I try to gently encourage her to go have fun too, and she gives me a hesitant smile.
"I don't know..." She shrugs, but the longing in her eyes as she watches Sisi and Claudia is clear.
"Go ahead. You're family too," I urge her, and she eventually gives in.
With one last look, I turn to go to my room, but Amelia intercepts me on the way.
"Signora Catalina, Signor Marcello wants to see you in his study." I stop and hold my breath.
"Did he say why?" I ask, worried about the answer.
"No, he did not."
"I'll go. Thank you, Amelia."
It's best to get this out of the way now. I'll be the one creating all types of scenarios in my head if this confrontation is postponed any longer.
I close my eyes for a second and straighten my back. I can do this.
With false confidence, I go to his study.
Marcello is sitting behind his desk, a pair of reading glasses on his face. He's immersed in a document and he seems startled to hear the door open.
"Catalina. I didn't expect you this soon." He says, taking his glasses off and folding them on the table. "Please," he motions towards the seat in front of him and I oblige.
"I'm sorry," I say the moment I sit down, wanting to get this out before anything. "I shouldn't have..."
"What are you talking about?" He frowns, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the desk.
"Last night, I shouldn't have..." He tilts his head to the right, regarding me as if I'm spouting nonsense.
"Catalina, what happened?" He asks again, a sudden look of worry on his face.
Does he... not remember?
"Why did you call me here?" I quickly change the subject so I won't incriminate myself anymore.
"I wanted to talk to you about the governess matter," He says and pauses. "What were you sorry about? Did something happen?" He probes further.
"I meant this morning," I amend, hoping he won't catch on. "I'm sorry I spent so much money," I say, and he immediately relaxes.
"I told you to get whatever you need. You don't have to worry about money." He tries to comfort me, and I lower my gaze, guilty about my lie. But if he doesn't remember... Maybe he was asleep, and he didn't intend for it to happen. Especially since he's been very firm about his dislike of touch. The thought leaves me cold, but I shake myself out of it.
"What about the governess then?" I try to immerse myself in the conversation and we sketch out the details for a few interviews.
"Today?" It's a little sudden.
"I've been putting this off for too long." He sighs. "I didn't realize how bad things were with Venezia before. She doesn't even know how to read."
I frown. What?
"She doesn't know how to read?" I repeat in shock.
"No one showed an interest in her before... And she's fifteen. I never imagined the situation would be so bad." He confesses. "Assisi and Claudia should also benefit from it, since they haven't exactly had a normal education."
"Yes. Claudia is still young, but Sisi... I'm worried how she will adjust to living outside of the convent."
"I didn't know she disliked it in there so much..." He shakes his head. "If you'd like to be present for the interview, I have three candidates coming in a few hours."
I readily agree.
"Great. Meet me in," He looks at his watch, "two hours in the drawing room?"
I nod and go back to my room to change.
When I go down to the drawing room a while later, Marcello is already there, a newspaper on his lap.
"The first candidate should be here in ten minutes." He casually mentions when I take a seat next to him. He seems to be totally indifferent to me, and I curse myself for even contemplating that we could be something more. It doesn't help that now I know what his touch feel like, what his lips on mine can make me feel.
I let out a long sigh, telling myself to forget everything. It's just not meant to be.
The first candidate comes in, and Marcello grills her on her experience. He does the same to the second and the third candidate, and we ultimately agree none of them would fit.
"Why is this so hard?" He groans when we get a small break before the last person is supposed to come in.
"I can't believe how snobbish they were," I'm already frustrated with the process. They'd all scoffed at the fact that Venezia is fifteen with no formal education. Marcello had guided the interview so they could show their true colors, having already had an awful experience with Venezia's last governess.
Amelia announces that the last candidate is ready to come in. She looks to be around mid-thirties, definitely younger than the others before her. She takes a seat in front of us, and we proceed with the standard questions. Her answers are on point and I give Marcello a slow nod. She even got the tricky questions right.
"One last thing," I add, wanting to be perfectly sure about this. "since the three of them are in different age ranges, and require different curriculums, how would you plan on making lessons cohesive so they also don't feel isolated." I'm hoping some shared lessons would help them bond with each other. God knows, Venezia really needs it.
"Yes, of course. While perusing the job advertisement, I took the opportunity to draw up a mock schedule." She rummages through her dossier and stands up to hand us a sheet of paper. She goes directly to Marcello, however, when I was the one who asked the question. I try not to show my slight annoyance at this, but I feel better when Marcello shakes his head and motions towards me.
The woman's smile is tight as she hands me the schedule. I look carefully, liking what I'm seeing. The shared time would be during art and etiquette classes. The plan is detailed enough that I can get a feeling of what she would teach them.
"Very well," I look at Marcello and he agrees.
"When can you start?" He asks, and she beams.
"Anytime."
"Even tomorrow?"
"Yes."
We spend some time sketching out the details, and Sarah, the governess, would get her own teaching room on the third floor, and free rein to use any resources she may need.
After she leaves, I sigh in relief.
"I'm so glad." I say out loud, to no one in particular.
I turn my head and catch Marcello staring at me with a slight smile on his lips. When my eyes meet his, he suddenly averts his gaze.
"Indeed." He says and quickly leaves the room.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Amelia knocks on my door to inform me I have a delivery. I'm a little taken aback because I haven't ordered anything. I watch as a few men bring two gigantic boxes and leave them in my room.
"Do you know what this is?" I ask Amelia, but she shakes her head and leaves me alone.
Curious, I take a pair of scissors and start cutting through the top layer of the first box. When I see what's inside, I'm blown away.
It's a sewing machine, with all the necessary accessories — needles, thread, scissors. Everything. Wow... I have no words.
I quickly go to the second box, wanting to see what's inside that one too.
"Dear Lord!" I mutter when I open it to find yards of material carefully folded. It's different fabrics and in most colors.