Marietta frowned. ‘Give me that kitten. It’s not for eating.’
‘They’re going to die anyway,’ Monte insisted. ‘Tell them, Taddeo. Tell them it’s silly to keep kittens when people are starving.’
‘We’re not starving,’ Francesca pouted.
‘I’m hungry and I bet you all are too.’
‘Not hungry enough to eat these cute little kittens,’ she spat back at him.
‘Fine. Suit your stupid selves,’ Monte said, tossing the kitten. The little bundle rolled on the dusty wooden floor and squeaked as it hit the wall.
‘Don’t!’ Francesca shouted. ‘Poor thing.’
Marietta raced over to the kitten and gathered it up carefully in her hands, brushing the dust from its fur. ‘Are you okay?’ she asked, looking into its big, timid eyes.
‘By the time you skinned these kittens, there’d be less than a mouthful to eat,’ T
