The Glimmering Sea

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Armida waited for nightfall to enter the Scuola. She needed clothing again. She couldn't saunter naked through the door at Vittore's home or studio. It was her first Venetian night repeated. As then, she found lowly clothing in the back room. She avoided Vittore's home and walked to the studio. The silent absence of a few weeks would be easier to explain away from his family's prying eyes and ears.

She shifted on the hard bench. Her bones, all bruises and sharpness, did not settle well. She longed for sleep to heal her exhaustion and her heart. When it came, she did not fight it.

"Ah, you're alive then?"

Armida awoke with a gasp. She suspected every Terran now. He could have learned of her circumstances through the Venetian factions operating at every level in the city. If Vittore intended harm, she'd know soon enough.

"Yes, I was called home unexpectedly. My mother was ill. I had not a moment to waste getting to her. I am sad to say she died within a few days."

"I am sorry to hear your tragic news. I missed you. Your work here and your company. Oriana has asked about you. I'll send word."

"It is not necessary. I will simply go directly."

"Dressed as an urchin? I should think not. You can borrow one of the models' gowns."

After Armida left, she rested on steps outside Ca' d'Argento. She hadn't bothered with a plan. Armida squelched Torquato's words. Whatever happened next would be hers alone. She hoped for a welcome or at least not an eviction. Terisio had surely moved on in her absence. He was not the type to be without a woman on his arm.

"Gemma! My lovely, how we've longed for your company. After the Masquerade, we feared events had been too upsetting."

"I am happy to be a guest here again. You are most hospitable."

"I must send Matteo to get Terisio. He lost interest in Ca' d'Argento without you. He is simply a sliver of his former self. You should be ashamed."

"My mother was taken ill. I was with her when she left us."

"Then we must distract you from your mourning. Come join Signore Stavlakis and me. Signore, you will need to delay your departure for the opportunity to hear my little bird sing again."

Armida turned to examine the man she despised standing there, pretending importance.

Stavlakis took Armida's hand in his oafish grip and kissed it. "I will happily stay for music. I want to thank you for saving us from disaster at the Masquerade. The Doge was most impressed. I will send my new man to give my excuses to my next appointment."

Armida's aversion to his touch was profound, compelling her to place her handkerchief to her mouth and feign a delicate cough to hide her expression. "Might I have some tea, Oriana, to warm my throat?"

"Of course. Let us sit here while the three of us talk, and you sip the latest elixir from Trionfante's as we await Nikos' man."

Armida's sneer did not fully express the disgust that blotted out clear thinking. She lowered her handkerchief.

"Yes, let us talk. About Marea."

It was Oriana who choked this time. Stavlakis strained with the rage rolling across his face.

Armida waited. They would reveal themselves soon enough. And they did not yet understand she was Marean. They would not for a while. Armida savored the anticipation of the moment when their fog would lift and her sun would blaze.

Oriana motioned to the musicians who had watched with bafflement. "Leave us."

Stavlakis asked, "What is this thing, Marea, you want to discuss?"