Free Cascade by Lisa Tawn Bergren

never do that?”
    “Rarely,” Luca said, one eyebrow raised. “Not for wont of trying, on my part.”
    Marcello’s lips curved a bit, but he stayed on his own track. “We must be vigilant.”
    “Vigilant, ever vigilant. Is it to be thus the rest of our lives?” I asked. What I wanted to know, really, was Is this what I’m signing on for if I stay?
    He read the question in my eyes. “There are times of war and times of peace, Gabriella. We shall pray for peace. For now, enjoy your fair measure of glory. Luca and I shall ensure you remain secure.”
    I shifted my eyes forward and smiled at a tiny girl reaching up on her tiptoes to hand Marcello a flower. She smiled shyly at me. He reached for it, and I looked back at her as we passed, giving her a wave. She ran off, screeching to her mother as if the latest Disney princess had just given her an autograph.
    Marcello was studying me. “You and your sister have given our people hope. If Siena can produce such strength, invoke such passion as you two embody, no one can defeat us.”
    “Why us? You and Luca, you did as much to turn the tide of that battle and capture Castello Paratore. You’re the ones that bear the famed Forelli name.”
    He shrugged. “You are female.” He allowed a smile then, a real smile. Oh, how I loved the way his brown eyes sparkled.…
    But the equal-rights chick in me bristled at his words. He only meant them as admiration, I told myself. In this time, in this place, women weren’t ready to fight beside their men. They were back at home, baking the bread, raising the babies. So, for them, we were basically…foreign. And fascinating.
    I’d never really fascinated anyone. And I, in turn, found that oddly irresistible.
    “So if Siena is full of adoration for my girls,” Mom said, leaning closer, “why are you concerned?”
    “Because for every thousand members of their adoring people, there are bound to be a hundred dissenters. Those who are proponents of peace with Firenze and object to our taking Castello Paratore. Others who wish to sow outright discontent. Spies, even.”
    “How many total citizens abide in Siena now?” Mom asked.
    “More than two hundred thousand.”
    Fantastic. Then if we only had a hundred bad guys for every thousand, there might only be two thousand who wanted to take us down.
    “Let’s just hope they don’t all rally together,” Lia said softly, blue eyes wide, doing the math too.
    Luca sat straighter. “I shall never let you out of my sight.”
    She seemed to take comfort in that. Was that more than just a casual connection between them? My eyes met my mom’s.
    “If we are attacked, I shall need to take the girls home,” she said, speaking to the men, but looking at us, warning us.
    The guys stayed silent.
    So did we.
    I think we all knew it was just a matter of time. But I figured we’d argue that out when we really had to deal with it.

     
    The men had to bodily push the crowds back down the narrow, curving streets with their horses in order for us to make it into the Rossi palace. The palazzo was one of many that ringed Siena’s beautiful central piazza, where I figured much of the celebration would happen in the days to come.
    Lord Rossi was nice enough, greeting us with kisses to both cheeks. I couldn’t tell if he was ticked off inside—on the outside, he was nothing but a gracious host, fawning over my mother, who was six inches taller than him, praising God for our reunion.
    “Guess the rock-star status fixes the stolen fiancé issue,” Lia whispered, leaning toward me.
    “Guess one Forelli is as good as another,” I muttered sarcastically. My eyes followed Romana, who hung on Fortino’s arm. She never left him alone. In the six days I’d been back, I hadn’t had one opportunity to talk to him, find out if he was all good with how things had come down. Was she purposely trying to keep him from talking to me? Or was it all in my head? Why couldn’t I just let it go? I had my guy.