The Scarletti Curse Read Online Free PDF

Pia deliberately kicked at a piece of the fallen chandelier to draw
attention away from the younger woman. "Clearly the thing fell,"
Maria Pia pointed out. "It was only by the grace of the good Madonna we
were not killed."
    The don moved closer to inspect the debris. "There is blood on the
coverlet. Was Sophie injured?"
    Nicoletta quickly averted her eyes from the don, and it was left to Maria
Pia to shake her head and answer. "She was untouched. The fever has gone
down, too. Our vigilance has paid off," she declared, touching her
crucifix for forgiveness for the small lie, since she had fallen asleep even
before the don left the room.
    Don Scarletti's penetrating gaze settled thoughtfully on Nicoletta's face.
"So you were the one injured. Let me see." He crossed the floor in
his long, fluid strides and bent to examine her.
    Shocked, Nicoletta drew her legs under the skirt and silently shook her
head, feeling like a frightened, wayward child, butterflies brushing at her
stomach.
    "Dio! Piccola,
I am out of patience." He circled her bare
ankle with his long fingers and straightened her leg out for his inspection. It
was a curiously intimate gesture. Nicoletta had never been touched by a man
before, and certainly not on her bare skin. Color crept up her neck and flooded
her delicate features. He was enormously strong, and she had no way of
combating his strength or his hard authority.
    Nicoletta made a soft sound of distress and looked desperately to Maria Pia
for help. Don Scarletti was turning her leg to inspect her calf. His hands were
surprisingly gentle. "This cut is deep." He glanced briefly at the
older woman. "Hand me a rag." There was authority in his voice.
    "I will attend her, signore," Maria Pia said firmly, clutching the
rag, her shock mirrored on her face. It wasn't decent that the don should touch
Nicoletta that way; worse, it was dangerous.
    The don reached up, took the rag out of Maria Pia's hands, and gently wiped
the blood from Nicoletta's leg so that he could see the extent of the injury.
Nicoletta winced as the laceration burned, pulsing with pain. She tried not to
notice the way the don's hair curled around his ears and rippled in unruly
waves down his nape. "Light a candle, woman. This wound is deep and must
be dressed, or it may putrefy."
    Once again Maria Pia made a desperate attempt to shield Nicoletta from the
don. "I am the healer, Don Scarletti. You should not trouble yourself with
such."
    "I have attended many battle wounds," the don answered absently,
thoughtfully inspecting the shapely leg he held in his hands.
    Nicoletta was mortified to have the don kneeling at her feet, her ankle in
his hands. She was acutely aware of the heat emanating from his body. In her
arms, Sophie began to squirm, the beginnings of a whimper starting.
    The don caught the little girl, pulled her out of Nicoletta's arms, and
thrust her at Maria Pia in one smooth motion. "See to her needs," he
ordered abruptly, his voice as mild as ever. He was clearly distracted by
Nicoletta's injuries, not really looking at the child or the older woman. His
fingertips moved over her skin, leaving a strange tingling sensation behind.
Nicoletta held herself very still, afraid to move.
    Her teeth tugged nervously at her lower lip, drawing his unwanted attention
to her face. He reached for a clean cloth on the nightstand to use for a
bandage. "Are you training as an apprentice to the healer?" he asked
casually as he wound the bandage around her legs. One hand was still circling
her ankle, so it was easy enough to feel her trembling.
    Nicoletta looked desperately for help from Maria Pia, but her mentor was
attending the child, who needed to use the chamber pot in an alcove at the far
end of the room. Nicoletta shrank away from the don, hoping the candlelight
wouldn't reach her face. She had trained herself to be extremely careful of
contact with others, yet she was in an impossible position. One didn't
deliberately incur the wrath of the don