The Contessa's Vendetta

The Contessa’s Vendetta

Copyright © 2012 by Mirella Patzer

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Dedication

To Richard Patzer

A good-hearted, generous man

Our beloved Husband, Father, and Grandfather

We miss you every day

Vengeance

Vengeance is in my heart, death in my hand.

Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.

Shakespeare

Prologue

A.D. 1645

I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE to be dead because I was once dead to the world. Dead to everyone who I believed loved me. Dead to everyone who knew me well enough to call me by name. Dead and buried. My friends and family in Vicenza believed the plague that ravaged the city had struck me down; and that my body lay buried and decaying in my ancestral crypt. They were wrong, of course, for I was very much alive. The only certain way to know someone is dead is through cremation or decapitation. Thankfully, that did not happen in my case.

The warm blood of a woman of thirty-two years courses through my veins. My eyes are ardent and clear, my body still curvaceous and firm, my face and hands are soft and pink, and my spine upright and dignified. My hair is the only thing that has changed. Before I died, it was the color of roasted chestnuts. Afterwards, it turned as white as the snow blanketing the Alps, though my curls remain as thick as ever.

Once, several years ago, I confessed my story to a compassionate priest. He listened to me without interruption, but I sensed his unmistakable skepticism. When I finished speaking, he hinted I might be mad, and with a pitiful gaze, gave me a menial penance. I never told my story to another soul again.

Several years have passed, but the need to tell my tale has not left me, so I have taken pen to parchment. Now that enough time has passed and I can no longer be prosecuted for my crime, I can write the truth without fear. Here in the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Monte Berico, a person’s past is irrelevant, a matter between them and God. Here I can dip the plume in my blood if I choose, and no one will oppose me.

These days, the silence of a cloister surrounds me, an imposing, dignified tranquility within a haven of perfect calm. The sole thing to disturb the silence is the gliding of leather soles upon stone floors and the tolling of bells that announce the Canonical hours.

The sanctuary sits high upon a hill overlooking Vicenza. The Blessed Virgin appeared on this hill twice with a promise to rid the people of the plague if they vowed to build a church on the spot. The people honored their promise, but I’m a living testament that the plague returned centuries later.

Now, amid the rose bushes and stone pathways of the convent’s cloister, I can raise my burdened heart like an overflowing goblet, and spill it on the ground, emptying it to the last drop of vexation.  

What a terrible thing it is to bury the remains of a loved one in a cold stone crypt or a hole in the sodden earth. Repulsive creatures hide deep in that dark. Things vile and abhorrent; slithering worms, sinister insects with unseeing eyes and worthless wings.

What would happen if, after they lowered someone’s coffin into its vault or hole in the ground, they learned they had made a mistake? What would happen if the crypt or coffin were not as secure as everyone believed? What would happen if desperate, panicked fingers opened the coffin in the dark? What would happen if their loved one did not die, but returned to the love and fidelity of friends and family? Would their loved ones be happy to see their dead relative? Or would they regret their sudden reappearance, especially if they had inherited their wealth?

I believe most people are fake. Few truly mourn the dead. Fewer still remember them with any genuine affection. Of all this, I’m certain, for I have experienced it firsthand.

Now, long after my ordeal is over, I want to narrate the events of one short year; the most agonizing year in my life; a year in which a sharp thrust from the stiletto of time stabbed me in the heart and opened a wound that still drips tainted blood to this day.

With deliberate care, I dip my plume into the inkwell and whisper a prayer for God to forgive me. Then word by word, I inscribe the story of my sin; a transgression that can never be cleansed. This is my dreadful tale.

Chapter One

A.D. 1628

I, CARLOTTA MANCINI was born rich and noble. My mother died while giving birth to me. Many years later, my father, Count Federico Mancini, died and left me sole heir to our family villa and surrounding lands. I was sixteen years old, alone, and a wealthy Contessa.

People predicted a dire future for me. Because I was rich and titled, I suspected some, with spiteful anticipation, wanted to see my downfall. For a while, I became the object of their malicious predictions. The most popular tidbits of gossip foretold I was destined for bride theft or might become victim to a greedy nobleman’s unscrupulous whims to usurp my wealth.

