The Shadowed Heart. Nina Beaumont
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу The Shadowed Heart - Nina Beaumont страница 15
Название: The Shadowed Heart
Автор: Nina Beaumont
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Историческая литература
isbn:
isbn:
“I don’t want any new clothes. I have my own clothes.” She looked around the room. “Where are they?”
“They’re gone. Don Luca said they should be burned.” She made a vague gesture toward the door.
Chiara jumped up, ready to storm, but then she saw the girl take a step back. There was no sense in raging at this poor girl, she thought, and there was no sense bewailing something she could not do anything about.
Slowly she sat back down and picked up the bread she had tossed down onto the plate.
“Do you need anything else?” the girl asked in a cautious voice.
She shook her head and, when the girl turned to leave, she grasped her arm. “What is your name?”
“Zanetta.”
“Sit down, Zanetta, and tell me about—” her tongue almost tripped over the polite address “—Don Luca.”
The girl darted a glance over to the door and sat down on the very edge of a chair. “Don’t you know him?” she asked, her eyes curious. “The whole house is talking about you,” she added.
“I can imagine.” Chiara took another bite of bread spread with butter and honey and almost closed her eyes with the sheer pleasure of it.
“Rico, Don Luca’s manservant, says you are his guest. Some whisper you must be his mistress. One of the footmen heard Don Luca arguing with Don Alvise and Signora Emilia.” The words came out in a rush.
“Who are they?”
“Don Luca’s older brother and his wife. He is a good master, but strict.” She paused, as if considering her next words. “He said he would not allow a loose woman under his roof.”
Chiara felt a flash of pain as she remembered how her father had cast her mother out into the street with those same words.
“And you, Zanetta?” she asked. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know.” The girl twisted her fingers nervously at her waist. “But if you are his mistress—” Her mouth curved in a mischievous smile “—then you have chosen a beautiful man. Not like—”
There was the sound of footsteps outside the door and the girl jumped up.
“I must go now.” Curtsying quickly, she moved toward a door that Chiara had not noticed the night before. As the girl opened the door, Chiara caught a glimpse of a corridor. Thinking to explore, she rose, but immediately heard the key turn in the lock.
So everyone was locking her in, she thought, even the servants.
She had barely finished breakfast when the corridor door opened and Zanetta returned, followed by a plain woman wearing a severe brown gown. Several maids carrying gowns, hoops and bolts of fabric trailed after them.
The woman immediately marched up to Chiara, briefly mustered her up and said, “Take off your nightgown so that we can measure you.”
She snapped her fingers and one of the maids came running up carrying a shift. “Put this on.” She fluttered her fingers, first at the flimsy undergarment, then at Chiara. “Quickly now. I don’t have all day.”
Chiara began to protest but thought better of it. After all, if her own clothes had really been burned, she would need something to wear. She quickly exchanged the nightgown for the thin shift and the maids swarmed around her to take her measurements.
“The yellow gown.” The dressmaker gestured at the maids behind her and they came running like well-trained soldiers, carrying the gown and the necessary accoutrements.
Chiara took one look at the gown of yellow silk, the hoop and corset and stepped back. “No.”
“You’re right.” The dressmaker gave her an approving nod. “Yellow makes you look sallow. The blue one.”
The yellow silk was exchanged for pale blue satin.
“No,” Chiara said.
“Why not?” The dressmaker frowned. “The blue suits you to perfection.” She held up the gown to Chiara.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.