This was a most valuable time of day, when he could stop and discuss political events without the pressure of business calling him. He wanted to hear any further fragments of information about Roberto. It would take him much longer than his family to get home, given the number of gentlemen he saw the potential to engage in discussion, but it mattered not. Still standing on the edge of the street, he closed his eyes a second and breathed deeply. When he turned back to where the crowd of men gathered, he was smiling. He mounted the steps two at a time, cursing the precarious state of his fair city as he went. It was to be a challenging time ahead, in more ways than one, but change was coming; he just needed to endure till then.

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Luna hurried to the balcony when she heard her father’s step on the flagstones. They’d been home from Mass for more than an hour and Mamma Lucrezia had taken Pippo off to the kitchens to find something to eat whilst Maria had gone upstairs to sit with her sewing. Luna had been listening for his return and her insides churned. Her temper had gotten the better of her; she should never have spoken back to the stranger like that, but hers was not a tongue that could stay silent when insulted and the young man had deserved it. Still, the thought of being relegated to the lepers’ Mass filled her with dread. Papa would know if there was any truth in what she’d overheard.