The Twelve Tables Ch. 24

"What happened to the guard? Why didn't he get them out?" Dante demanded.

"We don't believe they ever intended to," Marcus said seriously. "Nik's narcissism was such that she was making demands of the Suebi women who had befriended her in prison. The plans came from several men who visited those women regularly. We have the visitor's names and are searching for them, although we aren't sure if they used aliases at this stage. We do have the security footage, thanks to the commander who was able to get a copy. It would seem that Nik had become more of a liability than an asset to them, since the family had cut her off. Apparently, she recently threatened to expose their operation."

"So the girls essentially killed themselves?" Ben was aghast at the idea.

"The chemicals used as mattress protectors were quite toxic and once the fire took hold they would have died quickly from asphyxiation," Marcus said. "I doubt they would have suffered greatly." He said seeing the pain and anguish on several faces around the table.

"Why didn't we get her out?" Carlo asked. "We must have known there was a threat."

"We didn't think the threat was as immediate as this," Vincenzo spoke up for the first time. He felt that this was more his fault than anyone.

"The Papillo had organised her transfer to the compound on the fourth," Joseph said. "We knew that she would start making threats and demands in the new year once she believed her penance had been served. We had no way of knowing they would act earlier than us. They had left her alone all year as far as we could tell. If you are looking to point the finger of blame at someone, then I am your man," he said gruffly. "I should have acted earlier, but there were reasons we left our move until the new year. We do not kill or murder; we do things that may not always be deemed as above board, but we try not to hurt anyone in the process."

"I don't think now is the time for blame, nor is it time for retribution," Andreas said sternly looking at the faces of the men gathered around the table.

"What we do now, with this new information, should be the discussion at hand," Charles said. "Do we leave it in the hands of our brothers, the Battaglia or do we realise there is an organisation here in our region that we need to deal with? Who's next? Who's vulnerable to them? Now is the time to be sure of those around us and ensure we lose no more family to the Suebi."

"No one needs to know details of what happened to Lio and Nik, but it wouldn't hurt to warn those closest to you of an old family feud which threatens the family and to be careful of making deals with strangers, even if they seem too good to be true," Joseph advised.

"Ben and I will go over everything I've got in the way of information with my team starting tomorrow," Vincenzo said raising a questioning eyebrow at Ben, who nodded.

"I have a package for you both," Marcus said and pushed a full envelope across the table to Vincenzo. "We have reason to believe they may have targeted another member of your family already. Having a second source of information may be why they were so willing to get rid of Nik permanently at this time."

"Tonight we celebrate the end of what has been a traumatic year. Then tomorrow we work on protecting the ones we love. If the Suebi feared our influence and power before now, just wait until they see the next generation in action. Now that we know what we're dealing with, I am sure every man here will work to ensure that the family not only survives but flourishes," Josh said vehemently.

*****

Antonia had stayed with her sisters-in-law to help with the organisation of the new year's gathering the older women of the family had planned for that evening. This celebration had been planned well in advance, once they had been told the new table would be forming in the new year. The plans had changed in the interim where the table was concerned, but the celebration remained. The six remaining men of the current Donati rulers would bring in the new year with their families in a show of solidarity and brotherhood with their chosen sons. In terms of family gatherings, the guest list was small, but each person coming this evening was at the heart of that larger family.

"I may have questioned the decision to make Josh and Peri the Mother and Father of the Donati, but I am beginning to see what you and Joseph see in Peri," Zita said quietly to Antonia. "She's a thoughtful girl not ruled by emotions or given to over-dramatizations."

"She's intelligent, she understands the value of those around her, and whether she believes it herself or not yet, she is strong enough to lead not only the women but our sons," Antonia said equally quietly. "She is a natural diplomat. She charmed the Vitali when we were there, and she has strong alliances with the Battaglia. The Farnese already know of her. She's in a good place to lead and commands respect already."

"You don't have to sell her to me," Zita laughed.

"I'm sorry," Antonia smiled. "I guess I have been waiting for the questions to come up."

"We trust you and while the others like me are probably waiting to form their opinions we trust that the table chose the best to lead us into the future," she smiled. "We just don't know her as well as you do, but I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by what I know so far. She has my full support."

"And mine," Marisol joined their conversation.

"Anyone who can make Manuel smile must be someone special. He loves her, and as we all know, he doesn't like many people," Concetta laughed. "The younger ones will come around. They just need time to readjust their thinking. You remember what it was like at the beginning of our table. Emily and Carmen both had high hopes for their families, and that will take some time to overcome. I imagine Carmen is considering whether she could have four more sons in as many years and demand a change of leadership."

"She wouldn't would she?" Zita gasped as the three other women looked at Concetta as if the thought had never occurred to them.

"It's an option," Marisol said considering the idea.

"Interesting times ahead ladies, we'll have to watch that closely," Concetta said with a laugh. "Let's hope she has given that option as much thought as you all obviously have. None!"

