Glittering Promises (20 page)

Sharp rocks bit at my tender feet, and I abruptly paused and almost fell, just as Eleonora had done.

“Whoa,” he said with a smile. “Perhaps not so fast?”

I shook off his hand in agitation, feeling first the weight of my ill-placed jealousy and then the assured righteousness of it. Was I imagining it all? “I’m all right.”

He frowned and grabbed my hand again. “Cora, what is the matter?”

I looked up at him and then glanced over to Eleonora, who was two pools away now. I shook my head. I was being silly. Imagining things. She was simply being kind. Friendly. How could I begrudge her care for Will? Didn’t he inspire respect from everyone he met? And she had likely just fallen, exactly as I had done, stepping on sharp rocks.

His eyes, watching me intently, widened in understanding, and then narrowed, one eyebrow lifting. “Why, Cora Diehl Kensington, are you
jealous
?”

“No. No!” I said, shaking my hand loose and moving toward Eleonora. I felt exposed and silly. In more ways than one.

He quickly overtook me, now smiling broadly, hands on his hips. But he at least had the sense to lower his voice before gloating. “I never imagined the day. I have to say, it feels grand. But, Cora,” he said, cupping a hand around my neck and using his thumb to coax my face toward him, “you”—he leaned his forehead against mine—“have nothing to fear.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing,” he said with a promise in his voice.

“You watch yourself, William,” I said, lifting my head and staring steadily into his blue eyes. “Our hostess is beautiful and charming. Beguiling.”

He smiled, as irritatingly pleased as possible. Then he took my hand. “Come on. I want to see something Antonio told me was here.”

We pressed on, clambering over the next pool wall and then the next until we joined Eleonora in the deepest pool with the waterfall. She barely paid us any attention as she allowed the water to pound over her shoulders.

I sank deeper into the hot water. It smelled some of sulfur, but also of fresh grass and hot stones. Will went to his knees, letting the water cover his shoulders. His bathing costume was sleeveless, and I admired the broad strength of his muscles even as I smiled at the relaxation that stole across his face.

He opened his eyes and caught me staring.

I smiled, feeling suddenly shy, and he grabbed my waist under the water, turning me toward him. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” I said.

“No. I just wanted you to get used to the heat. This is what I want to show you.” He took my hand, and we moved to the left of Eleonora. “Take a deep breath, and close your eyes.”

I did as he asked, and he pulled me forward. I almost opened my mouth to shout, but he was moving slowly, the water pounding down on my head, my neck, my back, until we were under it. On the other side.

I blinked, and looked around. It was a grotto of sorts, a room of stone, hollowed out over the years by the water. “Oh, Will!” I practically shouted to be heard above the thundering falls. “It’s so lovely.” I turned to go back, knowing we shouldn’t be here alone, in nothing but our bathing costumes, but he pulled me back around and into his arms, against his chest. He lifted me until our faces were at the same height as we sank down into the water. Then he bent his head and kissed me, long and hard and searchingly, demanding me, all of me. At first, I held back, but the longer we embraced, the more I gave in, wanting to be close to him as much as he wanted to be close to me. After a long moment, he pulled back and held my face in both his hands, tenderly, methodically kissing my eyes, my nose, my cheeks until I decided he wished to cover every inch of my face with his lips. And I wanted him to. That and more…

“Oh, Cora, Cora,” he said, pulling me close until our noses and dripping wet foreheads touched. “Never doubt that you are the only woman for me. You were given to me by God Himself. I have eyes for no other. I promise you. Do you understand me?”

His intensity almost scared me, but it thrilled me more. I nodded and kissed him, taking my turn to pull him close. After another long moment, he took my shoulders and abruptly set me aside. He lifted a finger, looking pained at the effort, shaking his head. “No more.”

I smiled, knowing he was doing his best to retain some semblance of gentlemanly distance. “No more,” I repeated in a whisper, knowing he couldn’t hear me over the thundering falls, but he could see the reluctant agreement in my eyes. For the first time, I had an even stronger understanding of what might lie ahead in the marital bed. And it took everything in me to keep from throwing myself at him. He just drew me…drew me in such a deep way, as if there was something connected between us already, and I only wished to deepen that connection.

I took his hand and moved to go, knowing we had been alone for far too long. What would Eleonora think of us?

