The Devil in Music by Kate Ross Read Free Book Online Page B

castle had a
toothache, and I had to help look after her. I'll put the coffee on
straightaway."

    "It
doesn't matter about the coffee. Lucia, I've been awake nearly an
hour, and there's not a sign of His Excellency or Orfeo."

    "That's
funny. Wait here a minute, Maestro."

    He
heard her walk to Orfeo's room, then to Lodovico's, and finally back
to his own. "They're not there," she said slowly. "And
their beds haven't been slept in."

    "But
where can they be?"

    "I'll
look downstairs."

    Donati
waited, torn between hope and anxiety. At last Lucia returned,
saying, "They're not downstairs. I couldn't find any trace of
them. But I've put the coffee on, so you'll soon have that to warm
you. There's not much sun today."

    "For
the love of God, Lucia, never mind about the coffee! Where can the
marchese and Orfeo be?"

    "Wherever
they are," she said reasonably, "they wouldn't want you
going without breakfast, Maestro. Here, I've brought you water to
wash with, and fresh towels, and when that's done I'll help you
dress. Do you mind going without shaving for the time being? I've
never shaved a man."

    "I
can shave myself," Donati said hastily. "You needn't do
anything else for me, really, Lucia "

    "Now,
Maestro, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. I looked after
Papa when he had fever last year and was as helpless as a baby. I'll
just go out for a few minutes while you do anything you need to do
alone, and you ring your bell when you're ready for me to come back."

    Donati
could see it was useless to resist. Between them, they got him
washed, shaved, and dressed, though Donati kept urging Lucia to go
out and look for the marchese and Orfeo. "I will just as soon
as I've got you settled," she promised. "Don't worry. I
wouldn't be surprised if His Excellency heard some singer he admired
on the lake last night, and he and Signor Orfeo went out in a boat to
find out who it was. You know what His Excellency is like."

    Donati
detected the undercurrent of tension in her voice. She had fears,
but she was willing herself not to give way to them.

    When
she had led Donati down to the drawing room and put a steaming cup of
coffee in his hands, she went out to search for the marchese and
Orfeo in the garden. If she could not find them, she said, she would
seek help from her father, who was doing an errand in Solaggio.

    Donati
drank his coffee, then went into the music room and tried

    to
play the piano. It was no use for once music failed to distract him.
He walked out onto the terrace. The air was close and a little
chilly, the wind fresh. It would rain by and by.

    The
waiting seemed interminable. When the church bells rang the half
hour after eight, Donati fetched his hat from its stand and went out
for a walk. He knew it would be more sensible to remain at the villa
in case the marchese and Orfeo returned, but this hanging about doing
nothing was unbearable, even for one as schooled in patience as
himself. If he kept to the lakeside path, which was flagstoned and
fairly straight, he would not need anyone to Guido him. And there
was always the chance he might meet the marchese and Orfeo or hear
some news of them.

    Using
his light rattan cane, he found his way to the point where the
lakeside path branched off the terrace. He strolled along, swinging
the cane lightly back and forth in front of him to guard against
obstacles. Fishermen's voices, snatches of song, and gulls' hoarse
cries came from the lake to his left, muffled by the plane trees that
he knew ran along this part of the path. He still felt no sunshine;
that might have been the effect of the plane trees blotting out the
eastern sky, but the air hung heavier than ever, and before long it
began to rain. Donati did not want to return to the villa, but the
drops fell ever faster, pattering on the grass and leaves. Just then
his feet crunched on shifting, uneven ground, and he knew he had
reached the gravelled yard outside the little Moorish pavillion that
served as a belvedere