Chapter 3

"Josephine?"

A soft voice called from behind her but the humming of sea waves slightly drowned it out.

If she leapt right off the cliff to her doom, it would all be over and she'd finally be free from all this madness; Luca Torello was supposed to die that night after all. There was some rustling behind her and Josephine instinctively turned, knuckles squared at the supposed assailant. To her surprise, she recognised the man in white from the debacle in the kitchen. She tried to back away from him but soon realized there was a cliff behind her and stopped.

"Josephine, please come back with me. A lady such as yourself shouldn't be out so late and the ball will be starting any minute now,"

Josephine shook her head. Was he crazy? That wicked witch from earlier nearly flogged her unconscious. And he wanted her to return to that house?

"I am no lady. I know it might sound weird but listen you fool; I am Luca Torello and I am from the future," Josephine grabbed the collars of the old fellow and shouted her nonsense at him.

The man only blinked in confusion as he had never seen her face twisted into such a rowdy unladylike fashion before. He was beginning to believe that she was indeed possessed.

"I might just be a humble chef, but I believe the lack of consecutive suppers has finally taken your sensibilities away, Lady Josephine." He placed her hands by her sides and threw a shawl over her shoulders. "We must return home at once, Lady Josephine. Just yesterday, you told me how much you looked forward to the ball and you wouldn't want to miss it. Now, suddenly, you don't seem interested,"

Josephine rolled her eyes irritably; if she wasn't freezing to death, she would push the man and his shawl right off the cliff. Maybe she should go with him after all.

"No, I'm not going." Josephine's senses returned and she stepped away from him. Why was she conforming to this man's wishes? She may be stuck in the body of Josephine Lorenzo but she was still at heart, Don Torello; she obeyed no man and (definitely) no woman.

The man sighed. "So, what's the plan?"

Josephine cocked her head. "The plan?"

"Since you won't return, where else do you plan to go?" He added walking towards an opening in the forest that rested thickly around them. Josephine was left speechless. He was right; she quite literally had nowhere else to go. Because she didn't even know where exactly she was.

Sighing, she surrendered. "Fine, hurry up and show me the way back." She lifted the blanket off her body and threw it back at the man. She needed no charity, no pity. That is how Luca Torello was raised.

The silence ate away at Josephines peace as the man noiselessly pushed through the forest, making sure to keep a wide enough path for her small body to pass through. Josephine hated this; being treated like a woman, even though she was now one. It was odd, like an unleveled shoe that differed from the other or a suit made out of polyester. She would bite his neck if he referred to her one more time as 'Lady Josephine.' But with the silence still eating away at her senses, she would soon take over this awkward silence; even the moon made more noise than this man.

"What's your name?" Josephine asked desperately to break the quiet.

The man paused. "Are you feeling unwell, Lady Josephine? I'm Tony, the Romano household main chef, of course,"

"Well Tony, I would prefer it if you called me simply Josephine." Josephine pushed the man to the side and sundered through the scarce vegetation and unto the town side.

"Impossible. Josephine Lorenzo is a lady of House Lorenzo. It would be a great dis-" Tony began to speak but the malice that emanated off Josephine's once gentle face caused him to silence his tongue and agree to her demands.

Slowly, she followed his footsteps to a carriage which he helped her into. He made its horses start trotting and they were instantly in motion. When they got home, it was already evening and Madia was waiting for them in the house's living room. She primly sat on a sofa, practically seething.

"Young lady, where on earth have you been?" Madia demanded. "You've been gone for hours! Do you have no consciousness of time, do you fail to understand the importance of today?" Madia shot off the sofa and trod heavily towards Josephine.

Josephine just shrugged simply, rolling her eyes, and for a good measure of Torello defiance, she turned to leave while Madia was still speaking to her. Madia, absolutely livid, whipped her back around and backhanded her across the face. Josephine nearly fell to her knees but she fought to stand her ground and bit her tongue. Josephine had learned that Madia was not opposed to physical punishment, much like her previous father Don Torello had been the same. Since so much as a wrong look sent the old fool into a fit of rage, she had learnt the power of biting her tongue as Luca Torello had faced much worse. These beatings were nothing, for when Madia least expected it, Josephine would strike just as hard, if not harder.

"So you have lost your manners, you guttersnipe?" Madia pushed past Josephine towards the sitting area to where Valentina and Georgia sat poised on adjacent seats by a wide window. They seemed giddy, exuding impatience for something.

"Mother, any minute now," Valentina chirped, her hair back to it's perfectly coiffed style. Georgia scuffled in her seat, eating a few biscuits as she struggled to breath in her tight corset.

"Mama can I have more treats?" Georgia asked childishly. You would forget the girl was only 17 with all the makeup she had plastered on her face and neck.

"You can have more treats when hell freezes over Georgiana Lorenzo." Her mother snatched the biscuit out of her hand, placed it back on a plate and handed it to the chef.

Tony briskly took it back to the kitchen. This family was just as distasteful as Josephine's while she was still Luca. Josephine sighed and wondered where Tony had gone; maybe she could get him to make her something to eat. All that running had made her hungry. Just as she turned around, a loud bell rang in the distance and as if rehearsed, Valentina rose up and squealed with the delight of a child.

"Hear ye, hear ye… It is time for the Royal Debutante Ball; all eligible duchesses and debutantes may make their way to the royal palace. It shall begin at exactly 7 o clock. All hail, the Crown Prince Lorenzo," The town cryer rang his bell to demarcate his speech.

He moved on to a different street, repeating the same message and ringing the bell.

Madia clasped Valentina's hands excitedly, "Finally! This is the day you have been training for. You have to ensure that the prince pays attention to no one but you. Completely enthrall him!"

Valentina nodded eagerly, practically brimming with glee. Then Madia sternly turned to Georgia. "And you; don't you dare eat one bite at the ball. You'd be lucky to find any husband there that doesn't mind your morbid size," She impatiently brushed some crumbs off Georgia's saddened face.

Finally, Madia turned her attention to Josephine who was already walking towards the kitchen, looking hungry and exhausted. "And where do you think you are going, you little brat?"