*****

Peri had gone home alone, grateful for some time to be left to her thoughts. She went to the nursery and spent some time playing with her babies. She hugged Eden closely and watched the boys play on their bellies and roll over. They were making all of their milestones easily and although Eden lagged behind a little she was not so far behind that it was a source of anxiety. She was the smallest of the three and Peri imagined that her little girl would always struggle to keep up with her brothers. She hoped her next baby would be a little girl so Eden would have someone trying to keep up with her.

She stayed in the nursery until the babies went down again for their afternoon sleep and then she went upstairs to rest before the party tonight. She picked up a book she had taken from Antonia's library and lay on the couch. She could hear the staff in the apartment moving quietly around and felt somehow reassured that she wasn't totally alone.

It was strange how quickly she had become used to her new life since meeting and marrying Josh. In less than a year, she moved three times to bigger and better homes and now had two. She had gone from having one staff member to now having ten if she included the nannies and knew that would only increase as time went on and they took on more responsibility for the family. If she included her team at work, then she had close to twenty staff already.

She had gone from being a shy and plain little research mouse to the mother of one of the most respected families in the state. She closed her eyes and wondered how she had ever become this woman and knew it was her love for Josh that had guided her here. She tried to reconcile the timid little mouse she had been with the woman she had become in just over a year. She didn't feel any different. She would have liked to believe she was still the same woman as she had been, but hearing another sound in the apartment she knew she was vastly different on many levels.

"Who are you?" she asked herself out loud. She found herself wishing she had have journaled all the changes in her life over the last year, and she got up to go and find the office that had been moved in the refurbishment of the apartment. She didn't want a digital diary. She wanted a leather bound book like the books she had found in Antonia's secret haven. She wanted a fellow book lover like herself to find them in a hundred years and discover what her life was like as she embarked on a new life in the new year.

She found the office and was surprised by a gift-wrapped box on the desk. There was a card with her name neatly spelled out in fine calligraphy. Sitting and looking at it in wonder she reached for the card and opened it.

"My love, I knew you would seek out the library and office here eventually. You love the history found in books and the people you get to know within them. It's time to start leaving that legacy for future generations in the way that historians do. I know you now almost as well as I know myself, and as the year ends, I know you will be questioning and reasoning and wanting to see into the future by looking at the past. I had Dominic commission these for you and keep the exact details on file because it is my hope that you will fill them all and need more. I am looking forward to what the future holds for us. I love you,

Dante."

She opened the box and took out a calligraphy set that had been engraved with her name. She touched it in wonder as she reached inside to remove one of the journals. The rich russet leather had been aged but did not look worn, and it was tooled in great detail. The leather in the centre depicted three hearts intertwined and the decorative border surrounding it repeated the same intertwining hearts into a chain like image. Her full name Perinique Donati sat at the top left of the cover and in the bottom right it stated Volume one.

She smiled as she opened it and saw the inside cover was also decorated with diamond shaped panel. The image within the diamond depicted a landscape in relief of a willow tree with low branches beside a small tumbling fall. Peri could imagine that this image was taken from the spot across from where they had spent their long slow afternoon together at the farm and she smiled. She ran a finger over the edge of the blanket that peaked out from beneath the tree. She had finally admitted that she loved him deeply that afternoon. She had been fighting the feelings but found that although it was different to how she loved Josh the emotions ran just as deep. It wasn't something she could explain easily even to herself, but she knew she loved them equally, but in different ways.

These journals were exactly what she had come looking for, thinking only to find a notebook. Dante did know her and was able to predict her need. She gave a small laugh. He was indeed the oracle or at least her oracle. She wished he was here to thank personally. She found herself longing for more of the time they had spent alone together at the farm. Their world had become crazy after that afternoon, did he realise that it would be their last chance to find each other before the chaos set in, she wondered. He had a way of making sure she had everything she needed including having come to terms with her feelings for him before seeing Lucia.

Having found the other journals similarly bound and numbered she opened the first and began to write a synopsis of the year that was ending before going onto her hopes for the future. She had been sitting there for some time before Bridgette came to disturb her.

"Josh and Dante are returning with a guest," she said quietly after Peri looked up to acknowledge her presence in the room. "You should probably dress for the party which I imagine they will want to leave shortly after to attend."

"Gosh yes," Peri said closing the journal and replacing it and the calligraphy set in the gift box. She would take the time this week to see if there was a writing box down in the repository that she could use for her journals until she had managed to create a private space for herself here and at home. Not that here wasn't home, but she was still getting used to having two homes, three if she counted her mother's house that she had lived in until this year. Three was becoming her lucky number; she smiled to herself as she walked out of the office.

She had quickly showered and dressed, grateful once again that her mother had become her personal shopper. The Venetian style ball was a chance to dress in the period costumes she loved. Andie had managed to have a gown made for her that was perfect. It was a pale blue Cinderella-like gown, and that was exactly how she felt after spending over an hour journaling about the changes in her life this year. She went out to the living room expecting her Princes Charming to be there already.

"Marcus!" She smiled widely seeing him sitting with them as she entered the living room. "What a lovely surprise." She went to hug him as he came to his feet.

"It's always good to see you when I visit. I must say you look spectacular," he returned her wide smile. "You must save me a dance at the ball tonight, Cinderella."

"Is it too much?" she worried looking at Josh and Dante as she asked the question.

