BooksBarbecue
Back The Woman in Red Save as PDF
Chapters (73)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Epigraph
  4. Prologue
  5. Part One
  6. One
  7. Two
  8. Three
  9. Four
  10. Five
  11. Six
  12. Seven
  13. Eight
  14. Nine
  15. Ten
  16. Eleven
  17. Twelve
  18. Thirteen
  19. Part Two
  20. Fourteen
  21. Fifteen
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. Twenty-Two
  29. Twenty-Three
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. Part Three
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Twenty-Nine
  37. Thirty
  38. Thirty-One
  39. Thirty-Two
  40. Thirty-Three
  41. Thirty-Four
  42. Thirty-Five
  43. Thirty-Six
  44. Thirty-Seven
  45. Thirty-Eight
  46. Thirty-Nine
  47. Forty
  48. Forty-One
  49. Forty-Two
  50. Part Four
  51. Forty-Three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Forty-Nine
  58. Fifty
  59. Fifty-One
  60. Fifty-Two
  61. Fifty-Three
  62. Epilogue
  63. Author’s Note
  64. Acknowledgments
  65. Discover More
  66. Reading Group Guide
  67. Discussion Questions
  68. ESSAY FROMDIANA GIOVINAZZO
  69. Antoinette’s Sister
  70. Chapter One
  71. Chapter Two
  72. About the Author
  73. Praise forThe Woman in Red

“Can I? Do you think that’s wise?” His eyes opened wide with fear.

“Of course.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “After all that he’s been through I doubt he will break.”

He took the child gently in his arms. He stared at him for a long time before looking up at me. “We have a son,” he said in amazement, “and he’s perfect.”

“Well, almost,” I said. José looked at me with a mix of surprise and confusion.

I nodded toward our baby. “Look at his head.”

José looked to where I was pointing and saw what we had all seen shortly after his birth. A two-inch ridge traveled from his crown to his ear. “It’s from when I fell from the horse.”

José smiled brightly. “Then he really is our victory child, isn’t he? What’s his name?”

I shrugged. “I did the hard part. Why don’t you do the naming?”

“Did I ever tell you about my tutor?”

“Not that I can recall.”

“Menotti was his name. He was one of the first people to not just talk about a unified Italy but to encourage the people to make it happen. He started the Carbonari, a band of men who began the call for unification.” Our son yawned while stretching out his little fist, making José smile. “Menotti was revolutionary for his time. The people were just beginning to wake up to the idea of freedom. I for one soaked up all that I could from him. He was a kind man; if anyone needed anything, he was the first to give it to them. Even if he had just one loaf of bread, he would break off a small piece for himself and give away the rest. But he was too much of a revolutionary for his own good. The Austrians didn’t like his talk about unification. Which, of course, would mean an end to Austrian rule. The governor had him hanged.” He looked up into my horrified face. “Being one of his disciples, I should have died too, but I managed to escape. Death by exile.” He turned his attention back to our son, who had grasped his finger. “We’ll call our son Menotti. Menotti Garibaldi, our victory child.”

For two more glorious weeks we lived in São Simão. I thought that maybe, just maybe, we would be able to settle here. That the life I had dreamed about might actually happen. However, on a rainy morning in October I realized that my dreams could never be.

I was nursing Menotti when José burst into our room. “Moringue is on his way here. We need to leave.”

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Three

October 1840