“That’s the one,” he confirmed. “She overheard Babbo and Dominic talking about the contract. She was outraged by what they planned.”
“As any normal person would be.”
“Agreed.”
Finished with the fruit salad, he started a pot of coffee, then leaned against the counter and watched Gianna sauté onions, spinach and mushrooms in olive oil. She poured the egg mixture she’d prepared into a pan and added the sautéed vegetables, topping them with a sprinkling of bacon.
“Anyway,” he continued, “she stole Brimstone from my father and sewed it into a Nancy doll.”
“I used to own a Mrs. Pennywinkle Nancy doll.” Gianna snapped her fingers. “Maybe it’s in my doll.”
“Doubtful. She placed it into the original Nancy doll. The prototype. Ariana gave the doll away to a needy child shortly after she married Lazz.”
Gianna’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear. I gather she didn’t know Brimstone was inside?”
“She didn’t have a clue,” Constantine confirmed. “By then, she and Lazz had fallen in love and decided to let fate determine where it ended up.”
She smiled softly. “How romantic.”
“Foolish,” he corrected.
She shrugged. “A matter of opinion. Though I can understand your family’s disappointment at the loss.” A sudden thought occurred. “Just out of curiosity, would you have taken the money from the diamond to start up Romano Restoration?”
He hesitated. “I would have been seriously tempted. But in the end…” He shook his head. “It still would have been money I’d neither earned, nor deserved to profit from. So, no. If the Romanos had taken our share of Brimstone, it wouldn’t have changed the past nineteen months, if that’s what you’re asking. We’d still have been apart.”
“Damn it,” she whispered.
“What?”
She frowned at him in open displeasure. “I’m beginning to see your point of view in all this. It’s really annoying, too.”
Amusement combined with a deep tenderness and affection. He loved her honesty and frankness. Loved that she didn’t pull her punches, even on those occasions when they stood on opposite sides of the proverbial fence. It also pleased him that she considered the Brimstone contract as much an outrage as he did. He found it encouraging that they were so closely aligned on certain issues. Which reminded him.
“Let’s not forget the original problem.”
It only took her a moment to follow his line of thought and she winced. “David.”
“Yes. Unfortunately d’Angelo has excellent inside information. He knows that Brimstone is missing.”
“Not really. He only suspects.”
“But once he decides neither family has it—”
“He’s going to try to find it,” Gianna finished his sentence for him. She expertly folded the omelets, then plated them, grating cheese over the top for the finishing touch. “I wonder if David knows Brimstone is sewn into one of the dolls. I’d hate to think he’s running around gutting every poor Nancy doll he can find in a frantic search for the diamond.”
Constantine grimaced, gathering the necessary items to set the table. “Hell, I hadn’t considered that possibility.”
“Maybe we should. And maybe we should find out where the diamond went before he does.” She busied herself filling two bowls with fruit salad while she considered. “One final question.”
“Just one?”
She chuckled. “For now.” She helped him carry food from the kitchen into the dining room. “Why do you suppose Uncle Dominic went to such extremes to ensure Lazz and Ariana married? I mean, creating a marriage contract seems a bit out there. He couldn’t be certain they were experiencing an early form of The Inferno. After all, they were only children.”
Constantine shrugged. “Apparently Dominic decided that marrying someone who wasn’t his Inferno bride guaranteed a disastrous marriage and he didn’t want Lazz and Ariana to experience what he did with his wife, Laura.”
Gianna stiffened. “No, that’s not right. You or your father must have misunderstood.”