My stomach swirled and knotted as I dropped my head. I wanted to kick myself for forgetting the most important rule. I hunched my shoulders and ducked my head. A sting of embarrassed tears threatening to spill out.
I listened to the quiet snip as father divested the plant of its blossoms.
“This is aponduraplant,” his voice rumbled. “We need to dry these petals before they wilt.”
I peeked, following the methodical movements of his glove-encased hands as he spread the petals out, ready to go to thedrying station. The greenhouse was musky and dank, but the delicate scent of the petals made my lashes shiver.
“Once dried, we can use these as a bowel cleaner. Do you remember what that is?” Father was testing me. His lips quirked in readiness.
“It’ll make you shit your pants,” I exclaimed with a grin and received a wink as a reward.
“Don’t let mom hear you say that word, but yes. Quite spectacularly.”
Mint. Nightshade. Poppy. O, what plants start with O? I chewed my lip as I tried to think. The pressure behind my eyes had eased, and I opened them to stare at Mrs. Merissa Vani. She hadn’t attended our wedding. Lanton said she had been too unwell to attend. I had thought nothing of it, the list of people attending hadn’t interested me, if I was honest. But now I understood why. She’d been entangled with my husband. Humiliation wasn’t an emotion I was familiar with, but Romeo brought out strange reactions in me. It was a thorn I was determined to cleave from my side. She looked uncomfortable, a cup of tea in front of her and an untouched butter biscuit I’d baked that afternoon. I’d debated spiking her drink as I had Paolo’s, but if she was with child, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. Having a rising number of kills on my conscience didn’t bother me, but I drew the blurry, gray line at children.
“I didn’t mean for this. I should go.” She tapped her orange-painted nails on the counter. She eyed her purse as if debating whether she could have another cigarette.
“You weren’t in a rush ten minutes ago when you arrived uninvited at my house,” I pointed out. I shouldn’t have felt blindsided by the sight of her. It confirmed what Romeo had said. The reason he’d married me. There was already someone in his heart the entire time he’d been claiming mine. “Tell me, what is there between you and my husband?”
Everyone knew Merissa Vani. Lanton’s first wife, Diane, had been by his side for twenty years, a consummate lady. My mom always used to hold her up as a pillar of virtue and goodness. Her passing was unexpected. But it was nothing compared to the roar of scandal that followed when Lanton remarried only months later. Merissa had been much fresher faced as a newlywed, but the first year of marriage had taken its toll on her apple-cheeked, glamorous looks. She had fine lines on the side of her eyes. Her mouth was hard and bitter. Her dress showcased her enviable body, but it was her eyes I was drawn to. Painted thick with make-up, perhaps to distract from the red rims and gaping emptiness. I had been curious as anyone when Lanton debuted his young wife. Her age was closer to mine, and his was closer to what my father’s would have been. But there had been only one loud voice against Lanton’s pretty choice, Bruno, the brother of Lanton’s late wife. Grief made him foolish, and he hadn’t learned to keep his opinions to himself. He’d accused Lanton of murdering Diane, and Lanton had retaliated by breaking his leg. Bruno had been forgiven, a lapse in judgment from grief. But he was out of favor with Matteo Orazio because of it. Romeo might be the Orazio heir, but the real right-hand man of Matteo Orazio was Lanton Vani. History ran thick between those two, and no one in their right mind would speak out loudthe judgment they had about his choice of wife. A shiver coasted up my spine. Bruno was here tonight, at Romeo’s’behest.
“It’s not what you think. I need Romeo’s help. I wouldn’t have come here, except I’m desperate,” she whispered, her cheeks stamped pink. She said his name so casually, as if it had fallen from her pert lips a thousand times. I bet he would jump to assist her. Who wouldn’t? Her flaxen locks curled back from her face, framing her olive-tanned skin. Her white dress bordered obscene on her, especially with its cowled back. With an innate sensuality I couldn’t even comprehend. My throat seared with acid. Jealousy. Another new emotion. She had a beauty mark penciled above her lip, and it lured my gaze. I could imagine Romeo watching it, mesmerized by her lips.
“You’re both married. So, what did you think would happen when you came here?” I toyed with a dainty silver spoon. The sharp stab of agony I’d felt upon seeing her with Romeo had faded into a dull ache. Merissa made a noise in the back of her throat, annoyed by the questioning.
“I need him.” Desperation soaked the words as if willing me to understand. I glanced down at her stomach, and she caught it, a shadow flickering over her face. It was flat. Perhaps the news was a recent discovery. How long had their affair been going on?
