Free Lair of the Lion by authors_sort Page B

insist that he keep it. I will not leave this place. And he will rescue mio fratello, Lucca."
    "The messengers have been sent to secure your brother's freedom," Sarina assured her.
    She was pulling clothes out of the wardrobe.
    "There is the matter of our marriage. I believe he offered for me. He ordered our marriage. He cannot go back on his word."
    "It was not announced." Sarina still wouldn't meet her gaze. "I must put salve on your wounds. Then you must dress quickly, Isabella, and do as Don DeMarco has ordered."
    "I don't understand. I must see him. Why is he sending me away? What have I done to displease him?" Isabella had a sudden inspiration. "The lions were quiet last night. Doesn't that mean they are coming to accept my presence?"
    "He will not see you, and he will not change his mind."
    Sarina tried to hide her distress, making Isabella wonder what consequences of the don's decision she feared. She had no doubt that Sarina was well versed in all the legends about the don and his palazzo.
    Isabella took a deep, calming breath. Well, if Don DeMarco didn't want her as his bride, then perhaps both of them had made a lucky escape. She had no intention of ever conforming to a husband's wishes. Not now. Not ever. "My back is fine this morning, grazie. I do not need medicine."
    She rose stiffly and deliberately took her time washing, hoping the don was pacing in his rooms, anxious for her departure. Let him be anxious and have to wait on her pleasure.
    Ignoring the clothes Sarina had laid out for her, she dressed in her old, worn clothing. She needed nothing from Don DeMarco other than that he keep his word and rescue her brother.
    "Please understand, he wishes you to have the clothes. He is providing a full escort to the pass, supplies, and several men to take you on to your home." Sarina tried hard to be encouraging.
    Isabella's eyes flashed fire. She had no home. Don Rivellio had confiscated her lands and all things of value, other than her mother's jewels. But she dared not use her last treasures except as a final resort to try to bribe the guards holding Lucca. Still, she was far too proud to point out the obvious to Sarina. Isabella had come to Don DeMarco expecting to become a servant in his castello. If he wished to throw her out, she certainly wasn't going to beg him to take her as his bride, or even for sanctuary. She had been born the daughter of a don. She may have run wild at times, but the blood of her parents ran deep in her veins. She had plenty of pride and dignity, and she wrapped both around her like a cloak.
    "I have no need of anything the don has offered. I made my way to the palazzo alone, and I can certainly find my way back. As for the clothes, please see to it that those in need receive them." She met Sarina's eyes steadily, every bit as proud as the don. "I am ready."
    " Signorina …" Sarina's heart clearly ached for the young woman.
    Isabella's chin rose higher. "There is nothing to say, signora. I thank you for your kindness to me, but I must obey the orders of your don and leave immediately." She had to leave quickly or she might humiliate herself by bursting into tears. She had elicited a promise from Don DeMarco to save her brother, and that, after all, was the only reason she had come. She would think of nothing else.
    Not his broad shoulders. Not the intensity of his amber gaze. Not the sound of his voice.
    She would not think of him as a man. Isabella glanced at the door, her features set and determined.
    Sarina opened the door, and Isabella swept through it. At once the cold hit her, piercing and deep and unnatural. It was there again—that sense of something malignant watching her, this time in gloating triumph. Her heart began to pound. The hatred was so strong, so thick in the air, it took her breath away. She felt the weight of its ugly presence.
    But Isabella could not worry any longer about those living with something evil in the castello. If the don and his people didn't know or