Secrets of Milan by Edale Lane

Author:Edale Lane [Lane, Edale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Past and Prologue Press
Published: 2020-05-10T22:00:00+00:00

Fiore had not signed her name; any maid who may happen to look inside might speculate that the Night Flyer had left it for Madelena, and that maid would be correct. In an instant Maddie was struck again with awe, that the woman who taught her children to read and write, to speak French and Latin, geography, science, and mathematics; the woman who beguiled and bemused her; the same Florentina who lay in her bed and showered her with sweet kisses as often as they chanced arrange it, regularly performed death-defying feats, battled armed and dangerous men, and possessed the incredible daring to leap into the sky suspended above the unyielding stone and mortar of the city with little more than a few yards of silk to do what no one had ever done before–to fly. And she loves me!

Maddie brushed her lips to the paper, held it to her breast, and closed her eyes. “Come home to me, cara amore,” she voiced in a hush as a prayer. After indulging in a deep breath, she returned the Valentine to its place and studied her room. Many a poor soul did not even own a bed, she understood, and in modest households the entire family may share one the size of hers. Its rigging was tight, the mattress soft over a firm foundation, the headboard and footboard crafted and carved by artisans who were only able to pursue their talents because the rich, such as her family, paid them to do so. Anyone could shove pegs into holes or strike nails with a hammer to make functional furniture, but because of merchants, bankers, nobles, and other wealthy citizens those with gifts and abilities could take their time and create works of art rather than simply serviceable products.

She stroked her hand across the rich blue of her woolen blanket and the smooth silk of the pastel pillows scattered along the head of the bed. Her room was adorned with paintings and small sculptures, blown glass vases holding fresh flowers, fixtures of gold and silver, plastered walls with hardwood wainscoting and matching carved molding throughout. There was her dressing table bearing a box filled with costly jewelry, a meager collection of cosmetics and perfumes, an oval mirror, and round, padded stool. Against another wall stood a tall cherry armoire, a bookshelf with leather-bound volumes, for both enjoyment reading and reference books, and a woman’s writing desk. A door led to a narrow closet for storing out of season clothing and wardrobe items she did not wear often. A modest hearth occupied one corner, emitting a humble glow as its fire dwindled.

Maddie considered that she had lived a more than comfortable life, one of abundance, even extravagance, and yet some element had always been missing, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on until Florentina. Genuine love was worth more than all the treasures in all the chests in all the world, and whether by fortune or design she had found it.

She paced more, sat on the settee and read a bit, then resumed pacing.

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