“It’s over. He’s married now,” I warned her. She was married too, and yet, she was here. Trying to lay claim to my husband. My intestines twisted with tight cramps, and I fought the urge to lose my temper. To show her he belonged to me now. Even if I didn’t want him anymore, I’d ruin him for everyone else.
“A wife doesn’t control a husband, you’ll learn that. If he wants to see me, he will.” She picked up the treat and gave it a nibble.
A furious fire flared in my throat, searing my vocal cords into silence. Then I sifted through her words and heard the nugget of truth she’d dropped. She was attempting to seem unaffected, butunderneath the bluster, her shoulders drooped, and a haunted glint creeped into her gaze.
“And does your husband often pass you over for other women?” I probed, widening my eyes in an innocent air.
“If only. I wish he would,” her words rushed out in a vitriolic outburst. “You have no idea what it’s like to be married to a man like him.” Her lower lip trembled, and she smashed it between her teeth. Fear and disgust warred on her face.
Would I be afraid of Lanton Vani if he were my husband? He had a whispered reputation that didn’t match his affable smile. A violent temper and no morals to curb it. But that was the same for all the families who worked under Matteo Orazio. Lanton Vani was no different. He wielded his position, same as all these men did, bloated and drunk on their power. I’d thought Romeo was different. He had a keen eye. A thoughtful way of chewing on words before committing to an opinion. His face caught a faraway look as he considered, processed, and finally answered. I enjoyed his methodical charm, incongruous but entertaining. Now I knew he was merely an excellent actor.
“Why would you need my husband, then?” I wanted to peel back her insides and discover what she had that I didn’t. Aside from exuding sensuality, confidence, and beauty. Nobody knew where she had come from. She was by Lanton’s side one day. Wearing an ill-fitting dress that hadn’t flattered her figure as well as her current one. My reputation was better than hers by the unfair advantage of my name. But that didn’t matter to Romeo, it seemed.
“Fine, you want the truth? I don’t need him for physical acts.” Her hands clenched into fists. “He’s the only one who can help me.” Her wide eyes were flinty, and I searched for the meaning she was dancing around. She’d been plucked from obscurity, draped in designer wear, and adorned with chunky gold jewelry. It glinted in the kitchen lights, the garish wealth distractingaway from its wilting owner. But I knew how glossy sheens could hide a myriad of problems underneath. The more things looked perfect, the darker and uglier they were underneath. The thought of Lanton Vani made a shiver like ice shot down my spine.
As if conjured by my suspicions, Lanton Vani strode into the kitchen, trailed by two beefy men. His lip curled in a cruel approximation of a smile, and Merissa paled, her hand knocking into her cup and spilling a trail of tea. He towered over his wife, cataloguing her dress and the swath of deep cleavage she was showing. He drummed sausage fingers on the shiny counter. Each one crowned with a thick golden ring. Lanton was well into his fifties, and age hadn’t softened him. He looked harder. His hands were large like plates, and his body boasted strength that had been honed over time.
“Ah, dearest, when my staff advised me you were at Romeo Orazio’s house, I did not expect this.”
Lanton didn’t spare me one glance, Merissa pinned in his beady gaze, a fly in a web. I could see she was about to open her mouth and say something stupid. I slid to my feet and gasped in delight.
“Mr. Vani, what a pleasure,” I gushed, my dress swishing as I hurried over. This was a powerful man. One I would never dare approach normally. I preferred to be in the shadows, and it wouldn’t do well to catch the eye of a man in his position. The ironic thing was that he’d enquired about The Gardener many times. But I’d never taken on his work, his interest coming across too eager. I was no one to him, and it showed as he struggled to tear his attention away from his wife. Possession simmered in the tension of his body, taut with threat.
“Mrs. Romeo Orazio, isn’t it?” he questioned. He’d been at my wedding and shook my hand. I suppose I wasn’t memorable enough. Or he simply didn’t care about insulting me in my ownkitchen. I slipped on a congenial smile. It was ill-fitting but necessary.
“I begged Merissa to attend. We’re short a guest,” I said, seeing his suspicion drop a notch. Merissa’s chest shuddered as she loosed a tense breath. Surprised by my covering for her, no doubt. It wasn’t altruistic. I knew why she was here, why she had thrown herself at Romeo.
She wanted her husband dead, and she wanted mine to do it for her.
I admired her, begrudgingly, for the reckless courage to use her wiles in such a way. Only, it would end up with Romeo disappearing and if someone was going to kill him. It was going to be me.
