Abigail of Venice by Leigh Russell

Author:Leigh Russell [Russell, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books

26

The following day, my husband rose in good spirits and announced that he was going to the city to witness Henriette’s trial.

‘We shall see the witch burned before the day is out,’ he told me cheerfully.

Concealing my face in my cloak, I followed him at a distance, fearful of losing myself in the streets of the city. I need not have worried about him observing me, as I was soon lost in a throng of people walking in the same direction. An atmosphere of festivity enlivened the crowd, who jostled one another good-naturedly as they chattered about the witch trial.

‘Let’s hope they burn her,’ a woman called out and a chorus of voices cheered.

Worried that my husband might spot me, I had decided against wearing the yellow shawl which was obligatory for Jewish women. If the authorities discovered my identity I would be thrown in prison, yet I was more afraid of my husband than of the guards who patrolled the courtroom in the grand palace of the Duke. There are punishments worse than prison. At some distance away, a cluster of women in yellow shawls were standing beside a group of men in yellow hats. With so many people packed together the air grew warm, although the chamber was spacious and the ceiling high. Surrounded by strangers who smelt of tallow candles, incense and strange spices, I kept my hood up and my cloak wrapped around me.

As the temperature in the room rose, the impatient crowd began taunting the Jews, and a scuffle broke out. The guards rushed over, shouting abuse at the Jews and taking the opportunity to beat some of them over the head with their pikes. I scanned the men’s faces, searching for Daniel, but could not see him, and my momentary disappointment was tempered by relief that he had not been injured in the fracas. The disturbance ceased as abruptly as it had begun, and everyone turned to watch the judges take their seats.

Glancing back at the Jews gathered in the opposite corner to me, I drew in a sharp breath and the room seemed to spin around me as I caught sight of Daniel bending over a man whose head was bleeding. Even though I knew we could never be together, it was a thrill to look at him. All at once, he raised his head and looked in my direction, as though searching for someone. Before he noticed me, I turned away. No doubt he had forgotten about me, and was betrothed to another woman. I tried to feel pleased that someone else might bring him the happiness I had once hoped to give him, but it was hard not to feel bereft.

A moment later Henriette was led in from the dungeons. Her hair was matted, and she glared wildly around the room, her eyes seeming to gaze through her surroundings as though she could indeed see spirits hidden from the rest of us. Before her sat a jury of three. Approaching his eightieth year, Doge Girolamo Priuli had been in office for many years.

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