Fruit of the Golden Vine Read Free Page A

where the branching lines faded, and Adelina lifted her shaking hand away. An unfamiliar fire burned low in her body, and her heart seemed to have lost sense of its usual rhythm.
    “You’re blushing.” Silvana smiled, and the scalding heat in Adelina’s skin spread to the top of her chest and tips of her ears. “Oh, and now you’re really blushing.”
    Adelina turned her head away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you like that. It was impolite.”
    “Don’t fear, Adelina. I enjoy being touched.” Silvana’s low laughter set Adelina tingling. “And I like your impoliteness. As far as I’m concerned, it speaks well of your character.”
    “Tell me, are you thirsty?” Adelina managed to return her attention to Silvana’s face. The moment their eyes met again, her stomach fell into convulsions. “Um. We can go back to the manor and have some lunch.”
    “I’d like that. Perhaps we can have it in the parlor, to appease your poor sister.”
    “She’ll show you her tapestries if we do. There’s no stopping her.”
    “I’ll survive. Especially if you can sneak me some wine.”
    “Just wait until dinner. My father will practically bathe you in it.” Adelina stood and brushed the seat of her dress. “And if my mother decides to start a conversation with you, you’ll need every drop. She wasn’t well enough to greet you, and she’ll be impatient to make up for lost time.”
    Silvana rose and crooked her arm. “Shall we?”
    Her heart no longer obeying any orderly tempo, Adelina slipped her arm through Silvana’s. As their bodies drew closer, Adelina shivered as if every nerve in her body had decided to sing at once. Hopefully Silvana hadn’t noticed. “Let’s walk by the fountain again as we leave,” Adelina said. “Irena likes to throw coins in there and make wishes. I come along later and fish them out.”
    “You’re a demon, Adelina.”
    “Ada.” Adelina tried to smile, but her face had frozen. “My friends call me Ada.”
    A subtle light gleamed behind Silvana’s dark lashes. “Ada it is.”

Chapter Two
    “If you look here, you can see where I made a mistake in the stitching.” Irena pointed to a pattern on the embroidered handkerchief. “It was very late, and my eyes were pinched shut from weariness.”
    “I don’t see the mistake.” Silvana peered closer at the handkerchief. “Sorry.”
    “You’re very kind to say so.” Irena bestowed a placid smile upon Adelina. “Ada, dear, would you offer our guest a small cake?”
    Adelina shoved the tray of cakes across the table, putting it within Silvana’s reach. “Here, have a small cake.”
    “Ada! Why are you always so recalcitrant?”
    From the moment they’d surrendered to Irena’s clutches, the afternoon had been an endless procession of cakes, embroidery and anecdotes about handsome men viewed from her window, and Adelina’s patience had reached its limit. “Because I don’t have jelly for a brain, that’s why.” Adelina bit through one of the jam-laden cakes and into its delectable blob of hidden cream. “Why don’t we talk about something interesting for once?”
    Silvana turned a cake in her hands. “Who makes these for you? Some servant?”
    “Our cook, Bruna, makes them fresh every morning.” Irena shot Adelina a triumphant look. “Do you enjoy pastries, Silvana?”
    “I suppose.” Silvana bit into the cake, leaving a puff of flour on her chin. “It’s very decadent.”
    Irena leaned forward, her eyes intent. “If you don’t mind my asking, what is it like, this place that you come from?”
    “It’s greener than this. Colder too.” Silvana brushed the flour from her face. “We have snow, sometimes outside of winter, and there are rugged mountains to the northwest that we can see crouched in the distance like crooked blue giants.”
    Irena’s eyes became fascinated circles. “Are there wolves?”
    “In the timberlands, yes, but not so close to where we live.” Silvana tasted a cup of