Page 92 of Tempted By the English Marquis
Matteo gave a resigned sigh. He was a good man and Gideon could understand how conflicted he probably felt over this, but family honor meant he had no choice.
“I shall send word as to the time and location of the duel. Where are you staying?” Matteo asked.
“We are going to decamp to the hotel Albergo del Sole, near the Pantheon.”
Matteo nodded. “I am going to go back to Palazzo Lazio now and see if I can talk sense into my father. If that fails, then unfortunately, you and I will have an appointment tomorrow morning.”
Serafina’s brother took his leave. As he headed toward the door, Gideon’s gaze drifted to his friend and family members. If he didn’t find a way out of this mess, come tomorrow morning, he was going to have to fight Matteo de Luca, one of Rome’s foremost swordsmen, in a duel to the death.
If he was going to survive another day, Gideon was going to need a miracle.
ChapterFifty
The door was locked from the outside. Serafina had tried to prize it open with a knife, but her efforts were to no avail. She was a prisoner in her own home.
Her father had refused to hear her protests. Her pleading. Reaching her room, she had dropped to her knees and begged him to let her marry Gideon. It had all fallen on deaf ears.
Hours of tears and wondering what had happened to Gideon had only resulted in a tired, puffy face, and a heavy heart. Maria, accompanied by a guard, had brought her food. It was all Serafina could do not to throw the hot coffee in her former maid’s face.
Donna Francesca arrived later in the morning. Serafina went to launch herself into her mother’s arms but stopped when she caught sight of her father. The contessa was hard faced, but the tell-tale traces of tears marked her cheeks. Meanwhile, Enzo was a barely contained ball of fury.
In his hand, he held the key to the door. The key to her freedom. Closing the door, he rounded on Serafina. “Do you seek to destroy our family? You are a disgrace. If this becomes public knowledge, the scandal will see the de Luca name dragged into the gutter.”
Her fate hung in the balance, but pleading had gotten her nowhere. Serafina met her father’s gaze, and for the first time in her life, she held it. It took all her iron will to stand up to him. “There won’t be a scandal if you allow me to marry Lord Holwell. Our family name won’t be tarnished; it will be enhanced by our links to English nobility.”
Enzo took a hold of his daughter and shook her by the arm. “Did you really lay with the marquis? Are you a fallen woman?”
How he could possibly take what she and Gideon had shared and try to make it into something twisted and hideous Serafina couldn’t understand. The time spent with the man she loved had been the most precious, perfect moment of her life.
No one is going to take that away from me.
“Gideon and I are one. He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
Enzo’s lips turned up in obvious disgust. “What you agreed with the Englishman is not relevant. I have promised you to Giovanni Magri. As your father, I will decide who you marry.”
He let go of her with an angry huff. “You are to stay in this room until the betrothal service tomorrow. When Signore Magri comes here, you will say nothing other than ‘yes’ at the moment when the ceremony requires your assent. When he offers his lips for a kiss, you will seal the deal.”
He turned to his wife and handed her the key. “You are to remain here with Serafina until the service tomorrow. No one is to talk to her.”
Her mother wouldn’t normally stand for such a thing, but to Serafina’s consternation, the contessa simply nodded. And, as if to add weight to her apparent capitulation, Donna Francesca then took a seat by the window and picked up the book Serafina had been attempting to read.
The move seemed to meet with Enzo’s favor. “Good. It’s about time you stopped fighting me over this marriage.”
He saved his last words for Serafina. “You would do well to follow your mother’s example. Accept this union with one of Rome’s most influential men. In time, you will come to thank me for my vision. For putting the de Luca name first.”
Serafina decided to save her breath. Her father had made up his mind, and nothing was going to make him change it. Even her mother seemed to have given up the battle.
ChapterFifty-One
Their rooms in the hotel were clean and comfortable, but nowhere near as opulent as Palazzo Lazio. According to the owner who checked them in, the Albergo del Sole had once been a lodge for religious pilgrims. It dated back several hundred years and from the look of it, hadn’t had much of an upgrade since.
But Gideon wasn’t here to play tourist. He needed a safe place for his mother and sister to stay. With the duchess and Augusta now getting settled in their new accommodations, Gideon took the opportunity to discuss more pressing matters with Flynn.
He met his friend downstairs in the tiny ground-floor lobby. “Thank you for this morning. I know you and Augusta meeting once more under these circumstances cannot have been easy.”
Flynn gave a brief nod but didn’t add anything further on the subject. “Have you thought what you will do with the rest of today?”
You mean the rest of my short life if I can’t avoid having to fight Matteo?
