“Lorenzo di Medici could have been my brother. He was my friend, and nothing more,” Bianca said. “I valued his friendship. But I never knew most of the men who attended those dinners. At least they were the more respectable of Sebastiano’s acquaintances. This man who passed me on the beach does not look debauched, nor did he stare at me rudely, as a lewd man might.”
“He didn’t speak at all?” Agata asked.
“Nay, he simply went by, never breaking stride. I was very relieved, I must tell you,” Bianca admitted. “An acquaintance would have required us to exchange names. Even if no one is aware that I have left my husband and seek an annulment, anyone learning my name might ask questions in the city. My husband would surely hear of it, and be upon me before I could escape him. I can’t go back, Agata! I can’t!”
“You will not have to, mistress,” Agata assured the young woman.Though how she bears this lonely life, I do not know,she thought. She was lonely too, but at least she had the company of Filomena and the other women in the house for companionship. Bianca had no one really of her own age and station with whom to converse. And when were the Pietro d’Angelos going to communicate with them?
On her next walk, Bianca was suddenly accosted by a beautiful, long-haired hound. He was golden in color and unlike any she had ever seen before. He bounded up to her, wagging his featherlike tail, and immediately stuck his long wet nose into her hand. Bianca laughed and patted the dog’s elegant, aristocratic head. His fur was soft, although his coat was heavy; even his legs were covered in the long, feathery fur.
“Where have you come from, you lovely fellow?” Bianca asked aloud, as if expecting the exotic creature to answer. Much to her surprise, the dog fell into step with her as she continued on her trek. She found she was actually enjoying the animal’s company. Then she saw the beast had a narrow gold color about its slender neck. Bianca stopped and knelt, looking closely at the collar. It was engraved with the following words:My name is Darius and my master is Prince Amir. Could this be the prince who was her neighbor? Then she heard someone calling for the dog. Standing quickly, she saw a short man hurrying towards them.
Breathless, he bowed low to her. “I pray Darius has not offended you,madonna,” the man said in accented Italian. “He does not usually run off as he did today.”
“No,” Bianca replied. “I quite enjoyed his company, but I am glad you have found him, and relieved to know he has a home. He is a beautiful animal.”
“My name is Krikor,madonna.I am the slave of Prince Amir, who is your neighbor,” he replied, bowing again.
Bianca acknowledged his courtesy with a tiny movement of her head, but then she turned away. “I must go,” she said.
“The prince will want to know who to thank for finding his dog. He is quite fond of Darius,” Krikor said.
“No thanks are necessary,” Bianca assured him, and hurried away.
The prince laughed when his servant told him of the encounter he had with Bianca. “The lady wishes to remain anonymous,” he said, “which but increases my curiosity. Are there any visitors to Luce Stellare, Krikor? Perhaps the lady has an important lover she does not wish to expose.”
Krikor shook his head. “To the best of my knowledge, my lord, she lives alone with a small staff of servants. I have never seen anyone on the road stop at her home, but I do not sit and watch day and night. My instincts tell me she is afraid of something, which is why she maintains her privacy so zealously.”
“Let Darius loose each day when she walks,” Amir instructed. “He will come home without you fetching him. I see I must be patient in order to unravel this puzzle of my beautiful neighbor, but I will decipher it.”
Bianca was surprised to find Darius coming to meet her the next afternoon when she reached the beach. He gladly accepted her pats and then trotted along as she walked. Bianca was no fool. After a few days, she realized Darius’s appearance was not a coincidence. Certainly the dog had not gotten loose on his own again. He had been released to join her. Her neighbor was curious, which presented a problem.
“Walking upon the beach is one of my few pleasures,” she said to Agata. “Eventually this prince will follow his animal. He will ask questions I do not wish to answer. What if he recognizes me? I cannot walk on the road. He is spoiling it for me.” She was becoming agitated just thinking about it.
“Put a note beneath the dog’s collar telling its master that you wish to maintain your privacy,” Agata suggested. “If he is a gentleman, he will comply with your wishes.” The servingwoman slowly and steadily pulled a hairbrush through her mistress’s long ebony hair in an effort to soothe her. She knew Bianca enjoyed the dog’s company. They must find her a pet or two to keep her distracted from her situation. Filomena would know how to accomplish such a task. She should have thought of it before.
“If only my mother would write to me,” Bianca fretted. “We are so isolated.”
“When there is something to communicate, your mother will write,” Agata told the young woman. “Better she is careful than bring your husband down on us.”
Bianca took Agata’s suggestion, and the next day when she returned home from her walk she first stopped to carefully push the note she had written beneath Darius’s gold collar. “Go home now,” she told the dog, stepping onto the path leading up to her villa. She stopped briefly part of the way up to watch as the dog loped down the beach towards his own home.
The prince always knew the approximate time his hound returned and waited for him. Seeing his master, Darius trotted over to him, pushing his long nose into the man’s hand. “Well, well, back from your walk already,” Amir noted. “Did she ask after me? Is she as lovely as I think she is, or is it my imagination?” Then he saw the small parchment tucked beneath the dog’s collar. “Ahh, she has sent me a love note,” he chuckled and drew the parchment from the collar, opening it carefully.
Signore,it began.While I certainly enjoy your dog’s company, I hope you will not consider it an excuse to intrude further upon my privacy.It was signedThe Lady from Luce Stellare.Amir laughed ruefully. Did his neighbor not consider that her demand but whetted his appetite further to know who she was?
The next afternoon, Bianca found a new note beneath Darius’s collar. Unable to restrain her curiosity, she pulled it out and opened it.Who are you?the note read. She crushed the parchment and stuffed it into the pocket of her cape. The afternoon after that there was another message attached to the dog.Tell me your name,it begged. She smiled, unable to help herself.
“He is flirting with you,” Agata said, chuckling.
“He shouldn’t be. Until I am told otherwise, I am a married woman,” Bianca said.
“But he doesn’t know that, and perhaps it doesn’t matter to him. Men are like that, mistress,” Agata responded.
“He cannot know who I am,” Bianca replied. “Must I cease walking upon my own beach because this man is harassing me?”
“You can walk,” Agata told her. “He will grow bored with this game if you do not play with him. Men can be such children.”
So Bianca walked, and each day Darius would join her, but there were no more notes beneath his collar. Then one afternoon the dog appeared before her carrying a small covered basket in his mouth. He stopped, placing it before her on the pebbled sand, and sat down, looking up at Bianca anxiously. She heard a distressed sound from the willow container and lifted the lid. There, within, was a small, very furry white kitten.
