"Bring out your dead!" The exclamation escaped from deep within the fog before its source even appeared. When the plague cart loaded with bodies came into view, Matteo pulled Giovanna the opposite way they needed to go. Although he knew she was most likely safe from getting sick, he wasn't taking any chances with his own health.
"We'll have to navigate the long way around," he said, ushering her further down the quay before turning up an alley. The change in route meant a few more minutes added to their walk, but Matteo didn't mind spending the extra time accompanying Giovanna home. For starters, it could well be needed for him to understand what she had just done.
"You have sentenced your husband to die," he said with evident disbelief as they walked between houses, their rough walls close enough to touch with outstretched arms.
Slightly ahead of him, Giovanna sniffled. "Only if God wills it."
"But it is a possibility," he reaffirmed.
"Yes, but what was I to do?" she asked, raising her voice and spinning around so quickly that he almost ran into her. "I must keep my father alive."
"I understand, but . . .," Matteo began to object with an argument against the morality of taking one life in exchange for another, but stopped himself. Who was he to determine the virtue in the girl's actions? In this case, he should have been the last person to make any sort of principled judgment. "No, no buts. In fact, I must ask for your forgiveness. Had I appeared yesterday morning as I had promised, I might have had time to interject in the examination of your husband's official documents. Perhaps I could have made them disappear or—"
"No, don't," Giovanna said, wiping her tear-streaked cheeks with the heel of her palm. With a frown, she shook her head. "What's done is done. They are my father and husband; therefore, they are my responsibility. I appreciate your continued attentiveness to my humble problems, but I'm sure you have much more important things to do with your time."
After a swift curtsey, she attempted to leave, but Matteo caught her hand before she could pivot away. The sound of men approaching—rushed and angry by the racket they made—put him in a state of inexplicable discomfort. Pulling Giovanna back, he motioned for her to stand still and quiet with her back against the wall.
"Get away! Leave me be!" yelled a man, the fear in his noble tenor palpable among the cacophony of harried footsteps.
"Who do ya' think ya' are giving orders to us?" asked another man gruffly.
With a pause in their approach, someone else laughed. "If you had wanted peace, you should've considered holdin' yer tongue against His Serenity."
"Look at 'im being all brave outnumbered four to one," cackled another before a punch rang out, and the recipient emitted an audible groan.
Matteo fingered the hilt of his sword, ready to unsheathe it, if necessary. Next to him, Giovanna looked back, her face pale and horrified.
"We must help," she mouthed.
Matteo shook his head 'no' even as the unmistakable slap of fists against flesh multiplied, echoing down the alley.
Giovanna squeezed her eyes shut, no doubt in an attempt to lock out the horrible noise. The pained expression on her face told Matteo that it was futile. She was experiencing every part of the unmistakable attack as though it were happening to her. Reaching for Giovanna's hand, Matteo gently squeezed her fingers in solidarity. He wished it were otherwise, but they had become unwitting witnesses to an ambush and leaving now would just risk calling attention to themselves. They'd have to wait out the attack's end and hope that the assailants left the way they came.
Lady Fortuna was not on their side.
"You'll get more of that if ya' dare speak against us," warned one of the assailants when the beating stopped.
"He won't live through the night," another said, taking a few steps closer. "Come before someone finds us here."
Now almost certain that the hoodlums were approaching, Matteo gasped. Running wasn't a good idea earlier, and it sure wasn't a better one now. With just seconds to spare before being discovered, he was left with no alternative.
Pivoting to face Giovanna, he leaned into her body and pinned her against the wall. First placing his hands on her hips, Matteo thought better of it and quickly raised them to cup her face.
"I don't want to do this, but I must," he rattled off what he had meant as a pre-emptive apology, but even to his own ears, it sounded insincere. Not having time to do better, he took a deep breath as if preparing to dive beneath the tepid waves of the lagoon in July. But instead of dipping his head into the water, Matteo did something far more daring as he crushed his lips against Giovanna's.
Initially, she froze—her shoulders relaxing and her limp arms falling to her sides. This close, her skin smelled of sage and woodsmoke, and Matteo gladly breathed in her scent before remembering that he had no business gaining enjoyment from the situation. But even as the seconds slowly ticked by, he couldn't deny the pleasure he felt at the gentle warmth of her exhales against his nose or the salty taste of tears on her soft lips. Only when the initial shock had warn off and Giovanna attempted to resist did guilt wash over him once more.
"Look at the little trollop struggle!" said one of the men with a laugh at the sight of her arms flailing against Matteo's firm hold.
"Maybe we should take care of 'em too, just in case—," whispered another in a more sinister tone, making Matteo press against the Giovanna even more to better sell the charade of unaware, passionate lovers.
A third interjected. "Bite your tongue. They had better things to do than worry about us," he chided as their steps hastened before melting into the distance.
As though she had finally caught on, Giovanna stopped resisting even as Matteo's mouth lingered on hers for an additional moment. Once he was certain they were alone again, he pulled away abruptly to avoid physical punishment. But Giovanna didn't respond with a strike of her hand against his cheek nor with a harsh word or two. Instead, she solemnly touched her lips before wiping them clean with the back of her hand.
The dismissive act hurt Matteo more than any slap or insult, yet he had no chance to address it for down the alleyway, the victim of the assault moaned.
"He's still alive," Giovanna whispered as her eyes widened. Not waiting for Matteo to respond, she ran off.
After taking one last look around to make sure they were still alone Matteo followed, finding her crouched over a man lying on his back. With his discerning clothes disheveled and his gaunt face bloody, it was nearly impossible to recognize the man. It was only the distinctive signet ring on his left hand that alerted Matteo to his identity.
"Don Delfini," he whispered while kneeling beside the senior Council of Forty member. When the injured patrician tried to respond, Matteo hushed him. "No, don't try to speak. You will be all right. I will make sure of it."
"I can tend to him," Giovanna offered, already reaching into her pocket and withdrawing a kerchief to wipe the blood out of Delfini's eyes.
But Matteo objected. "No. You must get away from here quickly. Your name should not be tied to this horrible occurrence."
"Apart from my father, I'm the best—"
"You will go, now," Matteo demanded as he cut her off with not only words, but a stern look. He meant what he had said about not wanting Giovanna embroiled in the scandal that this attack would surely bring. The less attention she brought to herself, the better it was for everyone—including her own father. "Find refuge in my home until I join you. But first I will take Don Delfini to the palace where—"
"The Doge's Palace, you mean?"
Her sardonic emphasis took him aback. "Yes, it is the closest place with a physician and for a man of his standing—"
"You'd take him into the proverbial lion's den," she stated.
"Whatever are you talking about?" he asked while helping Delfini sit. "You're just wasting time."
Giovanna stood and crossed her arms. "Was it not Tomaso Delfini who publicly spoke out against Doge Grimani just a few days ago? And did not one of his attackers reference that slight just now? And you think that after that, he'd be safe in the very place that houses the mastermind behind his troubles."
Matteo paused. In the chaos, he hadn't even stopped to consider the motivation behind best friend's almost father-in-law's attack. Yet the clever girl had managed to put the pieces together.
He cleared his throat in an attempt to conceal his embarrassment. "Well, whether that is true remains to be seen. But just in case, I will heed your warning and take him to the second nearest physician, but only if you promise to wait for me in Palazzo Barozzi until then."
To his delight, Giovanna nodded.