The Duke's Willful Wife (17 page)

“I’d love
some of
my other clothes, if you have time.”

“I’ll get them,” he said and hung up. 

Sasha stared at the phone, wondering why he’d been so gruff.  She’d woken this morning to find him already gone and had stretched out, hoping to find him in the bathroom or somewhere else.  But he was
nowhere
to be found. 

She spent the morning in the studio, cleaning all the brushes she’d left unattended last night and scraped the dried paint off her boards
.  She spent visiting hours at Rennata’s side, reading to her,
laughing
an
d just being with her.  When Rennata
slept, she wandered down the street to the church and sat in the pew, eventually falling into prayer and begging for help, not sure what to do.  She’d been here for two weeks now and her life felt like it was in limbo.  Rennata was getting better, but she was sure that Sasha and Dante would be getting back together.  Sasha was counting the days until she could find out if she was pregnant, terrified of the answer. 

Several hours later, Dante strolled through the door of Sasha’s tiny cottage.  There was so little there, he didn’t know how she survived.  It was cold and dark and he was irritated that she preferred this to what he offered her.  Th
e
studio
in his house
had been built with the best materials, and so many windows
to give her the natural light she preferred
.  He’d hurried to have it finished after their wedding so it was completed by the time she arrived, wanting to surprise her and show her that he liked her art and wanted her to continue.
  It was the best way he could announce that he was proud of her work and wanted to support her however he could.

She loved painting and he knew it was a part of who she was and how she worked through her problems and happiness. 

Not that he could have stopped her
fro
m
painting
, he thought
ironically.  This poor excuse for a cottage and work studio told him blatantly enough that she could work anywhere
. 

But why had his mother told him that she
now
spent the whole day painting? 
He’d thought about checking with the hospital about Sasha’s visits, but instinctively, he knew that his mother hadn’t been telling the truth and that Sasha spent most of her days with his grandmother.  She looked healthier too, and he suspected that Sasha was the source of all the flowers and books surrounding his grandmother lately.  There hadn’t been much before her arrival so he couldn’t very easily attribute their arrival to his mother. 

Why was his mother so against Sasha? 

He had the answer before he even finished the thought.  His mother had never approved of Sasha, had wanted him to marry the daughter of one of her good friends.  She’d never accepted that
the relationship would never happen. 

Besides, her relationship with his father had been….cold…at best.  She’d gone through life doing what was appropriate and expected while his father had gone from one mistress to another.  Both his parents had been searching for something they’d never found.  His mother wanted approval and acceptance from Roman society while his father wanted a warm, loving companion. 

As he went through
Sasha’s
drawers in her bedroom, he cursed at the delicate pieces that he had to pack.  Knowing that she would be wearing these little pieces of nothing would be hell on his libido. 

He packed up all the clothes he could find, which wasn’t a great deal.  And most  of them were jeans and tee-shirts, all things that she could easily pull on and wear while painting and not care that she messed them up with her oil paints.

As he stood up and zipped her suitcase, he looked through the tiny window of her bedroom and
,
for the first time, he noticed the old barn on the back of the property.  He could see that it had once been rough but someone, presumably Sasha, had restored it to a building that was now more useful
but still retained its rugged characteristics
. 

Moving down the stairs, he saw the keys on the hook by her back door.  Curiosity was riding him hard now and he wanted to see what was so important that she had to restore an old building to house it. 

The second key on the key ring worked on the lock hanging from the barn door and he pulled it open, ignoring the
squeaking
hinges.  Inside, he saw tarps with mounds underneath them.  He pulled the first one back and glanced down.  What he saw startled him. 

It was his own face.  There were probably five or six of them, in varying stages of completion.  As he looked at his image, he could see something in the eyes, or the expression.  Some looked angry, frustrated, annoyed….and as he pulled back the tarp on the other mounds, he found pictures of him with amusement and…..love. 

He knew that Sasha channeled her emotions through her art, putting all of it on canvas.  These expressions weren’t his, even though they were his image.  They were her emotions.  As he flipped through the canvases, his heart felt the pain of realizing that she was working through all these emotions, and always ended up with her love for him shining through his eyes. 

He felt like he’d been kicked in the gut and was having trouble breathing.  What had he done? 

He’d been an ass.  A hurtful, untrusting ass that had driven away a woman that had done nothing more than love him even though he’d abused her in a very essential way. 

With a muttered curse, he carefully covered all the canvasses again, relocked the barn and walked back to her cottage.  He grabbed her suitcase and walked back out to his car, driving back to London with crazy speed.  He had to get back to her, to apologize and figure out how to make things better between the two of
them
.  He had to make it work, and
he
prayed he wasn’t too late.

It took several hours to get back to Rome and he had his driver take him back to the hospital.  He thought about going to his office and talking to Cristolo as she’d pleaded with him to do, but he wanted to talk to her first, to set things right and figure out a way to get her love back.

But when he walked into the hospital room, he found that Rennata was asleep and there was a man holding his wife’s hand.  “Get your filthy hands off my wife,” he commanded, his body
instantly
stiff and furious. 

Sasha’s eyes popped open and she looked up worriedly at Dante who looked like he was about to hit someone, specifically Father Michael. 

