One
ELAINES, LATE. STONE BARRINGTON AND DINO BACCHETTI sat at table number four, looking grim. Elaine joined them.
So, whats happening here? You two look like youre going to start shooting any minute.”
Im getting married,” Stone said. Congratulate me.”
Congratulations,” Elaine said. Anybody you know?”
Hilarious,” Stone said.
It would be, if it werent so insane,” Dino added.
You and Dolce are really going to do this?” Elaine asked, incredulous.
Now dont you start,” Stone growled.
He wont listen to me,” Dino said. Ive been telling him for a year to stay away from her.”
Whatve you got against your sister-in-law?” Elaine asked him.
First of all, shes my sister-in-law,” Dino replied. Second, shes evil. Her old man is the devil, and Dolce is his handmaiden.”
Dont start that again, Dino,” Stone said. I dont want to hear it anymore. Were in love, were getting married, and thats it. Whats wrong with that?”
Elaine shrugged. Youre still in love with Arrington,” she said. Everybody knows that.”
What do you mean, everybody?” Stone demanded.
Me and Dino,” Elaine replied.
Right,” Dino chimed in.
Shes married; she has a child,” Stone said.
So?” Elaine queried. So, shes married to a movie star; nobody ever took a girl away from a movie star? Happens all the time.”
Im not breaking up anybodys marriage,” Stone said, and Arrington knows it. Ive told her so. Anyway, theres the boy.”
Wouldnt be the first kid raised by a stepfather,” Elaine said.
I think its Stones kid, anyway,” Dino said.
Dino, I told you, the blood test was done; I saw the lab report. The boy is Vance Calders, and thats all there is to it. Im not taking a kid away from his father. Besides, I like Vance.”
Whats not to like?” Elaine asked. Hes handsome; hes the biggest star in Hollywood; hes the most charming man I ever met.” She sipped her drink. Present company included,” she added.
Thanks,” Stone said. I needed that.”
So, whens the happy day?” Elaine asked. You going to be a June bride?”
Monday,” Stone replied. In Venice.”
This is Thursday,” Elaine pointed out. What the hell are you doing here?”
Were leaving tonight,” Stone said.
I got news for you. Its after midnight, all the flights have departed.”
Were taking a private jet, belongs to some friend of Eduardo.”
Not bad,” Elaine said, looking impressed. That way, you get to your hotel late enough tomorrow, so you dont have to wait for the people in your room to check out.”
Eduardo has a palazzo,” Dino said. Were being forced to stay there.”
Youre going, too?” Elaine asked, incredulous again.
Hes my best man,” Stone said glumly.
If I dont go, my wife will divorce me,” Dino said.
Shes Italian,” Elaine pointed out. She wont divorce you.”
The Bianchi family has found a way around that,” Dino said. Remember how Dolce got divorced?”
I didnt know she was married,” Elaine said.
A youthful indiscretion. She married a capo in the Bonnano family when she was nineteen. It lasted less than three weeks, until she caught him in her bed with her maid of honor.”
So she got a divorce?”
Not for some years. When it was inconvenient for her to still be married, the guy turned up in New York dead. Took two in the back of the head, a classic hit.”
Let me get this straight,” Elaine said, turning toward Stone. The girl youre marrying on Monday in Venice had her ex popped?”
Of course not,” Stone said hotly. Thats Dinos theory. In the guys line of work, it was an occupational hazard. Anybody could have had it done.”
Yeah, sure,” Dino said. Funny, it didnt get done until Dolce decided to throw a bag over Stones head and lead him to the altar.”
Stone glanced at his watch. Dolce and Mary Ann are going to be here any minute. I want you to decide what youre going to do, Dino; are you going to stand up for me, or not? And if you are, I dont want to hear another word about Eduardo and his connections. You married into the family, too, remember?”
Yeah, with a bun in the oven and a gun to my head. If I hadnt married her, Id be at the bottom of Sheepshead Bay right now, with a concrete block up my ass.”
You love that girl, Dino,” Elaine said, and the boy, too. You know goddamned well you do.”
Dino looked into his drink and said nothing.
