"It's not what I want! Have I not told you a million times that I do not care about being a princess? If I marry you, that's what it will all end in, everybody telling me everyday how lucky I can be, to have married a prince and everybody will whisper behind my back how I must have manipulated and schemed myself into your bed! It will always be that! And I don't want it! I don't want that! God, I thought you understood!"
He was coming around the bed towards her. "Yes, I understand, but I think you're exaggerating and whatever people will say, what can it do to us? Nobody speaks ill about the Karlsburgs anyway, they'll only turn green with envy. Flora, you have to marry me, I won't let you not marry me!"
"No, no, no!"
She was out of the door before he had reached her and blindly raced through the palace until she found a door that led outside. She found herself back in the park and saw that her little boat still lay on the rocky beach where she had left it.
"FLORA!" Francesco called after her. He had fortunately thought of putting on his trousers and came running out of the house, just as she reached the boat. "Flora wait! Don't be silly! We can talk about it!"
"I don't want to talk! This discussion is over!" She pushed the boat into the water. As soon as she sat down she took hold of the rows and pulled frenetically. Francesco had made it to the waterfront.
"You can't just leave, Flora, be reasonable!"
It was terrible, she thought, that in rowing one had to face one's back to where one was going and one's front to from where one was leaving. She saw him jump in to the lake, coming after her.
"Flora, wait!" he sputtered when his head came up.
"I won't marry you!" She tried to row even faster but he kept up with her. In fact, he seemed to gain on her!
Oh, why did he have to be so stunning and so manly and so determined? Why could he not just leave it?
"Yes, you will!" he spat. "What if we…" water was in his face, "what if we made a child tonight? Would you want to be mother to a bastard?"
Good Lord, why had she not thought of that before falling into his arms like an imbecile? He had a point there. But if she were to have been his lifelong mistress, there would have been children anyway, right?
"I have taken it into consideration!" she panted.
"I don't believe…" splash "…you! You are not that ruthless."
"Yes, I am, you have no idea! You only saw me a few times, you know nothing about me and how ruthless I can be!"
Shouting whilst rowing at full speed was becoming difficult. Flora decided to save her energy.
Shouting whilst swimming appeared to just as strenuous, since he did not say anything anymore either.
Flora rowed and Francesco swam. In silence, only their heavy breathing - which not such a long time ago had been caused by a quite different activity - could be heard.
Flora stared at his shoulders and arms in the water.
He must be exhausted after last night. Oh Jesus, I hope he won't drown!
Sixteen
Palazzo Sforza, about that time
"How nice of you to have made it to this quiet abode, excellency," Lady Cartwright said and poured some tea for the Bishop of Cambridge. "Has your trip been of great gain to you?"
The old clergymen bowed his head to the formidable woman. "Ehem, indeed, my daughter, indeed, it has. Even if the Church of England has seperated itsself from Rome, it is still the place where Christendom is deeply rooted. I believe, there should be no enmity among the children of Christ."
"Certainly not, your Excellency."
"Pah!" General Cartright puffed on his pipe. "As long as there's mankind, there's war. There's always more land to be held somewhere. They will fight the others and one another, christians, muslims, buddhists and jews. It's human nature."
"Oh, Cartwright, you are always so absolute in your views…" his wife patted his arm the way she always patted everybody's arm when she wanted them to know she disagreed.
"Hmmmpf," Baron General Cartwright said enigmatically.
"Found Rome rather a stuffy old place," Dominic St. Yves declared. "I cared more for Pisa and Verona."
"I wished I could go there…" Clara sighed, gazing once more forlornly into the distance.
Dominic threw her a sharp glance. "I'm sure Darlington will only be to happy to oblige you. You could go to Tuscany on your honeymoon."
Clara nodded. "I guess…"
Gigi walked onto the terrace, wringing her hands. "I can't find Flora. She's not in her bed! Oh my God, what if something has happened to her, she was in so much distress lately, I could never forgive myself!"
"Oh no!" Clara exclaimed, genuinely worried.