“ ‘Must I ask your permission?’ I countered, looking him directly in the eye.

“He shrugged gracefully, just as I knew he would.

“ ‘No, you don’t have to ask me.’

“ ‘I don’t give a damn what you do!’ said Petronia, just as I knew she would.

“I smiled. ‘Then the Hermitage is now mine?’ I asked.

“ ‘Take it as a present from me,’ she said venomously.

“I looked down at the Old Man. ‘Manfred, we’ll meet another night.’

“ ‘Be careful, my son,’ he said.

“I left the room, and, finding the grand stairs of the palazzo, was soon out, walking down a narrow winding path to the city below.

“Within twenty minutes I walked into the lobby of the Hotel Excelsior, where we had stayed on three occasions on our trips to Naples, and went to the desk of the concierge. He remembered me and immediately asked after Aunt Queen.

“ ‘I’ve been robbed. Everything’s gone,’ I said. ‘I need to make a collect call to my aunt.’

“The phone was at once placed at my disposal. And a suite was being prepared.

“It was Jasmine who answered. She began to sob. When Aunt Queen came on the line, she was damn near hysterical.

“ ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘I can’t explain this, but I’m in Naples, Italy. I need my passport, and I need funds badly.’ I told her over and over again how much I loved her and how unexpected this was, even for me, and that I would never be able to explain, but the thing now was for me to spend a decent night in the hotel and then start the flight home tomorrow evening.

“Finally Nash came on the line to give all the appropriate numbers to the cashier, and I was officially set up with every convenience, and I was told that airline tickets would be delivered to me. I explained to Nash that I would only travel at night—that I wanted to fly from here to Milan on an evening flight, then from Milan to London on another evening flight, and from thence to New York in one evening. From there, of course, I’d return to New Orleans.

“When I shut the door of the suite, I went into a state of shock.

“It seemed my life had been a series of escalating fears, and this fear I knew now was the worst. It was quiet and cold and worse than panic, and I felt my heart throbbing in my throat. It seemed there would never be any relief from this fear, never any relief from this pain.

“Tarquin Blackwood was dead, this I knew perfectly well. But a great remnant of me existed still, and that remnant, dazzled as I was by so many unwelcome gifts, longed only to be with Aunt Queen, with Tommy, with Jasmine, with all my beloved witnesses, my irreplaceable and adored kith and kin.