Epilogue

Benito clambered up the stairs in three's, his long legs appreciating the stretch.  As he headed towards his bedroom, he immediately closed the door behind him and headed straight to the safe and putting in the combination, as the door opened with a spring, the green emerald twinkled back at him.  It sat on black velvet in the far end of the safe, the greenest of the green sitting on a thin band of gold, it was his mothers and his mother's mother before that and in his heart, he wanted Lenny to have it.  He loved her, he couldn't think of anyone else who deserved it more.  He pulled the ring out, such a delicate stone as he looked at it, the sun shine making it twinkle and sparkle, he sighed thinking of the words to say... when the door opened and he spun around to see her hand on the door handle and Lenny leaning against the doorjamb.

Benito was on his knees and in his fingers he held a ring.  She could see how beautiful it was, from where she was standing.  The light from outside touched it and it glowed with colour, making the green more pronounced.  His eyes were soft and there was a warmth to them, she had only seen when she had caught him staring at her.  He was on his feet before she could bat an eyelid, closing the distance between them. The ring disappeared and she felt his fingers touch the fringe of her hair, he was looking at her with new emotion, emotion she knew, that he needn't explain.  It was strange, she seemed to know these things with a mere feeling, a sense of touch, either that or she was completely infatuated with this man. He had saved her and he'd been there, even if she didn't know it herself at the beginning.  She had been rescued and how on earth was she going to tell him, she-

"There's something that I have to tell you Lenora and I had hoped to tell you in Siena," he began, his eyes never leaving her face.

"What is it?" she said, with a hint of panic in her voice.

She watched as he went down on one knee and everything she wanted to say, escaped her.  He was proposing to her. She could do nothing but gawp at him, very un-princess like but to hell with her title, she stood here as a woman and he stood there as a man, who wanted to spend his life with her.

"Why Siena?" she rambled.

"Because Siena is beautiful and I know you would like it, but as you have indeed caught me red handed, we shall see it another time, perhaps.  I have asked your grandfather for your hand in marriage and Lenny, it would be the greatest honour if you would be my wife?" His eyes locked on to hers.

"Is that it?" she said, "Is that all you needed to say?" She pulled away and saw his features cloud over and still he didn't get it.  She turned away slowly and left the room.

Benito was on his feet and was after her, she was already on the ground floor and her back was to him, biting her finger nails as she stared outside the window, before he got any closer to her, she spoke out, her voice melancholy, "Marriage is great, but without a key ingredient... it's meaningless... just a piece of paper... I know I should be happy now, smiling from ear to ear but somehow I feel, I don't know... lost."

Benito turned her towards him, cupping her face with his hand, "Lenny look at me," her eyes stole away from his and he shrugged, "I love you, I have loved you probably since the first time I was told to watch out for you... and in my head, I don't know... I just wanted to be with you... we don't have to get married, if you don't want to-" He didn't get to finish what he wanted to say as she lunged into his arms and hugged him.

"Of course I want to marry you, I just wanted to hear you say you love me first because I love you so much, love you, love you, love you," splattering kisses all over his face.

"Wait a minute beautiful," he grinned, "I haven't done the most important thing yet,"

"What's that?" she drew back at inch

"Put a ring on it," he smiled, slipping the precious emerald onto her finger.

***

"Benito and Lenora were wed in the cathedral where all the previous generations of the Italian monarchy had wed, it was a lavish affair, covered by all the press around the world.  Lenora wore a specially made Vera Wang dress, encrusted with Swarovski crystals and  yards upon yards of silk and Benito had dressed in his military uniform and now they were husband and wife.  To them, it was just a fusion of their love and the joining of their lives, but it indeed is much, much more"  Albert said, smiling as he read the caption from the newspaper, as he sat in his Vintage bookshop, "My sweet Lenny, you are a Princess afterall."

Principessa: Planned Action

It was quite some time later when Ben woke up, his eyes immediately focusing on the still body beside him. The blanket was draped over her elegant back and her hair strewn across the pillows, her eyes were closed as he had made love to her three times during the course of the day or days, he couldn't quite remember. He'd been lost in her, bewildered and he knew that indescribable feeling in the pit of his stomach was. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, she was beautiful to look at and he felt himself yearning to hold her and to never let her go. The thought of letting her go and for her to start her duties and obligations as a Principessa were crawling their way back to the front line.  The thought had been edged back to the very bottom of his mind space, he had immersed himself deep into this fantasy world with her in it, he was grappling at straws now, leaving her and letting her go was something all too frightening for any man who had to leave his woman behind. 

