pick you up.”
Chapter 16
HUMMINGBIRDS FLITTED AROUND THE CREPE MYRTLE bush, darting from bloom to bloom. Near the bush was the alabaster statue of a nude woman holding a basin. The basin, which was filled with water, gave the birds a place to drink and bathe. Throughout the garden, flowers bloomed in colorful profusion.
Carlos De Luca’s backyard was one of the showcase lawns of New Orleans. The grass was well manicured and kept free of weeds, the lawn was terraced, beautifully landscaped, and filled with statuary of all sizes and shapes. There was also a large round pool, crowned by a very ornate fountain. De Luca was clearly proud of his yard, and when Rachel and Fancy arrived earlier in the evening, he showed it off with great relish.
Rachel responded to the show with the proper enthusiasm and enjoyment, though in truth she thought that the many statues, birdbaths, fountains, and pools made the garden a little too extravagant for her tastes.
Although some of Rachel’s clients had taken her to dinnerat restaurants from time to time, this was the very first time she had ever been to a private home, and she commented about it to Fancy.
“Oh, I’ve been in private homes many times,” Fancy replied.
“You have?”
“Yes.”
“Why, that’s wonderful.”
“Not so wonderful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know why I’m never taken to a restaurant?”
“No.”
“Think about it, Rachel. I’m colored.”
“But you are only half-colored.”
Fancy laughed. “That might be true, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to separate the white half that they will let into the restaurants from the colored half that has to stay outside.”
Rachel laughed with her.
“To be honest, Fancy, I sometimes forget that you are colored. I never think of you that way anymore. I just think of you as my friend—and my sister.”
As the two young women surveyed the garden, they walked around the backyard in their butterfly-bright gowns, almost as if a couple of the flowers themselves had come alive. Provenzano asked them to wear their most beautiful gowns and, acquiescing to the request, Rachel was wearing a bright yellow gown, while Fancy chose lavender.
“This is a celebration,” Provenzano told them when he issued the invitation.
“What sort of celebration?”
“Fifteen years ago, on this date, our Sicilian brotherhood overthrew the Bourbon authority in Palermo.”
“Oh, then it is like your Independence Day,” Rachel said.
“Yeah,” Provenzano replied. “You might say it is something like that.”
They would be dining outside in the garden and, even as the women strolled around enjoying the garden, unaware that, by their beauty they were actually a part of the scenery, servants hovered about as they prepared for the meal.
They weren’t ordinary servants, though. As Provenzano explained, someone like De Luca could not afford to have ordinary servants because it would be too dangerous. Therefore all his servants were Sicilian soldiers.
“Soldiers? You mean like in the army?” Rachel asked.
“Sort of like that, only this isn’t the U.S. Army. This is more like Don De Luca’s private army.”
Whether servants or soldiers, they knew their jobs and they did them well. The dining room table was covered with a damask tablecloth and set with glistening china, sparkling crystal, and shining silver.
The women were escorted to the table and seated before De Luca and Provenzano took their seats. One of the servants immediately poured a small amount of wine into De Luca’s goblet. He swirled it around, inhaled the aroma, then tasted it.
“Ahh, Il Chianti è eccellente. Lei può servirlo, Guido. You may serve,” he translated for the women.
“ Grazi, Don De Luca,” Guido replied. He poured Chianti into Rachel’s glass, then Fancy’s, then De Luca’s, and finally Provenzano’s glass.
“Saluto,” De Luca said, lifting his glass.
The others lifted their glasses as
Chapter 16
HUMMINGBIRDS FLITTED AROUND THE CREPE MYRTLE bush, darting from bloom to bloom. Near the bush was the alabaster statue of a nude woman holding a basin. The basin, which was filled with water, gave the birds a place to drink and bathe. Throughout the garden, flowers bloomed in colorful profusion.
Carlos De Luca’s backyard was one of the showcase lawns of New Orleans. The grass was well manicured and kept free of weeds, the lawn was terraced, beautifully landscaped, and filled with statuary of all sizes and shapes. There was also a large round pool, crowned by a very ornate fountain. De Luca was clearly proud of his yard, and when Rachel and Fancy arrived earlier in the evening, he showed it off with great relish.
Rachel responded to the show with the proper enthusiasm and enjoyment, though in truth she thought that the many statues, birdbaths, fountains, and pools made the garden a little too extravagant for her tastes.
Although some of Rachel’s clients had taken her to dinnerat restaurants from time to time, this was the very first time she had ever been to a private home, and she commented about it to Fancy.
“Oh, I’ve been in private homes many times,” Fancy replied.
“You have?”
“Yes.”
“Why, that’s wonderful.”
“Not so wonderful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you know why I’m never taken to a restaurant?”
“No.”
“Think about it, Rachel. I’m colored.”
“But you are only half-colored.”
Fancy laughed. “That might be true, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to separate the white half that they will let into the restaurants from the colored half that has to stay outside.”
Rachel laughed with her.
“To be honest, Fancy, I sometimes forget that you are colored. I never think of you that way anymore. I just think of you as my friend—and my sister.”
As the two young women surveyed the garden, they walked around the backyard in their butterfly-bright gowns, almost as if a couple of the flowers themselves had come alive. Provenzano asked them to wear their most beautiful gowns and, acquiescing to the request, Rachel was wearing a bright yellow gown, while Fancy chose lavender.
“This is a celebration,” Provenzano told them when he issued the invitation.
“What sort of celebration?”
“Fifteen years ago, on this date, our Sicilian brotherhood overthrew the Bourbon authority in Palermo.”
“Oh, then it is like your Independence Day,” Rachel said.
“Yeah,” Provenzano replied. “You might say it is something like that.”
They would be dining outside in the garden and, even as the women strolled around enjoying the garden, unaware that, by their beauty they were actually a part of the scenery, servants hovered about as they prepared for the meal.
They weren’t ordinary servants, though. As Provenzano explained, someone like De Luca could not afford to have ordinary servants because it would be too dangerous. Therefore all his servants were Sicilian soldiers.
“Soldiers? You mean like in the army?” Rachel asked.
“Sort of like that, only this isn’t the U.S. Army. This is more like Don De Luca’s private army.”
Whether servants or soldiers, they knew their jobs and they did them well. The dining room table was covered with a damask tablecloth and set with glistening china, sparkling crystal, and shining silver.
The women were escorted to the table and seated before De Luca and Provenzano took their seats. One of the servants immediately poured a small amount of wine into De Luca’s goblet. He swirled it around, inhaled the aroma, then tasted it.
“Ahh, Il Chianti è eccellente. Lei può servirlo, Guido. You may serve,” he translated for the women.
“ Grazi, Don De Luca,” Guido replied. He poured Chianti into Rachel’s glass, then Fancy’s, then De Luca’s, and finally Provenzano’s glass.
“Saluto,” De Luca said, lifting his glass.
The others lifted their glasses as
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