Evening Star (Star Quartet 1)

“No, it was too hot,” she said, not turning to face him.

“There is some breeze here.”

“Uncle Daniele?”

“Si?”

“Will Vittorio do that to Cametta when they are married?”

“It is unlikely. Her family would be most displeased were he to tie her up, beat her, and share her with another man. If she had no family, it would be another matter entirely.”

“He is unnatural.”

“He is wild and young and quite degenerate. At least Cametta will be a countess. With the money she will bring him, he will be able to indulge all his elaborate charades. Given his tastes, I venture to guess that Cametta will not have to suffer much of him in her bed.”

“Cametta loves him.”

“She is infatuated with him, and has less sense than a child. She will be perfectly happy, I assure you. Vittorio will give her a child, and then she can lead the kind of life for which she has been raised.”

He saw Giana shudder.

“Are you cold, my dear?”

She shook her head. “No, I am sad.”

“Don’t be,” he said sharply. “It is life.”

“But she will be his wife.”

Daniele sighed. “Giana, do you still not understand? Being a man’s wife is all the girl can aspire to, but it is not much. A wife holds a place somewhat higher than a man’s servant and somewhat lower than his dog. She is his chattel, by law. If he wants to beat her, he can, unless, as in Cametta’s case, her family holds the purse strings. Then, I venture to say, it would not be excessively wise. But even if the man’s pleasures are somewhat perverted, like Vittorio’s, any court in Italy, or England for that matter, would uphold his right to do whatever he wished. A wife must submit. It is her duty.” Daniele was silent for a moment. “I recall a story about the famous French author Victor Hugo. You may know he is reputed to be quite a lady’s man. He married some eighteen years ago. It is said that his wife protested his excessive sexual appetite

s, claiming that he had forced her nine times on their wedding night. The judge, as of course any man would, reproved her sharply and returned her to her husband.”

Giana felt her throat close over angry words. Her gaze remained fastened toward the darkened city. Why can I not see Randall’s face? Why can I not imagine what he would say at such a story?

“Did you know that a woman in England cannot even sign a contract? Your mother, to transact her business, must have Thomas Hardesty, her partner, affix his noble signature for it to be legal. I find it odd that your Queen Victoria not only encourages such things but also has actually backed laws to further subjugate women.”

Daniele laid his hand on Giana’s arm and was surprised to find her rigid beneath his fingers.

“What are you thinking, my dear?”

Giana drew a deep breath. “I was thinking,” she said quietly, knowing that she wasn’t speaking precisely the truth, “that with all the injustice in the world, it is fortunate for me that I will have Randall to protect me.”

Daniele’s intake of breath sounded like a hiss. “Bennett protect you? Has it never occurred to you, Giana, that you should want to protect yourself?”

She waved away his words, and her voice was softly sad. “I don’t know if I could bear leaving Randall, Uncle.”

“Randall, my child, or what you still imagine him to be?”

“Good night, Uncle,” Giana said stiffly, shaking off his hand. “It is cooler now. I believe I will be able to sleep.”

Chapter 7

“The Flower Auction,” Daniele explained to Giana, “is a touted Roman tradition.”

“What an unusual name. What is it, Uncle?”

“When a girl is a virgin, as you are, my dear, she is considered a prize until the first man takes her maidenhead, or deflowers her. Hence the name Flower Auction. Attendance is carefully controlled, with only very wealthy, selected gentlemen admitted. I have seen the list of gentlemen who will be present. Several of them unfortunately have seen you at Madame Lucienne’s, and so, my dear, to safeguard your shady reputation, you will wear an auburn wig.”