Veretti’s Dark Vengeance

He made a wry face, conceding her point.

‘Perhaps I was a little incautious,’ he agreed. ‘I naturally assumed that you’d be glad to sell for the best price you could get.’

‘Why naturally? Perhaps I want to stay and enjoy my husband’s legacy.’

He made a sound of impatience. ‘Please, let’s not have that pretence.’

‘Ah, yes, of course, you’re so sure you know the truth about me.’ She began to quote, speaking in the Venetian she’d heard him use earlier that day. ‘“Some smart miss on the make who married Antonio just before he died, to get her hands on his money. She may have fooled him, but she won’t fool me.”’

‘What?’

‘“If she thinks she’s going to take over here, she’s mistaken,”’ Helena continued quoting. ‘“And if she thinks I don’t know the kind of woman she is, she’s even more mistaken.”’

She waited for him to reply but he only watched her with eyes as hard as stone.

‘I went to the factory in all innocence,’ she continued. ‘I just wanted to see it after Antonio had told me so much. It was sheer chance I happened to pass the office while you were on the phone. I’m glad I did. When somebody has a cruel and insulting opinion of you, it’s always best to know.’

Salvatore rose sharply and strode away from the table as though he couldn’t bear to be near her. Turning, he stared as though he’d just seen her for the first time, and didn’t like it.

‘You-speak-Venetian?’ he said slowly.

‘Antonio taught me. He bet me that I couldn’t learn that as well as Italian. And there’s something else you’d better get straight. Here.’

Opening her bag, she took out a paper and held it out to him. It was her marriage certificate.

‘Look at the date,’ she said. ‘If Antonio had lived a little longer we’d have celebrated our second anniversary. I did not marry him “at the last minute”.’

She had the satisfaction of seeing him redden.

‘And nor do I need his money,’ she finished. ‘I didn’t marry him for money and I don’t need a quick sale now. Please understand that.’

‘All right.’ He held up his hands. ‘We got off on the wrong foot-’

‘No, you got off on the wrong foot, jumping to conclusions about me and spreading inaccurate rumours all over Venice. I could probably sue you for slander.’

‘Have you finished?’

‘No, I’ve barely started.’

‘Suppose I don’t want to listen?’

‘Did I ask what you want?’ Helena saw his surprise and moved in for the kill. ‘It isn’t nice being bullied, is it? Not that I suppose I do it as well as you, but give me a little time to practise.’

‘And I’m sure you’ll take every opportunity,’ he observed, regarding her ironically.

‘Do you blame me?’

‘Not at all. In your position I should do exactly the same. Always kick the enemy when he’s down. It’s the most efficient way.’

‘So you don’t deny that you’re my enemy?’ she said.

‘I’d look rather foolish denying it now, wouldn’t I? Why expose myself to your derision by trying?’

Before she could reply the door opened and the maid appeared with the next course. He returned to the table and they both remained silent until they were alone again.

‘I could always apologise,’ Salvatore said carefully.

‘For everything?’

‘Everything I can remember. If I forget anything I dare say you’ll remind me.’

‘I can forgive everything except that last remark-“the kind of woman she is”. What kind of woman am I, Salvatore?’

‘Please-do we have to go into that?’

‘I think we do. Surely you’re not asking me to spare your blushes. Or is it mine you’re trying to spare? “A smart miss on the make-married him for his money.” Why don’t you just call me a prostitute and have done with it?’

She had the pleasure of seeing that her frankness made him uneasy.

‘Let’s say instead a very clever lady,’ he said.

‘No, let’s say prostitute because that’s what you meant. Have the courage of your convictions. If you’re going to call me names, do it to my face.’

‘You’re right, signora, I don’t like being bullied-’

‘No, you prefer doing the bullying.’

‘Silenzio!’ he snapped in a voice like a whip crack. ‘If you don’t mind I’d like to speak without being interrupted and without having words put into my mouth. I did not call you a prostitute-’

‘It was what you meant.’

‘Kindly don’t tell me what I mean. I will tell you what I mean. If you were married to Antonio for two years then I must respect that, but it doesn’t change my opinion that you saw a good thing and secured it for yourself. Why else does a young and beautiful woman marry a man in his sixties?’

‘There are a dozen reasons, none of which you would understand.’

‘To be sure, anyone who doesn’t see the matter through your eyes is an ignorant buffoon-’

‘Your words-’

‘But you know the truth about yourself, although for some reason you pretend not to. If I say you’re beautiful I’m not paying you a compliment. Beauty like yours is a trap, a menace. You see it every time you look in the mirror and work to bring it to perfection so that your snares are laid and your victims are helpless.’

‘And you think Antonio was my victim?’

‘No doubt of it. He was a lover of beauty, and an even greater lover of sexual allure. You must have found him easy prey. Did you look for him the way you look now?’

‘Yes, he liked me this way. The more I flaunted myself before other men the more he enjoyed it, because it made them jealous of him.’

‘And did he also tell you to go on flaunting yourself when he was dead?’ Salvatore demanded ironically.

‘Oddly enough he did. He actually bought me this dress and ordered me to wear it because he said, “Don’t you dare hide yourself behind widow’s weeds. I want the world to see you as I knew you.” You were wondering why a widow of only a few weeks dresses in this fashion, well, now you know. I’m obeying my husband’s command.’

He was about to make a sound of disbelief when it came to him that this was exactly the kind of thing Antonio would have said. The old reprobate had a way of coming out with things no other man would have said.

‘I wonder why you obey this particular command right now,’ he mused. ‘Am I supposed to become a helpless victim?’

‘You don’t seem very helpless to me,’ she remarked.

‘That’s because I’m protected. I know women like you. I know how you think, and calculate, what you want and how you go about getting it. You don’t even try to hide it, I’ll give you that.’

‘You flatter yourself if you think I’m trying to add your scalp to my collection. Why would I want to do that?’ Helena asked incredulously.

‘Because I’m an enemy, of course. What could be more satisfying? Since you prefer honesty, let’s be honest. Subdue the enemy first, then make your demands.’

His voice was cold and dangerous. Recklessly she upped the ante.

‘And just what do you think I want from you, Salvatore? I hold all the cards, which means I make the terms. I don’t even need to “subdue” you, the way you imply.’

He drew a sharp breath. ‘You’re a very courageous woman.’

‘No, I’m not. I’m just the woman who’s got something you want and isn’t going to meekly hand it over. Why would I need courage for that?’

‘For several reasons that I can think of but you probably can’t. You’re a stranger here. You should ask around. There are many who will tell you that I always get what I want, because my methods are-irresistible.’

‘I’m shaking in my shoes-I don’t think.’ In a deliberately provocative voice she added, ‘If I don’t choose to sell there isn’t a thing you can do about it.’