I"m just very smart.
Ah, and humble! She was suddenly smiling again, and enjoying teasing him.
In that case, we happen to be evenly matched. Is that why you went out walking without me?
I wanted to run away from you. To have finished my walk before you got here.
That was smart. But he didn"t look hurt by it, nor did he look amused. He simply understood.
I"m sorry.
Don"t be. Do you want me to leave now? It"s all right, Isabella, I"ll understand.
But she shook her head and held out her hand. He walked to her and took it, looking down into the bottomless black eyes.
I don"t want you to go. I feel stupid now. Maybe I was wrong. She clung to him as the children did, and gently he took her hands and knelt beside her, holding them in his own.
I told you we"d go slowly. I"m not in a rush.
I"m glad. And with that she put her arms softly around his neck and hugged him, childlike. They held each other that way for what seemed like a very long time, and this time it was Isabella who moved her hand slowly, touched his chin and his eyes and his lean, handsome face. It was she who took the first step this time and whose lips sought his, gently at first then hungrily. And it was she who trembled when they stopped.
Take it easy, darling.
But she was smiling again. What was it you said about rape?
If you rape me, I"ll punch you. He looked like offended virtue itself as she laughed. Then he was smiling again. Want to go for a drive? He looked hopeful, but he didn"t want to push.
You brought the car?
No, I was planning to steal one. Of course I did. Why?
Then I"d love it. She paused. What will we tell Natasha?
That we"re going out for a drive. Is that so wrong?
She looked at him sheepishly. I still feel guilty.
But he smiled gently at her. Don"t worry about it. Sometimes so do I.
They bid Natasha a casual au revoir and went out for a drive, down to Wall Street, to the Cloisters, and then through the park. Settled against the plush upholstery, sitting close to him, she felt protected from the world.
I don"t know what happened to me today, she said.
Don"t worry about it, Isabella. It"s all right.
I suppose so. Do you suppose I"ll ever be sane again? She looked at him, smiling, half in jest, half in truth.
I hope not. I like you like this.
She smiled at him tenderly. I like you too.
But Isabella knew that she more than liked him two weeks later when Natasha was away for the weekend with the boys.
You mean they just left you? He looked infinitely sorry for her when he came by on Sat.u.r.day afternoon for tea. He had planned to sit with her for a few hours and maybe go for a walk, and he had been hoping that perhaps Natasha was going out. He enjoyed his time alone with Isabella, but it was even more precious to him because it was so rare. They were always surrounded by children, or Natasha, or even Hattie, the maid. Where did they go?
Isabella smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt as she handed him a cup of Earl Grey. Just to some friends of Natasha"s in Connecticut. It"ll do the boys good.
He nodded slowly, but it wasn"t the boys he was thinking of as gently he reached for her hand. Do you realize how quiet it is here, and how seldom we"re alone?
She sat there thinking, and slowly her mind drifted back to Rome. She had had so much s.p.a.ce in her home there, so much room to herself, so many hours of her own time. I wish you had known me then. She said it dreamily as he watched her eyes.
When, Isabella?
In Italy" . She said it softly and then looked up at him with a soft blush. But that doesn"t make any sense, does it? In Italy, in the good days, she had been married. Corbett would have had no place in her life.
But he understood what she was thinking. It was normal that now and then she should long for her home. Do you have a wonderful house there?
She smiled and nodded, and then told him about Alessandro"s Christmas carousel as her eyes danced. She looked so lovely as she told him that he put down his cup and took her in his arms.
I wish I could take you back there " take you home, if that"s what you want. And then he spoke very softly. But maybe one day home will be here? But she didn"t really think so; she couldn"t imagine spending the rest of her life anywhere except Rome. Do you miss it awfully?
She shrugged and smiled. Italy is " just Italy. There"s nothing like it anywhere in the world. Crazy people, crazy traffic, good spaghetti, wonderful smells" . As she said it she found herself thinking of the narrow back streets not far from San Gregorio, of women nursing babies in doorways and children running out of church, of the birds singing in the treetops in her garden " just thinking of it brought tears to her eyes.
