The Woman in the Moonlight by Patricia Morrisroe

Author:Patricia Morrisroe [Morrisroe, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, General, Literary, Romance
ISBN: 9781503903753
Google: docPzAEACAAJ
Amazon: 1503903753
Publisher: Little A
Published: 2020-09-02T06:00:00+00:00

23

1808

It was a celebration fit for a king, and Naples had a new one: Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s brother-in-law, a brilliant cavalry officer and unabashed dandy. Riding into a city accustomed to splendor, he made his mark in red leather boots, white riding breeches, a blue tunic embroidered with gold, and a three-cornered hat topped with a huge white ostrich plume. Even his horse was extravagantly attired with a tiger-skin saddlecloth and gold stirrups and bits.

People were still talking about his grand entrance when we gathered at the harbor to see the fireworks display. Hugo screeched in delight at the whistling comets, dome-shaped weeping willows, and spinning girandoles. The illuminations continued until the last thread of light evaporated into the darkness, leaving the soft glow of a hundred Chinese lanterns dangling from the fishing boats.

When we returned home, Ramo was sitting in a chair rocking the second addition to our family. Maria Julie, or “Jülchen,” as we called her, was now three months old, and once again I’d experienced an easy labor. By then, Sister Immaculata had died, but I remembered her comment about miracles and knew that I’d experienced another one. Jülchen was perfect. She had my dark hair and blue eyes and Friedrich’s full lips and chin. She even had his endearing cowlick, the swirl of hair that resisted lying flat.

Anna, the nurse, complained that Ramo was usurping her responsibilities, but he was surprisingly adept at getting Jülchen to fall asleep. “Wriggling fish, they are much worse.” He laughed as she squirmed in his arms. He then began singing “Nonna Nonna,” a traditional Neapolitan lullaby that managed to reference angels, mammone, and rotting flesh in a uniquely hypnotic way.

“He’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Robert said, gazing at his lover with my lover’s child. After Jülchen was born, I had written to Friedrich, purposely omitting Armgard’s name. It was unclear whether she knew about our rendezvous in Baden, and if she didn’t, I thought it best not to announce that we’d had a second child. She hadn’t specified a limit, but it made me uneasy. We corresponded only infrequently and I didn’t know her state of mind.

Friedrich had sent an elegant gold-and-blue enamel necklace fashioned with a cameo of his grandmother. He wanted me to give it to Jülchen when she was older but asked if I’d occasionally wear it. In his letter, he told me that he’d started a biography of his family in case the children discovered our secret and wanted to know more about the Schulenburgs. And then he went on:

You must be aware that I have deep feelings for you. I understand that we had an ‘arrangement,’ but even the most official treaties are subject to renegotiation. Armgard is a kind, dutiful wife, but we both know what happens when duty precedes love. The lucky ones find compatibility, but with you, I have found more, and it has made my marriage increasingly intolerable. I know there is little love between you and your husband. I beg you to leave him and start a new life with me.

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