“Me next,” Tom said, holding up a hand.“Allow me to be the second to say best wishes and suggest that perhaps you might take her somewhere more appropriate—more romantic—for a proposal?Trevi Fountain, perhaps?”
“We would require a chaperone,” David responded.“Sort of defeats the desire for privacy.”
Will lifted a hand.“I would like to say I am not surprised, but I am, and I wondered if you had thought about the logistics of such a union.”
David nodded.“I have.We’ll live in the Devonfield townhouse in London.I told Conte D’Avalos I would bring her back to Rome every two years or so.”He dipped his head.“Vittoria has relatives in London, and although Lady Morganfield is getting on in age, there are a number of cousins living there.”
Nodding, Will said, “She may have more friends there than she does here.”
“My turn,” Donald announced.“First, I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart, because Nicoletta has been hoping for this marriage for I cannot tell you how long,” he said.“Yes, she gets whatever she wants?—”
“Are you referring to your wife or to Vittoria?”Tom asked in a tease.
“Both, actually, but I could not have found a better wife in all of England,” Donald admitted.“The fact that she came with the Montblanc fortune means our lives are far more comfortable than I could have provided on my meager earnings from my books, so there is that as well.”
“You’re welcome,” David replied.He lifted his glass of grappa.“Here’s hoping she accepts my offer.”
“Here, here,” they replied in unison, downing the liquor.
Meanwhile, in the parlor
Arranged in chairs and a settee in a semi-circle in front of the fireplace, Barbara and Nicoletta sat to Vittoria’s left and Diana and Helen took the chairs to her right.Left in the settee in the middle, Vittoria held her teacup and saucer in her hands while a maid saw to completing the tea service.
Once everyone had been served and the servant had departed, a cacophony of voices sounded while Vittoria calmly took a sip of tea.
“One at a time,mia donnas,” she said in a quiet voice.The women collectively stopped speaking all at once and then giggled at the sudden silence.
Helen tittered.“We sounded like a hen party,” she said, helping herself to a lump of sugar from the sugar-pot.“Barbara, what are your thoughts?He’s your son.Should she accept his offer?”
Vittoria held up a hand.“Before you say anything, know that we shall live in London.”
The older matron nodded and angled her head to one side.“I have been rather happy to gain a daughter from this country, and although I never thought it could happen again, I will be very happy to welcome you as my second daughter,” she said.“And hopefully Nancy as my third.”
“Grazie,” Vittoria whispered.“So you are aware, I didn’t thinkDonPenton liked me, either.At least, not until today when his actions proved he more than liked me.”She lifted the hem of her skirts to reveal her half-boots.“He had these made for me,” she said.“And they are far more comfortable than the slippers I should be wearing with this gown.He has already ordered two more pairs in other colors.”
“Oh,” Diana breathed appreciatively.“So...do you likehim?Because, truth be told, yesterday I thought you despised him.”
Vittoria allowed a long sigh.“I fear I have been raised to believe the worst of men, and due to the circumstances of our original meeting—when I did not give him all my names—I thought he was like all the others.”
“A rogue, you mean?”Helen asked softly.
She nodded.“Our aristocratic society here is filled with them.It is whyZiaArmenia has not wed.But David came to rescue me from such a beast, and I did not trust his motives.”
“He’s not a rogue,” Diana assured her.
“I know that now,” Vittoria replied.
They all turned to Nicoletta, who was beaming in delight, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.“I am so happy for you,” she said, the tears escaping to roll down her cheeks.“I have been planning this match for you since I met David two years ago,” she said on a sob.
“Oh, Nikky,” Vittoria said, leaning over to offer her aunt a handkerchief.“Don’t cry.”
“I may join her,” Barbara said, sniffling.
Diana and Helen exchanged quick glances.“Are you going to accept his offer?”Helen asked.
Vittoria nodded.“Of course,” she replied.“I told him I would speak with him tonight.That is, if we can do so without a chaperone.”
“You’re allowed,” Nicoletta said, grinning despite the tears that continued to stream down her face.“Mayhap the library, for the privacy,” she suggested.
“Sì,” Vittoria replied.“I’ll go there now.”
The other four watched her take her leave, their collective sighs of relief resulting in another round of giggles.
