Mountains of Dawn

"Yes."

"Sorry to hear about that." Luigi Amedeo paused, tactful. His eyes quickly glanced at her hand and at the huge emerald in a white gold setting. "But you are not unattached, right?"

Vanessa looked away, then back. "I am involved with someone. We've been seeing each other for some time, but we've begun to drift apart lately." She glanced at him, then down. "My friend has a villa on the Italian Riviera, which, actually, is my destination."

"The Italian Riviera? Which one?"

"The Riviera di Ponente. His villa is near Ventimiglia, close to the French border."

"Tell me more." Luigi Amedeo's interest ignited. "But wait…join me for a drink, perhaps a glass of champagne. We could talk about your trips. Maybe discuss a consulting job with my own agency."

Luigi Amedeo sighed. She had told him so much, as she sipped one glass after the other, so much more than he expected. She told him the name of her boyfriend, Kevin Matwin. She complained of the way in which he left her alone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. And then she talked of the mansion next door to her lover's villa, the mansion unoccupied for years.

"This mansion…does it have a huge iron gate at the front? And an orchard on the eastern side?" he asked.

"Well, yes, it does. The orchard in bloom is a show piece. It looks like a carpet of light pink snow. How did you know?"

"I have been looking for the owners of that house for the last fifteen years," he replied. "If you ever learn anything of them, could you please let me know?" He looked deep into her eyes, earnest and intense. Once more, he lifted her hand to his lips. "I would be so very appreciative."

"Why, certainly," Vanessa said, her pleasure evident. "I'd be delighted."

Luigi Amedeo raised his champagne glass to her. "Let us toast our new partnership, Vanessa. I have a distinct feeling we'll do great things together."

Luigi Amedeo di Monteturro knew he had elegance, manners, and social graces, as well as an aristocratic appearance. Tall and slender, dark blond with delicate features, he brought prestige to the hosts of the most exclusive parties. He wore any kind of clothes with the same poise his most remote ancestors wore the family's emblem, often exquisitely embroidered on their rich garments.

The coat of arms of the Monteturros carried two swords overlapping each other to form a cross, symbolic of the strength of the house behind the Pope and indicative of an ancient papal nobility. Inscribed within the coat of arms were the words 'Ludovicum Amidaeum puaperum defensorem Monteturri comitem Gregorius VII, Pontifex nominavit. A.D. MLIII,' the one Latin inscription Luigi Amedeo had been required to learn from the time he could speak: 'In the year 1053, Pope Gregory VII bestowed upon Lodovicus Amadeus, the defender of paupers, the title of Count of Monteturro.' Luigi Amedeo, and before him his father Michele, displayed the family coat of arms in any possible occasion, particularly to the simpering women of their wealthy friends.