Lucilla--NaNoWriMo2014

Chapter Fourteen

Lucilla trailed behind Mark toward Cetraro for hours.  All along the way, Mark looked too furious to speak.  Lucilla knew he was angry, and she did not know if he would ever speak to her again.

What Mark thought he was seeing Lucilla do was true.  She had slept with the soldiers in the Canteena. She understood that Mark might be putting distance between them in the army base for one reason.  To get ahead of the sultry reputation that she had established.  After all, the wife of a couple traveling on bicycles was screwing soldiers at military bases.  it was a risk she took when she stood with her bicycle on the road leading to the military base.

The truck had stopped for her, and friendly Italian faces smiled at her.  She well knew what happen between her and some of the soldiers.

It did.

What Mark needed to understand was why she had slept with three Italian army sergeants.

She was dying to tell him why because she still loved Mark more than her own life.  It wasn't that she could not get Mark to sleep with her--although she wanted him more and more with each day that passed.

On and on they rode toward Cetraro.  Mile after mile.  Still Mark said nothing to Lucilla.

Somehow Lucilla would have to make things right again between her and Mark.  He had been such a gentleman toward her, and now she had behaved like a whore in front of him.  He would be the laughing stock up and down the coast of Italy.  With luck people would forget it, and things would become normal.

At last they reached Ceraro. It was a proper small town instead of a village along the coast of Italy.  There was a Hotel Vesuvius, where Mark motioned for Lucilla to park her bicycle and accompany him to the hotel registration.

"We need a room for Signore and Signore Carabeta for a night or two."  He turned to Lucilla and handed her the room key.  He truned toward the hotel clerk again.  "Will you please secure the bicycles out front for the night?"  With that request, he handed him twenty Lire.

The clerk thanked him while Mark picked up his panniers and motioned for Lucila to follow him up the stairs to their hotel room.  Once in the room, he dug into his pannier and pulled out his suit and dress shoes.  Pulled on a cord for Room Service.

In a few minutes, the clerk wasknocking on their room door.

"Please have this suit pressed for me in an hour, and my wife has something she needs to give you.  We will need this in order to dine out tonight at Ristorante Garabaldi tonight."

Lucilla was silent as she moved with care around Mark in order to give her dress to the hotel clerk.

Mark sat down in an overstuffed chair and picked up a book.  He said nothing but read until the clerk delivered their clothes.  Mark then handed Lucilla's dress to her while he himself dressed.

Nothing was said between them as they left the room.  Mark locked the door and put the room key in his pocket.  Lucilla wore a fashionable dress with matching hat, belt, and low-heel shoes.  They carried their passports and other papers with them in event that the police visited the restaurant at random.  To be without papers meant unnecessary delay and perhaps a night in jail just to teach them a lesson to keep important documents in wartime.

The Matre De greeted them at Ristorante Garabaldi and took them to a table with lit candles and matching table cloths.  The placemat, knives, forks, spoons, napkins, wine glasses, water glasses, and coffee cups were in place.

It was only after the waiter in a white dinner jacket showed up with complementary wine that Mark spoke up.

"Pheasant under glass, with baked potato and steamed vegetables."  Then he looked at Lucilla.  "What will you have, Helena?"

Lucilla's heart leaped.  Mark did acknowledge her existence.  At last.  She looked over the restaurant menu and ordered a fliet mignon with the same vegetables as Mark.

The waiter poured their wine for them and indicated for Mark to sample the wine first, as was the Old World Custom.  Then Mark raised his glass to Lucilla.

Startled that Mark would make such a gesture toward her after what had happened that day, Lucilla hesitated but was slow to raise hers to meet his raised glass.

They both drank together.  Then Mark began with some small talk.  How was the bicycle riding and was it hurting her backside?  Did she think that it would rain soon?  He went out of his way to avoid all reference to Lucilla's sex with the Italian soldiers.  At last Lucilla could not take Mark's tactics any longer.

"Ask, me, won't you?"

"What?"

"About today."  Lucilla was in tears by then.

"Okay, I will ask it."  Lucilla's heart was crushed by what she saw.  The corners of Mark's eyes revealed tears.  "Why, Lu, Helena? Why?"

"Remember?"  Lucilla leaned forward.  "Mission first? I did a lot of slutty things today, but it was about fulfilling our mission.  Not about my being in heat."

"You mean you did what you did because you thought this was the only way that you could get on the base."

"Yes."

Mark was not overjoyed that Lucilla banged three soldiers in the interest of gathering Military Intelligence.  But he was a bit more cheerful as the food was served.

"Don't you love the food here, Helena?"  For the first time that day Mark smiled.

"Oh, yes, Giuseppe!"  Lucilla smiled and drank her wine.

Back at their hotel room Lucilla said in a low voice, "Mark, the truck picked me up, and I promised three sergeants that I would make it worth their while if I could just see a military base.  After all, soldiers were irresistable in their smart uniforms.  And they had such maginificent equipment."

"Go on, Lucy."

"They gave me a tour of the whole installation.  They have twenty artillery pieces that can fire some thirty miles into the channel between Italy and Sicily.  They have some three to five machine guns and a brigade of soldiers (six hundred or so) guarding the artillery.  They have another fifteen anti-aircraft guns guarding about thirty fighter planes."

"If a Task Force of Allied ships passes through the straits between Sicily and Italy, they will face underwater mine fields on the Sicilian side and near the Italian shore.  Ships will be forces to find a passage between mine fields that will bring them withing range of the field artillery.  They are in perfect position to blow our fleet out of the water.  The airplanes can then bomb or stafe the remaining ships that are scattered or who escape through the straits.  So this base must be effectively neurtalized before we can hope to invade Italy."

"Good, work, Lucy. We will pass this critical information to army headquarters in Algiers."  Mark then added,  "I saw a newspaper with the headlines that say that the Aliies just invaded Sicily."

"Are you satisfied with the information that I just brought you, Mark?"

Mark made Lucilla uncomforatble again.  "Yes, but I can't have my wife fucking the enemy all up and down the coast of italy just to gain military intelligence."

"Oh, Mark!"  Lucilla's heart began to pound again with delight.  "You do care about me, don't you?"

Lucilla then walked over to Mark and stood him up. She gave him a loving hug and a passionate kiss.

"Mark, I love you so much.  I am truely sorry that I acted like a whore today."  She kissed him again.  "You do love me, don't you, Mark?"

Mark held Lucilla tighter.  "I thought that I'd never say this.  But I do love you, Lucy.  So much and would do anything to keep you safe."

Lucilla and Mark did not make love that night.

Rather they lay in bed sharing soft kisses and declaring their love for each other.

Lucilla lay on Mark's chest as the slept during the night while as he slept with his arms around her.