THE DUOMO TO THE SAGREDO ESTATE
1725
XIV
Was my flight to Jacopo in Mantova an omen, a preparation for Siena and him? If there was a Divine hand in our love, it was a fist. [Antonia, 1744]
Orlando had been true to his word. He had come back to sit in the Duomo almost daily during practices.
In spite of the enormous size of the Duomo, its many spaces and recesses, Antonia learned to anticipate his presence. She knew his footstep now. Her awareness heightened, and her pulse raced. Always, as he came to his place, where he could look directly at her, Antonia would fall more deeply in love with her music. Violin or voice would perform more exquisitely. No one had ever prepared her for this experience she both hungered after and feared. Except her painter. She had felt like this in Mantova
