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“Yes, that’s right,” Six confirms. “It acts like the pill, preventing pregnancy.”
“I see,” I reply, nodding my approval. Thirteen grabs another small tin, gold this time, and passes it to me.
“When you start to bleed, take a pill. Then continue to take one each day.”
“I will,” I mutter, my cheeks flushing.
“The Masks are very meticulous with regards to our sexual health,” Six says, whilst I gather my thoughts. “Every client who attends the castle has to provide proof of excellent sexual health. As you can imagine condoms are not used on the nights we entertain.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I admit, falling back into heavy silence once more.
Taking the mug from me, Thirteen places it on the floor by my feet. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“It’s complicated.”
“When is anything with these men not?” Six says, laughing softly.
I still don’t know Six’s story about how she came to be here, or what happened between her and Leon. She said that she thought she was in love with him once, and I want to understand what changed, why she still remains here, why she hasn’t run.
“How did you come to be here, Six?” I ask, wanting more than anything to think about something other than these tumultuous feelings churning my stomach and making my head ache. “Tell me your story, so I can understand why you never tried to leave this place.”
Six shifts around to face me, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear. “You truly want to know?”
“Yes. Please help me to understand.”
She nods. “My real name is Nina Ricci. I was born in Northumberland, but I grew up in Florence, Italy. My father is,was,a British Diplomat. He loved his job, was good at it. When I was eighteen, he passed away six weeks after my mother died of cancer. Massive heart attack…”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “Losing both your parents in such a short space of time must’ve been hard.”
“It was…” Her voice trails off as tears prick at her eyes. She blinks them back and gives me a tremulous smile. “When they performed the autopsy on my father they said that his arteries were so blocked that it was a miracle he hadn’t had a heart attack earlier. Honestly, though, I think he died of a broken heart.”
“Losing people you love can do that,” Thirteen says, a faraway look in her eyes that speaks of her own secrets and heartbreak.
“Thirteen?” I ask, pressing my fingers against her arm.
She shakes her head and gives me a small smile. “Ignore me. It’s nothing. Go on, Six,” she urges.
“I’d just been accepted to a prestigious opera academy in Milan when my father died,” Six continues. “I bought a flat in the city with the money my parents left for me in their will and threw myself into my music. One night when I was singing in a bar to earn some extra cash and to gain more experience, I met Alonzo Ricci. He was handsome, charming, rich, and the son of the biggest mafia don in all of Italy. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time, and by the time I’d found out how dangerous his family was, I’d already fallen deeply in love with him.”
“Didn’t he ever come looking for you?” I ask.
Six laughs, shaking her head. “We were married after a whirlwind courtship, but after a couple of months of marriage I knew I’d made a mistake. Alonzo loved the idea of me, and how I looked on his arm or on stage when I performed, but he never loved the true me. In fact, he had very little time for me outside of public functions. Most of the time he’d drink and fuck prostitutes rather than share a bed with his wife…” Her voice trails off as she sighs heavily. “Anyway, two years into our sham of a marriage, I sang for a private audience at the Ricci family estate. That same night Alonzo lost a game of cards to The Collector who was invited into their home for business. He’d heard me sing…”
“Your husband sold you?” I ask.
“He made a bet with The Collector. He lost. I was the prize.”
“That’s horrible.”
Six shakes her head. “It felt that way at the time, but truthfully, despite what you might think, it was the best thing to happen to me. I couldn’t divorce him because no one divorces a Ricci. Looking back, it was the only way out.”
“You were trapped?”
“Yes, and now I’m free. I’ve found peace in this castle. A family. A purpose. I’m happy here. I know that’s difficult to understand, but it’s the truth nonetheless.”
“So the Collector brought you back here after he won you in a game of cards, and gave you to Leon to break in,” I say, remembering how Three had described what The Masks did to every Number when they first arrived at the castle.
“Exactly. Leon broke me down, he stripped back the layers of protection I’d built up as the wife of a man who never loved her, and made me into the woman you see before you now. I’m no longer Nina Ricci. I’mSix, and I’m stronger for it.”
