The Casanova Embrace by Warren Adler Read Free Book Online Page B

reaction in Isabella, who turned suddenly, her fingers caught on a
stem, and the Ming vase crashed to the polished tile floor.
    The sudden explosion and the reality that it was a
priceless Ming seemed to draw all the anger and annoyance that had been
congealing in his mother's mind. She stood up, the cords in her neck bulging as
she stood towering over Isabella, from whose face the blood had drained,
turning the pink glow to an ashen white.
    "You dirty little bitch," his mother screeched,
slapping the girl repeatedly on both cheeks.
    "Forgive me, mistress," the girl mumbled, lifting
her face as if welcoming the blows as penance.
    "That was priceless, you whore," his mother cried.
"Look what this monster has done!"
    "That clumsy little devil," one of his sisters
said.
    His mother grabbed the girl by the shoulders and began to
shake her, the silken hair flowing as if caught in the eddy of a heavy wind.
    "I will not have this! I will not have this!" his
mother cried. Eduardo could see the harried faces of the servants poking out of
the kitchen.
    "You illiterate, incompetent little whore!" his
mother screamed, repeating "little whore" until her anger reduced the
epithet to a long piercing shriek.
    Finally, Isabella's stoicism crumbled and a low cry seeped
from her chest, stirring him to compassion. He assumed it was compassion, since
he empathized now and could feel and understand the girl's pain.
    "Enough, Mama!" he cried, standing up and banging
on the table. Perhaps it was the sound of a male voice or simply the emphatic
crack of his fist, but it was enough to cause his mother to take her hands off
the girl. She must have been frightened by the outburst and had run screaming
from the room while Isabella slumped to the floor like an injured animal
whimpering with mortification and fear. Finally, one of the older servants
lifted her from the ground and led her away through the kitchen door.
    That night he relived the incident in his mind, feeling
again the empathy and compassion for this girl who was hardly more than his own
age. But beyond the pity, beyond the knowledge of her suffering he recognized
in himself for the first time a kinship with the servants. He felt ashamed for
his mother, his sisters, and he determined that his father must intervene to
stop any further abuse. What was a vase compared to a human being?
    The next day he searched the grounds of their estate for
her. He found her puttering in a flower patch, kneeling in the soft earth. When
she saw him, she stiffened and burrowed deeper in the earth with a trowel,
ignoring his presence, her long hair spilling over her face, the ends almost
touching the ground.
    "You mustn't be afraid," he said kneeling beside
her. She continued to work, ignoring him.
    "I apologize for my mother," he said gently.
"Really, she will forget all about it soon. I know she will." He
doubted that. His mother held an endless supply of scorn and vindictiveness,
especially for servants, a fact well known in the household. Whatever enmity
was left was reserved for his father, whom Eduardo adored.
    "She will send me away," the girl said finally,
swallowing hard to keep back her tears. Life in the poor villages was a
terrible struggle. In a rich household, one ate regularly.
    "It wasn't your fault," Eduardo said. He patted
her arm. The touch of her flesh warmed him, confusing his motives. She was bent
over and her full breasts pressed tightly against her blouse. Despite his
compassion, he was conscious of searching the fabric for the outlines of her
nipples.
    "I was not careful," she said.
    "It was an accident."
    He felt the power of his own protection, seeing her even
now in a different way, confused by a new implication. She is beautiful, he
decided, as she glanced up at him, her large dark eyes reflecting her
vulnerability.
    "It will be all right," Eduardo insisted.
    "She will send me away," the girl repeated.
"Nothing can stop it." Servants were always being discharged, some
for cause,