Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren Page A

brother as well as my rightful property. Retreat to the border that was established by our grandfathers. That is what can be done.”
    Cosmo arched a brow and reached for a date; then, for the first time, he allowed his eyes to go to me. He’d let his hair grow long, covering his damaged ears. The ears I’d ordered cut from his head. His green eyes were bright with interest. He pursed his lips. “I notice that in your demands you do not plead for your lady’s hand, her safety,” he said, biting into the date.
    Marcello faltered, embarrassed. It wasn’t part of the plan. I knew that. I knew it. But it still stung. Just as Paratore hoped it would. He knew something was up. As did Ascoli. My heart settled into a triple-time beat. We were in trouble. Big trouble.
    “We are here,” Marcello said belatedly, “solely to negotiate Fortino’s release, one way or another.” He paused, took a breath, then sat down and looked toward Lord Greco. Like a man now, not a boy begging for a chance. “I am prepared to offer Firenze a chest full of gold in exchange for my brother,” Marcello said. “And our mediator ten percent for his trouble.” He glanced at Lord Ascoli. The man gave him a regal nod, barely hiding his smile.
    “Unacceptable,” said Paratore, beside Rodolfo.
    “It was made clear that we would exchange Lord Fortino Forelli only for the Ladies Betarrini,” said another short lord. I tried to remember his name. He was one of the grandi I’d met in Firenze.
    “Surely you don’t believe I will hand them over to you. My brother is barely alive, so poorly has he been treated!” Marcello growled.
    Lord Barbato , I finally remembered. He was short and scruffy, with a beard that was closely trimmed over a rounded chin. I remembered that I thought of him as a terrier the first time we met in Firenze. All high energy and ego. It was easier to focus on him than my enemy, Cosmo Paratore.
    “Fortino’s imprisonment has long spared your people further battle,” Barbato said simply. “The people’s fury was assuaged by punishment meted out to him.”
    “The people?” Marcello challenged. “Or her governors?”
    “Both,” Barbato returned easily.
    Marcello took a deep breath and placed his hands on the table, palms down, as if steeling himself. “Such is the terrible price some of us must pay,” he said carefully. “Fortino knew it as well as I. But you’ve extracted his worth and more. To take home my gold, enough gold to feed a thousand families for a year, is more than fair in exchange for allowing us to take him home to die. The Ladies Betarrini are no longer a part of this bargain.”
    Lord Barbato considered him, then looked down the table. All of them slowly shook their heads, including Lord Greco. Cosmo Paratore simply wore a small smile directed at me that said You are sooo in trouble. His confidence sent a shiver of fear down my back. Were our hosts truly neutral? Or were they on the side of the Firenze, ultimately?
    Barbato looked back to Marcello. “We must adhere to the original terms that brought us to this table. We cannot return to Firenze with anything less.”
    Lord Ascoli, at the head of the table, cleared his throat. “The original terms, Lord Forelli. Your brother in exchange for Lady Gabriella and Lady Evangelia Betarrini.”
    Marcello let out a scoffing sound. “It would be one thing if you were offering my brother, well and whole. If he had been treated as a nobleman ought in this past year.” He lowered his voice. “But you have brought me little more than his corpse.”
    I winced, hoping his lowered voice wouldn’t carry over to Fortino, still over at the edge of the hall with my family. But I suspected it was nothing Fortino himself wouldn’t have said in order to negotiate more powerfully. He’d know Marcello said such things not to be unkind, but to further their joint cause.
    The men of Firenze shared a look. Lord Barbato glanced at Paratore and Greco and then gave Ascoli a