~

Devi was lost in reflection, standing in the shadows by the rail, watching the moonlit water sliding by. She heard someone someone softly calling her name and turned to see Achille coming towards her. On his face, he was wearing a happy smile -- well, more like an idiotic grin, to be honest. The reason for his happiness was obvious: somewhere, here in the middle of the sea off the coast of southern Italy, he had managed to acquire a guitar.

She could not help but smile in return as he held it up.

"Look,one of the sailors has permitted me to borrow his guitar! May I play something for you? Or do you wish to be left alone with your thoughts...."

"Yes, please do...is it a good instrument?"

"Not bad at all." He began tuning it, plucking on string and then another and tightening or loosing the keys as needed. "But the poor thing, she doesn't like the sea air. Being on ship board is not always the happiest of circumstances for a guitar."

Once he was satisfied, he began gently strumming a tune, something that sounded vaguely spanish. He looked up from the guitar as he played, an impish twinkle in his eyes.

"So, what brings you up on deck here? the beauty of the night and stars and the water, or did you simply weary of hearing the old gentleman once again regaling the other passengers with his stories of our combat with the sibbiri agents?"

Devi rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Yes indeed...then she paused, her expression betraying a touch of concern. "Did he really join in the fight...or is he just inventing it?

"Oh yes, a pistol in one hand, his sword cane in the other...a most ferocious sight." Achille laughed as he said this, but then dropped his voice and said in a very serious tone, "though in all honesty, I am not sure what I would have done without his assistance..."

Devi nodded. "There is more to the old nonno Foscari then people realise."

"Oh yes, the old Signore was very enthusiastic in his desire to do mayhem to those rascals."

Devi could not help but giggle at the mental image this conjured up.

"Ican imagine Nonno Focari ready to do battle,I have always thought he pretended to be sicker than he really is."

"He is a cagey old fellow...I would not put it past him to pretend to be frail if he thought it would give him an advantage. But in reality he is a fighter..."

Achille paused for dramatic emphasis and then sighed, "Saturnines, on the other hand..."

"Ahhh, Saturnines," sighed Devi. "I suppose he hung back as if he was waiting to see how things went and only then would decide which side to join." She laughed. "A stand-up battle isnot really his preferred way to settle an issue...but don't underestimate him -- he is very good at what he does."

"Oh yes, I am certain of that" agreed Achille, "you know, after all, it was Saturnines' idea to negotiate with the sbirri thug who looked like he would give us the most trouble...he was a rather large gent... the other agent called him "Burly" as I recall."

"Oh?"

"Definitely. Old Signor Foscari was hot to have at them, and I was ready with a club, but it was Saturnines who talked Signor Burly into giving up his boss to us and taking a little blow to the head for show. To his credit, that big fellow could have given us quite a fight, but he saw the good sense in Saturnine's argument...though a little purse of ducats didn't hurt."

"Knowing Saturnines, they probably were counterfeit," Devi snorted derisively. "But he is reliable in his own way. He has been with Nonno Foscari since he was a boy."

"Well, as I said," Achille went on, " they all were a great help. You know it was the old Signor Foscari who came up with the idea of taking that really nasty Sbirri agent -- the one called Rinaldi --and bundling him into a cask with some biscuit and water and sending him on a ship to Istanbul."

"Really?" This was intriguing news to Devi, she had avoided asking about the other agent, as she had assumed he had met the ultimate fate that he arguably deserved.

Achille nodded. "We arranged that when he gets there, he will be drafted into the Turkish navy...I am sure he will make a fine sailor. Hey, the Turks need all the men they can get to fight the Russians."

"So it will be a long time before he is in a position to report to Cristofoli," mused Devi. "And we will all be long gone."

Achille Giglio continued to play softly and commented without looking up from the instrument, "if he survives, that is."

"Oh....I am sure he will...his sort always does," observed Devi.

"Well, if he does not," replied Achille, "at least it is not on our heads...he may have deserved it, but I am glad I did not have to send him to sleep with the fishes on the bottom of the canal...let some Russian cannon ball do the job.And if he makes it back, it is by God's will."

Living as she did in a world where she had known plenty of individuals who would cut your throat for half a loaf of bread -- or just for the sheer fun of it -- she did not often encounter working class people who had much in the way of scruples. Having principles was a luxury, something usually reserved for a few of the well-born who could afford to have them...or who could afford to pay someone else to do their dirty work. But here was this ordinary guy who seemed to have some kind of priorities beyond his own comfort and convenience. Devi found this side of Achille a little puzzling...almost quixotic...but in the end, appealing. She realized that this tavern keeper was a man who was perfectly capable of killing if he had to...but only if he really had to.

Meanwhile, Achille was playing some snatches of Boccherini. Finally, he said quietly, "Yes, we all made quite a good team...you did your job with getting Signor Gandt where he needed to be, old Signor Foscari and Saturnines helping me spring the trap for those guys...and we can't forget the young lady...she played her part well...very well indeed."

"Ah yes, the young lady," said Devi drily. "I am very curious about her."

"Oh?"

"I am not really sure who she is..where she came from...andare they really married? You know back at the villa, Nonno Foscari acts like he's on death's door half the time...he even has a chair with wheels and will tell people he can't walk!!! What kind of a husband would that be for a young woman?"

"Well for one thing, I think we all know that feeble old man routine is pretty much a charade. And as for what kind of a husband he'd make...a rich one to be sure."

Devi snorted. "Humph! I am notentirely sure they are actually married in the eyes of the law and church. Besides,the old man has been a widower for many years...a new marriage will not affect his heirs...oh, but Elena will be so shocked!"

