“I am not in the mood to play games,” she said with false bravado. “If this is your idea of fun—”
“Put your hand in the mouth, cara.”
She looked at him as if he were mad. “Don’t be ridiculous!”
Nicolo took her hand and forced it toward the dark, slashing opening.
“Put your hand in,” he insisted. “Then look me in the eye, and answer my question.”
His grasp on her hand was fierce; there was no way she could free herself. But what was th
ere to be afraid of? The mouth was frightening to look at, but it was harmless.
“All right,” she said angrily. “Let go. I’ll do it myself.” She took a deep breath, and jabbed her fingers into the gaping mouth. Nothing happened—not that she’d really thought anything would—although there was a nervous tingle in her fingers. “Well? What happens next?”
“Now you answer the question.”
“Honestly, Nicolo, this is—”
“The question, Caroline. Are you prepared to answer it?”
Their eyes met, and all at once it seemed hard to breathe. She swallowed dryly, then nodded.
“Yes, I’ll answer your question. What is it?”
He lifted his hand and laid it against her cheek, his fingers cool and firm against her skin.
“It’s a very simple one, cara,” he said quietly. “Do you love me?”
Caroline jerked her hand back, and Nicolo caught it and held it in his.
“You must tell the truth,” he said. “Or face the wrath of the gods.”
She laughed nervously. “This is crazy! I don’t believe in such nonsense.”
Nicolo shrugged. “Nonsense? I’m not so sure, cara. That day at the Fontana di Trevi, you threw in a coin as all tourists do, so that you would some day return to Rome. And here you are.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“As for me, I wished that I would not lose you.” He smiled. “And here you are, back in my arms.”
His words went straight to her heart, and she remembered the private wish she’d made that day, that Nicolo would tell her he loved her.
She smiled tremulously. “Is that—is that really what you wished?”
“You must answer my question first,” he said, his eyes on hers. “Do you love me, Caroline?”
She stared at him. Such a simple question—and yet, such a dangerous one. To tell him the truth would be to reveal her inner self, she would leave herself exposed and vulnerable and—
He brought her hand to his lips.
“Will it help you if I tell you first that I love you,” he whispered, “that I adore you with all my heart?”
Her breath caught, trembled in the air between them. These were the words she had longed to hear, the ones she had wished for that day at the Trevi Fountain.
“Caroline?” He smiled. “Have you nothing to say to me, cara?”
“I—I won’t be your mistress,” she whispered. “No matter what you say.”
His brow furrowed. “My mistress? Santa Maria, what sort of man do you think I am? I love you, Caroline. That means I want to marry you, to make you my wife.”
“Your wife?” She laughed, even though tears were glistening in her eyes. “Oh, Nico…”
“You have yet to answer my question,” he said sternly. “Do you love me?”
“Yes,” she said, “of course I do. I love you with all my heart.”
Nicolo closed his eyes, then opened them again. “I knew it! But when you said what you did about the night we’d spent together…”
“It was a lie,” Caroline whispered. She leaned closer to him and lay her head against his shoulder. “I wanted to hurt you, Nico. You’d hurt me so badly—there I was, head over heels in love with you, and you were asking me to be your mistress.”
“I was asking you to be whatever you wished to be, cara.” His jaw tightened. “It was stupid, and I suppose I did a bad job of it, but it was not easy, offering to set aside my rigid Old-World principles and give you the freedom you wanted.”
“Oh, you aren’t rigid at all! I want to be an old-fashioned wife to you, Nicolo.”
“Are you sure?” He cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes. “I made a mistake with Arianna. I tried to change her, to make her into a woman she could not be.” He gathered Caroline into his arms and held her in a close, almost fierce embrace. “I will not make such a mistake again!”
“Nico,” Caroline whispered, “listen to me. I want you. Only you, do you understand? I want to make you a home, to bear your children…”
He silenced her with a kiss. When it ended, she looped her arms around his neck and asked the one question that had yet to be answered.
“Are you sure it’s me you want,” she murmured, “and—and not Arianna?”
Nicolo smiled. “Arianna and I were wrong for each other in dozens of ways. I realized that almost the instant she left me.”
“Yes, but perhaps someday, if she comes back…”
“She has always come back—she loves Anna very much. It’s just that no one ever knows when.” He smiled. “I suspect you will like her, cara, when you meet.”
“Well,” Caroline said thoughtfully, “maybe. I mean, the next time she shows up—”
“You can tell me what you think of her tonight, when we all have dinner at the palazzo and tell Anna our news.”
Caroline stared at him. “You mean, Arianna’s here?”
“Sì. She has been for weeks.”
“And—and she’s still single?”
Nicolo laughed softly. “What will it take to convince you, cara? Yes. She is here, she is unmarried, she is still very lovely—but I don’t love her. I love you.”
Caroline cocked her head. “Put your hand in the Mouth of Truth,” she said, “and I might just believe you.”