None of this happened, of course. Before he died, my father had the foresight to hire a governess and companion named Annunziata Cardano, a widow with a daughter my age. He also hired a physician, a graduate of the University of Bologna, well versed in legal matters, to oversee my finances, future, and to act as my guardian. Father’s forward thinking not only guarded my wealth, it allowed me to have a say in my destiny.

Together with my governess and her daughter, I dwelled in the villa, a miniature palazzo of white marble on a hill overlooking the city of Vicenza. Frescos and elegant statues decorated the many rooms and halls within the rambling two-story structure. Fragrant groves of cherry and lemon trees, where nightingales warbled love-melodies, fringed my lands. Sparkling fountains with stone basins and cascading water refreshed hot summer days. Here, I lived peacefully for two happy years, surrounded by books and pictures, undisturbed by the world.

Of young, eligible men, I saw little or nothing. In fact, I avoided them altogether. My wealth attracted the attention of parents with marriageable sons who sought invitations to visit. I refused them all. My governess warned me to tread carefully around male society, and I had taken her warnings to heart. Ignorance was not always the safest course, as I would someday come to learn.

My one dear friend, Beatrice Cardano, Annunziata’s daughter, disagreed with her mother’s thoughts about men and often chided me good-naturedly for avoiding them. Oh, Carlotta, she would say. A woman cannot know joy until she has sipped nectar from masculine lips, experienced the clasp of eager arms round her waist, or heard the beat of a passionate heart against her own.

I always smiled at her words, but never responded. They failed to change my mind. Yet, I loved to hear my friend speak. Beatrice’s melodious voice was a joy, and her eyes could convince with more fluency than speech. I loved Beatrice, selflessly, honestly, with that rare tenderness shared by young girls for one another.

I was as happy in Beatrice’s company as Beatrice seemed in mine. We passed most of our time together, Beatrice also having lost her father. She was as poor as I was rich, so I always gave Beatrice my gently worn garments without wounding her pride. We had much the same tastes and shared the same sympathies. I treasured nothing as much as I did our friendship. We were inseparable.

Annunziata also warned me that destiny permits no one to continue in blissful happiness. Fate could not tolerate it. Something trivial, a glance, a word, a touch, could shatter a friendship. A love deemed deep and lasting was so fragile it could disappear like straw in the wind. Yet, I refused to believe it; a folly I would soon come to regret.

One muggy afternoon toward the end of May, Annunziata accompanied me to Mass in Vicenza. Beatrice was not with us, having remained at home with a headache. Afterwards, trapped among the crowd exiting the church, I lost sight of Annunziata. 

Alone, I strolled through the streets, savoring my moment of freedom, and delaying my return home. At the far end of a crowded, narrow street, I heard chanting and glimpsed black robes approaching. Priests and nuns walked towards me in a long procession. Clerics swung gold censers heavy with incense while nuns followed, row upon row, in black and white habits, each with a prayer book in hand. A statue of the Virgin Mary, carried on the shoulders of four burly youths, led their way. I paused at the side of the street to watch them pass. One face beamed like a star from among the four young men; one face of rugged, near perfect handsomeness lit by two luminous eyes, large, round, and of the darkest brown. His curved mouth smiled to provoke. His golden hair glimmered beneath the sun’s rays.

I gazed at him, dazzled, excited. Here was a man, the gender Annunziata had warned me to mistrust and avoid, a man of my age, eighteen, or twenty at the most. I drank in his soul-tempting glance and captivating smile. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. My eyes remained on him until the procession passed and he faded from my sight. In that moment of time, although I did not realize it, one era of my life had closed forever, and a new one had begun.

