Read Online The Painted War by Imogen Rossi - Free Book Online Page B

me.’
    â€˜Well, it’s not! I could explain the technical reasons why it’s not, but  … ’
    Marco raised an eyebrow at Bianca. ‘You sure you’re not being a tiny bit childish?’
    Bianca looked again at the statue and sagged. ‘Yeah. Maybe. A tiny bit.’
    The Baron was sitting with an expectantly smug look on his face while Duchess Catriona stood up and walked around the statue. She returned to her bower and sat down, her back regally straight. ‘This is the work of Piero Filpepi, is it not?’ she asked the Baron. Her voice was steady, but her stare so sharp it could’ve cut through stone.
    Bianca pressed her lips together, afraid she might let out a gasp of recognition and they’d be caught. Of course it was Filpepi’s work!
    For a second, the Baron actually looked slightly worried. Then his expression smoothed over once more.
    â€˜I apologise for any offence, Your Highness,’ he said. ‘The truth is that the traitor Filpepi is currently languishing in an Oscuritan jail for his crimes against La Luminosa. We did set him to work on the statue, as he was the only Oscuritan artist capable of producing a true likeness of Your Highness. Simply say the word and we return the gift to Duchess Edita.’
    Bianca saw Marco wince. ‘She can’t do that – his explanation’s too good, it’d be an insult,’ he whispered.
    Duchess Catriona sat still and silent for a moment longer, then turned a thin smile on the Baron. ‘Please convey my deepest thanks to Duchess Edita for her thoughtful and touching gift,’ she said. ‘I shall cherish it.’
    Bianca sincerely hoped that ‘cherish it’ was secret code for ‘throw it into the canal as soon as your back is turned’, but she did feel proud of Catriona for keeping up the façade of politeness.
    â€˜Tell me, Baron,’ said the Duchess. ‘How is it that you were able to stand living in La Luminosa for so long? Nobody ever suspected that you weren’t one of us,’ she added, without bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice. ‘Doesn’t the light bother you?’
    â€˜In fact,’ said the Baron, ‘I’ve always been perfectly comfortable in La Luminosa. Although I was raised in Oscurita, I am half Luminosan by blood. My father was a Luminosan lord who crossed over into Oscurita back when the ways between our cities were not widely known.’
    Bianca pulled a face. The Baron had a Luminosan father and Oscuritan mother? That was far too much like her own story for her taste.
    â€˜I understand that the dark of Oscurita is as difficult for us as the light of La Luminosa is for Oscuritans,’ said Duchess Catriona, her bitterness fading as she leaned forwards a little in genuine interest. ‘It must be hard for a couple to fall in love when they can’t stand to live in each other’s worlds.’ Bianca knew it was very hard. She thought again of her own parents, separated by magic and war and the limitations of their own bodies.
    â€˜In fact, that’s not always the case,’ said the Baron. ‘I believe that enough children have been born of mixed parentage over the years that some people do have a latent ability to cope. My father could live comfortably in Oscurita, though I remember him carrying a lamp wherever he went. And His Highness, Duke Annunzio di Lombardi  … ’
    â€˜May he rest in peace,’ Catriona added pointedly.
    â€˜May he rest in peace,’ echoed the Baron. ‘As you know, he was able to live in La Luminosa for more than a decade, although his tolerance for the light wasn’t passed on to either of his daughters.’
    â€˜How much did my father know about all this?’ Duchess Catriona asked. ‘He never mentioned it to me – but I must have been only three or four when the ways between our cities were closed.’
    â€˜Oh, he knew all