Make up your mind, Dino,” Stone said. He looked up to see Dolce and Mary Ann walk into the restaurant. Theyre here.” He stood up to greet them.
All right, all right,” Dino said. I guess I cant let you go over there by yourself.”
Stone kissed the gorgeous Dolce. She was wearing a cashmere track suit and a huge smile.
Everybody ready?” she asked. The cars at the curb, all the bags are in the trunk.”
Everybodys ready,” Stone said, shooting a warning glance at Dino.
Elaine stood up and kissed everybody. Mazel tov,” she said. Send me a postcard.”
Come with us,” Stone said. Theres room.”
And whod mind the store?” she asked.
Youve got plenty of help here.”
Theyd steal me blind. Go on, get going; send me a postcard from Venice.”
You bet,” Stone said, hugging her.
The foursome left the restaurant. At the curb a spectacular car was waiting.
What is this?” Stone asked, running a finger along the glossy paintwork.
Its a Mercedes Maybach,” Dolce replied. The first one in the country. Papa knows somebody in Stuttgart.”
Papa knows somebody everywhere,” Dino muttered, collecting a sharp elbow in the ribs from Mary Ann.
They piled into the spacious rear seats, facing each other, Pullman style.
Not bad,” Dino admitted, looking around. I dont suppose theres a phone? Ive gotta check in with the cop shop.” Dino ran the detective squad at the nineteenth precinct.
Oh, leave it, Dino,” Stone said. They can get along without you for a week.”
Dolce handed Dino a phone, and he began dialing. Did you pack all my stuff?” Dino asked Mary Ann.
Everythings in the trunk,” she replied. I ironed your boxer shorts, too.” She winked at Dolce. They love it when you iron their underwear.”
Ill remember that,” Dolce laughed.
Gladys,” Dino said into the phone, Im off. Youve got the number in Venice if anything really important comes up, otherwise I dont want to know, got that? Good. Take care.” He hung up. Okay, Im cut loose,” he said to the others. What kind of jet we going in, Dolce? I hate those little ones; this better be a G-Four or better.”
Wait and see,” Dolce said smugly.
They drove onto the tarmac at Atlantic Aviation at Teterboro Airport, across the Hudson in New Jersey, and up to an airplane that dwarfed everything on the ramp.
Holy shit!” Dino said as they got out of the limousine. What the fuck is this?”
Its a BBJ,” Dolce replied, grabbing her jewelry box and cosmetics case from the backseat. The others took their hand luggage from the trunk.
Sounds like a sandwich.”
A Boeing Business Jet, the biggest thing in the corporate skies.”
Hank Esposito, who ran Atlantic Aviation, was at the airplanes stair door to greet them. Youre fueled for maximum range,” he said. You could make it to Tokyo, if you wanted.”
Not a bad idea,” Dino said, boarding the airplane.
Dino . . .” Stone warned.
Esposito helped the chauffeur stow the luggage into a forward area of the interior.
The party stepped into a cabin that looked like the living room of a New York City town house.
Stone was flabbergasted. Wheres the fireplace and the grand piano?” he asked.
An Armani-clad stewardess took their hand luggage and showed them through the airplane. Besides the big cabin, there was a conference room and, behind that, two sleeping cabins, each with its own bathroom.
Dino shook his head. The wages of sin,” he said under his breath, avoiding Stones glance.
As if from a great distance, there was the sound of jet engines revving, and almost imperceptibly, the big airplane began to move.
Two
SOMEWHERE OVER THE ATLANTIC, STONE STIRRED IN his sleep and turned over, bringing his chest against Dolces naked back. He reached over her and cupped a breast in his hand, resting his cheek on the back of her neck. With thumb and forefinger, he lightly caressed the nipple.
At that moment, a chime sounded and the soft voice of the stewardess spoke. Ms. Bianchi, were two hours from our destination. If you and your party would like breakfast, it will be ready in half an hour.”
I think were going to be late for breakfast,” Stone breathed into Dolces ear.
She turned over, put her feet on the floor, and stood up. No, were not,” she said.
You mean youre spurning your intended?”
