The three women, tossing questions at me one after another, managed to pry from me that Donata’s son had journeyed with us instead of being shut into his school, that both my wife and I adored our new daughter, and that Donata continued to move in high society, though I was more content sitting at home.
Grenville was no help, deep in conversation with the gentlemen. Before the ladies could take me into the ring for another round, the butler entered and cleared his throat.
“Conte de Luca has arrived, my lord.”
I rose in surprise as a rather stocky man of medium height and black hair entered and made a flourishing bow, a cape rippling over one shoulder. He rose but dropped his gloves, a wry smile creasing his face as he swiped them up from the floor and handed them and his cape to a patiently waiting footman.
This ungainly gentleman was the man I was to contact for Mr. Denis and from whom I was to obtain the costly artifact.
Chapter4
Mateo.” De Luca addressed Lord Matthew Roberts with open arms, voice booming. “How splendid to see you.”
Lord Matthew, apparently used to the conte, consented to his embrace and his noisy kisses on both cheeks.
“De Luca.” Lord Matthew’s greeting was more reserved but no less warm. “How are you, my old friend?”
“As well as ever.” De Luca spoke English with barely a trace of accent. He next turned his attention to the ladies, beaming a broad smile at them. “As beautiful a trio as I can ever hope to find.”
Lady Matthew flushed at his compliment, and Mrs. Hetherington simpered as she gave him a curtsy.
Lord Matthew introduced us. “Mr. Grenville, Captain Lacey. Conte Adolfo de Luca.”
“An honor, sir.” De Luca shook Grenville’s hand hard, no embraces for strangers. “I have heard of your collections in London, so very tasteful and intelligent.”
Satisfaction sparkled in Grenville’s eyes. “One does one’s best,” he said with an attempt at modesty.
“No, no. It is a stupendous gathering of beautiful objects, I have been told. You have seen it, Captain Lacey?”
“Indeed.” I let de Luca grip my hand, already liking the man’s genial ways. “Mr. Grenville has some amazing things.”
“I also have heard that you are under commission to purchase one of my, as you English say, bits and bobs.” De Luca grinned at my surprise. “I keep my ears open. So many are interested in my treasures, but I simply gather what I like.”
Sir Matthew chuckled. “A fine understatement.”
De Luca opened his dark eyes wide. “No, it is true. I promise you. I might have a few interesting pieces, I suppose.” He laughed, mouth open, a man amused by his own self-deprecation.
The ladies and gentlemen in the room smiled and nodded as though de Luca had made an excellent joke. I wasn’t quite certain what to make of him, but I saw a gleam of mischief in his eyes, as though he acted the bumbling aristo to disguise keen shrewdness.
“You must come and see my house, Captain Lacey,” de Luca continued. “Pick out what you like, and I won’t be too hard on you about the price.” His amusement told me he might indeed be a skilled bargainer, but I would face that when I came to it.
Grenville answered before I could. “We’d be honored, although we are in somewhat of a hurry. We depart Rome tomorrow. The ruins on the Bay of Napoli await us.”
“Ah, you English. I resided for a time in Oxford, and I noticed that you rushed through your meals and coffee, though had time to linger for hours over your ale.” De Luca’s smile shone out again. “I cannot blame you. The food was terrible, the coffee sludge, but the ale was a marvel.”
Again, all in the room laughed with him, and I could not help it as well. His humor was infectious.
“Never fear.” De Luca’s large hand landed on my shoulder. “You shall come when you return. I will put aside time for you, and you will put aside time to share a meal with me.”
We could not disagree with such a generous offer. Both Grenville and I promised to attend.
Talk turned to art and antiquities as we drank more wine. Bonaparte had helped himself to many of the treasures of the Italian States as he’d created the Kingdom of Italy, with himself at its head. The artwork, in the five years after Bonaparte’s fall, had drifted slowly back where it belonged, but by no means had all been restored.
“Plenty of works are still missing, or remain in Paris,” Grenville said. “It will be a long while before what Bonaparte wrought is completely dismantled.”
“What he wrought is idolized by some,” Sir Matthew mused. “The new constitutions would have let Italians rule themselves—or so they believed, with Bonaparte as overall emperor, of course, and members of his family over the various states. But the point was, he rid them of Hapsburg rule.” He waved his glass. “Now the Austrians have returned, their hold on the northern states tighter than ever, and they have control of Venice. A thousand-year-old republic, gone with the stroke of a pen.”
Sir Matthew simplified the situation greatly, but it was true that Bonaparte, the wars, and the Congress of Vienna afterward had altered the map of Europe. No more Holy Roman Empire: the Hapsburg territories were now called the Austrian Empire, and France, while nominally a kingdom again, would never be the same. Only the Ottomans continued as they had been, though I’d no doubt Bonaparte’s ambition would have turned to that realm if he’d prevailed in Europe.
