When she was well enough, Ofelia was invited to play cards with Duchess Ada at her quarters in the palazzo. While they played, the governess and I trailed Sveva as she toddled from room to room, hall to hall, and kept her hands away from statues, suits of armour, icons and the velvet cloths that hung over paintings. As we scurried after Sveva in the courtyard, a woman and a young man came down one of the stairways, stopped and stared at us. The way the woman watched us made me stop. She stepped toward me slowly and asked, “Who is that little girl?”
I reached for Sveva, who slipped from my hold, giggling, and kept my eyes on the woman the entire time. “She’s Duke Leone’s daughter.”
“I see.” Two thin cords appeared along the woman’s neck, a flush of colour along her jawline. “You are her g