I mean Ive decided to be a virgin until were married.”
Isnt it a little late for that?”
I can start over whenever I like,” she said, and Ive just started over.”
Shortly, they joined Dino and Mary Ann at the breakfast table. Scrambled eggs and smoked Italian bacon were set before them.
That was the best nights sleep Ive ever had on an airplane,” Dino admitted.
We didnt sleep all that much,” Mary Ann rejoined, poking him in the ribs.
Stone indicated the large moving map at the front of the cabin. Were just crossing the Portuguese coast,” he said. Nice tailwind; were doing over six hundred miles an hour.”
The moving map dissolved, and CNN International appeared on the screen.
Turn that off,” Dolce said to the stewardess. I dont need news for a while.
The stewardess pressed a button, and Vivaldi came softly over hidden speakers. Better?” she asked.
Perfect,” Dolce said. She turned to Stone and the others. I have a little announcement,” she said.
Shoot,” Stone replied.
Papa is giving us the Manhattan town house for a wedding present.”
Stone stopped eating. His fiancée was referring to a double-width brick-and-granite mansion in the East Sixties that Eduardo Bianchi had built. He took Dolces hand. Im sorry, my dear, but I cant accept that. Its very generous of Eduardo, but I already have a house, and well be living there.”
Dont I have any say in where we live?” Dolce asked.
Youve never asked me very much about my background,” Stone said, so its time I told you about my family.”
I know all about that,” Dolce replied.
Only what you read in the report Eduardo had done on me. It doesnt tell you everything.”
So, tell me everything,” she said.
My parents were both from wealthy textile manufacturing families in western Massachusetts, the Stones and the Barringtons; they knew each other from childhood. Neither of them liked the plans their families had made for them. When the crash came in twenty-nine, both families were hit hard, and both had lost their businesses and most of their fortunes by the early thirties.
My parents used this upheaval as an opportunity to get out from under their parents thumbs. My mother left Mount Holyoke, where she was studying art, and my father left Yale, where he was meant to study law, although the only thing he had ever wanted to do was carpentry and woodworking; they married and moved to New York City. My fathers family disowned him, because he had joined the Communist party; my mothers family disowned her, because she had married my father.
They found themselves very broke and living in a Greenwich Village garret. My mother was doing charcoal drawings of tourists in Washington Square for fifty cents a shot, and my father was carrying his toolbox door to door, doing whatever handymans work he could find, for whatever people would pay him. He was about to go off and join the Civilian Conservation Corps, just to stay alive, when a wonderful thing happened.
My mothers aunther mothers sisterand her new husband bought a house in Turtle Bay, and my aunt hired my father to build her husband a library. That job saved their lives, and when it was done, Aunt Mildred and her husband were so pleased with it that they also commissioned my father to design furniture for the house and my mother to paint pictures for some of the rooms. When their friends saw the house, they immediately began offering him other commissions, and before too many years had passed, both my parents had won reputations for their work. I didnt come along for quite a long time, but by the time that accident had occurred, they could afford me.”
Dolce started to speak, but Stone stilled her with a raised hand.
Theres more. Many years later, when Aunt Mildred died, having been preceded by her husband, she left the house to me. I was still a cop then, working with your brother-in-law, and I poured what savings I had into renovating the house, doing a great deal of the work myself, using skills learned in my fathers shop. Finally, after leaving the NYPDby popular requestI was able to earn a good enough living as a lawyer to finish the house. So, you see, the house is not only a part of my family history, it is all I have left of my parents and the work they devoted their lives to. I have no intention of moving out of it, ever. I hope you understand, Dolce.”
Nobody moved. Stone and Dolce stared expressionlessly at each other for a very long moment. Then Dolce smiled and kissed him. I understand,” she said, and I wont bring it up again. Ill be proud to live in your house.”
Ill be happy to explain things to Eduardo,” Stone said.
That wont be necessary,” Dolce replied. Ill explain it to him, and, I promise, hell understand completely.”
Thank you, my dear,” Stone said.
So,” Mary Ann said, changing the subject, whats the plan for Venice?”
