Seta's Fall

Chapter 1

1803

Rome, Italy

"The Count will never take a whore as his wife."

Seta bristled, and took a deep breath, releasing the air from her lungs slowly to ward off her reflex to lash out at her mother. She knew the woman thought she knew best, but she didn't understand the relationship Seta had with Count Roberto Garibaldi. Her mother had never been fortunate enough to have the affections of such a noble, highly regarded man. Seta's father was a scoundrel at best, and had been long dead for many years, leaving his family to survive the only way they could, by being lowly servants.

"Do you really think me a whore?" Seta asked as she continued to fold her toddler son's clothing atop the dresser. She caught her reflection in the mirror above it and saw a sadness in her eyes that should not be, not on this day she'd long awaited for.

"It is not what I think, but what others think," her mother said diplomatically as she rose from the rocking chair set near the hearth. Rialto slept peacefully in her arms, his small angelic head nestled against her bosom. Seta watched as her mother deposited her small son into the bassinet they kept close to the fire to protect him from the draft.

"I care not what others think," Seta stated firmly though her hands automatically clenched with the untruth. "When I am nobility, no one will dare utter a bitter word to me."

"When you are nobility." Her mother snorted, shaking her head as she tucked a thin blanket around Rialto's sleeping form. "I do not like to hurt you, Seta, but you need to stop this foolish dreaming. Even your grandmother, sick as she was, warned you away from him."

"I am not dreaming!" Seta slapped a hand over her mouth as Rialto let out a tiny whimper. Her mother directed a reproachful look her way as she rubbed the young boy's back, soothing him to sleep once more.

"I am not dreaming," she repeated, much calmer this time, as her mother straightened. "The Count is in love with me, and I, with him. Rialto is testimony to the love we share."

"Rialto is testimony to the fact that you lay with a married man and God had enough mercy on your soul to bless you with a child despite your sin."

That hurt. It hurt so badly the anger drained out of Seta, replaced with deep regret. She'd always been so proud of her relationship with Roberto, so honored that of all the women in Rome, he had chosen her to be with. Yes, he had chosen and wed another first, but that relationship was no more than a business arrangement, the joining of two wealthy families. Roberto did not love his wife. He despised the woman so much they did not even sleep together, which was why Rialto was his first-born. Seta may not have been first to wed the count, but she took great pride in knowing she'd been the one to gift him with his one and only son, an heir to his title and wealth. "I sincerely apologize if I have embarrassed you, Mother, but I assure you no one will dare speak ill of you once we are in the castle. You will have servants of your own, and they will all desire to be you. We will both be envied."

Her mother, Loma, bowed her head, and shook it side to side. "I do not envy the pain of your heart breaking when you learn the truth."

"I have learned the truth!" Seta's anger started to mount once again. "It is you who chooses not to believe it."

"How will you ever set foot into that castle without a basket of laundry, or cleaning supplies?" Loma's hands clenched the apron strings at her hips. "Rialto is not the key you think he is. You may be the mother of Count Roberto Garibaldi's son and possible heir, but you will never be his wife. You will always be the Spanish servant he took in secret."

Heat flooded through Seta's body and the flames in the hearth roared as they grew higher. Loma's eyes widened and she quickly pulled the bassinet away from the hearth. "Cool your temper, Seta."