He got out of bed quietly, not to wake her up, grabbing a pair of cotton bottoms and strode downstairs. He put on the kettle and paced up and down the length of the living room. His hair was a mess but he knew what he wanted and there was nothing and no one who was going to stand in his way. He picked up his mobile phone and dialled the Palace's number, informing the receptionist who he was and that she divert him to the King.

***

It was a slobber of a dog that woke Lenny up from a for filling sleep. She sat up slightly and Ugo the dog decided to jump on her at that moment.  She laughed out loud, languishing at the contact.

"You bad bad dog," she said playfully, tickling his ears, "I was having such a beautiful dream where I was just about to..." she paused and smiled, "Never mind."

Lenny got up and looked around the serene room, Benito was no where in sight. She walked to the adjacent bathroom and had a quick shower. Blow dried her hair and slipped into a flowery dress and sandals. She spritzed on some perfume and didn't bother applying any make-up, as she had found out it would come off her face from the constant heat, leaving her face drier. She put on some moisturiser instead and headed downstairs. Ugo followed behind her. He was no where in sight, odd she thought. She called out his name, but there was no response. She headed into the kitchen and so, Ugo followed.

"Do you want something to eat honey pie?" she said to the dog and watched as he went up on his hind legs to agree, "Aren't you a cutie, well, what does Benito give you... I'm sure there is something special for you to munch on... ah-huh, found it." She filled his bowl up with scrunchy treats and also filled a bowl of cold water for him and laid it down in the corner away from the stove, "Buon appetito, my love," she said as she patted his head. She watched endeared, as he munched on and she headed back to the stove to start breakfast.

Lenny was about to take out a frying pan from the cupboard when Benito strided through the door from the garden, holding a mobile phone. He was shirtless and was only wearing his cotton bottoms. Lenny froze, clutching the frying pan for dear life, she couldn't keep her gaze from him. He walked over to her and took her in his arms and kissed her with such passion, there was going to be an awful bang.

"Hello Lenny," he whispered, "Sleep well?" Lenny nodded. "I was thinking of taking you to see Siena, it's a bit urban but a joy to see and it'll be nice to see something other then the confines of this place- I'll just get changed and we'll be on our way. Are you okay to wait for an hour or so before we get brunch?"

"That's fine... " smiled Lenny, "I'll just be here, for you."

Benito smiled, "I'd like that, thanks." And disappeared upstairs.



Principessa: Decode

She was aware she had been chewing his ear off with mindless chatter about a number of things from articles she had read about Tuscany and the surrounding towns and the things she was looking forward to seeing, tasting and most for being herself and not a Princess. She'd noticed Ben had grown quiet beside her and from the corner of her eye, she could see him looking at her, looking at her in a different way... not the way, a passerby would stare at a traffic accident. She stopped abruptly in her tracks and turned towards him, the light Summer breeze dancing with the loose strands of her hair, flicking them out of the way, she looked at him,

"Why are you staring at me like that?" it came so suddenly, she didn't have time to take them back.

He carried on looking at her, which made her feel a little uneasy... he had mentioned earlier in the day, that she was beautiful and that had made her blush but everyone said stuff like that, it probably didn't mean anything. Suddenly, she could feel his fingers tilting her chin towards him and his lips coming on hers. She closed her eyes, lost in the frisson of passion, of love... no, she shan't even cross that line. Those two things were completely separate. She mustn't by all means, get her knickers in a twist and think that there really could be a chance for love, but then, why would her grandfather send her away with him for a couple of days, did he have some sort of master plan up his sleeves? She had found out that Benito had been there all along, whilst she'd been in London. She had always felt that someone was watching her, but never even felt it threatening. No, she simply shouldn't think that he even wants her here... this was strictly his duty... and this... what was it?

Ben's hands were in her hair, drawing the kiss deeper in the depths of passion and she felt exhilarated, the kiss was gentle to begin with but settled on such urgency, she couldn't help but pull him into her. Oh god, let there be more she said to herself. No... she pulled away... she could see the glassy expression of surprise written in his eyes,

"What do you want from me?" she heard herself ask, touching her swollen lips, "What is it, that you think I can give you?"

"All I want is you... I want to make love to you, with you... in my bed Lenny," he replied back.

What could she say? This man standing in front of her with his dog running circles around them. What could she say... should she even go there? But they had been there, back at the palace but somehow, this felt much different, as if they were threading on very thin ice. Somehow, she didn't even hear it at first... or maybe she refused to hear it, but she must have said yes, because he was kissing her again, as if his life depended on it.