Upon my return home, I made inquiries through the good physician, my guardian in all things. It took a few days for him to discover the identity of the young man I had seen carry the Madonna. His name was Dario Gismondi, and he was the only son of a ruined nobleman of dissolute character, who had lost his fortune gambling. Fortunately, he ensured his son was educated in a Benedictine monastery renowned not only for its strict discipline, but for a vast library of rare books. The physician assured me that Dario was as trustworthy as the sun rising each morning, and I had no reason not to believe him. Once my guardian gained whatever assurances he needed to ensure it was a suitable match, he began negotiations to arrange our marriage. Much to my delight, Dario’s father agreed. What better match could there be for an impoverished son than a wealthy contessa alone in the world?

Our courtship was brief and as sweet as a cup of honeyed wine. There were no impediments to block our union. We married at the end of June.

Beatrice Cardano graced our nuptials with her presence. "Brava, Carlotta, she exclaimed, her eyes all aglow after the priest declared us married. You have finally heeded me, and have secured the handsomest man in the region, in the world."

I pressed my friend’s hand, and a touch of remorse stole over me. Beatrice was no longer first in my affections, but I could not regret this. I glanced at Dario, my husband, bedazzled and overcome with love. The dreaminess of his large lucid eyes crept into my soul, and I forgot everyone but him. I experienced a delirium of passion and touched the highest peaks of joy.

Our first days together passed with near bliss, and the nights spun a web of rapture around us. I never tired of Dario. For me, he grew finer with each passing day. Within a few months, he knew my soul, my deepest thoughts. He discovered how certain looks could draw me to his side like a devoted slave. Did he love me? Oh, yes, I believed he loved me as all husbands love their wives, as something that belonged solely to them. In return, I begrudged him nothing, idolizing him, raising him to the stature of a god. He was an extraordinary man, sharing my passion for collecting exquisite jewels. 

We kept an open house. Our home became a meeting place for all the nobility in and around Vicenza. Everyone respected and admired Dario’s beguiling face and polite humility. Beatrice was loudest in her praise of my husband, and the respect and kindness she displayed toward Dario endeared her even more to me. I trusted and loved her as if she were my sister, and I treated her as one. I deemed my life perfect; filled with love, wealth, family, and friendship. What more could a woman desire? There was more joy to come.

Within a year, I gave birth to a daughter, fair as the jasmine that grew thick in the woods surrounding my palazzo. We named her Chiara. Minutes after her birth, wrapped in soft, embroidered cashmere, the fragile mite lay in my arms. The baby opened her eyes, large and dark brown as Dario’s were. Heaven itself lingered in their pure depths. I kissed the innocent face. Dario and Beatrice did the same, and those clear, quiet eyes of my infant daughter regarded us all with a strange, half-inquiring solemnity. A bird, perched on the bow of a tree outside the bedroom, broke into a low, sweet song. Too exhausted to stay awake any longer, I handed my daughter back to the wet nurse, who waited to receive her. 

After Dario and the servant left the room, Beatrice laid her hand on my shoulder. You are a good woman, Carlotta.

Indeed. Why do you think so? I asked with a half-laugh. I’m no better than any other woman.

You are less suspicious than most people. Beatrice turned away and played with the tassel of her belt.

I glanced at my friend in surprise. "What do you mean, amica? Have I reason to suspect anyone?"

Beatrice laughed and resumed her seat at the edge of the bed. Why, no, she answered with a frank look. But the world is filled with suspicion. Jealousy’s stiletto is ever ready to strike, justly or unjustly. Children are well versed in the ways of vice. Penitents confess to priests who are worse sinners than they are, and fidelity is often a farce. She paused a moment, a touch of sadness in her eyes. Is it not wonderful to be you, Carlotta; a woman happy in her home, with all the confidence in the world?

I have no cause to suspect anyone, I responded. Dario is trustworthy and righteous.

True. Beatrice looked at me and smiled. He is as pure as a flawless diamond and as unapproachable as the farthest star.

I concurred, but something in her manner bothered me. What a strange conversation.

Our talk soon turned to different matters, and I thought no more of it. I did not know it then, but her words would soon return to haunt me.

