Malcolm sat back abruptly and drank the remainder of the water. He drew a deep breath. "Your sister! What proof do you have of your kinship to Tanya Caldwell?"
Luigi Amedeo rose and went to his desk. He withdrew a grey envelope and handed it to Malcolm. "This is a letter Tanya's mother wrote to my father. I discovered this letter and became aware of its content only recently." Luigi Amedeo stopped, as he found it difficult to utter words. "Only recently, I said, I found out of my kinship to Tanya." He looked at Malcolm. "Would you like me to translate this letter for you?"
Malcolm took the envelope and extracted the letter. "That won't be necessary, Mr. di Monteturro. My mother tongue is French and I read Italian." He was silent as he read the letter. "It appears that your father, Michele, and Tanya's mother, Carla, stayed in contact with each other. Your father…" Malcolm hesitated. "This letter-your father knew that Carla was pregnant with his child. What else do you know?"
Luigi Amedeo shrugged. "Not much more. One night, at the opening of a new casino, my father challenged Henry Caldwell at gambling. My father lost the largest vineyard and the property on the Riviera. If we believe what this letter implies, the Caldwells wanted to return both the house and the vineyard. My father insisted the mansion should go to his child. Carla accepted." Luigi Amedeo paused. "My father was very, very sick at that time. He died shortly thereafter." Luigi Amedeo refilled the glasses with water. There was no other sound for some time.
"Yourself, Luigi Amedeo-you believe Tanya is your half-sister?"
"Oh, yes, I'm certain she is. She wears a locket that belonged to my family for generations. My father wouldn't have given that medallion away except for a very special reason. When I saw it on her neck, I recognized it immediately."
"Your father could have given it to Carla as a token of his love."
Luigi Amedeo shook his head. "Not likely. The legend behind the locket is that it would protect pregnant women. Tradition called for the woman of the titled male to wear it as soon as she was with child. My father, Michele, would have respected the tradition, I'm certain." Luigi leaned back and rubbed his temples. "She looks very much like my father-her big brown eyes, for example. You see, both my sister and I resemble our mother, who was fair."