She glances toward the crowd, then back at me. "You must find these events…overwhelming."
Ah, she wants to ‘other’ me.
"I grew up at the Palazzo Alighieri. I've been trained my whole life to find such events instructive, not overwhelming."
I may work with the vines—but that doesn't mean I don't know how to work a room, even if I don't like it.
Her lips curve, amused. "Well, we don't see you very often at such gatherings."
By we, I assume she means Nico and her.
"No, you don't." I look around and shrug dismissively. "I find such gatherings to be more focused on appearances rather than substance. Don't you agree?"
Her smile flickers for a heartbeat.
She recovers quickly. "You've done wonderful things with Pietra Alta. Everyone's talking about it."
Well, she is the head of communications for the House of Alighieri, so she knows how to throw out a compliment that isn't one—a reminder that my worth is conditional, that I exist in the margins of the conversation she believes she owns.
She isn't the first person to underestimate me.
I don't have Alba's bluster or Toni's wit—but I am CesareAlighieri's daughter, and I come by my instincts for survival honestly.
"That's kind of you." I keep my tone soft, warm, even. "Though I try not to listen too closely to what everyone is saying."
Chiara gives me a long, deliberate look, recalibrates.
"I imagine this life isn't what you expected."
She's trying to get something out of me. A rise? An answer? Recognition for being Nico's? I'm not sure.
"This life is exactly what I expected," I correct her.
She titters. "I mean, being married to Nico. He can be"—she pauses for effect—"difficult."
I meet her gaze, comfortable in my skin. My father can shake my nerves, as can Nico, but Chiara Jossa? I don't think so.
"Marriage rarely resembles expectation."
Her eyes sharpen. "I've known him a long time."
"And I've known my father's groundskeeper my whole life. How is the length of knowing someone relevant?"
She takes a sip of her wine, then gestures vaguely toward the gardens. "Florence can be unforgiving to women who don't understand how things work."
I smile, genuinely this time. "Florence or Nico?" I challenge.
Her eyes widen, unsure where this is going.
"You know." I drop my voice. "I've found Florence unforgiving to women who believe proximity equals possession."
Her breath stills.
"I don't mean to offend." She's nervous now, but she's pulling it together; she knows how to. Women who work in a man's world must learn that or be erased. "I just worry you might misunderstand certain…arrangements."
Oh please! Really?
A mistress may bruise a wife’s ego, but she can’t take herplace. Men who are publicly married—especially in unions built on business—don’t leave their wives, no matter the mistress. Chiara should know that.