Well go directly from the airport to Papas house,” Dolce said. Well have dinner with him tonight; tomorrow, Saturday, the civil ceremony will be held at the town hall, where well be married by the mayor of Venice. Then, on Monday morning, a friend of Papas from the Vatican, a cardinal, will marry us at St. Marks, on the square of the same name. After that, Stone and I will go on a honeymoon, the itinerary of which Ive kept secret even from him, and the rest of you can go to hell.”
Sounds good,” Mary Ann said.
Whos the cardinal?” Dino asked.
Bellini,” Dolce replied.
Doesnt he run the Vatican bank?”
Yes, he does.”
How like Eduardo,” Dino said, to have his daughter married by a priest, a prince of the Church, and an international banker, all wrapped up in one.”
Why two ceremonies?” Stone asked.
Mary Ann spoke up. To nail you, coming and going,” she said, laughing, so you can never be free of her. The two marriages are codependent; the civil ceremony wont be official until the religious ceremony has taken place, and the priestpardon me, the cardinalhas signed the marriage certificate.”
Its the Italian equivalent of a royal wedding,” Dino said. Its done these days only for the very important, and, as we all know, Eduardo . . .” He trailed off when he caught Stones look.
Eat your eggs, Dino,” Mary Ann sighed.
Three
THE GLEAMING MAHOGANY MOTOR LAUNCH, THE Venetian equivalent of a limousine, glided up the Grand Canal in the bright, spring sunshine. Stone looked about him, trying to keep his mouth from dropping open. It was his first visit to the city. The four of them sat in a leather banquette at the stern of the boat, keeping quiet. Nothing they could say could burnish the glories of Venice.
The boat slowed and turned into a smaller canal, and shortly, came to a stop before a flight of stone steps, worn from centuries of footsteps. Two men dressed as gondoliers held the craft still with long boat hooks and helped the women ashore. As they reached the stone jetty, a pair of double doors ahead of them swung open, as if by magic, and Eduardo Bianchi came toward them, his arms outstretched, a smile on his handsome face. He embraced his daughters, shook hands fairly warmly with his son-in-law, then turned to Stone and placed both hands on his shoulders. And my new son,” he said, embracing him.
Very nearly,” Stone said. Its good to see you, Eduardo, and its very kind of you to arrange all this for us. Dolce and I are very grateful.”
Come into the house,” Eduardo said, walking them toward the open doors. You must be exhausted after your flight.”
Not really; its hard to know how we could have been made more comfortable in the air,” Stone said. Once again, our gratitude.”
Eduardo shrugged. A friend insisted,” he said. Your luggage will be taken to your rooms. Would you like to freshen up, girls?”
The girls, dismissed, followed a maid down a hallway.
Come into the garden,” Eduardo said. We will have lunch in a little while, but in the meantime, would you like some refreshment?”
Perhaps some iced tea,” Stone said. Dino remained silent. Eduardo ushered them through French doors into a large, enclosed courtyard, which had been beautifully planted, and showed them to comfortable chairs. Unbidden, a servant appeared with pitchers of iced drinks, and they were served.
First of all, I must clear the air,” Eduardo said. I quite understand that you may be very attached to your own house; I would not impose mine on you.”
Stone was once again astonished at Eduardos apparently extrasensory intuition. Thank you, Eduardo. It was a magnificent offer, but you are quite rightI am very attached to my own house. It is much caught up with my familys history in New York. Fortunately, Dolce has consented to live there.”
She is a smart girl,” Eduardo said, smiling slightly. I would have been disappointed in her, if she had begun her marriage by attempting to move her husband from a home he loves.”
I expect she will find my taste in interior decoration inadequate, and I have steeled myself for the upheaval.”
You are smart, too,” Eduardo said. He turned to his son-in-law. Dino, how goes it among New Yorks finest?”
Still the finest,” Dino replied.
Are you arresting many innocent Italian-American businessmen these days?” Eduardo asked impishly.
There arent many left,” Dino said. Weve already rehoused most of them upstate.”
Eduardo turned back to Stone. Dino disapproves of my familys former colleagues,” he said. But he is an honest policeman, and there are not many of those. Many of his other colleagues have also been rehoused upstate, as he so gracefully puts it. Dino has my respect, even if he will not accept my affection.”