"She has had to deal with stranger things in life, I am sure. But what do you thinkthe Conte will say?" asked Achille.

Devi giggled. "I bet the Conte will be surprised...I can't wait to see the expression on the Conte's face when we get to Sorrentina and he sees this traveling comedy troupe we are bringing with us."

Achille smiled at this, but offered no further comment and continued to play. Except for the gentle sounds of the guitar, a silence fell as Devi turned and looked back out over the rail at the flecks of moonlight that danced on the waves, and the stars that so utterly filled the cloudless night sky.

After several minutes Devi spoke again.

"So ....what is this Sorentina like?"

"Ah...Sorrentina...have you not been there?"

"No...I know its somehwere south...but when Elena went there she left me behind at the Malcontenta,and that would have been fine, except my brothers came to take me home." She made an expression of disgust.

Achille Giglio stop playing the guitar and stood beside Devi at the rail. "Then you have missed the closest thing to Paradise that one may find in this sorry world," he said quietly.

Devi looked at him, not entirely sure if he was serious. He shrugged and added, "at least in my humble opinion...but then I grew up thereand have lived most of life on or near the island...soI am not objective about it."

"It is beautiful there?" she asked.

"I think so...it is almost always pleasantly warm...I have never known it to snow there. The waters and sky are a brilliant blue...the island a small multicolored jewel in the Bay of Naples...the green orchards and vineyards, flowers of all sorts of hues, the red tile roofs and yellow and pink stucco of houses and white marble of old buildings...very old.

"You do make it sound like paradise. I hated the mountains when it snowed. Everything...white and grey...and cold. Living in a caravan is nice enough in the summer, but in winter..and much of spring and autumn as well, it comes through every crack in the boards and eats into your bones. What is it like to live there?"

"Pleasant is an inadequate word for it. Coffee in the coffee house, with friendly people and good conversation. Local wine and honey and fruits...fish from the sea, fresh each day...and the grandest sunsets you will see anywhere can be viewed from the table just outside my tavern by the docks. Go out on a boat and look back at the island and you see little houses that are comfortable, but not ostentatious, piled up like a child's building blocks on the hillside...even the great villa is not a massive sprawling palace,but like something that grew from the earth and the rocks...like nature..balanced and perfect in its imperfections..."

"So it's not like Venezia?"

"Oh no, nothing like Venezia...it smells like sea breezes, clean salt and flowers...not fetid water, stale piss and dead fish."

Devi looked at Achille and laughed. "Not all of Venezia smells like that!"

"The parts I was in did."

Devi decided to not argue the point. It did all sound lovely. "How long until we get there?I long to see it."

Achille was beginning to tune the guitar again. "A couple days," he answered. "We have to tack up the coast past the straits and then catch the westerly breeze." He paused a moment and than asked, "do you think you will be able to stay a while on la Rocca?"

Devi frowned. "I guessthat will depend on the Conteand whatever message he has from my father." She appeared to be lost in thought. "You know, I have never been on a ship for so long before...this is a new experience for me. I have only really been to vist two other places besides the mountains."

Achille looked surprised. "I would think with you heritage of the Sinti, you would be very well travelled."

"No," she answered. "You see,the Conte helped my people to come out of the Austrian lands, but I was born after their travel...since they settled in their mountain camp they never went anywhere. The menfolk go down to the valley to trade,but the women don't go with them. Since the persecutions that were suffered, they try not to draw attention to themselves...I only got to travel a bit because of the Conte and Elena. Most of the work I have performed on behalf of the Conte has been in and around Venezia."

"Well," replied Achille in an almost somber tone,"although I would understand how under such circumstances, you might be having a desire to travel widely and see more of the world...if I may say so...after we get to Rocca Sorrentina...it is my hope you will not have to leave again too soon."

She did not reply, a he started playing the guitar again.

"Do you know this one?" he asked. "I just learned it recently." And he began to sing.

"Caro mio ben,
credimi almen,
senza di te

languisce il cor,
caro mio ben,
senza di te

languisce il cor
Il tuo fedel
sospira ognor

Cessa, crudel,
tanto rigor!
Cessa, crudel,

tanto rigor,
tanto rigor!
Caro mio ben,

credimi almen,
senza di te
languisce il cor,

caro mio ben,
credimi almen,
senza di te

languisce il cor"

Devi found herself blushing. "You sing it beautifully...it is the song of someone asking that his heart not be broken by the one he loves."

Achille stopped playing when he finished the song andgently leaned the guitar against the small cannon next to them "As I said...I hope you do not have to leave the island too soon...you know...we have spent much time together...but it has always been about the job...what we do for...for others."

"I do hope I can stay some time also," she answered, not daring to look at Achille. "Yes we each have our orders...our purpose. I and my people owe the Conte a lot...and he is good to us..."

Achille gazed out over the dark waves. "You talk of orders...but I do not follow orders...I do what I do for the Padrone out of duty and my respect and affection for him."

Devi nodded. "Yes, I understand, it is the same for me. The Conte has been like a second father to me. And as you have seen, old Sior Foscari sees me as an extra grandaughter...so maybe they will let me stay."

Achille moved a little closer to Devi. "So...you know...if I ask the Professore...and you ask the Conte...they maybe will not send us away on our separate paths for other missions...perhaps not right away..."

Devi looked at Achille with hope in her eyes. "Yes I will ask him...and if he says no, then I shall ask his father to badger him into saying yes..."

Achille laughed. "Devi...I have never known anyone like you before..."