"You're looking amazing," Josh eyed her ample cleavage above the tight corset-like bodice. "There's something missing, though."

"Yeah somethings not quite right," Dante agreed with a smile. Making Marcus turn to look at the two men with a questioning frown. "You look beautiful, and radiant, but Josh is right there's something missing."

"I can never tell if they're teasing me or not when they agree with each other like this," Peri said to Marcus with a soft laugh.

"Why don't you introduce me to those little bundles of joy instead of listening to them. You look perfect for the ball," Marcus said. "I'm sure they have costumes of their own to get into." He chuckled. "I imagine they don't have the legs for tights, though." He winked at her.

"I would love that," Peri said eagerly. "The babies aren't nearly as hard to handle as these two," she laughed merrily and escorted him downstairs. "So spending some time with Josh must mean the Commander is getting ready to retire as well?" Peri asked not sure if she was supposed to know or not.

"We have all evening to talk about me, I want to know all about your babies," he laughed. "Usually, I don't have to ask the first time mother's more than once," he chuckled. "Trust me nothing would make me happier to hear how proud you are of your little ones."

She laughed and began to tell him about the beautiful triplets before they got to the nursery. They spent close to an hour in the nursery while they talked about the different personalities they were developing and that the little fairy Eden was already trying to catch up to her brothers. Peri was happy and in her element when Josh and Dante came down in their long leather waistcoats and boots looking more like fighting musketeers rather than the brightly coloured courtiers she had imagined they would be dressed as.

"What no Prince Charming?" Marcus asked shaking his head.

"I already married her, now I just have to protect her from the villains," Josh said putting his hand on his sword.

"You can't have just one musketeer," Dante said with a perfectly straight face. "Lucia sent over a costume for you. It's upstairs in the guest room, take your time we can wait."

Dante showed Marcus up to the guest room as Josh and Peri lingered over the babies a few moments longer before following them upstairs.

"Staying on the farm for so long and then coming back to the news about Nik meant that D. and I put off giving you a proper Christmas gift," Josh said.

"That's not necessary, I gave you something so small and insignificant, and I have everything I need," she smiled thinking of the personalised business diaries she had given each of them knowing this would be a hugely busy year for them both.

"You, as always, were thinking about the best way to help us," Dante said as he met them in the living room. "That's far from insignificant. You're a true Queen now, the Donati queen. You married Prince Charming and had tiny royal children, and you can't convince me Eden is anything but a fairy princess," He said making Peri giggle.

Peri accepted the wide flat velvet box from Josh and opened it, her breath catching in her throat as she looked at the beautiful matching necklace and earrings.

"It's too much," she whispered gazing at the glittering jewels.

"I'd say it's not nearly enough after the year you've been through, but we will make it up to you now," Josh said softly taking the necklace from the box and placing it gently around her neck and fastening it.

"Now your costume is perfect," Dante said. "I'd like to take the equal credit Josh is giving me for this, but it was all Josh, I agree with the sentiment, though."

"I found the box you left in the office for me," she smiled at Dante, "and it is more than equal to this," she touched the jewels at her throat. "He gave me some journals to start writing in this year," she explained at Josh's inquisitive look.

"We live in momentous times, and I thought it was the time she started writing her story for future historians," Dante chuckled.

"That's a good idea," Josh agreed.

"I love you both and this year has brought me far more joy than it has heartache. I know everyone else thinks of the tragedies that have befallen the family this year, but I am surrounded by people I love and who love me back, what more could I ever ask for. This year has brought me far more than I ever dreamed of and I'm happy. Truly happy," she kissed them both.

*****

The New Year's Eve Party held a sombre air after the memorial earlier during the day. Small groups talked in hushed tones, as low sedate music played in the background. Peri had an idea and wandered over to where Carmen stood a little apart from the group sipping on a drink.

"I think the mood from today has carried into this evening," Peri said breaking the ice between them.

"You could be right," Carmen said. "It is never pleasant to say goodbye to a loved one, though I imagine you're quite pleased." She said judgementally.

"I may not have trusted her to babysit my children, but I never wished her any harm Carmen. She was Josh's sister. His twin. My heart broke when we found out she had died," Peri said sincerely surprising Carmen. "I can't believe that two of our husband's siblings have died in such a short space of time, it's tragic, but as Zita has reminded me, life is for the living and dwelling in the past doesn't do anyone any good."

"That's true, and I can see what you mean about the party being a bit gloomy," Carmen admitted giving a little leeway after hearing the emotion in Peri's voice.

"We have this lovely band here, why don't we have a bit of karaoke," Peri suggested to Carmen. "Everyone loves your voice when you sing. Why don't we pick a few songs that we normally hear at the New Years Eve Parties and see if we can make it more festive? Maybe we could convince the others to have a bit of a concert to liven things up and remember the good things that happened this year as well?"

"Like what?" Carmen asked as if she was considering the idea.

"All I can think of is rock ballads, like the Final Countdown or that one from that movie, you know, the dude with the big mouth?" Peri said hopelessly.

"Mick Jagger?" She offered.

"No, the other one, his daughter was in the movie," Peri struggled to remember the name.