And as he watched her Corbett felt sympathy for her tear at his heart. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight, my love? It was the first time he had called her that and she smiled, but slowly she shook her head.
You know I can"t.
But he thought for a moment. Perhaps you can.
Are you serious?
Why not? His eyes danced with mischief now. He had a plan. There"s a funny little Italian restaurant I used to go to, way downtown. No one respectable" ever goes there. He grinned. We could probably dash in for a quick dinner, and no one would have any idea who you were. And it"s so Italian that it"s bound to feel like home. For a moment he wondered if that would make things worse, but he had a feeling that wouldn"t be the case, and he was going to see to it that she had a marvelous time.
Like a fellow conspirator he waited in the living room while she got dressed. She emerged giggling, in black slacks and sweater, with a black Borsalino fedora pulled low over one eye.
Do I look mysterious? She was laughing, and so was he.
Very much so!
He even had the Rolls parked a few doors away, and they slipped unnoticed into the restaurant, where they gorged and Isabella chatted happily with their waiter as they drank inexpensive Roman wine.
Promise you won"t tell Natasha! She"d kill me for this. Her eyes sparkled, and he agreed.
I couldn"t tell her. She"d probably kill me first. But he didn"t feel nervous about Natasha. He knew that Isabella was safe, and when they had had their fill of pasta and the simple red wine, they drove slowly home with a brief detour through the park. Happy? She nodded and settled her head against his shoulder. She had put her hat on the seat beside her, and her raven hair lay softly against his coat. He touched it gently, and then her cheek with his hand. And his eyes never seemed to leave her as he and Isabella went slowly inside.
Do you want to come in for coffee? She looked at him invitingly, but it wasn"t coffee either of them had in mind.
He nodded and followed her inside, but once in the hallway, Isabella never bothered to put on the lights. She found herself instantly in Corbett"s arms and in the darkness felt herself throbbing with a pa.s.sion that she had long since forgotten, as Corbett pressed his mouth down on hers. Breathlessly they walked hand in hand to the bedroom, and without turning on the lights, Corbett undressed her and she him, and their bodies joined at last. It seemed hours later when she turned on a small light and smiled at him as he lay in her bed. She looked around the room at the debris of their clothes, and she started to laugh.
What"s so funny, my darling?
We are. She looked down at him and then kissed him softly on the neck. You can"t trust us at all. My roommate goes away for the weekend, and what do we do? We run out for dinner and then we come home and make love.
He pulled her slowly back down to him. " and then we do it again " and again " and again. "
Chapter TWENTY-TWO.
April and May sped past them very quickly. When the weather permitted, they went walking every evening, or they went on drives. Sometimes they took Alessandro to the country and watched the look of wonder in his eyes as he played in gra.s.s, and built castles on still deserted beaches. And once or twice they took Natasha with them. For the first few weeks she had tried to pretend that she didn"t know what was happening, but at last she had asked. And Isabella had nodded girlishly as she laughed and admitted that she and Corbett were in love.
She was obviously immensely happy, and whenever Natasha saw Corbett, so was he. But it was also clear to Natasha that aside from Isabella"s delight about her romance she still had major worries with her work.
It was a warm, balmy evening when Corbett arrived at the house with a hansom cab to take Isabella for a drive. She laughed when she saw it, and they rode around in it for two hours.
So how was work today, sweetheart? He pulled her closer to him and looked down into the dark eyes.
Terrible. Bernardo is giving me trouble again.
The new line?
No, that"s already settled. We open next week. It"s everything else. Plans for the winter, cosmetics, fabrics, I don"t know. He"s impossible right now.
It could be that there"s too much on his shoulders with you over here.
What are you suggesting? She looked at him tiredly. That I go home?
Hardly. I"ve always thought though that there are things you could change.
