14Friday at sunset found the aroma of dishes being prepared in respect of ‘lean’ days, wafting throughout the house. The smell of cabbage and bean soup was still strong, but it failed to overpower the tantalising smell of roasted fish, a huge carp Manisante had bought at the market and that Valerio, the skilled cook, prepared especially well with his personal mixture of fine herbs.
After saying a prayer of grace, the family sat composed and started to dine in silence. Manisante pulled a paper out of his pocket and placed it beside his plate. Absently eating his soup with a spoon, his total concentration dedicated to reading the letter received from the young Contini men, the sons of a fabric merchant he knew very well.
But the peace at table was soon interrupted as Guido, the second-born
