“Athena? It’s me-are-are you there?”
Athena didn’t open the door right away. She let the girl on the other side call out two more times and used the pot to bump the door when she feared the girl had moved on.
“Athena?” Mariana Martino’s dark eyes sparkled brilliantly when the door opened. She launched herself against Athena, hugging her tightly and showing no signs of letting go until Athena pulled her arms down from around her neck. When Mariana moved in for a kiss, Athena retreated.
Mariana’s doll-like features twisted into a curious expression on her porcelain face. She appeared more bewildered than suspicious. “Athena? Are you alright?”
“Of course I am, why have you come here?” Athena snapped.
Mariana wasn’t cowed by the agitated display. “The entire village is talking about what happened,” she said.
“Oh?” Her curiosity peaked, Athena stepped aside and waved Mariana in.
Mariana seemed too awed by her surroundings to answer. “They said he was wealthy,” she whispered.
Athena frowned. “Who?”
“Your rescuer.”
Athena scanned her surroundings then too. “He’s not wealthy. Better off than some of the pitiful specimens we know, though. This belonged to his parents. They’re dead.”
“And where is he?”
“Out on business. I’m about to start dinner.”
Mariana nodded, her manner seeming subdued. “Some of the women in the village recognized his name. They say he’s quite handsome.”
Athena turned from the door. “They didn’t exaggerate.”
Mariana’s curiosity gave way to suspicion. “When are you coming home?”
“Not sure.”
The answer brought a shadow to Mariana’s face. “What happened yesterday? I thought you left right after I did.”
Athena went to prep the stove for cooking. She set the pot atop the wood stove and went to gather a few small logs from the basket next to it. “I was going to, but it turned out to be later than I expected. By then...Papa found me.”
“They’re saying that your father discovered the baracca and chased you out in your skin. They-”
“He didn’t discover it,” Athena’s voice was a hiss in reference to the baracca- the shack. She continued to work at the stove. “Someone told him where to find it.”
Panic filled Mariana’s eyes. “Athe-”
“Calm yourself. You’re safe. Not so, for who he found there with me. Dante Borja and Georgano Llama,” she shared after a beat.
Mariana almost choked on her gasp. “Dante and Georg. Athena why would you lie on those men? Those kind of men?”
Athena placed a colander in the deeply tarnished but clean porcelain sink. She added the vegetables for washing. After a moment, she sent her company a sly look. “What makes you think I was lying?”
Mariana was still for several moments before she slowly moved to take a seat at the table. “Athena what have you done?” her small voice carried a knowing tinge.
Athena’s smile was pure devilry as she washed the vegetables. “A better question is what was done to me? First rule of pleasure, Mari, always get more than you-”
“What did you do?!” Mariana demanded.
Athena rounded in a precise pivot. Her expression lashed the girl for having dared to question her. Mariana’s boldness evaporated and she appeared thoroughly censured as she bowed her head thus covering her face with the cloud of hair that wafted in dark ringlets past her shoulders. Athena smiled and turned back to the vegetables.
“How could you, Athe?” her voice had gone soft again. “I thought we were-”
“How could I what?” Athena’s laughter was abrupt. “Have fun? How could I do that, you mean?”
“I thought we were...together?”
Athena’s voice maintained its amused undercurrent. “We were together, Mari. Then you left and I was...together with Dante and Georg.”
“Both?” Mariana stood sharply. “How?”
Athena’s laughter spilled richly into the small kitchen then.
“I thought...” Mariana’s expression seemed more and more horrified. “I thought you didn’t... didn’t want...”
Athena sighed. Leaving her work with the vegetables, she joined Mariana at the table. “I need more than you can give me, Mari. If it makes you feel better, my father doesn’t approve of them any more than he would you. Thanks to me, you were able to leave quietly without being chased out naked with a rifle at your back.”
“But...you didn’t...” Mariana’s expression changed again. “Did you...sleep with them at the same time? Athena?”
Athena studied the invisible pattern she drew into the table. “I wouldn’t say that we slept.”
Mariana’s dark brown eyes filled with tears, but she controlled them before they skimmed her cheeks. Again, she surveyed the house. “What are you doing here?”