Chapter Two

A.D. 1631

A PLAGUE STRUCK VICENZA, razing the population like a destructive demon. Its vile touch was indiscriminate, striking down scores of people, both young and old, who dropped in the streets in death. Fear, superstition, and utter selfishness reigned among the people. The illness struck its victims without warning. There were no physical signs. Brutal and virulent, it began with a cough and headache, followed by chills, fever, and shortness of breath, which left one exhausted and prostrate. Nausea, vomiting, back pain, and soreness in the arms and legs followed. Bright light became unbearable. Very few survived. Death came quickly, within two or three days. No one understood how it spread or how one contracted it. Many believed breathing the same air as those afflicted would bring it on. Whoever contracted the plague suffered great pain before taking their last breath.

When the pestilence struck a house or family, they were likely all to die if they remained together. Frightened, people abandoned their homes and relatives to flee to another town or village. Mothers barricaded doors against their own children, otherwise the authorities would board up their home and lock them all inside. Physicians could rarely be found, for they were not immune to the illness. Those still alive demanded vast sums before they would enter a home to tend the sick. Most of those afflicted died alone, without confessor or sacraments, their bodies reeking until the beccamorti arrived to cart them away like rubbish.

Churches dug trenches, wide and deep, to receive the dead. The beccamorti, who passed with wagons to collect the dead, would toss them in, layer upon layer atop each other. Priests could not toll bells. Ordinances banned them from doing so because it disheartened the healthy and the sick. All fruits were forbidden entrance into the city. None of the guilds were operating. All the shops were shut, taverns closed; only apothecaries and churches remained open. Very few dared walk the streets. The plague enriched apothecaries, doctors, beccamorti, and vendors who tended to the sick or sold poultices of mallow, nettles, mercury, and other herbs necessary to draw off the infirmity. No birds trilled until late in the evening, when the nightingales in my gardens broke out in an animated surge of song, part cheery and part glum.

But, in the wooded hills outside my palazzo, the breeze wafted moderate and fresh. I had taken all precautions necessary to prevent the contagion from attacking our household. In fact, I would have insisted we all leave Vicenza, but I feared our flight might drive us straight into the arms of the disease.

Dario did not seem nervous. Brave men seldom are. Their stoic courage makes them think they are invincible, able to fight off any threats. As for our daughter, Chiara, now two years old, she was healthy and active as any child of that age, a blossom ever open to the sun. 

Beatrice, Annunziata, and a small retinue of servants lived with us. I permitted no one to leave the palazzo for any reason. We existed on bread made from flour stored in our pantry, milk from our goats, whatever we could grow in our garden, and meat from the chickens or sheep we raised ourselves. I made sure everyone bathed regularly, rose, and retired early, and remained in perfect health. 

We entertained ourselves. Among his many gifts, Dario had a beautiful voice. He sang with a tender expression. And on many evenings, when I sat with Beatrice in the garden after putting little Chiara to bed, Dario would serenade us with luscious tones and beautiful songs. Beatrice would often join him, her delicate and clear voice chiming in as exquisite as a cascade of water from a fountain.

For many years thereafter, I would recall the sight of them singing together; their voices and united melody mocking me. The pungent fragrance of orange-blossom still floats towards me on the air and a yellow moon burns round and full in the dense sky. I remember how they leaned their heads together, one fair, the other dark—my husband and my best friend, two people whose lives were a million times dearer to me than my own. Those were the happiest of days. Days of self-delusion always are. 

As spring ebbed into summer, the plague spread with appalling persistence. The people of Vicenza became mad with terror. Despite that, my family remained unaffected. It was as if Chiara was our good luck charm against the plague. Her innocent mischievousness and chatter distracted us from our fears. 

On one of the coolest mornings of the scorching summer, I woke earlier than usual. Dario slept soundly at my side. The fresh breeze outside tempted me to rise and stroll through the garden. I dressed softly, careful not to disturb him. As I was about to leave the room, instinct forced me to look at him once more. How enticing he was, smiling in his sleep.

My heart fluttered with love as I gazed down at him, chest bared, one naked, muscular leg above the covers. We had been married for three years and my passion and love for him had increased. I raised one of his golden locks that shone like a sunbeam on his pillow and kissed his forehead. Then I left him. 

