The Apothecary's Shop by Roberto Tiraboschi

Author:Roberto Tiraboschi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Europa
Published: 2017-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

“Have we sinned? Tell us, Lord, how have we sinned? What are our faults? A child, an innocent, pure young girl: what were her sins? Speak to me, Lord, so I may understand why Thou hast decided to send us this test. Reveal Thyself to me, enlighten me, so that I might accept Thy will and bear the death that has come among us.”

Everyone had expected Magdalena’s desperate screams to fill the rooms and spread through the house but, instead, there was that whisper, that litany she obsessively mumbled, roaming around like a madwoman. She’d repeated her pained dirge for hours, and it was unbearable, soul-destroying.

“Have we sinned? Tell me, Lord, how have we sinned? What were my sweet, innocent sister’s faults?”

Magdalena dragged herself from room to room, biting her arms and slamming doors as though she’d lost her mind.

They’d all rushed in at the news: servants, Nena, Edgardo, and found their mistress broken by grief in Tommaso’s arms as he tried to give a little relief to her heart, torn to shreds.

Nena had thrown herself at her feet and burst into sobs, while Edgardo had remained frozen, his chest in pain, like an abscess swollen with bad humors.

He’d promised, he’d sworn, and he’d failed once again. He should have dedicated himself more attentively to searching for Costanza, instead of chasing after a ghost among the Carnival crowd. In the end, Lent had come, the time for penitence.

Magdalena had given him a look full of resentment. That death was also his responsibility. Edgardo had lowered his head. Would he ever find the courage to look his benefactors in the eye again?

“We’ll bury her in the monastery of San Zaccaria,” Tommaso announced. “She’ll rest in a marble sarcophagus. I’ll ask the abbess for permission to place it in the crypt, where Costanza prayed for the last time.”

Magdalena let out a dull howl.

“As for the culprit, or culprits, I will use all my power to find them wherever they may be, and their punishment will be terrible and exemplary. The violence in this city is spreading like an uncontrollable disease. We must react and do everything in our power to defend honest, righteous citizens.”

It sounded like the speech of a future doge and, for the first time, Edgardo had the suspicion that Tommaso wanted to use this terrible murder for his personal gain.

Magdalena, on the other hand, seemed relieved by these words, as though the public recognition of her sister’s death made her suffering less acute. Seemingly calmer, she told her husband that she was going to her room to pray.

Alone with Tommaso, Edgardo finally managed to express his feelings. “You know how much affection and esteem I had for Costanza; my pain is equal only to the shame I feel for not having been able to protect her and save her. I assure you that I will not stop fighting at your side until we discover the perpetrator of this abominable act.”

“You have been unforgivably neglectful . . . ” Tommaso sighed, “but then, afterwards, you did everything in your power.

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