Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(19)

“But Lily—”

“We’ll talk more later. I promise. I-I’ll see you at supper, dear.” Hurriedly Lily left and strode through the hall and down the ornate staircase, not caring where she was going. Ignoring her sumptuous surroundings, she kept her head down. “My God, I’ve got to be careful,” she whispered. Lately her self-control had been stretched to its limits, and she wasn’t guarding her words carefully enough. Wandering through the great hall, she found herself in a gallery at least one hundred feet long, illuminated with the light from a row of glass doors. Through the well-polished glass she could see a formal garden with smooth green lawns and bordered paths. A brisk walk was just what she needed. Flinging the shawl around her shoulders, Lily went outside, relishing the cool bite of the breeze.

The garden was magnificent, dignified and lush, divided into many sections by precisely trimmed yew hedges. There was a chapel garden with a tiny stream and a small round pool filled with white lilies. It opened into the rose garden, a multitude of flowers surrounding a large and rare Ayrshire rose bush. Lily walked along a garden wall covered with vines and climbing roses. She ascended a series of weathered steps that led to a terrace overlooking an artificial lake. Nearby was a fountain surrounded by a pride of a dozen strutting peacocks. There was an aura of absolute serenity in the garden. It seemed like an enchanted place, where nothing bad could ever happen.

Her attention was drawn by a planting of fruit trees on the east side of the estate. The sight of them reminded Lily of the lemon garden of the Italian villa where she had lived for two years. She and Nicole had spent most of their time in the garden or in the many-columned loggia at the back of the little house. Sometimes she had taken Nicole for walks in the shady wooded bosco nearby.

“Don’t think of it,” she whispered fiercely. “Don’t.” But the memory was as clear as if it had happened yesterday. She sat on the rim of the fountain and gathered the shawl more closely around her body. Blindly she turned her face toward the distant woods beyond the lake, remembering…

“Domina! Domina, I’ve brought the most wonderful things from the market—bread and soft cheese and good wine. Help me gather some fruit from the garden, and for lunch we’ll…”

Lily stopped as she became aware of the unnatural silence in the casetta. Her cheerful smile faded. She set the basket down by the door and ventured into the little house. Like the local women, she was dressed in a cotton skirt and a full-sleeved blouse, her hair covered with a large kerchief. With her dark curls and her flawless accent, she was often mistaken for a native Italian. “Domina?” she asked cautiously.

Suddenly the housekeeper appeared, her wrinkled, sun-weathered face covered with tears. She was in disarray, her gray hair escaping from the narrow braid coiled around her head.“Signorina,” she gasped, and began to speak so incoherently that Lily couldn’t understand her.

She put her arm around the elderly woman’s round shoulders and tried to soothe her. “Domina, tell me what’s happened. Is it Nicole? Where is she?”

The housekeeper began to sob. Something had happened, something too dreadful for words. Was her baby ill? Had she been hurt? Terrified, Lily let go of Domina and raced toward the stairs that led to the nursery. “Nicole?” she called. “Nicole, Mama’s here, it’s all—”

“ Signorina, she is gone!”

Lily froze with her foot on the first step, her hand gripping the banister. She looked at Domina, who was trembling visibly. “What do you mean?” she asked hoarsely. “Where is she?”

“It was two men. I could not stop them. I tried, Dio mio…but they took the baby away. She is gone.”

Lily felt as if she were in the middle of a nightmare. Nothing was making sense. “What did they say?” she asked in a queer, thick voice. Domina began to sob, and Lily swore at her, rushing forward. “Damn you, don’t cry, just tell me what they said!”

Domina stepped back, frightened by Lily’s contorted face. “They said nothing.”

“Where did they take her?”

“I do not know.”

“Did they leave a note, a message?”

“No, signorina.”

Lily stared into the elderly woman’s streaming eyes. “Oh, it’s not happening, it’s not…” Frantically she ran to the nursery, stumbling to her knees and bumping her shins, not feeling the pain. The little room looked the same as usual, toys scattered on the floor, a ruffled dress draped over the arm of a rocking chair. The crib was empty. Lily pressed one hand over her stomach and the other up to her mouth. She was too frightened to cry, but she heard her own voice in a wrenching scream. “No! Nicole…Nooo…”

With a start, Lily recalled herself to the present. It had been more than two years since then. Two years. Bleakly she wondered if Nicole still remembered her. If Nicole were even still alive. The thought caused her throat to tighten until she could hardly breathe. Perhaps, she thought miserably, this was to be the punishment for her sins, to have her baby taken from her forever. But the Lord had to be merciful—Nicole was so innocent, so blameless. Lily knew that if it took the rest of her life, she would find her daughter.

Alex had never seen one small woman eat so heartily. Perhaps that was the source of her unflagging energy. With dainty precision, Lily downed a plateful of ham and madeira sauce, several spoonfuls of potatoes and boiled vegetables, pastry, and fresh fruit. She laughed and chattered all the while, the warm light casting a glow over her animated face. Several times Alex was chagrined to find himself staring at her. It bothered him greatly, his fascination with her and the puzzle she presented.