Casa Paradiso: 300 Years in the Life of a House (The Paradiso Novels Book 4) by Francesca Scanacapra

Author:Francesca Scanacapra [Scanacapra, Francesca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silvertail Books
Published: 2024-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

1782

ERIDEA PONTI

Widows without income, property, or pension, such as Eridea Ponti, were faced with two choices – the first was to remarry, but she hadn’t fancied that much, and in any case, no worthwhile man had shown interest. Being poor and past the peak of her childbearing years did not make Eridea the most sought-after kind of widow. The second option was to find employment, but with no family or friends willing to look after her six-year-old daughter, Marianna, Eridea’s prospects were greatly restricted. The Marchesinis had said that she could bring her daughter with her if she wanted to come and help during the next harvests, so long as she accepted remuneration in flour. That was all very well, but the harvests weren’t until the following year; and in any case, was Eridea supposed to pay her rent and clothe herself and Marianna with flour? And what was she to do to survive for the other forty weeks of the year?

Desperation had taken hold and Eridea’s troubles had spilled out in the confessional. She had gone with the intention of seeking absolution for only one thing – to admit to Don Marco that she had been just one sleight of hand from stealing a piece of cheese from a stall at the market, and that it was not her conscience which had stopped her, but the suspicious glance from the trader, who had clearly understood her intentions. She’d been starving hungry, and it was that which had driven her to contemplate it; although she realised that was no excuse. But the thing was, she just hadn’t been thinking straight. Neither she nor her daughter had eaten a hot meal for over a month – closer to two, in fact. A widows’ charity had given her bread, for which she was extremely grateful, but the dried beans and beets which they had also provided were of little use as she had no firewood on which to cook them.

Once that first truth had tumbled out, it had unleashed a torrent of buried disgrace. Eridea hadn’t had money for her rent since her husband had died, and to begin with her landlord had shown great compassion, suggesting that she could clean his house and wash his laundry as an alternative to payment, which she had done. But as the weeks passed, the landlord’s conditions had changed, and what he had asked of her was . . . Eridea’s voice fractured. She couldn’t bring herself to speak of such a shameful thing. Suffice to say, on threat of immediate eviction and pursuit via a magistrate for her rent arrears, she had submitted to her landlord’s exactions. Eridea had seen no other option. Her inability to pay the arrears could have had her sent to the debtors’ gaol; and then what would have become of her daughter, Marianna? And now the landlord’s impositions were increasing in frequency and growing more extreme in nature. The whole dreadful situation was beyond what she could bear.

Such was

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