The Portrait of Isabella Simmons Chapter 19 Excerpt
The darkness of his thoughts is interrupted by an unknown
movement. Becoming aware of his
surroundings, light shines through his closed eye lids. Realisation of the moment strikes on opening
his eyes. Francesco stares at Johanna
standing at the foot of his bed as she rocks it gently. A wild look reflects in her eyes, her hair no
longer in its bun, but hanging loosely around her shoulders.
“Johanna, whatever is wrong?” he utters the words through a sleepy
mouth, pulling his body upwards to prop himself against the head board.
Johanna releases her hands from the bed rail, and for a
moment, stands motionlessly without saying word.
“My good man. Oh, how I have misjudged you! I was in bed
sleeping, when all of a sudden, something alerted me to an event earlier today.
Oh, how I did not see it! Something
about finding you sitting in the hall suddenly seemed off. I don’t like it when
people divert my plans.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about woman. You’re gone mad.”
“I don’t think so. I
decided to get up and investigate Edmund’s study, and I don’t need to tell you
what I found.” She moves to the side of the bed, shoulders straight and arms
swinging by her side ready for action.
“What are you doing?” Francesco asks suddenly fearing her
state of mind.
“Where are they? What you took from the study? Oh! I should have known better than to trust
a man! You’re all the same!”
“Johanna, it’s late!
Something startled you in your sleep.”
“Where are they?” she screamed, surprising Francesco with the
strength of her voice. “I will search every last place in this room until I
find them, and that includes you!” she continues by pulling the bed clothes off
the bed and tossing them over the edge onto the floor. Grabbing the pillows,
she pulls them from under him, yanking off the covers and flinging them to the
ground. “Tell me where they are!” she
screams again, climbing onto the bed, reaching in, pulling at Francesco’s night
clothes, tearing his shirt.
“Stop it! Stop it!” Francesco yells back. “Don’t touch me! Sei pazza!”
Johanna steps off the bed and strides towards the chair. Picking up Francesco’s night robe, she
searches and stops on discovering her find.
Removing the photos, she faces him.
“What did you hope to find by snooping? When did you suddenly start having
suspicions?”
“I will answer all your questions if you tell me what’s going
on here! Why am I being kept in this house?”
“Where is your journal?”
“I warn you Johanna!
Stay away from my things.”
“You have nothing, old man! Not even the clothes on your back,” she
retorts, moving towards the bedside locker. She yanks at the drawer and
Francesco’s hand grabs her. With her
right hand, she strikes Francesco across the left jaw, losing his grip on her, allowing
her to retrieve her hand. She strikes
him again and seizes him by the shoulders, pulling him from the bed and knocking
him onto the floor, but not before Francesco has grabbed her neck, pulling her
body with him.
“I warn you again Johanna! Merda di
puttana!” utters Francesco, breathless from the exertion as he pushes Johanna
from him. She stands.
“How bad is that leg of yours? You might think you’re smart Mr. Romano, but
I’ve suspected that you self injured in order to get the good Dr. Herford out
here, and that man just cannot hold his own water.”
Moving towards him, she places her left leg on top of
Francesco’s injured leg.
“Now, did he say it was just sprained? Maybe he made a mistake, with all of the
answering of questions, he did not see that maybe it was fractured or even
broken. I mean, an old man like you who
is not in the best of health would have weak or even brittle bones.”
“What do you want from me?”
Stepping to the bedside locker once more, she removes the
journal. Taking the journal, she moves
to her usual seat by the window and sits.
She opens the journal and begins to read.
Comments
Post a Comment