Read Death Among the Ruins Online
Authors: Pamela Christie
Tags: #Fiction, #Mystery & Detective, #Historical
Death Among the Ruins (27 page)
“And you’re bearing up remarkably well!” said Arabella, putting her arm round Belinda’s shoulders. “Now we can each of us boast of a great, lost love in our past, which is bound to strengthen our characters! Look at the snow! Let us go out of doors to admire it firsthand. I suddenly feel like ruminating on the successful conclusion of our great adventure, now that I at last know everything!”
But Arabella did
not
know everything, even then. For Belinda had a letter secreted in the bodice of her gown, and took great care that it should not crackle when she moved. Should you like to hear what it said? Some of you would, I know. And the rest of you, those who believe that mush belongs upon the breakfast table inside a bowl, rather than upon the pages of a letter inside a young lady’s gown, may disregard this next part. Please feel free to proceed into the garden with the Beaumont sisters. The rest of us will meet you out there.
not
know everything, even then. For Belinda had a letter secreted in the bodice of her gown, and took great care that it should not crackle when she moved. Should you like to hear what it said? Some of you would, I know. And the rest of you, those who believe that mush belongs upon the breakfast table inside a bowl, rather than upon the pages of a letter inside a young lady’s gown, may disregard this next part. Please feel free to proceed into the garden with the Beaumont sisters. The rest of us will meet you out there.
My dearest Belinda,I cannot blame you if you destroy this letter without reading it, but I hope—I pray—that you will not do that until you are apprised of my feelings. I have treated you unforgivably, I know. I am a dog! A villain! A monster! But I hope you will believe me when I tell you that I thought I was doing what was right for both of us. I felt certain of it, right up to the day you left. And then my carefully built card house came crashing down upon my head! You are gone! Gone from me! How shall I bear this? For I am certain you will have guessed by now, my darling, that I have fallen in love with you.We have, true enough, many obstacles in our way. I am a married man, a father, a prince, and a Catholic. A vast ocean lies between our countries. But do you know what I am doing? Do you? In my mind I am standing just now upon one of those little tables out on the terrace at the villa, and I can see your darling head, far across the water, shining above all these problems. One day, cara mia, we shall be together. I feel this with my heart, and I believe it, in my soul.I hope that you will write to me now and then, so that I may keep your letters in a secret place and from them draw the strength of your love, when I am close to despair. I say that without even knowing whether your feelings have survived my brutal, inexcusable behavior. But love has made me an optimist: I feel that you must love me again, if I prostrate myself before you and beseech your forgiveness. And I do. Please, Belinda, my darling, my life! Can you forgive me?Yours
alone
,
DettoP.S. I still have those bed socks which you knitted for me. I never wear them, because I never want to wear them out: They are the only things of yours which I have, hence they are very precious. Besides, they look like penises. How would I ever explain them to my wife?
So very touching. All right, now let us join the others, for I want to tell you about a thought that is going round and round inside Belinda’s head just now, like a song, while she is speaking and doing other things. It is not the least bit irritating, this thought, and were it a song indeed, one should be able to listen to it all day and never tire of it. Not if one were Belinda, anyway. Here it is, just as she conceived it:
“Yours
alone
!”
He has underscored ‘alone’!”
alone
!”
He has underscored ‘alone’!”
The sisters sat opposite one another in the pergola, appropriately attired, breathing in the scents of snow and the slumbering garden. Cara the greyhound had accompanied them, wearing the bulky yellow shell that Belinda had crocheted for her. When Arabella glanced down at the long-nosed creature with the round, yellow body, the wind blowing her ears forward into stiff points, she could not help laughing.
“Cara looks like an anemic armadillo!”
“I do not know what that is, but you may laugh all you like,” said Belinda calmly. “She is warm and insulated, which is all that matters.”
“Do you know, I was instructed not to tell you this, Bunny, but I believe that I shall, anyway. Cara was not a gift from Charles, after all.”
“I know,” she said, straightening with pride. “My prince gave her to me.”
Arabella was astounded. “How did you guess?” she asked.
“Because of her name. ‘Cara’ was what he used to call
me
. Now, whenever I address my pet as ‘Beloved,’ I am really speaking to
him
.”
me
. Now, whenever I address my pet as ‘Beloved,’ I am really speaking to
him
.”
“Bunny, dearest, this man, formerly known as Bergamini, may be a prince, and patron of an important museum. He may be risking his life for his country, which is very brave and noble of him, and we both know that he possesses an exquisite sense of aesthetics. But insofar as you, personally, are concerned, he is nothing but a cad.”
“That is your opinion,” said Belinda. “It is not mine.”
“Hmm. In short, I suppose I dislike this . . . this ‘Prince Palma-desolate’ in much the same way that
you
dislike the late Oliver Wedge.”
you
dislike the late Oliver Wedge.”
“No,” said Belinda, wearing her serenity like a halo. “The prince has never tried to kill me. And he is still alive. It is not the same at all.”
Arabella was silent for so long that Belinda supposed her to be sulking.
“Do you know,” she said brightly, “this spot puts me in mind of the meditation grove at the Villa Belvedere. Do you remember? The vista from here is completely different, though, of course.”
Arabella made no reply.
“I am sorry that you were unable to keep your statue, Bell. But you have made a noble, selfless gesture in returning it to Professor Bergamini. I mean, to Detto—to Prince Palmadessola. He will know how to make it available to at least some of the public, until the rest of the public becomes sophisticated enough to look at art without feeling shocked. At least
you
got to see it, and we all enjoyed a splendid holiday.”
you
got to see it, and we all enjoyed a splendid holiday.”
Arabella’s eyes were dreamy. Her thoughts seemed fixed elsewhere.
“Bell.”
“Hmmm? Sorry, dear. I’m just . . .”
“Are you fretting about the money you lost on the statue?”
“No, not really.”
“Then why are you so unfocused?”
“Perhaps it is because I am engaged to go riding with Mr. Elliot tomorrow.”
“Oh! I am glad! Mr. Elliot is a nice man. At what time do you expect him?”
“He keeps a very busy schedule, so we shall need to make an early start. He is coming over tonight, in fact, at about eleven.”
“O-ho!” said Belinda. “
Now
I perceive why you have been so inattentive! That is quite . . . Bell . . . ?”
Now
I perceive why you have been so inattentive! That is quite . . . Bell . . . ?”
But Arabella had drifted off again. The gray-green eyes rested on a spot just past Belinda’s right ear, and Belinda had a sudden feeling that Bell was looking at someone who was staring at them, from behind.
“Do you know, Bunny,” said Arabella. “I believe you were right, after all.”
Belinda half-turned, expecting to see the gardener, or Mrs. Janks with the tea tray, or almost anyone at all but whom she in fact did see: the great god Pan emerging from the shrubbery, all hard and excited.
From where she was sitting, Belinda could almost imagine herself about to be ravished.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Pamela Christie
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8642-0
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-8643-7
eISBN-10: 0-7582-8643-0
First Kensington Electronic Edition: March 2014
eISBN-10: 0-7582-8643-0
First Kensington Electronic Edition: March 2014
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