Thankfully, Rennata woke up at that moment and broke the tension.  “Don’t be an idiot, Dante.  Again.
”

Rennata
pushed
the pillows at her back and moved to sit up.  Sasha immediately stood up to help but threw
angry, accusing
glances at Dante, showing him her anger over his assumption.  “Father Michael and Sasha were just praying over me and asking for
God’s
help to get your head out of your…” she stopped before finishing that sentence.  “Perhaps Father Michael was using different words but the thought was accurate.”  She took a deep breath and turned to her visitors.  “Father Michael, I apologize for my grandson’s completely unfounded accusation.  He does that a lot.”

Father Michael stood up and Dante closed his eyes when he realized the man was wearing a collar.  It had been hidden from his view when he was sitting, but it was clear now.  “I’m sorry, Father.  Please accept my apology.”

The man chuckled and took Dante’s offered hand.  “No need to apologize.  I’ve had several
conversations
with Rennata and she’s explained everything to me. “  Turning to Sasha and Rennata, he bowed slightly.  “I’m sorry to have to leave you but I have several more visits to make today.”  Turning to Sasha, he took her hand and winked, but Dante couldn’t see.  “Keep on trying.  I think you’re going to be okay but don’t give up.”

Sasha smiled warily and shook his hand, wanting him to leave the hospital room before Dante got the wrong idea again. 

“
Mi dispiace.  I’m sorry
,” Dante
repeated in English
with sincerity to both women as soon as the door closed behind the priest.  “
That
was thoughtless of me.”

Rennata chuckled and reached out for Dante’s hand.  “You are my beloved grandson, but you need to learn to trust.
  Sasha isn’t your mother and you need to accept that.
”

Dante looked over the bed at Sasha and sighed.  “I know, Nonna.  If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Sasha alone.”

“Take her out to the garden,” she said, nodding her approval.

Turning to his wife, he asked her politely, realizing that he couldn’t order her like he wanted to. 
“I’d like a private word with you, if you don’t mind.”

Sasha stood up and nodded, shaking with the intensity of his expression.  Was he going to tell her he wanted a divorce?  Was he through not trusting her?  He couldn’t!  Not when she’d finally decided to fight for him and not give up until he finally talked to Cristolo.  If he didn’t, she’d just have to let
Cristolo
know that she couldn’t keep his secret any longer.  It was hurting her marriage and that wasn’t something she was willing to let happen.  But Dante had to learn to trust her as well.  It had to be both ways.

As he walked out into the sunshine, Sasha worried about all the possibilities.  Surely he wasn’t going to give up on them?  They could make it work, she knew they could!

He stopped in the middle of a pretty little area with daffodils starting to bloom with the springtime warmth.  A fountain added a water background and there were even dogwood trees about to bloom. 

“Dante, before you start, just stop and think about what you’re going to say.  Please don’t give up on us.  We can work this out and figure out a way to move forward.  I’m not going to let this marriage go.”

He looked down at her and was relieved that her feelings for him
hadn’t
changed.  He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her soft scent that had always made him want her, no matter where they were.  “I’ve put you
through
a great deal and you’re still willing to work through this?”

She held him tightly, her eyes misting at how much she loved this giant jerk! 
“Yes.  I’ll do anything as long as I still have you.”

He was still for a moment.  “Is this because you found out that you’re pregnant?”

She shook her head as best she could with his arms so tight around her.  “I don’t know yet.  I think it still takes a few days before I can test for pregnancy.”  She stilled herself and looked up at him. “Would you mind terribly if I were pregnant?”

“No!” he groaned.  “I would be thrilled if you and I were going to have a child together.”

She bit her lip, afraid to ask but afraid not to.  “Does this mean that you’re not going to ask for a divorce?”

“Never,” he said with feeling.  “I want you in my life and I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you when you told me you weren’t sleeping with Cristolo.  I was wrong and I can’t believe I put you through so much.”

“
Y
ou spoke with him?  And are you okay with his decision?”
She was gripping his hands with excitement but still some wariness. 

He looked down at her curiously.  “I haven’t spoken with him.  I haven’t heard of any decision he’s made but would you tell me what that might be?
  I don’t want to break any confidences you made with him but I’m hoping we could learn to trust each other.  If you could trust me with this, I promise that no matter what’s happening in Cristolo’s life, I won’t be angry.
”

Sasha thought about all the
possibilities
and decided that her loyalty needed to be with Dante.  Cristolo was a grown man and she’d been through too much to continue keeping a secret that shouldn’t even be one.  “He’s going to marry Gloria.  He’s been in l
ove with her for three years but
she’s going to leave him if he doesn’t do something about their relationship.”

Dante looked down at her, trying to absorb everything she said.  “Cristolo is in love?  And not with you?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Of course not.  He’s never been in love with me.  It’s always been Gloria.”

Dante wasn’t sure what to do with this news.  He was actually light headed with relief that it wasn’t something more serious but his next thought was to wonder why his brother wouldn’t tell him something like that. 
“Why the hell hasn’t he done something about it before now?  Why is he even risking losing a woman
he’s been in love with for so long
?”

Sasha wasn’t sure how she could say this, but again, it was time to be honest.  “He was going to propose two years ago.  But then you brought me back home and Cristolo saw…” she stopped, unsure of how to finish.

“He saw how my mother treated you and didn’t want to put his fiancé
e
through that.  Am I correct?”