I put my hands on his shoulders and lifted up to kiss him once more, softly, lightly. I cradled his face and mouthed, “I love you.” And before he could say it back, I dunked under again and swam beneath the falls.

Eleonora, I saw, had moved off to the far side and, with slender arms outstretched across the rim rocks, rested with her face to the sun, eyes closed. She was so comely, so inviting, that I was glad again for the reassurance Will had just given me. He rose then, silently, barely breaking the water as he emerged beside me, a grin spread across his face. “Hello, lovely,” he said, his hand against the small of my back.

“Hello, handsome,” I returned.

“Come. Let us find some place to sit and rest,” he said, dropping his hand and swimming for the far edge, on the opposite side of the pool from Eleonora.

I followed him, treading water, feeling like I was swimming in a vast tub.

“It’s a bit warmer than the Rhone,” I said.

He smiled at me over his shoulder. “Even the Mediterranean,” he said.

He looked like he was searching below the water and then, apparently discovering what he sought, gestured for me to come closer. “Here. This should be the right height.”

I felt the rock ledge beneath and sat down. It was perfect. Then he found a rock two feet away. He reached for my hand and pulled it under the water, entwining his fingers with mine, and leaned his head back against another stone, looking utterly at peace, as I felt. I wondered if there was any way for us to stay here in Tuscany. Forever. But I knew that it was an idle wish, a fantasy, an escape. And I wanted to find my way in the real world with Will, no matter what it took.

“Legend has it,” Will said, “that Jupiter and Saturn were in a great battle. A thunderbolt fell from Jupiter, and it birthed the headwaters of these springs.”

“A fitting legend for the place,” I said, easing my head left, then right, stretching my neck. “You’ve never been here before?”

“No. I always wanted to come, but Uncle Stuart felt it was…unseemly.”

“I see. But what a loss! This place is grand. Everyone should see it at least once.”

Eleonora rose and swam closer to us. “If I stay in much longer, I fear I might fall asleep and never wake. Are you both ready for cooler waters?”

Will glanced my way, leaving it to me.

“In a moment,” I said.

“All right,” Eleonora said. She lifted a finger of warning. “But don’t stay in too long. The Romans knew that a hot bath was to be enjoyed for a time, but too long and it became dangerous. Thus the move to cooler waters.” She gestured toward the river. I understood the plan, then. We’d enter each successive pool below us, gradually getting cooler, until we entered the cold river water mixed with the last of the heat. It was perfect.

Eleonora clambered over one pool wall, waded through it, then climbed over the next. I inwardly shook my head at my silliness. She wasn’t after Will. She might notice how handsome, how fine, how strong, how perfectly wonderful he was, but I could hardly begrudge her that.

Wouldn’t I do the very same if I were in her shoes?

CHAPTER 15

~Cora~

We drove home, relaxed and sleepy as the wind and sun dried our hair. Mine flew around my face wildly, but I couldn’t find it within myself to care. I knew it would be a tangled mess, but once at Villa Masoni, I’d brush it out and, if need be, wash it and begin again. I hadn’t even finished buttoning the troublesome buttons on my skirt, figuring that two were enough to hold it and hiding the rest by leaving my blouse untucked. My shoes were on the floor of the car. I wiggled my toes in delight, feeling more content than I had in years as we turned through the stone gates and onto the long drive to the villa, which ran between two sections of the vineyard.

It was evening—we’d been gone all day—and we were all famished and eager for a casual supper on the patio as Eleonora had suggested. There’d been some talk of the others spending the night in Montalcino with some of Eleonora’s friends, and they’d all taken an overnight bag. But as we pulled nearer to the villa, we saw that the four other cars were there. They’d returned. I looked in alarm at Will, and he frowned at me, even as I hurriedly tried to tuck my blouse into my skirt and pat down my wild hair.

We came to a halt. Will set the brake and looked over at us. We returned his hesitant look and then forced ourselves out of the motorcar.

They emerged around the side of the house. Clearly, the servants had settled them on the patio, and they’d heard us arrive. Viv and Andrew came first. Both visibly pulled back, Viv lifting her hand to her mouth.

I laughed under my breath and smiled over at her, cocking my head. “Surely it’s not as bad as all that,” I said, patting my hair.

