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wryly.
    â€˜For now. Certainly none of the food and wine from tonight was
tampered with, and guards have now been posted. Cardinal Baglioni—the same man
who pawed you earlier—has been arrested, though of course he claims no
knowledge, and in any case is too drunk to make much sense at the moment. The
Lady Lucrezia has gone to her mother’s house for safety. My lord and his brother
are away for the night,’ and probably the next few days, as their appetite for
debauchery were rarely easily satisfied, ‘and His Holiness the Pope has retired
to the Vatican. He will have new poison tasters by the morning.’
    Bella shook her head. Marco had done all this in the brief hour
he had been away? The cold efficacy of this man reminded her yet again of just
who she had chosen to take to her bed.
    â€˜And the poison?’ she asked. He handed her a piece of cloth,
and she could feel the vial wrapped within it.
    â€˜Can you tell if there is any missing?’ he asked, coming closer
to her. ‘We will get little out of the cardinal until the morning at least, and
his manservant who had taken it from Susanna said it had not yet been used. He
said only that it was meant for “the dark lord”—Cesare, no doubt—but I couldn’t
get much sense out of him, as he was too scared. I doubt the attentions of the
rack will ease his fear.’ The Borgias’ appetite for torture was as great as for
poison and decadence. They were known throughout Europe as both fiercely loyal
to their own and murderously ruthless to those perceived as enemies.
    Bella’s head swam. How did Marco deal with it, all these plots
and intricacies and secrets? It was not a world she could fathom. She missed her
home and her garden and the everyday business of her apothecary shop. Simple
pleasures that were within her control; that did not threaten her freedom. She
didn’t belong here. Her independence and freedom were vital to her, and now
both—perhaps even her life—were in jeopardy because her talents had brought her
to the attention of the Borgias. Perhaps she would have been happier as a simple
country wife with a brood of children, after all.
    Carefully, she unwrapped the cloth and held the vial up in
front of her eyes. It seemed to contain the same amount, but that instinct of
hers told her it had been tampered with. A fleeting feeling of dread gnawed at
her, but she shook it off, carefully rewrapping the vial and handing it back to
him.
    â€˜It’s hard to tell,’ she said, noticing his eyes sweep over her
breasts ,where his mouth had been not so long before. Pausing until he returned
his eyes to hers, she allowed herself an inner smile. It felt good to be desired
by him, even in the midst of this drama. ‘It doesn’t look as if there is any
missing, but only a drop is needed. I would advise caution.’
    He nodded, setting the vial down on a little table that had an
empty wooden jug and plate upon it.
    â€˜Then we can only watch and wait. There is nothing more that
can be done tonight, at any rate. Shall I escort you back to your room?’
    There was nothing but courtesy in his tone, and Bella felt a
rush of disappointment that the moment had passed for them.
    She took a step towards him, unsure of what to say, then saw
him wince suddenly, and stopped. Her eyes flickered to the blood on the sleeve
of his shirt as she realised that some of it might in fact be his.
    â€˜You are hurt!’ Bella reached for his arm, but he moved away,
his face stubborn.
    â€˜It’s nothing. A mere nick from tussling with Baglioni’s man. I
disarmed him before he could do much damage.’
    â€˜Even so, it needs to be cleaned and bound,’ she said firmly.
She fixed him with a gaze that said she would brook no argument, the concerns of
a physician taking over from her female desire for him, at least for the moment.
Marco sighed and sat down, holding out his arm for her