I know, but I can"t now. Not while I"m here. The way she said it made her think of Rome again, which was something she hated to admit to Corbett now. They had clung to each other as though it would be forever, but sooner or later she would have to go home. And Corbett"s business would always keep him in the States. Nothing is forever, she thought to herself, and then pushed the words from her mind.
Well, don"t worry about it. Things will probably settle down in a few days.
But they didn"t. For the next two weeks, matters only got worse. Blowup after blowup after argument after fight. Isabella was sick of it. She told Bernardo that one morning on the phone. He seemed to have separated himself from her and seemed, in fact, better able to handle his feelings for her.
Oh, Bernardo, she thought to herself more than once. If only it could be you I love. Life would be so much simpler.
Be sensible for chrissake and sell out.
Ah, no, that again! Listen, Bernardo, I thought we settled that before I left!
No, we did not. You just refused to listen to reason. Well, I"ve had it up to here. Gabriela is doing the work of ten people, you change the G.o.dd.a.m.n fabrics every time we turn around, you don"t understand a thing about marketing cosmetics, and I get stuck cleaning up after you every G.o.dd.a.m.n time.
Is that right, then why don"t you have the b.a.l.l.s to quit like a man instead of telling me to sell out? Maybe the problem is with you, and not with the business! It"s you who makes the problems between us all the time, you who won"t do what I tell you. Why don"t you do what I ask you to do for a change instead of shoving F-B down my throat everytime I open my mouth?
The rage of Italian continued from Isabella"s office. I won"t listen to this anymore. And if you don"t stop it, I"m coming home, she shouted. The h.e.l.l with all that garbage about danger. You"re running my business into the G.o.dd.a.m.n ground. It wasn"t a fair accusation and she knew it, but the level of frustration between them had surged tidal-wave high. She had been in the States for five months and the charm of doing business this way was beginning to wear very thin.
Do you have any idea of what you"re doing, Isabella? Have you ever even listened to the F-B people? No. Of course not. You would rather sit on your a.s.s over there and insult me and hang on to your business and your ego and save face.
The business is perfectly solid and you know it.
Yes, I know it. But the fact is I can"t do it alone anymore, and you still can"t come home. Circ.u.mstances, Isabella, circ.u.mstances. Your grandfather ran into circ.u.mstances too, and he was smart enough to sell out.
I never will.
Of course not. She could hear the acid in his voice. Because you"re too proud to, despite that fact that F-B and IHI and Ewing have all been begging me for you to sell out. Well, in point of fact, not lately, he went on, but I know d.a.m.n well all I have to do is pick up the phone and call them and you"d have yourself a deal.
There was no answer to what he"d said to her. Isabella was shocked nearly speechless.
Who?
What are you talking about? She wasn"t making sense suddenly, and he was confused.
I"m asking you who"s been offering to buy us. Her voice had the ring of cold steel.
Are you crazy? I"ve been telling you since last October and you ask me who?
I don"t give a d.a.m.n. Tell me now. Slowly.
Farnham-Barnes. He spoke to her as though she were r.e.t.a.r.ded.
And who else?
No one. What"s wrong with you? F-B. F-B. F-B. And they belong to IHI.
And what was that other name?
What? Ewing? He"s chairman of the board of IHI. The offer originally came from him.
Oh, my G.o.d.
What is it?
Nothing. She was shaking from head to foot.
The picnics. The walks, the dinners the firehouse " they flashed before her eyes what a fine joke on her. It was a love affair his love affair with the House of San Gregorio.
Should I call them?
No. Do you understand me? Never! Cancel our dealings with F-B as of today. Call them, or I"ll do it myself!
You are crazy!
Listen to me, Bernardo, I am not crazy and I"ve never been more serious in my life. Call F-B and tell them to drop dead. Now, today. Finito. No more offers, no more orders. Nothing. And get yourself ready. I"m coming home this week. She had just decided. The nonsense had gone on for long enough. If you still think it"s necessary, hire two guards, but that"s all. I"ll call you and let you know when I"m arriving.