A gentle breeze met me as I stepped outside. As I walked past the outside hearth, I noticed Dario had forgotten his silver tinderbox there. I ran my fingers over the engraved scrollwork around our intertwined initials, C and D, recalling his smile when I had given it to him as a gift. How happy I had been to give it to him. How happy he had been to receive it. My heart warmed at the memory as I slipped it into my belt purse to return to him later.

I strolled along the garden paths. A draught strong enough to flutter the leaves invigorated me after the heat of the past few days. Absorbed in thoughts of family and household, I wandered further than I intended and found myself on a path long abandoned. Curious, I followed the winding footway. Overgrown with trees and foliage, it was shady and cool. I continued down the narrow path until I glimpsed rooftops through the leafage of the trees. The path had brought me to the perimeters of Vicenza. Fearful of the plague, I knew I should not continue, and I turned to return home. 

A sudden sound startled me; a moan of intense pain, a smothered cry emitted by some poor creature in torture. I turned in that direction, and saw, lying face down on the grass, a boy, a little vegetable-seller of eleven or twelve years of age. His basket of wares stood beside him, a tempting pile of vegetables, lovely but dangerous to eat in this time of plague.

What ails you? I asked, leaning close to him, placing my hand on his forehead. The heat of his body burned into my palm. His fetid breath scorched me when he coughed. 

He shuddered as he looked at me with pitiful eyes set in a beautiful face, scarlet with suffering. "The plague, signora, he moaned. The plague. Keep away from me, for the love of God. I’m going to die."

I hesitated. I had touched the boy and inhaled his breath. For myself, I had no fear, but for my husband and child, I did. For their sakes, I must be vigilant. Yet, I could not abandon this poor boy and resolved to help him. Courage. Don’t lose heart. Not all illnesses are the plague. Rest here till I return. I’m going to fetch a healer for you.

The little fellow looked at me with incredulous, wretched eyes, and tried to smile. He pointed to his stomach and tried to speak, but to no avail. Then he writhed about in the grass like a wounded animal.

I left him and hurried away. Soon, I reached a small piazza bathed by the sun’s intense heat. I noticed a few worried-looking men standing uselessly about. To them, I explained the boy’s predicament and beseeched them for help. They all hung back. No one offered to accompany me, not even for all the silver coins I offered them. Annoyed at their cowardice, I hurried on in search of a healer.

Through the streets I went, making inquiries. Several hours passed before I found a healer and knocked on her door.

The sallow-faced, wrinkled old woman listened to my account of the condition in which I had left the little vegetable-seller. Then she shook her head and refused to follow me. He is as good as dead, the hag said with callous curtness. Better hail the beccamorti. They will fetch his body.

Frustration rose inside me. You refuse to help him?

The healer bowed her head with sarcastic politeness. "Signora must pardon me. If I touch a plagued corpse, I would endanger my health and could not help others who may need me. I bid you a good-day." Then she disappeared, slamming the door in my face.

Exasperated, and though the heat and the putrid odor of the sunbaked streets made me feel faint and sick, I forgot all danger to myself. I stood in the middle of this plague-stricken city at a loss for what to do next.

A somber but gentle voice greeted me from behind. "You seek aid, signora?"

I spun about.

A lanky monk, whose cowl partly concealed his pallid features, stood before me. I greeted him respectfully and explained my need.

I’ll go at once. He spoke with compassion. But I fear the worst. I have remedies with me, but it may be too late to help the boy.

Relief coursed through me. I had come upon a cleric who faced the pestilence without fear when others I had met had scuttled away like frightened rabbits. I’ll bring you to him, I offered. I would not let a dog die unaided, much less this poor lad, who seems friendless and without kin.

The monk studied me as we walked. You don’t live here? 

I gave him my name and described the location of my home. 

By his nod, he showed he knew of me.

At that height we are free from the pestilence, I said. I understand the panic that prevails in the city, but the situation is made worse by the cowardice displayed for those poor souls who have been afflicted.

But what else can the people do? They want to live. When death arrives, they are like babes scared by a dark shadow.