***

He led her back to the Villa, the glow of sunshine washing over the glass giving it a crystal glimmer. Lenny was amazed at how beautiful the effect of the simplicity of the sun made everything in Tuscany look so dazzling. The sun in London never had that effect, of course, she was always happy to see the sunshine in London, because they hardly ever got sunshine but even when it was there... it definitely made everyone a little bit more optimistic, here in beautiful Tuscany, it made everything glow including the people standing in it. She could feel her heart beating strongly and as she sighed quietly, she could feel Benito's hand in hers, his hold on her strong and masculine. He led her up the stairs and towards a bedroom.

She watched Benito open the veneer exterior door to the bedroom where a four poster king sized bed stood proudly against one of the walls and a marble fire place stood opposite it. There was an en suite bathroom adjoining the master bedroom and a walk in closet behind the door. This place was definitely something. Her eyes locked on a guitar near the window.

"You play the guitar?" she asked without thinking.

"Yes sometimes," he smiled.

"Will you play me something?" she asked.

"What would you like me to play?" he said, letting go of her hand and turning towards her.

"I don't know, anything,"

"Take a seat," he said softly, retrieving his guitar from the window. He watched her take a seat on the edge of his bed and watched patiently, as he sat on the other side of the bed and began strumming a melody.

She watched him zone out, he started strumming the strings and humming lightly to an unfamiliar melody... it sounded beautiful and strangely erotic. It gave her goosebumps, made her throat dry, wow, he was so talented. She was immersed in his musical ability, the strings, the sound... everything was so full of passion, she couldn't see life without it. Could she see life without him? She didn't want to start thinking like that again, overly thinking just brought you to a place of now and no where and she wasn't prepared to even go there. She hadn't realised he had stopped playing and was staring intently at her.

"Are you okay Lenny?"

She had been focusing on the corner of the room for quite some time, before she came back to reality and to his question, "Yeah, fine... you? You play the guitar so well."

He looked at her curiously, "Is something troubling you?"

"No, your music was just wonderful... I was just kinda thinking... how you know... how long you've been playing that's all,"

"I've been playing on and off for a few years,"

"A few years? But you play like you've been playing forever," she commented.

"You are very observant Lenny... well, I got into the guitar because living in Tuscany, we don't really have much to offer in terms of entertainment. See, everything is found in the cities of Rome and Naples but here, in the hills... we had to find something to amuse ourselves. Music was the only outlet, a place where I could grow and consistently continue to... you are staring at me now," Benito laughed, "I wonder why?"

"I'm just... constantly surprised, that's all... your talent is endless..."

"I'm nothing special Lenny, I am just a normal Italian man..."

"But you see, you're not... you're so much more... you're special... "

"Special... in your eyes... but I'm not, I'm merely average..."

"Average? No... I won't allow you to think that... not on my guard," the passion was written all over her words, she crawled on all fours and rushed to him, grabbing him and kissing him, until he couldn't breathe anymore. He kissed her back... and rolled her gently on the bed... he was definitely going to show her, how beautiful she was... and how she made him feel.

Principessa: Tuscan Hills

Ben watched the road, he'd taken a side lane, a route that was all too familiar to him.

The sun was just about rising from behind the Tuscan hills before him, edging towards the vast open blue sky. He looked at the passenger in the seat beside him. A tendril of her hair swept across her face and her pale lips were slightly a jar and he could faintly hear her breathing. He was glad to be nearing his villa, he couldn't wait for his creature comforts, his armchair and the familiar sounds of the villa creaking, to Ugo, his Italian Segugio who he had with him since he was a puppy, but he was most glad to see the Tuscan hills and the now subdued fog. This was home and he couldn't wait to embrace it with open arms. His villa was in sight, perched on the rounded green mound surrounded idyllically by Cypress trees and green shrubbery. "Home at last," he said to himself, "Home at last."

Lenny prised her eyes open and she jolted back in the bed, as a pair of chocolate brown eyes stared back at her. It was a dog looking at her with such intensity, she hadn't expected it.

She smiled at it, "You scared me half to death there love... what are you doing, being my watch dog?" she laughed as she stroked it, "You are ever so beautiful aren't you? Yes, I think you know that... but I won't tell."

"Yes, she is," came the voice and Lenny looked up to see Ben grinning as he leaned against the door frame, he had changed, he was certainly refreshed and looking so at home. She steered her gaze back at the dog.

"Yes, she definitely is beautiful," Lenny said to fill in the silence, as she stroked the dog. She was nervous, which surprised her, she'd spent countless times with Ben before, how could she be feeling like this all of a sudden.

