Rosa looked ready to breathe fire. "What a shameless little fox! My lady, say the word and I'll drag her out of here. She can't even find the right house to grovel at, and here she is running her filthy mouth." Her right hand had already drifted to her hip, fingers pressing against the shape beneath her coat.
I motioned for Rosa to pull the window shade aside fully. My face, half-veiled behind gauze, appeared before the onlookers.
I stepped down from the sedan, slow and deliberate, and came to a stop before her on the compound's flagstone drive. Nana Agata took one look at the veil covering my face and let a sneer curl across her lips. "So that's why the lady of the house won't let our mistress through the door. Afraid that once a younger beauty moves in, she'll steal whatever affection the heir has left for you."
"You are a few years older than our mistress, after all. Men prefer a pretty young thing in their bed. That's just the way of the world. Every household has its share of wives and women on the side. Why cling so stubbornly to something you've already lost?"