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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

“Oh, ham, you should have said that.” Lydia shuffled over to the cupboard as Estella shook her head.

“Please excuse my sister, her hearing is not what it used to be,” Estella said to me.

“You’ll have to excuse my hearing,” Lydia said, coming to me with a plate of salted ham.

“I just told her that!” Estella shouted. Lydia looked at her with a blank expression, shaking her head. “I just— Oh, never mind.” Estella threw her hands up in frustration. “Would you like some fruit, dear?”

“No, I am fine. Thank you,” I said, letting my eyes wander over the humble whitewashed walls of the kitchen, yellowed from age. A benevolent Virgin Mary stared down at me from the opposite wall. The lump of ham stuck in my throat. I bet you never put your baby in danger, I grumbled to myself as my eyes lingered on the saint. This child that grew inside me still felt like an abstract stranger, yet I felt the violent urge to protect him. If only I didn’t keep putting him in danger in the first place.

“What did she say?” Lydia asked, bringing my focus back to the kind old women who tended to me.

Estella pointed to her lips. “Thank you!” she yelled, overenunciating.

Lydia smiled and nodded. “Not every day is your birthday,” she said as she brought me more food. I laughed a little, feeling relieved for the first time in days. Estella sat across from me as Lydia continued to bustle around the kitchen, setting more plates on the table despite my protests. I took Estella’s cue and let Lydia be.

“I surmise from what you’ve told me that they won’t know you’re gone until the morning,” Estella began.

I nodded in agreement. “They left me alone until the morning, when they brought me breakfast.”

“Then you will need to be out of here just after dawn. I’ll have the horse ready for you.”

“Oh no, I can’t take your horse.”

“Nonsense, child. Where are we going to go?” Estella gestured toward the cluttered kitchen. “The village is desolated; we have no need for him now.”

“Really, Estella, your hospitality is too much.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “The Imperial army has taken everything from my village. The only reason we haven’t left is because Lydia wouldn’t be able to handle it. My sister and I have lived here our whole lives. I would rather our Guapo go with you than with those bastardos.”

I ate until I was full and spent another ten minutes convincing Lydia that I couldn’t take another bite. Feeling very content, I let Estella order me to her bed, where I drifted off into a very deep sleep.

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