Lies and Weddings(122)
Eden rose from the table trembling under the force of her own words and chucked the folder right in Arabella’s face. The countess gasped in pain as the edge of the folder cut into her skin, but for the first time ever, Eden resisted her natural impulse as a healer. She turned around, marched across the garden, cut through the dimly lit hotel parlor, and emerged onto the startlingly crowded street. A tour guide holding a stick with a yellow rubber duck at its end led a large group of tourists around the street. “Die Stra?e hat ihren Namen von dem historischen Tag des 22 M?rz 1848, als die Venezianer die Habsburg vertrieben und erneut die Republik ausriefen. Hier finden sie die exklusivsten Gesch?fte der Stadt wie Giorgio Armani, Gucci, und Dolce and Gabbana. J.Lo und Ben Affleck waren gestern hier einkaufen.” Eden felt her body turn to putty as she was pulled along with the crowd; she felt as though she couldn’t breathe. She looked down at the intricate patchwork of cobblestones as they began to spin and spin and she collapsed to the ground.
II
PALAZZO GATTOPARDO
SAN MARCO, VENICE, ITALY ? SAME DAY
She was drifting under, deep within the lagoon. The water was dark and murky with glimmerings of deep green and gold. She felt herself sinking deeper and deeper, enveloped in the warm ancient waters, lontar leaves and kelp brushing against her skin as tiny translucent fish darted past. She looked down and saw a light glowing in the distance, and as she swam toward it, she saw a woman suspended vertically in the water, her body absolutely still, draped in a diaphanous white goddess gown, its gossamer fabric undulating around her like jellyfish tentacles. As she got closer, she recognized the porcelain-white face of her mother. Her eyes were closed; her long eyelashes had tiny water bubbles at their ends. Her face emanated serenity and calmness. Suddenly her eyes opened, and they gazed at her, filling her with so much love. Her mother’s mouth opened, huge water bubbles emerging as she spoke. Even through the cloak of water she could understand every word: He’s keeping you safe.
She came closer and her mother enfolded her in her arms. Then suddenly behind her came a flurry of motion, the water churning furiously as gigantic white wings unfurled from her back, opening majestically, moving slowly with the current, then in an instant, with one big flap, they began to rise, their bodies ascending through the water and surfacing into the air. Eden gasped, taking in her first gulp of air as she bolted up in the bed and saw a figure silhouetted in the darkness.
“Mama?”
“It’s me, Rufus,” Rufus said as he moved onto the bed. Eden looked at him for a moment and then started sobbing uncontrollably. Rufus held her in his arms and stroked her back as she cried.
“Shhhh…it’s okay…you’re okay,” Rufus said soothingly. “It was just a bad dream. You’re safe. You’re here in Martha’s palazzo.”
“How did I get here?”
“Gopal Das was passing by as you fainted on the street. He picked you up and took you back here. Don’t you remember?”
“I remember now,” Eden rasped, her voice hoarse from crying. They lay there together and after a while, they got out of bed and moved onto the loggia, where there was a little bistro table with two chairs facing the Canal Grande below.
“I’m going to get you a drink,” Rufus offered. He left the loggia and came back a minute later with a tall glass of iced tea.
Eden took a few gulps of the refreshing drink, her mind coming back into focus. “I didn’t have a bad dream. I had a beautiful one. I saw my mother…she was right there in front of me. She embraced me and spoke to me.”
“Could you understand her this time?”
“Yes. Very clearly this time. She said, ‘He’s keeping you safe.’ Whatever did she mean by that?”
Rufus smiled. “Don’t you see? You fainted and Gopal Das was right there to help you. He kept you safe.”
“I don’t think that’s what she meant. Maybe she meant you. Or maybe it means nothing,” Eden moaned, and cradled her head in her hands. “My brain’s so bloody scrambled after seeing your mother.”
“My mother’s in Venice?” Rufus looked surprised.
Eden nodded as she began to tell him everything that had transpired that morning. She told him of the secret meeting at the Hotel Flora, the shocking documents that Rosina had purportedly unearthed, and how it all ended.
“I may have scarred your mother for life,” Eden said matter-of-factly.
“Fucking hell, she deserved it!” Rufus stood at the stone balustrade shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this,” he kept repeating.
“Doesn’t it all sound so crazy? I kept looking at the papers, thinking they had to be fake…”
“Actually, I’m not referring to what Rosina’s investigators dug up, I’m referring to my mother. Why would she want to hurt you like this? It’s beyond vicious…it’s unforgivable!”
“So you think it’s all true?”
Rufus pondered it for a moment. “I have no idea—I didn’t see any of what you saw. I’m only sorry it had to come from my mum. Why on earth would she think she could blackmail you like this?”
“She thought I’d want to hide it from you.”
“Why would it matter to me who your parents were? They could both be ax murderers and I’d still love you!” Rufus scoffed. “Actually, I already know your parents—I know your mother through the memories you’ve shared with me, all the visions and dreams you’ve had of her over the years. And I know your father, the good doctor who’s raised you. I love him for molding you into the beautiful, amazing woman that you are today.”