize, but who I assumed was the “witch’s” father. I greeted my father-in-law first, then all the other men with nods. All but the man who I assumed to be her father. I didn’t like the way he was looking at my husband.
Once I took the seat my husband offered me, and he took his, straightening his tie as he did, my eyes met the she-devil’s. If she thought she was going to scare me off with a narrowed-eyed glare, she could think again. I returned the stare, one of my eyebrows lifting, as if to say,stand up, say something, make a move, I dare you.
Our eyes held even after her father cleared his throat and said respectfully, “This is one of the reasons we have come to you,SignorFausti. We fear for our daughter’s life. Not only have we heard about one daughter of the heart in the family having special…ah, how do I say respectfully, powers, but this daughter of the heart having the same. We fear she might curse our name.”
My eyes whipped to the father’s, and I laughed. He sucked in a breath, and his wife grabbed Ita and pulled her close.
Luca cleared his throat. “I did not give you permission to speak. In this office, when you come to me with an issue, you will wait your turn to be spoken to.”
“I apologize,SignorFausti.” Ita’s father hung his head in shame.
Ita’s mother said something to her in a language I was not familiar with. Luca looked between them, then ordered Guido to ask his other daughter of the heart to join us. Guido left the room, and when he returned with Scarlett, I understood why. The mother and daughter had been speaking in Slovenian.
All the men rose from their seats again when Scarlett entered, the entire room suddenly smelling of roses. Scarlett touched my shoulder, gave the girl a piercing look, and then took the seat Brando had offered her. Brando’s wife didn’t go anywhere without him, like I didn’t go anywhere without Rocco, unless we absolutely had to. Brando nodded to Rocco, and the meeting began again.
The mother pulled Ita closer, eyeing Scarlett with a mixture of scorn and fear, the same way she would sometimes eye me. Scarlett gave her a sly smile and said something to her in Slovenian.
Luca commenced the meeting again, reminding everyone why they were all in the same room. “An accusation that my son, Rocco Piero Fausti, had sexual relations with Ita Novak has come to me from her father, Nik Novak, and her mother, Irena.”
Nik Novak nodded.
“You may speak.” My father-in-law nodded at the man.
Nik Novak cleared his throat. “My daughter, Ita, has been too afraid to come forward until now,SignorFausti.SignoreRocco Fausti has been taking advantage of my daughter. He is in a position of power. My daughter could not keep quiet any longer. She feels guilt eating her here.” He touched his heart. “Now that she knows he is a married man and still after her.”
I laughed, laughed like I was crazed, and Rocco squeezed my hand. I waved a hand in front of my face, sighing. “Ridiculous,” I said in Italian. “All lies.”
Maybe if I would’ve been a man and spoken out of turn, my father-in-law would’ve had my tongue, since as a part of the family, I should’ve obeyed the rules. But women in the family played by a different set of rules. Also, I noticed a hint of respect in Luca’s eyes when I spoke in Italian. I was doing well with my lessons.
Luca looked at the girl. “Tell me now, are you lying, young lady.”
“Ask him.” Ita pointed to my husband.
“Point at my husband once more and you’ll pull back crooked fingers,” I said.
Nik Novak raised his hand.
Luca nodded to him.
“How can my daughter feel safe in the room to tell her tale whenSignorFausti’s wife is consistently making threats,SignorFausti?”
“She is crazy!” Ita screeched, and this time when she did, an echo from the harvest celebration seemed to reverberate in my skull—there was no doubt in my mind it was her in the woods that night.
My father-in-law stared at Nik Novak until he wilted in his seat. Then his eyes turned on the girl. “What is your answer to my question.”
“It is the God’s honest truth,SignorFausti!”
My father-in-law turned his penetrating stare on my husband. Without a word, my husband nodded. “In the past.”
“The past is not in question here,” my father-in-law said. He looked at the girl. “Repeat your claims.”
Ita wiped her eyes, even though no tears fell. “I rode with my father to help him with the firewood we were to bring to yourhome from the property in Piemonte. He also takes care of the firewood on this property, does he not,SignorFausti?”
My father-in-law looked at her until she squirmed some, then her shoulders squared and she lifted her chin.
“SignoreRocco Fausti was upset about the articles written about him and his wife. I entered the room with the barrels, thinking we could find more firewood from the old barrels.SignoreRocco Fausti noticed me, as he always has, and he wanted me as badly as he wanted me before. Perhaps he was drunk and demanded that I warm his bed, after it seemed as if he and his wife were on the outs. I do not know. I only know the truth. My heart is telling me this is wrong now that he is in a real marriage.”