“You American women,” he said, “you ask too much of a man!” He turned and put his hand into the stone mouth. “Ti amo, mi Carolina,” he said softly, his eyes on hers. “I will love you for all eternity. I swear it, by all the gods.”
Caroline smiled as Nicolo’s arms closed around her.
The gods of the Caesars had done themselves proud.
* * * * *
POSTCARDS FROM EUROPE: ITALY
ROME—‘the Eternal City’
Everywhere you go in Rome, you feel history all around you: not just in the imposing, world-famous monuments, but also in every quiet street, where a picturesque courtyard, festooned with washing and crowded with colorful plants, may have a two-thousand-year-old column built into its walls, or a beautiful medieval fountain. It’s this casual blend of old and new that makes the city so fascinating—it’s full of secret corners for you to discover…
THE ROMANTIC PAST
The ancient Romans—so they claimed!—were descended from the gods. They were first brought to Italy by the Trojan warrior Aeneas, son of Venus, goddess of love, and Rome itself was founded by Romulus and Remus…the sons of the god Mars. Their mother was a Vestal Virgin who was condemned to death for breaking her vow of chastity—her twin babies were abandoned, to die, but, so the legend goes, were suckled by a she-wolf—now the emblem of the city. Rome’s full of such colorful legends, but here’s one you can try out for yourselves, if you visit la Bocca di Verità—the Mouth of Truth—an ancient sculpture in the form of an eerie, openmouthed face. Its origins are lost in the mists of time, but legend has it that, if you put your hand into the mouth and tell a lie, it will bite your fingers off! Once an unfaithful wife, suspecting that her jealous husband was going to test her fidelity in this way, arranged to have her lover standing by. When the time came to put her hand in the mouth and swear that she’d never been untrue, she pretended to feel faint. The lover generously offered to help support her while she made her vow. With her husband’s arm around her waist and her lover’s around her shoulders, she put her hand fearlessly in the gaping hole and swore that she’d never let any other man touch her…except of course, this kind stranger who was being so helpful!—pastimes for lovers…
THE ROMANTIC PRESENT
Rome has some of the most famous sights in the world—the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Vatican City…it’s impossible to do justice to them all! But there’s so much to see and do that, wherever you wander in the city, you really can’t go wrong! For a magnificent view of Rome spread out below you, you can’t do better than climb the steep stone steps from the busy Piazza Venezia to the top of the Capitoline Hill—Rome’s still run from here, as it has been for thousands of years. Y
ou can look straight down into the Forum, the heart of ancient Rome, with its many temples, and across to the Palatine Hill, where the Roman Emperors had their splendid palaces, and lived out their scandalous lives! While you’re here, there’s the Capitoline Museum—well worth a visit—and the sinister cliffs of the Tarpaean Rock. Roman traitors were cruelly flung to their deaths from here…From this quiet corner you can plunge—hopefully a little less precipitously!—into the bustling modern city. You’re not too far from the stylish and expensive shops around the Piazza di Spagna; the prices may be beyond your pocket, but at least you can window-shop—and dream! The beautiful piazza itself, with its famous Spanish Steps, was once the heart of Rome’s artistic colony—you’re walking in the footsteps of the English Romantic poets Keats and Shelley. Now it’s a meeting place for young people from all over the world…and you’re bound to make friends here! If you need a break from the fast-paced street life of the city, you’re never far from a tranquil park. Just a stone’s throw from the Piazza di Spagna are the elegant Villa Borghese Gardens—you can stroll for hours by its beautiful lakes, exploring secluded valleys and tiny mock temples. On the other side of the city is the less well known Villa Celimontana Park. It’s perched on the Caelian Hill, so when you’ve visited the Colosseum and Forum it’s perfectly placed for a quiet picnic. This is where many Roman lovers come to wander hand in hand, so the air is full of romance…When it’s time for dinner, you’ll be spoiled for choice. A warning about Italian food: if you’re on a diet, stay away! The dishes are among the most delicious—and fattening—in the world. Try antipasto misto—mixed hors d’oeuvres, all delicious, heaped on your plate. For your main course, a Roman specialty is saltimbocca…literally, “jump in your mouth.” It’s tender veal rolled around delicately seasoned ham and cooked in wine. Another culinary highlight is carciofi alla giudia—mouthwatering artichokes. If you still have room for dessert, it’s got to be tiramisu, a delectable coffee-flavored trifle. The wine that inevitably accompanies your meal will be just as delicious, and may well come from one of the small towns near Rome—perhaps the famous Frascati or Orvieto. Many of the most romantic restaurants are in Trastevere—Rome’s Bohemian quarter, across the River Tiber from the center of the city. It’s always worth a visit, particularly at the end of July, when the Festa dei Noantri is held, a traditional extravaganza of music, dancing and celebration. Another highlight of the year is the summer season of opera spectacularly performed in the enormous ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. There could be no better setting for the splendor of grand opera, nor for the huge talents of its singers Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras—this is where the once-in-a-lifetime concert of the “three tenors” was performed in 1990. Let’s hope you see something as memorable!