Eduardo,” Dino said, spreading his hands, when I have retired, I will be yours to corrupt.”
Eduardo laughed aloud, something Stone had never heard him do. Dino will always be incorruptible,” Eduardo said. But I still have hopes of his friendship.” Eduardo glanced toward the French doors and stood up.
Stone and Dino stood with him. A tall, thin man with wavy salt-and-pepper hair was approaching. He wore a black blazer with gold buttons, gray silk trousers, and a striped shirt, open at the neck, where an ascot had been tied.
Carmen,” Eduardo said, may I present my son-in-law, Dino Bacchetti.”
To Stones astonishment, Dino bowed his head and kissed the heavy ring on the mans right hand.
And this is my son-in-law-to-be, Stone Barrington.”
The man extended his hand, and Stone shook it. Your Eminence,” he said, how do you do?”
Quite well, thank you, Stone.” Bellini held onto Stones hand and stared into his face. He has good eyes, Eduardo,” he said to Bianchi.
Stone was surprised that the cardinal spoke with an American accent.
My son,” Bellini said to Stone, it is my understanding that you are not a Roman Catholic.”
I am a believer, Your Eminence,” Stone said, but not a registered one.”
Bellini laughed and waved them to their seats. He accepted a fruit juice from the servant, then reached into an inside pocket and took out a thick, white envelope sealed with red wax, and handed it to Eduardo. Here is the necessary dispensation,” he said. The Holy Father sends his greetings and his blessing.”
Thank you, Carmen,” Eduardo said, accepting the envelope.
If Stone understood this transaction correctly, he now had papal approval to marry Dolce. He was embarrassed that the necessity had never occurred to him. Your Eminence, I am surprised that your accent is American. Did you attend university there?”
Yes, and preparatory school and elementary school before that. I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Eduardo and I used to steal fruit together, before the Jesuits got hold of me.” He said something to Eduardo in what seemed to Stone flawless Italian, raising a chuckle. He turned back to Stone. I understand that you are engaged in the practice of law.”
Thats correct.”
If I may torture the scriptures a little, it is probably easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a lawyer to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
I tread as narrow a path as my feet will follow,” Stone replied.
Bellini smiled. I should hate to oppose this young man in court,” he said to Eduardo.
Are you a lawyer, as well?” Stone asked.
I was trained as such at Harvard,” Bellini replied, and my work requires me still to employ those skills from time to timeafter which I immediately visit my confessor. I should hate to die with the practice of law on my soul.”
I understand you also dabble in banking.”
Yes, but there is nothing so pure as money, used properly. I am required to ask you, Stone, if you have ever been married.”
No, Your Eminence; Ive come close, but Ive never been in serious trouble.”
And do you willingly consent to your wifes devout practice of her religion?”
Willingly, Your Eminence. To deny Dolce anything could be dangerous to my health.”
Bellini seemed to try not to laugh, but Dino couldnt help himself.
The women arrived, and they all moved to a table set in the center of the garden, where they feasted on antipasti, a pasta with lobster sauce, and a glittering white wine, served from frosted pitchers. During most of lunch, Eduardo and the cardinal conversed seriously in Italian.
When they got up from the table, Stone sidled over to Dino. What were Eduardo and Bellini talking about at lunch?” he asked.
Not you, pal,” Dino said. They were doing business.” He glanced at his father-in-law to be sure he would not be overheard. Eduardo still doesnt know how much Italian I understand.”
Stone and Dolce took a walk together through the narrow streets of Venice, becoming hopelessly lost. They did a little window shopping and talked happily. Stone tried to find out where they were honeymooning, but Dolce would reveal nothing.
They returned to the palazzo in the late afternoon, ready for a nap. Stone was shown to a suitesitting room and bedroomthat overlooked the Grand Canal. He dozed off to the sounds of motorboats and of water lapping against stone.
He dreamed something that disturbed him, but when he awoke, he couldnt remember what it was. He joined the others for cocktails with a strange sense of foreboding.