The woman called Gianna shook her head frantically, both hands cradling her belly. "No, my lady, Gianna knows nothing of such things. It was the heir who looked after Gianna all along."
"Before he left the city, the heir promised he would give Gianna a proper place when he returned. But the date has passed and he hasn't come back. My time is nearly here, and I'm terrified."
"I beg the heir's wife to be generous. Give this child a birthright."
"The baby I carry is the heir's firstborn son. He cannot be left outside the Moretti household."
"Unless my lady, unable to bear children herself, refuses to let any other woman give the heir a son. Do you mean to let the Moretti line end?"
Her words set the crowd of onlookers buzzing. Beyond the compound gates, I could see two more soldiers watching from the guardhouse, hands at their sides, waiting.
"Well, it's true. The heir's been married for years and there's still no child. That wife of his, not so much as a whisper of a pregnancy."
"You can't just let the Moretti name die out."
"I heard the heir's wife hasn't even arranged another woman for him. Jealous type, if you ask me."