"Except she isn't a she, she's a he," Ben folded his arms.

Lenny looked up at him and pointed at the dog, who had now crawled into her lap, "She's a he... but you said..."

"I was talking about you," Ben interjected.

Lenny could feel herself go a deep shade of red, she told herself repeatedly to stop it but she felt herself go even darker.

"I think he quite likes his current spot, would you like me to bring up lunch to you?" Ben said, half turning towards the landing.

"No... no, I will take it in the kitchen, if that is okay?" Lenny said stammering.

"Certainly, if you want to follow me... or change, it's up to you," Ben said.

"I'll follow you and change later," she replied.

***

When she followed Benito down the stairs, her eyes soaked in the architecture of the villa... though the frame was cast in old fashion Tuscan Villa decor, the large glass panelled roof provided a lot of light and gave the area a lift, down below she could see a fire place and what looked like a comfy brown leather armchair and a corner couch of the same colour, an ornate mahogany coffee table in the middle. It was one large spacious room, split into various areas. The breakfast bar separated the area between the living room and the kitchen.

"This place is beautiful," Lenny said.

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled to himself, "What would you like to eat? I took the liberty of making you a bacon butty... typical English comfort food, right?"

"How thoughtful, no, that would be great," Leona beamed at him. He smiled back.

"Hey Ben, as we're here together... I just wanted to say... well, I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour towards you yesterday... I came across as a spoilt brat...." Lenny began.

Ben put his hand up, "You don't need to apologise... Lenny, let's just forget about it, okay?"

Lenny nodded, "Okay, sure... thanks... so, how long have you lived here?"

"I brought this when it was a lot smaller and over the years, made a few changes here and there... but more or less coming up to ten years," he replied.

"It's so beautiful, I just can't stop staring at it," Lenny said, diving into her Bacon Butty, "This is soooo good," she said with a mouthful of food.

He smiled, drinking an espresso, "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, tired... I don't know what's come over me so suddenly... it's like I haven't had a proper rest in ages."

"It's been pretty crazy the last couple of days for you, with finding out the truth about your parents... it would drive anyone to feel stressed out. We'll rest out here for a couple of days and then take in some sight seeing later on this week," Ben said setting the espresso cup onto the table. He watched Lenny devour the Bacon Butty with such hunger, you'd think she hadn't eaten in days. Ugo, was watching her with brown steely eyes, he watched her feed bits of bacon to his dog and watched Ugo lick her fingers. As if, caught red handed, Lenny looked up, "Was I not supposed to be feeding your dog?"

He smiled, "Ugo's supposed to be on a special diet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." she said looking down at Ugo and ruffling his ears.

"You're probably going to be his new best friend, now that you've fed him something meaty. Do you fancy going for a walk just around the hills?" Ben said, "If you're feeling a bit tired, we can put off?"

"No, a walk sounds good. I've been cooped up for so long, I could do with a walk," Lenny smiled.

***

They walked for twenty minutes up and down the Tuscan Hills, he listened to her talking and it reminded him of the walks they'd taken in the Palace Gardens, which seemed like a long time ago. Even though she said she was tired, he could see the twinkle back in her eyes and the tone of excited pleasure in the way she spoke. It was so easy being with her this way, without obligation, without restraints.

She stopped walking and looked at him, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He couldn't help himself, he tilted her chin up and leaned forward, clasping his lips onto hers. She tasted like honey and that drove him crazy. With the back drop of the Tuscan Hills and the sun over head, what more could he ask for? What more could she want?

Principessa: The Truth & It's Troubles

Lenny picked up the phone and whispered a hello into the mouth piece. She heard the frantic voice of her grandmother on the other end, asking her if she was okay and if she had been hurt at all. Lenny hadn't known what Benito had said to them, but she wanted to reassure them for fear of them worrying about her. There was one thing that had been plaguing her, since she had returned to the Palace and that was the mystery of her parents death.

"Grand mama, what happened to my parents?" she said bravely.

There was silence on the other end and the sound of a phone being passed around, the next voice she heard was her grandfather.

"Lenora, I had hoped we would have been sitting face to face when I tell you this but of course, with obligations, this is probably not the best of circumstances, so I will begin from the beginning. I hope you have a comfortable place to sit, because we can be here a while," his Imperial began, "What do you know of your parents Lenora?"

"I was told my parents died, therefore being in foster care ever since I could remember," Lenora said on a breathe.

