Tom and Helen joined them, the younger couple serpentining their way down to the Piazza di Spagna in an effort to avoid the stairs that had been damaged or were crumbling from the effects of time.
“Shall we?”David asked, glad Vittoria once again threaded her arm through his.He couldn’t imagine how she would be able to descend so many stairs given the bell-skirted gown she wore.“I promise to catch you should you stumble.These stairs are not in very good condition.”
“I will be fine,” she replied, “but I do prefer climbing them instead of going down them.”
“Won’t we be doing that later?”he asked, glancing back to see how far down they had come from the church.
She gave him a quelling glance.“Nicoletta has carriages following us for a reason.We’ll walk all the way to the Pantheon, but we’ll be riding home.”
He chuckled softly as he led them down a path of stairs that were mostly intact.“Such a shame they are so damaged.”
“That’s because they’re French,” she replied with derision.
“What?”David scoffed softly.
“The Bourbons had them built.They’ve been here since seventeen-twenty-five,” she explained.
“Well, I think their age has something to do with their condition,” he countered.“Tell me about what we’re heading towards,” he added, lifting his chin to indicate the fountain below them.
“That is the Fontana della Barcaccia,” Vittoria replied.
“It’s shaped like a boat,” David remarked.
“Indeed.Papa told me it was designed by Pietro Bernini?—”
“The pope’s architect for the Acqua Vergine?”David interrupted.
“The very same,” she replied, her arched brow indicating she was impressed he knew of the aqueduct that fed several fountains in Rome.“He designed it in honor of a boat that was left shipwrecked here in the piazza when the Tiber flooded in fifteen ninety-eight.”
David glanced in the direction he thought the river might be and frowned.“That must have been some flood,” he murmured.
When they finally reached the Piazza di Spagna, David rushed them to the edge of the fountain.For the briefest of moments, he once again imagined Vittoria in the structure, wet but for her head.For some reason, the idea of her in a sinking boat had him realizing he would go in after her.Save her from drowning, for surely her gown and petticoats would drag her under the surface.“If I remember my readings about the aqueduct, the fountains along it are all gravity-fed,” he mused.
Vittoria appeared confused.“Gravity-fed?”she repeated, shaking her head slightly.
“Oh, the, uh, the water in the aqueduct is essentially running downhill, which means these fountains are able to spout their water simply due to gravity.”He glanced around.“The next fountain on the line is probably in that direction,” he said, pointing toward the south.
“We’re headed there next,” Donald said, joining his brother.Nicoletta stepped up alongside him, a small flask held in one gloved hand.“The water here is drinkable if you’re thirsty,” she said.
“Really?”David asked in awe.
“Most of the fountains feature fresh water,” Donald said.He held out his own flask and David took a sip while Vittoria saw to filling her own.The silvermensahad obviously been in her pocket, for she didn’t carry a reticule.
“Very refreshing,” David remarked.
“Even more so if you douse yourself in it,” Vittoria teased.
David blinked.“Careful, my lady, or you shall be taking your second bath of the day,” he warned, although his grin was wide.
Vittoria’s eyes rounded.“How is it you know I took one already?”
Seeing her shock had David smirking.“I could say it was a lucky guess, but you smell of lemons and something lightly floral,” he murmured, only loud enough for her to hear.
Inhaling softly, Vittoria turned away from him before her blush was evident.
“We had best be on our way,” Nicoletta said.“The next fountain we’ll see is my favorite of all.”
“Mine, too,” Donald said, offering her his arm as he surreptitiously bussed her on the cheek.
Shrieks of delight had them turning to see their cousins splashing water on each other and on Will and Barbara.
“The sooner the better,” David said.
Chuckling, the four of them led the others out of the piazza and in a southerly direction.
“Downhill all the way,” Vittoria murmured.
When David glanced in her direction, he saw she displayed a pleasant expression.Something about seeing her happy seemed to put him in a much better mood.
He had come to realize he really didn’t like a shrew.
