Deep in my sleep, I heard the sound of a knocking. I ignored it. Having slept the whole day, my body had at last yielded to the hunger and emotional fatigue of the previous day, and the last thing I wished to do was to confront whatever new torment Dante had devised. The knock became more and more urgent, louder and louder, but I only pulled the pillow over my head. Light pouring through the heavy curtains showed that I had slept much longer than I had planned, but I did not care.
For a blessed moment, I foolishly thought it had gone back to silence, that whoever dared meddle with my rest had finally given up. However, I ought to have known. Dante never gave up.
At the other side of the door The maid was frozen in her tracks, with all his commanding apparition filling the doorway. His d
