Having arrived home with less than twenty-four hours to go before the big exhibition, Ben has been kept busy with his work, which means I haven’t really seen him. This is probably for the best with Uncle Leo finally paying attention to my comings and goings, but I find – much to my surprise – that I miss being with him, even though we have only been apart for a few hours. It is quite disturbing.

The artists are all working hard. There’s a feeling of breathless anticipation in the air, and I find myself drawn into their nervous excitement, all the while envying their sense of direction and purpose. Klaus ropes me in to help with the hanging of his work in the house, fluttering anxiously like a moth bumping up against a glowing windowpane. To please my uncle, Filomena insists that I show some of my own work, the product of my art lessons. I’m not sure the sketch of the inner workings of the forearm is exactly the sort of ladylike accomplishment Leo was hoping for, but I’m proud of it and I place it in a quiet corner where it’s unlikely to draw much attention.

I escape to my room for a moment of quiet, to read and to look through the rest of the sketches that I made in Florence. I compare them to the first drawing of the stag beetle and realize how much I have improved. When Filomena first suggested the lessons I saw them only as an inconvenience, but they had real value. It was a gift that she gave me, in more ways than she could perhaps have anticipated.

Through my open window I can already hear the sounds of people arriving at the villa – shouted greetings and bursts of laughter and the clatter of footsteps through the halls. I know that I need to turn my mind to getting ready. Besides, the sooner I join the party, the sooner I’ll see Ben.

The thought of a party back home would have me full of dread. I remember the disastrous dinner party that led to my coming here. Already it feels like so long ago – as if it happened to someone else, someone who has nothing to do with the girl who arrived here six weeks ago.