Chapter Fifty-Three
It is said of Francella Watanabe that she should have been born a man, and that she has spent her life trying to make up for this affront.
—From Red Rage, the unauthorized biography
It had not been their typical bedroom encounter. Usually the passion of the two lovers was physical, but now it filled the air. They had been about to make love and had taken off their clothes in a frenzy, throwing them in all directions, hardly able to wait. Then he told her.
“You spared EcoStation?” Francella screamed, rolling away from Lorenzo and sitting up on the bed. “Even though you knew my brother was up there, a sitting duck? How could you, after what he did to my father?” Furious, she pulled a long chartreuse blouse over her nakedness and clasped one of the buttons.
“You haven’t been entirely truthful with me, have you?” he shouted back at her, only inches from her face. He grabbed the blouse and ripped it open.
She slapped him across the face. “I told you everything, the way Noah had my father killed, and all the other terrible things he did.”
With a curse, Lorenzo held her wrists, preventing her from striking him again. “I’m not talking about Noah, although perhaps I should. As for your father, there are other more likely suspects.”
“Which means?”
He smiled savagely. “For another time, my sweet. We want to save things to argue about later.” Then, holding both of her hands with one, he used his other to smooth her long red hair. “I so enjoy it when we make up.”
Glaring, Francella tried to pull away, but he held her tightly.
“You are a woman of secrets, aren’t you?”
“Every woman has her secrets, you fool.”
“But not nearly as interesting as yours. Would you like to tell me about our love child?”
He saw her face tighten, the knotting of muscles on her cheeks. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“The boy you concealed from me. My own son, damn you!”
She reddened. He saw the guilt all over her, didn’t need any other confirmation.
“After he was born, I sent him away,” she admitted, unable to hold gazes with him.
“And had your evil brother take care of him.”
“No, I put the boy with a foster family.”
Letting her go, Lorenzo pushed her away, against the headboard of the bed. “From what I hear, Noah has been monitoring his care for years, and recently made the boy one of his Guardians.”
“One of his Guardians?”
“Our son is on EcoStation with Noah.”
“So what? Kill them both, for all I care.”
“But I have no other sons, don’t you see? Princess Meghina has born only daughters for me. Our love child, it seems, is the rightful heir to my legacy. Assuming the Council of Forty proclaims him Doge, that is. Just think of it, Francella, history will call him The Bastard Doge.”
“That wouldn’t be any different from now,” she snapped. “We already have a bastard in that position.”
After a look of shock and anger, he let loose a deep, resounding guffaw, and said, “You’re only saying that because you mean it.” Laughing, he chased her around the bedroom, not letting her get to the door. Finally, exhausted and furious, she tumbled to the floor.
He took her in his arms, and finished ripping off her blouse.