“I listen, madam, and as yet I do not hear anything I do not already know. You have spent half your life here, as my father’s second wife. You have given me no reason to assume you were displeased with your station in life.” He gazed about the richly furnished chamber.
“But a slave nonetheless. You have lived many years in Europe. You know that European women liv
e with their men, eat at the same table, go out with them in society. They are not shut away, their faces covered with veils.”
Kamal heard trembling anger in her voice. “You digress, madam. I trust this vendetta in some way gives meaning to your foolishness.”
“I will tell you what happened, my son,” Giovanna said. She saw Raj from the corner of her eye, standing silently near the doorway, and drew to an abrupt halt. She had no idea how much the eunuch knew, but she did know he disliked and distrusted her, though he had never shown her any overt disdain. She dismissed him with an angry wave of her hand.
She stretched her slender hand over the small table and clasped her son’s wrist. “Twenty-six years ago, I was to wed a wealthy man, half Italian and half English, a man who was a peer of the English realm. His name is Anthony Welles. His title, the Earl of Clare. He is a man of substance in banking and shipping. He spends half his time in Genoa and half in England. It is he who was responsible for my capture.”
Kamal frowned at her unexpected words, but his voice was calm. “And why did the Earl of Clare do such a thing?”
Giovanna drew a convincingly shuddering breath and forced a furrow of pain to her brow. “It was not actually he, my son, but rather the harlot he had brought from England with him. You see, I was to wed him, but this little English slut, one of his mistresses, knew of it, and offered a great sum of money to your father to remove me permanently. The earl wed the woman, while I languished here, a slave.”
Kamal’s frown did not ease. “This Earl of Clare, did he know what his wife had done?”
“Yes, but only after he had wed her. Your father told me that.”
“The earl made no inquiries? Made no attempt to right the wrong done to you?”
“The little harlot had spun her web about him by that time and was to bear his child. He did nothing.”
“How was an Englishwoman able to contact my father?”
“I do not know, but the fact remains that I am here, and have been for more years than I care to count. Both of them merit my hate, Alessandro, and yours, as my son. They must be punished for what they did.”
Your hate has already plundered two ships and brought me dishonor, he thought. “Continue,” he said.
“They are responsible for something horrible, Alessandro. You see, I was with the earl’s half-brother at the time of my capture. He was an innocent young man, and he was swiftly put to death. I believe that the earl distrusted his half-brother and was glad to be rid of him. Cesare Bellini was his name, and he was a brilliant man, a man who possibly could have taken over the earl’s holdings in Genoa.”
“The Countess of Clare—is she still living?”
“Yes. And they have two children, grown now, just as are you. They have become but richer with the fruits of their deceit.”
“Why did you simply not tell me this? Why did you act behind my back? Does it please you to have made me a liar and a murderer?”
“No one, my son, will ever know that the earl’s ships were taken by Barbary pirates. No one will ever suspect you. I have protected you.”
“Protected me.” He gave a furious bark of laughter. “This is beyond reason. If you wished vengeance, Mother, why did you not ask Hamil to help you?”
Hamil would have laughed in my face. Giovanna was expecting this and answered readily enough, “Alessandro, it is your responsibility, as my son, to avenge me. Your father saw me as naught but a plaything for his bed, and Hamil saw me only as his half-brother’s Christian mother, not worthy of his exalted notice.”
But Hamil hadn’t been that way at all, Kamal thought, staring down at his coffee. He said slowly, “Now that you have toyed with the earl, do you wish me to have him killed? Is that the favor you ask, Mother?”
Giovanna leaned toward him, unable to contain her excitement. “I want them to suffer, as I suffered. I want them both brought here so that I may face them with their treachery. Perhaps the harlot could be sold in the slave market and spend the rest of her days treated as the miserable slut she is. As for the earl, I would see him in the mines.”
“Your reason is poisoned with your vengeance,” Kamal said, feeling distaste at the venom in her voice. “When the Earl of Clare discovers that we did indeed destroy his ships, do you think he will not take action against us? Do you not realize what the English could do to us with all their warships?”
Timely tears glistened in her eyes, and she stammered, “I . . . I promise you, my son, that not one man escaped to tell what happened. The earl cannot be certain it was the Barbary pirates who were responsible. I was careful. Indeed, I have let his men discover that most of the goods from his two ships have appeared in Naples. Soon, my son, the proud earl will travel to the court of Naples to discover the truth. Then I will have him.”
Kamal stared at the woman who was his mother. “Then you wish me to send men to Naples to capture the earl when he appears? We could do that just as easily in Genoa.”
“No, Alessandro. I myself will travel to Naples, not using my real name, of course, for the earl would recognize it. When he appears, I wish to confront him myself. He will be away from his armed fortress in Genoa, away from all his friends, and all his men. I will bring him here to you, for justice.”
“You have planned this for a long time, have you not?” Kamal asked her, his blue eyes steady on hers.
“Oh yes,” she said, again lowering her eyes. “For a very long time. A woman does not have much to do, after all, in a harem, even the Bey’s mother. Even my choice of Naples works beautifully, for there are many French dissidents in the court itself, unknown to the king and queen. I am using one of the more dishonorable young noblemen for my purposes. You needn’t worry, my son. He will do exactly as I wish once I am there to control him. When the earl arrives, his disappearance will be blamed on the French dissidents. There will be no taint of dishonor on your name.”