hands and sobbed, shoulders shaking.
Lazar stared at him, realizing the man was already tortured beyond anything he could have devised.
“Please do not harm my daughter,” he whispered without looking up. “She is a good girl, and she has suffered enough.”
Lazar was silent for a moment. “You are a failure in every imaginable way. Do you know that, Monteverdi? Do you realize you promised your only daughter to a man who even tonight tried to rape her?”
He looked up, white. “What?”
“Your Lord Clemente—I redressed the situation,” he muttered with a wave of his hand.
“No, no.” He bent his head, weeping softly. “Allegra, my little one.”
“I am taking her under my protection,” he said, “for her sake and for Lady Cristiana’s, not for yours. Then only one survivor shall remain from both our families.”
Still prostrate on the floor, the governor looked up at him in sudden horror, apprehending at last the full scale of his vendetta, understanding now why Lazar had timed his revenge for this celebration, when all of Monteverdi’s kin were gathered under his roof.
“The House of Monteverdi, like the Fiori, shall be no more,” Lazar said softly. “Though I carry out this deed, the blood is on your hands.”
He walked out and slammed the door behind him as the governor’s wailing and pleading began.
Lazar found himself strangely moved as he walked down the sterile halls of the palazzo to retrieve his lovely prize from safekeeping in the tower.
Poor kitten, he thought sadly. How empty her young life must have been. A mother left devastated by the death of her friends. A lying coward for a father. He could just picture her as a lonely little girl in this big, marble palace devoid of love, pawned off on relatives in a city where she didn’t even speak the language. At least for the short time he had had his family, they had been close-knit and happy—Father and Mother, him, Phillip—otherwise known as Pip—and little Anna, who had been only four years old at the time of her murder.
Not for Monteverdi’s sake but for hers, he decided to let Allegra see her father one last time to say good-bye as he had not been allowed to do. In any case, then she could hear from Monteverdi’s own mouth that Lazar was indeed who he claimed to be, not a fraud.
In the white, breezy foyer, he called a few men over to update him, standing out of the way as the Brethren carried out treasure after treasure, looting the palace with the methodical efficiency he’d taught them.
Captain Bickerson, of The Tempest , reported the ships’ holds were near capacity. If they loaded up much more, they’d pay for it in speed. The lookouts still saw no sign of the navy.
“Excellent. And Clemente? Has he been taken?”
“Er, not yet, sir. We ain’t found him yet. He’s run off, hiding somewhere in the countryside, but we’ll get him,” replied Jeffers, the tough ex-convict he’d put in charge of the task, along with his equally hardened partner, Wilkes.
“Get more men on it. Time is short. I don’t want him getting away. I have faith in you, Jeff,” he added darkly.
“Right,” the hulking man answered with a nod.
“If for some reason you don’t catch him before we set sail,” Lazar added as an afterthought, “you and your men stay here until he’s taken care of, then follow us.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll make it plenty worth your while.”
“Aye, sir!” the man said, a sparkle of greed in his eyes as he went off to do his bidding.
“Now, then. What of the governor’s kin?” Lazar asked. “Are they all accounted for?”
“Aye, Cap,” answered Sullivan, captain of The Hawk . “Six-and-forty of ’em. They’re all in the magazine jail, just as you instructed.”
“Good. Take them to the ramparts of the eastern wall, where the cliffs drop down to the sea. Line them up there.”
“Aye, sir.”
Lazar paused for a moment, head bowed. “Sully,” he added, “get me
Lazar stared at him, realizing the man was already tortured beyond anything he could have devised.
“Please do not harm my daughter,” he whispered without looking up. “She is a good girl, and she has suffered enough.”
Lazar was silent for a moment. “You are a failure in every imaginable way. Do you know that, Monteverdi? Do you realize you promised your only daughter to a man who even tonight tried to rape her?”
He looked up, white. “What?”
“Your Lord Clemente—I redressed the situation,” he muttered with a wave of his hand.
“No, no.” He bent his head, weeping softly. “Allegra, my little one.”
“I am taking her under my protection,” he said, “for her sake and for Lady Cristiana’s, not for yours. Then only one survivor shall remain from both our families.”
Still prostrate on the floor, the governor looked up at him in sudden horror, apprehending at last the full scale of his vendetta, understanding now why Lazar had timed his revenge for this celebration, when all of Monteverdi’s kin were gathered under his roof.
“The House of Monteverdi, like the Fiori, shall be no more,” Lazar said softly. “Though I carry out this deed, the blood is on your hands.”
He walked out and slammed the door behind him as the governor’s wailing and pleading began.
Lazar found himself strangely moved as he walked down the sterile halls of the palazzo to retrieve his lovely prize from safekeeping in the tower.
Poor kitten, he thought sadly. How empty her young life must have been. A mother left devastated by the death of her friends. A lying coward for a father. He could just picture her as a lonely little girl in this big, marble palace devoid of love, pawned off on relatives in a city where she didn’t even speak the language. At least for the short time he had had his family, they had been close-knit and happy—Father and Mother, him, Phillip—otherwise known as Pip—and little Anna, who had been only four years old at the time of her murder.
Not for Monteverdi’s sake but for hers, he decided to let Allegra see her father one last time to say good-bye as he had not been allowed to do. In any case, then she could hear from Monteverdi’s own mouth that Lazar was indeed who he claimed to be, not a fraud.
In the white, breezy foyer, he called a few men over to update him, standing out of the way as the Brethren carried out treasure after treasure, looting the palace with the methodical efficiency he’d taught them.
Captain Bickerson, of The Tempest , reported the ships’ holds were near capacity. If they loaded up much more, they’d pay for it in speed. The lookouts still saw no sign of the navy.
“Excellent. And Clemente? Has he been taken?”
“Er, not yet, sir. We ain’t found him yet. He’s run off, hiding somewhere in the countryside, but we’ll get him,” replied Jeffers, the tough ex-convict he’d put in charge of the task, along with his equally hardened partner, Wilkes.
“Get more men on it. Time is short. I don’t want him getting away. I have faith in you, Jeff,” he added darkly.
“Right,” the hulking man answered with a nod.
“If for some reason you don’t catch him before we set sail,” Lazar added as an afterthought, “you and your men stay here until he’s taken care of, then follow us.” He clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll make it plenty worth your while.”
“Aye, sir!” the man said, a sparkle of greed in his eyes as he went off to do his bidding.
“Now, then. What of the governor’s kin?” Lazar asked. “Are they all accounted for?”
“Aye, Cap,” answered Sullivan, captain of The Hawk . “Six-and-forty of ’em. They’re all in the magazine jail, just as you instructed.”
“Good. Take them to the ramparts of the eastern wall, where the cliffs drop down to the sea. Line them up there.”
“Aye, sir.”
Lazar paused for a moment, head bowed. “Sully,” he added, “get me
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