Authors note: Happy 2018, everyone. Thank you, everyone, for the positive feedback and comments they mean the world to me and have brightened my days. I'm back at work so the writing is slower but hopefully, I will continue to have one chapter a week for you this year as well. Thank you once again to Paul who continues to be my second set of eyes. ~ellie.
Cat arrived at the hospital building of the compound that made up the Battaglia family headquarters in the middle of the night. Marcus had taken her to meet Bruno Battaglia in a small admissions office near the open foyer area. Confused, she sat quietly as she was introduced and the giant leader of the family surveyed her silently for long minutes before his deep rumbling voice sounded to fill the small room.
"Good evening, Catriona, I trust your flight was smooth?" he asked cordially.
"Yes, thank you," she responded politely, aware of Marcus hovering slightly behind the chair in which she sat.
"Sit down, Marcus, you are bothering our guest hovering behind her like the angel of doom," Bruno grumbled before turning his attention back to the young woman. "When a table sends us a young woman, for whatever reason, they are usually fairly specific about the trial they would like them to endure. In your case, however, your trial has been set by the thirteenth Table. Do you understand who that is and why that may have occurred?"
"No, not really, but I understand that the Vitali have many family laws and traditions that I need to learn more about before they will give their blessing to my accepting Matteo's proposal," she said honestly.
"It is rare that an outsider is in a position such as yours, there has been only one other case in recent years, and she, too, came here to undergo a trial. That trial was interrupted prematurely, and we have put several precautions in place to ensure your safety with us. Having said that, this is not a prison, and while Marcus and his brothers will shadow your movements you will be free to leave at any time if you feel the trial is beyond your capabilities," he explained. "The shadows are a necessary evil for a woman in your position, I am afraid."
"What do you mean, a woman in my position?" Cat tilted her head.
"Each of the twelve tables is populated by twelve men directly descended from an original member of the thirteenth table, which is made up of the leaders of each of the twelve," he paused to make sure she was following him and saw her nod. "The twelve men protect and enable their families to flourish financially, socially, and privately, but the real power behind each table is the mother of the family who binds them all together. It is not only a position of great power, but also honour and respect. I believe you know Theresa Vitali and Peri Donati?" he asked.
"I know Peri Donati quite well, but I have only met Theresa twice and have not spent any quality time with her," she admitted. "Peri was an outsider and sent here. I know she almost died at the hands of Josh's sister here. I am not concerned that will happen to me, I am not in the same league as Peri Donati."
"The Vitali's believe you might be," Bruno smiled as she registered his words. "And as there is a high possibility that Matteo will sit in the chair of the next Vitali table, which would mean that should you marry him you will become a mother to a vast family and private empire, that is why the thirteenth are involved in the requirements of your trial."
"I didn't know, in all the different things I have been told about the tables that was not one of them!" Cat gasped.
"It is not well known, even amongst the members of the family who see only women stuck in the more traditional role of raising children and supporting their husbands. This is quite far from the truth, and the expectation on the wives of the men of the table grows every year, but none more so than the mother. It is rarely spoken about or even understood that it is she who holds the most power within the family."
"I see, and the thirteenth has dictated the trial I will undergo?" she asked.
"They have," he confirmed. "Given your past, it was agreed that you would come in as a recruited girl who has no links to any family. You will begin your stay with us by undergoing a thorough medical and mental examination. From there it will be decided what form your trial will take, as it is with any recruited girl who is escaping an unsavoury past. You will have the option of choosing an alias for yourself, or we can assign you one."
"If I choose to leave rather than complete the trial decided for me?" she asked, thinking about what he was saying.
"Then Matteo will be forced to make a choice, you or his family," Bruno said without pulling any punches.
"I thought you said I wouldn't be a prisoner?" she gasped, dismayed by the answer.
"There are no locks on the doors, you can leave whenever you like," he spread his hands as if that was plain to see, but he knew what she meant. "It is what it is, and, since you came willingly, I am assuming this makes little difference to your reasons for being here in the first place. Now, would you like to choose a name before Marcus shows you to the room assigned to you while you undergo the health and well-being elements of your trial?"
"Jane Bennet," she said after some thought.
"A classic, nice," Bruno accepted the name and wrote it on the file in his hands. "Your backstory is a woman who was pimped out to her abusive boyfriend's friends. The other girls and the trainers will accept that and encourage you to do well here." He nodded and closed the file, handing it to Marcus.
"Only Marcus and Nero will know who you are and your relationship to the Vitali Family. Everybody else you come across will treat you as if you are a recruit here for training. Marcus will show you to your room and introduce you to Nero in the morning," he said in a commanding tone. "Welcome, and good luck, Miss Bennet."
*****
After being raced to the hospital in a police car, Matteo and Ricco stepped into the intensive care room where Stefano lay looking wide awake, but his skin was ashy, and he seemed to be labouring to breathe. He reached out and gripped their hands as the two younger men went to stand on either side of his bed.
"Catriona has accepted her trial?" Stefano asked in a raspy voice.
"Yes, she left for the Battaglia facility tonight with Marcus," Matteo answered.