"Your parents did not die, not immediately... the thing is, it is hard to explain on the telephone but your parents were not who you perceived them to be, they did justice to this country but unfortunately they suffered a great injustice in their personal lives. Your mother, my daughter was Princess Clarissa De Luca and she had fallen in love with a man, who was a suspect in a case... we thought he did dealings on the Black market etc, those dealings I will not get into right this minute but it turns out, we had gotten our wires crossed, the man she had fallen in love with was a half of one... he had a twin brother, that twin brother had killed them out of jealousy, rage and we have searched for so long... and now we have found him, together with the evidence we need to put him in a cell," his Imperial said.

"But how... how come I lived?" Lenora said without thinking.

"Your mother found out about what her husband's brother was doing and begged him not to hurt you, he sold you off on the Black Market and you somehow ended up in London to parents that loved you, but they tragically died in a car accident.... we finally tracked you down, after I asked Benito to watch you for some months, make sure you were out of harms way... and then asked him to take you here to us, have you home," his Imperial said on a sigh.

"Right and Benito... how long was he watching me for?" Lenny asked.

"Several months," his Imperial replied.

"So I was being stalked, is that it?" Lenny said fury in her tone.

"No, I wouldn't call it being stalked, he was simply a guardian- to watch over you. You are our long lost jewel in the crown, we had to protect you... you are our link to what was taken away from us," he said with grief in this tone, "I'm just sad that you had to find out this way... that your life has started on such bad ground that we hope you stay here and stay with us."

"I don't know what to think anymore... I just want to not be here..." Lenny began and her grandfather spoke softly, interrupting her.

"Perhaps you should see more of Italy, perhaps it will convince you to stay... that what we have, will fill the void you are so experiencing and enlighten you of the ways of our great nation," he said pressingly.

"I... I don't..."

"Please Lenora, please do this one thing for me and your grandmother," his Imperial pleaded.

"I guess, I'm just going to have to... won't I?" she sighed.

"Thank you, that is all I ask..." and his Imperial smiled into the phone.

***

He found her sitting by the fountain, staring blankly at the ripples of the water the fish were making as they went up for air. He had been watching her from his bedroom window for fifteen minutes, she had looked so sombre, even Isabella her maid in waiting had mentioned the difference in her. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone since the conversation to her grandfather, the Imperial over the phone and he wondered what they had spoken about. He didn't have to wonder long because his phone had started ringing and the Imperial wanted one last thing from him, before he released him of his duties, that he take Lenora to Tuscany and the surrounding cities. He made it a rule, never to bring business home, but then he'd long broke that rule when he'd made love to the Princess. His gut was tied up in knots, every time he saw her, he had to calm himself down, this was so unknown to him, this feeling.

The Imperial had told him that Lenora wanted to leave Italy and return to her life in London, but he refused to let it end up that way. That acknowledgement made Benito's heart jump into his mouth but the Imperial was adamant that Lenora see what Italy had to offer and he refused to let her go, not without a fight and that was what he wanted of Benito. He wanted him to take her to Italy and show her around Tuscany and it surrounding cities. He wanted him to take her away from the craziness of the last couple of weeks, the last few years of grief... he was putting all of his hard earned searching of his grand daughter and was putting it into the hands of this one man. Benito was far from wanting to disclose to the Imperial that he had seduced and made love to his grand daughter- that information was between him and Lenora and there was just no way, it was going to be made public to him.

He approached her, his hands in his stone linen trousers, his hair tousled and his eyes never leaving her face which was partly in shadow now, as the sun had disappeared behind the Palace building.

"We need to talk," he said simply.

She didn't look up at all but replied sullenly, "What orders has my grandfather given you now... seduce the Princess and make love to her and perhaps leave her in the morning, for her to make up and realise there's a million other things she should be more worried about, like the fact that her past is even more inconceivable then she thought it was?"

"Lenny, that was my un-intention..." he began but he was rudely interrupted.

"Please spare me your lies... I don't want to hear your explanation... everything I thought, everything I believed in was a lie... I've had it up to here with lies..." she said.

"I did not lie to you... yes, of course your grandfather asked me to come out of retirement for my help in getting you here... but this... us..."

She stood up and looked at him sternly, "What part of, I don't want to hear it, did you not understand?"

"Fine, we might not talk about this now... but we will when we get to my Tuscan villa," he said.

"No, I'm not going anywhere with you..." Lenny said with alarm.

"Actually, you are.... you gave your grandfather your word... so I suggest you go up to your room and pack what ever you need, because we'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

"I'm not happy about this..." she said stamping away.

"And at this rate, neither am I!" he said to himself.