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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

“Imelda!” her husband called. He let go of his horse, who started to go wild. It thrashed and kicked, startling everyone around it. In the commotion of the horse bucking, three other men tried to get it under control. Imelda’s husband let the current carry him downriver. “Imelda!” His voice grew shriller as he tried to reach his wife.

He went under and never came back up. People stumbled and lost their balance, falling into the water. They panicked, their screams choked by the water they thrashed in. Those who could reached down to pull them up to keep them from falling prey to the mighty current. I froze, holding Menotti so tight that I think I would have put him back into my body.

“Anita!” José was ahead of me by just a few feet. “Keep moving!” He reached a hand out to me. I looked behind me at the commotion. “Anita! Come now!” Slowly I turned back around to face him, moving one foot in front of the other as he impatiently willed me forward. We made it to shore together and helped what was left of the company do the same. In total we lost nearly half a dozen people. A number of goods were washed downstream, and our horses trembled from fright. Nervous horses were dangerous.

We walked along the level ground for another two miles until we came to the next mountain. José made us walk up the mountain until we found a nice ledge far enough up so that we would be safe from the river. “We camp here for the night!” José ordered.

Unfortunately, the weather was too harsh to allow us to get more than a few hours of sleep. Rain sliced the air at sharp angles in the bitter, cold wind. We collapsed against the rocks before pulling ourselves up and moving forward.

We continued on through the piercing rain and frigid wind for another nine days until we reached São Gabriel. I would have been happier had I not been so cold and wet, or if I didn’t have a baby who finally grew fussy from a rash.

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Five

November 1840

The river that we followed into São Gabriel bloated with brown water, turning the adjoining grasslands into an indistinguishable mush. The sleepy makeshift village, made up of freed slaves and Farrapos, sat on the edge of another of the many properties owned by General Gonçalves. People moved about in their daily chores, tending to cattle, cooking their meals. The ravages of war seemed not to reach us in this rebel haven.