Luna saw surprise in her father’s expression as he went to his friend and took him by the arm. She sat quite still, trying to hear what was said, and once again held Maria’s hand beneath the table.

‘We will take wine in my studiolo,’ Papa instructed Mamma Lucrezia, and Luna thought he was trying hard to keep his voice level, though she couldn’t be sure. He guided Friar Bartolomeo out of the room.

Mamma Lucrezia pushed back her chair and hurried away to the kitchen, leaving Luna and Maria alone.

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

The Moon was high by the time Luna undressed and dropped her clothes onto the trunk beneath the window in the bedchamber she shared with her sister. She’d sat for a long time, stroking Maria’s hair until she fell asleep. It was no surprise her sister had not settled easily, with her future suddenly so real. Once they’d reached the privacy of their bedchamber, Maria had clambered under the covers and squirrelled into the corner as though she were safer there. Anxiety flashed in her eyes as she whispered, ‘I don’t want to leave home. I’ve never been anywhere, save this house. I won’t know where anything is, nor any of the servants. What if my husband expects me to cook like Mamma?’

Luna was as ignorant as Maria when it came to any real knowledge of what married life entailed, save for the example of her papa and step-mamma. She steeled herself against her own unease and prayed fervently that the man who would take her place in her sister’s bed would be good and honourable. She told Maria that Papa would not agree to anyone less.

After Maria had fallen asleep, Luna stood by the open window, pushing the shutters wide and stretching out over the drop to the garden. At least there was now a breeze and she felt it caress her cheek. The night was cloudy but the celestial bodies were still there, buried in the deep blanket of sky. Luna thought of Papa’s reaction when she’d spoken to him about resuming her studies; he’d not been angry at her boldness nor had he dismissed her curiosity for astronomy. She looked for the three stars of Orion’s belt as he’d taught her to do, wondering as she so often did at the physics that kept the planets turning whilst the Earth stood still. She was determined to understand the mathematics of astronomy. As if in encouragement, the clouds gave way and the Moon shivered into sight. The stars once again showed themselves and in the crisp darkness, Luna found the points of lights that marked the great hunter’s belt.