She resumed her approach, but I could see that she was still stunned by my appearance. Her eyes traveled from my bare toes, hovered over my haphazardly tucked waist, then went up to my hair. “My goodness, Cora. What happened to you?”

I laughed outright then, as the others rounded the corner. Hugh and Lil, Felix and Nell, all looking as pristine and perfectly coifed as always. “By the saints, man,” Felix said, shaking Will’s hand, “from the looks of things, you’ve taken my sister and joined the Gypsies!”

“If only I had such courage,” I said, smiling at him. “We were merely out to the thermal baths, and this is the result.”

“I, for one, think you look wildly perfect,” Lil said, giving me a long hug. “If only we could wear our hair like that all the time!”

I smiled and pretended to pose for a photograph. “All one has to do is go for a swim and then have a chauffeur drive you about under the sun until your hair is dry.”

“Oh, I do wish we’d been with you for that swim,” Lil said, a pout on her pretty lips.

“Indeed,” Hugh said, eyeing me with a suggestive gaze and then moving on to study Eleonora as she approached. “For multiple reasons.” He turned to Will. “How is it that you get all the luck, friend?”

We moved inside, and Viv and the girls followed me as I went to my room to change. As soon as we were out of the men’s earshot, they began peppering me with questions. About Will. About me sleeping away the morning. About our wild outing to the baths. I did my best to answer them all, and eventually the girls went off to freshen up for supper. Yet Vivian stayed behind. I eyed her via my dressing table mirror. It had a long, jagged crack down the center and peeling backing. I still struggled with a few knots in my hair and resisted the urge to ring for Anna. “How was Montalcino?” I asked her.

“Oh, fine,” she said, examining a broken fingernail. “Another quaint, ancient walled city, a fortress, a famous red wine, a connection with Siena’s history. You know, more of the same. Aren’t you weary of this? I long for the city. But mostly, I long for home.”

“You do?” I asked, sitting down beside her, still trying to get the last knot out of my hair. I held a segment and furiously brushed at it. “That’s funny. Because all day, I’ve been thinking about how I never want to leave.”

“Well, that’s because you’re in love,” she said, leaning forward to squeeze my knee.

We both froze, recognizing what her statement implied.

“And you’re not,” I said softly, staring into her eyes.

She rose quickly. “Don’t be silly. I only meant—”

“Viv. I know what you meant. But don’t you see what you said? What is in
your
heart?”

“Not everyone lives a fairy tale, Cora,” she said, striding over to the window.

“Believe me, I know.”

“Do you?” she asked over her shoulder. “Cora Diehl Kensington? The belle of every ball? Catching the eye of every bachelor?”

“I’m only interested in one,” I said, frowning slightly.

She turned away, back to the window, and put a small hand on its frame. “But there are many more in the wings. If you turned Will away, Pierre would be there in a second,” she said so quietly I could barely hear her. “And if Pierre wasn’t, there’d be ten others.”

I shoved off the bed and went over to her, leaning against the wall. She didn’t look at me, so I stared at her profile. “Is that what you fear, then? That if you don’t accept Andrew’s proposal, there will be no others?”

“I don’t know,” she said, dodging my eyes, looking down, to the room, then back out again. “Perhaps. It’s always only been Andrew. Other than…”

Other than the boy Anna had told me about. “You loved another, once. And it turned out badly.”

Her eyes fluttered up to meet mine in surprise. “Anna told you?”

I nodded. “She was trying to warn me about Father’s reaction to Will’s pursuit. But it was a different time, I think,” I said, taking her hand in mine, “for our family. When he drove your friend away, Father was different. Wasn’t he?”

She paused, thought about it, then nodded. “Much,” she said under her breath.

“Perhaps, Viv, it’s time to trust your heart again. Rather than living in fear of Father or fear of being alone. What if you trusted in your heavenly Father’s love for you? The inner strength He’s implanted within you? You’re a strong woman, Viv. Far stronger than you believe.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I do.” I bit my lip. “And you deserve love, true love. Not an arranged marriage. Aren’t we past the era of such things? When women had no voice in their own future?” I pulled her away from the window, back to sit on the edge of the bed. “When I get home, Viv, I want to help make Montana the next state to accept the female vote.”