‘I wanted to disarm him, not to kill him!’ she responded, as if it were obvious.
‘Not even the best marksman in my former artillery regiment could’ve done better. Where did you learn to shoot so?’
‘Once a Székely woman, always a Székely woman, even though I wear elegant and refined clothes’. Ziani decided against labouring the point.
They stopped in front of the inner staircase leading to the Duomo terraces.
‘After you, Countess!’ he said in a bow.
‘After you, Lieutenant; you lead the way!’
Instructed in military life and accustomed to long daily walks, Ziani had no difficulty tackling the two hundred steps at a steady pace, but marvelled at how Irina managed to follow him without the slightest bit of fatigue. It was only on the last thirty steps that he heard her gasp and p
