Well, nearly perfect. Cass’s eyes went to Belladonna’s hands, but they were tucked away in elbow-length silvery gloves. Was she really missing a finger? Cass felt a bizarre urge to tug at Bella’s gloves, to expose her single imperfection.
A fist of jealousy tightened inside of her. Falco had told her that he had gone to Florence to make a name for himself, so that he would someday be worthy of Cass. But could his eagerness to be close to Belladonna have a different—more selfish—cause?
Bella laughed again and her circle of admirers did too. Madalena, normally threatened by women who were more beautiful than she was, seemed to be hanging on Belladonna’s every word. Cass felt like she was watching a circle of rodents being hypnotized by a cobra. She found Belladonna’s icy perfection repellent.
A soft breeze rustled the nearest bush, loosening a couple of waxy green leaves that danced across the silken tablecloth and landed in her lap. Cass brushed them from her skirts. A rose petal had also ended up in her lap, and she couldn’t help but marvel at its coloring—pink on one side, purple on the other.
“Lovely, aren’t they?” Belladonna said. “They’re called Janus roses, since they have two faces.”
Cass noticed Gray and Scarlet staring at her resentfully. She let the petal flutter to the ground. “I’ve never seen roses like this. And the blooms are so large. Do you put something special in the soil?” Cass asked politely.
Belladonna smiled. “I do,” she said, “but it’s a secret. I’m very proud of my flowers, you see.” She reached up to pluck a large pink-and-purple Janus rose from the side of the wooden trellis. She tossed it in Cass’s direction. “They have the most exquisite fragrance.”
Cass flinched as the bloom landed heavily on the table. Everyone was still watching her. No one but Belladonna had spoken. Hesitantly, Cass reached toward the rose. She lifted it to her face. The scent was intoxicating—like sharp perfume and sweet sugar.
Something tickled her hand. She gasped. A hairy black-and-brown spider was making its way toward her wrist. She shrieked, dropped the rose, and frantically swatted at the creature. The spider ended up on the tablecloth. The other women squealed, leaning back in their chairs as the spider made its way across the table.
Only Belladonna sat calmly. Regally. She extended a gloved hand and gently picked up the spider by one of its tiny legs. Cass suddenly felt afraid, although she couldn’t say why. The tiny spider tried to wriggle free, but Bella’s delicate grip prevented it from escaping.
“You shouldn’t fear my little helper, ladies,” Belladonna said softly. She rose from her seat and carried the wriggling spider over to a cluster of rosebushes. She set the spider down on an open blossom. “Spiders protect my roses from harmful insects.” Belladonna spun a slow circle, her eyes tracing the periphery of her garden. “Many of nature’s creatures protect me and my exquisite flowers.”
The other women murmured uneasily as the spider disappeared into a sea of petals. Cass was breathing hard. Everything looked a little blurry. The rosebushes tangled together like a drawer full of precious jewels. Beyond them, muted yellow and white lilies waved in the breeze.
She raised a hand to the lily pendant around her throat. Belladonna’s mesmerizing garden—and her beauty—had almost distracted her from her true purpose. Luca. The Book of the Eternal Rose. But she could hardly ask to peruse Belladonna’s library in the middle of tea. Perhaps later Signorina Briani might offer her and Madalena a tour of the villa.
Cass sat back in her chair and tried to focus on the conversation. At least she was finally beginning to understand the Florentine accent. She hated asking people to repeat themselves. Scarlet mentioned the scourge of vampirism, and Belladonna launched into her own story of nearly being attacked one night as she returned home from a party in the city center.
“I wear this everywhere now,” she said, “even with gloves.” She held up her left arm so they could see a slender chain of silver encircling her wrist. Two tiny bronze keys dangled from the chain. She gave Cass a curious look. “Is Venice also overrun with vampires? I’ve heard the islands are crawling with ghosts and specters that sneak in and out of buildings with the tides.”
Cass frowned. If the Order truly consisted of people opposed to the Church, she would have assumed Belladonna would denounce the priests and their trials as Falco had done, but she seemed emphatically to believe in vampirism and the recent attacks.
Before Cass could reply, Scarlet said, “Venice, eh? I heard one of the most recent to go to the drowning platform was a Venetian donna.” She clucked her tongue. “How do you suppose she got herself attacked?”
“The same way all the ladies do, I’m sure,” Belladonna said drily. “By looking for something prettier than her husband to play with. Honestly, I think some of these girls actually want to be fed upon. An unusual fetish.”
“Speaking of pretty things to play with,” Gray started, “isn’t your new artist Venetian as well?”
Belladonna’s lips curled into a grin. “Yes, he is quite a find, isn’t he? A recommendation from a business associate.”
Cass felt her cheeks heating up. She quickly dropped her eyes and pretended to be fascinated by the pattern of lace on her cuffs.
“Though your physician is quite handsome too,” Gray said.
Belladonna smiled. “And he’s promised to make sure I never get buried alive again.”
This made Cass look up again. So the story was true.
“Is he still caring for Tatiana de Borello?” Pale asked. “I was wondering if her condition had improved.”
“Poor Tatiana.” Belladonna fixed her eyes on Cass and Madalena. “You mustn’t breathe a word of this to anyone,” she said. “A young girl’s life hangs in the balance.”
Mada leaned closer. Cass fought the urge to look away; Belladonna’s catlike eyes troubled her.
“Tatiana, the dear daughter of one of my closest friends, is clinging to life after a vampire attack. She’s pale as death and her heart beats much too quickly. My physician informed the priests that she doesn’t bear the marks, but that was a lie to spare her life. No one knows how or when she was bitten, but her parents have locked her away in their palazzo. As long as the priests believe she is unmarked, she won’t be called to trial.”
“But what if she turns into a vampire?” Mada asked, eyes wide.
“They’re keeping her tied down, dear, just in case,” Belladonna said. “Bound with silver. But if she were going to change, chances are she would have done so already. It’s been days. My physician thinks the bite may have infected her differently.”
Differently? Cass wasn’t sure what Belladonna meant. According to legend, if a vampire bit you, you either died or transformed. She shuddered at the thought of there being a third, perhaps even more gruesome, possibility.
After another half hour of idle chatter, Pale excused herself, saying she needed to be home before nightfall. Cass did her best to dawdle, sipping slowly at her tea, hoping the other women would make their good-byes. Scarlet left soon after Pale, and Gray was, by this time, struggling to conceal her yawns.
Cass let her eyes wander over Belladonna’s palatial villa, scanning each arched window for any hint of Falco. Did he live here? Did they take their meals together, sharing light banter across a table laden with delicacies?