Color Song (A Passion Blue Novel) by Victoria Strauss Read Free Book Online Page A

Damiana. “I think you know why.”
    Giulia swallowed against the dryness of her mouth. How could she have been so foolish as to think the struggle would remain between herself and Domenica? That Domenica, her patience at an end, would not look beyond the workshop for help?
    “A bundle of letters was found, left to you by Maestra Humilità. I’ve only glanced at them, but I believe I am correct in guessing that they do not contain what we seek.”
    “No, Madre Magdalena,” Giulia whispered.
    “Tell me now, and do not think to lie. Where is the recipe for Passion blue? Where have you hidden it?”
    Giulia felt the tiny weight of the pouch at her neck. “It’s somewhere safe, Madre Magdalena.”
    “Somewhere safe?
Somewhere safe?
Do you dare answer me so slyly, girl?”
    Giulia stared down at the red tiles of the floor, biting her lips against the tears that wanted to fall. Even if she’d wished to surrender the recipe, she could not reveal the existence of the pouch, for then she would lose her horoscope fragment too.
    “I order you to produce it without further delay,” Madre Magdalena said. “I am giving you this one last chance to do your duty willingly; but willing or not, we will have that recipe. Do I make myself clear?”
    “Yes, Madre Magdalena,” Giulia said, because there was nothing else to say.
    “I have no wish to dishonor Maestra Humilità’s memory, but her actions in this matter defy comprehension. The workshop is the glory of Santa Marta, not only for the beautiful paintings it gives the world, but for the income it contributes to our community. And the reputation of the workshop is built largely upon Passion blue. To give so valuable a thing to a mere apprentice, a girl of questionable character, is scarcely less disgraceful than your defiance.”
    “I’m sorry, Madre Magdalena,” Giulia whispered.
    “God knows what is truly in your heart. I do not. Whatever discipline Maestra Domenica decides for you, you should know that I myself will be evaluating whether it will be possible for you to continue in your current situation once you take your final vows.”
    Giulia’s head snapped up. The abbess had paused in her restless motion. Her lips were pinched together, her gaze deeply cold.
    “You understand me. Good.” Madre Magdalena began to pace again. “Now, there is something else I wish to discuss with you. I have had a letter from Signor Matteo Moretti.”
    Giulia gasped.
    “He wishes to share with you reminiscences of his daughter, whom he loved so dearly, as a comfort for his grief. He has asked that you be allowed to visit him occasionally in his house, as his daughter used to.”
    “Visit him?”
    “As you may imagine, I am not inclined to grant you any privileges. But Signor Moretti is a generous donor to this convent, and he has just suffered a grievous loss. I do not feel I canrefuse his request. Accordingly, I have arranged for you to go to him on Friday.”
    “
This
Friday? But—Madre Magdalena—please, I can’t!”
    Madre Magdalena wheeled around, fixing Giulia with a flinty glare.
“Can’t?”
    “He’s not . . . Signor Moretti is not my family.” Giulia trembled with desperation. Madre Magdalena, like the rest of the convent, knew of Ormanno’s theft of Passion blue and Giulia’s part in it; but the truth about Matteo, and what had happened to Giulia in his house, had been Giulia’s and Humilità’s secret. “It isn’t proper for me to be . . . to be alone with him.”
    “Don’t be foolish. I shall make sure you have a chaperone.”
    “It won’t be enough! Please, Madre Magdalena, he’s not the man you think he is. He’s lying about why he wants to see me—he only wants to force me to give him Passion blue—”
    “Wicked girl! Matteo Moretti is a leading citizen of Padua, a man of reputation and piety, a famous painter in his own right. How dare you slander him so?”
    “It is the truth, if you’d only let me tell you what he did last year