But you, dear brother, I began, and stopped to cough, conscious of a sharp throbbing pain in my temples.

I’m a servant of Christ. The plague holds no fear for me. Unworthy as I am, I’m ready and willing to face death. He spoke with firmness, yet without arrogance.

I looked at him with admiration, and was about to speak, when a curious dizziness overcame me. I clutched his arm to prevent myself from falling. The street rocked like a ship at sea, and the skies whirled round me in a blur of blue. The feeling gradually passed, and I heard the monk’s voice as though it came from a long way off, asking me what the matter was.

I forced a smile. I believe it is the heat, I said. "I feel faint, feeble. I had best stay here. Please see to the boy. Dio." My weakened legs collapsed beneath me and I experienced a shooting pain, bitter and harsh, as though a sword stabbed my flesh.

I sank to the ground, shuddering. Without hesitation, the lanky monk helped me to my feet. He half carried, half led me to a nearby inn. Inside, he helped me sit on a wooden bench and called for the proprietor, a man he seemed to know very well. Although I felt very ill, I was conscious and could understand everything that was happening around me.

Attend to her well, Giovanni, the monk said. She is the Contessa Carlotta Mancini. You won’t regret caring for her. I’ll return within an hour.

Contessa Mancini. She has caught the plague.

I knew it was possible, for it took only a few hours before one contracted the plague after exposure. 

Hush, fool, the monk exclaimed. You cannot know that. A stroke of the sun is not the plague. See to her well or, by Saint Peter, there will be no place for you in Heaven.

The landlord appeared terrified at the uttered curse. He retreated and returned with pillows to place beneath my head. The monk held a glass to my lips. It contained some herbal mixture, which I swallowed without thinking. 

Rest here, my lady, he said in a calming tone. These people will treat you kindly. I’ll hasten to the boy and in less than an hour will return to you again.

I restrained him with my hand on his arm. Wait, I murmured. Let me know the worst. Do you think I have the plague?

I hope not, he replied with compassion. But it is possible. You may have contracted it from the boy. It does not take long for the plague to spread from one person to another. If this is the case, you are young and strong. You can fight it. Don’t be afraid.

I’m not afraid, but please promise me one thing. Send no word of my illness to my husband. You must swear it. Even if I’m unconscious or dead, swear you will ensure no one takes my body back to my villa. I cannot risk making my family ill. Swear it. I cannot rest till I have your word.

I swear it, my lady, he answered solemnly. By all I hold sacred, I’ll respect your wishes.

His words reassured me. The safety of my loved ones was certain. I thanked him with a mute gesture, too weak to say anything more. He disappeared from my sight.

I lost all semblance of time. My thoughts meandered into a confusion of bizarre delusions. I could see the interior of the room where I lay. The landlord polished his glasses and bottles, casting anxious glances in my direction. Groups of men peered at me through the doorway, but the moment they saw me, they fled.

A cloud floated above my face and in its center, a face emerged. Dario. My love, my husband, I cried, stretching out my arms to clasp him. Instead, I realized the landlord held me in his embrace. I struggled to push him away.

Let me go, I shrieked. My husband’s lips are the only ones to kiss me, not yours. Let me go.

Another man advanced and seized me. He and the landlord overcame me and forced me back onto the pillows. Exhaustion robbed me of strength. I ceased to struggle. The landlord and his assistant stared down at me. 

She’s dead, one of them whispered.

I heard them. Dead? Not me. The pain in my chest was unbearable, my breathing shallow because of it. Scorching sunlight streamed through the open door of the inn. Thirsty flies buzzed with persistent loudness. Voices sang, though I could not distinguish the words.

I yearned for Dario. What had Beatrice said about him? As pure as a flawless diamond and as unapproachable as the farthest star.

That idiotic landlord still buffed his wine-bottles, his fearful round face oily with heat and grime. I did not understand why he was there, for I saw myself resting on the banks of a cool river where enormous trees grew wild and a drowsy lion slept in the sun, its jaws open wide and eyes aglitter with hunger. A boat slipped silently through the water. In it, I beheld a woman; her features like those