Page 64 of The Strength Of A Woman

No one back at the house knows that I’m gone, but come tomorrow morning, they’ll look for me.

They’ll know something happened.

They’ll alert everyone.

They’ll put a bounty on my head.

Julian will not come forward and speak.Nona and Rory know nothing.

Perhaps Callum plans to confront my family, and I wish I were a little fly and had witnessed that exchange.

I hope it works.

I truly hope it works.

But even if it didn’t, I’d still be beyond thrilled.

This is the best experience of my short life, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

“Have a good night,” Cosimo says before leaving my room and closing the door behind him.

I let a few moments pass before I silently walk to the door and check to see if it’s locked.

If I’m a prisoner.

The door is open. I’m not locked up.

But I swiftly push it back and close it, afraid that this wonderful dream might get shattered.

I dedicate the next few minutes to exploring the room.I open drawers, look at old photographs, and read about the history of the house.

It’s incredible to think that centuries ago, a family, a normal one perhaps, lived in this beautiful place.

They had meals together, and maybe children on the floor, playing. They went to church, walked on the promenade, and dined out.

They lived a life impossible to imagine, and now I’m here, getting a sense of it, living it all in my head, inspired by some memories that don’t belong to me.

Perhaps a young woman like me fell in love here, walked the sinuous paths of uncertainty, and, when her lover said the words she wanted to hear, she said yes to his proposal.

They must have grown old together, had children together, and then grandchildren. And then they went the path of the stars, becoming a long-lost memory, a palpable one to me, a stranger, two centuries later.

Embalmed with that feeling that I’m breathing in a lot of history, I shift my focus to the patio and walk out.

A big moon smiles at me. The water stretches in the distance, the moonlight woven in its darkness.

It’s a beautiful space. I can tell. Peaceful. Soothing. Something to hold on to.

I wish my place, my life, could be something like this. Even a small percentage of this. To my right, I see the patio where he stood some time ago.

Who knew when I looked up at the man on the terrace that I’d be joining him and become his protege?

Not me, for sure.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed that something like this could actually happen to me.

I’m the only one out here, as the town seems to have fallen asleep. The man I stared at this evening must be inside his quarters, discussing important business matters.

The words he said to Cosimo sounded ominous, although neither of them seemed to be frightened by the prospect of a war.