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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

“I know.” He put a hand to my belly. “The timing is not ideal, but we may be able to keep them from joining the rest of the legion in the south, giving Canabarro’s men a fighting chance.” He kissed my cheek, then went back to work.

Already feeling tired, I went back to the house to rest. I settled into a chair by the window as my eyelids grew heavy. The rhythmic hammering outside served as an impromptu lullaby.

I watched as a woman with hair as black as the midnight sky on a starless night walked through the ranks in a white dress that flowed like the river as she moved. I leaned closer to the window, trying to get a better view.

She let her hand trace along the men’s shoulders. Why didn’t they look up? Why didn’t they notice her? Something was wrong. She stopped at Rossetti and José, who were fitting a piece of wood to the bottom of a boat. My heart raced. I stood up, I tried to yell, but my throat seized. The woman ran a loving hand along the side of Rossetti’s face as he continued to work. I pounded on the window. Not José. Please, not José. The woman turned her head to watch me. The air escaped my lungs in a rush. The face that looked at me was the same face that watched in the mirror.

“Dona Anita! Dona Anita!” I woke with a start, feeling disoriented. Immediately I looked to the window. There was no woman among the men.

“Dona Anita!” I looked down at the little hands that were shoving my arm. Little Patrizio looked up at me hopefully. “Fix. Fix.” He plopped a miniature wooden rocking horse into my lap. The legs were pinned at its sides so that when the horse rocked the legs would sway as if it were running. Evidently one had fallen off. I lifted it up and examined it.

“Patrizio!” Antonia rushed over, shooing her child away. “Bambino, let Dona Anita sleep.”

“It’s no bother,” I said, giving the toy back to Patrizio. “He woke me from a bad dream.”

Antonia shook her head. “I do not miss those pregnancy dreams.”

*  *  *

Two days later I watched from the shore as our men sailed up the river to meet the Imperial army. My dream still gnawed at me, leaving a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. The next two weeks were endless. Every minute felt slower than the last. I looked forward to when sleep would overtake me. At least in my sleep I got to see José.