distraction, winked at his daughter. Sonia smiled like a naughty little child. He left Jacob and came across the room to her. He put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her in to him. He kissed her cheek with a loud smack and enfolded her further so that he could pat her back as he used to do. âAre you all right, Princess?â he asked her.
âVery well, Papa,â she said. She disengaged herself, but she was flushed, pleased at his affection. She unbuttoned her glove and pinched it off, finger by finger. âI have good news. I received a letter today.â
âNow!â her father said. âNow, didnât I tell you not to worry. See, Mama. I told you.â
âOh, my dear,â Rachel said. She held her hands to her cheeks. âWhat does he say?â
âHe begs to extend his regards to you all,â she said. âAnd he hopes for a speedy end to the war.â
Her fatherâs eyes made her look away. He said, âAs we all do.â
âAnd heâs well?â Rachel said.
âVery well. They treat them with courtesy ... He says it is cold.â She touched at her hair. They were silent, waiting.
âSo. That is England for you,â her father said at last. âLet us have coffee. Whereâs Maria?â
Rachel, her hands useless now on her lap, said, âThis terrible war. What are they all doing? Itâs ridiculous.â She lifted a hand to her hair, too, and combed her fingers up under the bounce of curl over her ear.
âItâs not that bad,â her father said. He walked to his chair, a soft-pillowed armchair covered in striped silk. He sat down and crossed his legs. âNot that bad,â he said again. And just as he did, the young maid, dressed neatly in a black dress with a little white starched collar, bobbed into a curtsey at the door.
âExcuse me, Signori,â she said timidly, âmay I ask if you would like refreshments now?â
Sonia caught the girlâs eye and nodded to her. The girl dropped another curtsey.
âPrego, Maria,â her father said.
âSome rolls with it, if you donât mind, Maria,â Rachel said. She looked across the room to her son. âYou must be hungry.â
Sonia addressed the girl. âAre the boys in the kitchen?â
âYes, Signora. Ruth is giving them some pasta.â
Sonia nodded.
The girl looked at the gentleman, but he was busy with a fingernail between his two lower teeth. She gazed then over at Rachel, who was leafing through a stack of music sheets balanced on the edge of the piano.
Sonia said to her, âThank you.â
The girl, in her haste to escape, bumped into the sharp edge of the door. Sonia made a step towards her. No one else seemed to notice. The girl rubbed at her forehead and walked out, a little more slowly, into the hallway. When Sonia heard her steps fade, she said, âWhoâs that?â
Her brother was leaning his hands on the windowsill. He seemed to be examining the garden immediately below him.
âWho?â her father said. He was using his tongue now to dislodge a remnant of lunch. Sonia was about to say, âThe new maid,â when he said, âOh, the new girl. Maria. Susanna left.â
âOh, no. Why?â
Rachel said, âSome nonsense about the Germans. Sheâs gone to Sicily to get away from them.â She raised her brows again, and shook her head.
âLittle Maria is Guiseppe Tucciâs daughter. You remember her, Son,â her father said to her. âShe was born the year before Gianni, same day. Nervous little thing.â
âWhoâs in Sicily?â
âNo, itâs Sardinia,â Jacob announced from the window. âFamily connections. You know young Matteo Levi was killed.â
âSsh,â Rachel said. She put a finger to her lips.
Her father whispered, âPartisans.â
âOh, no,â Sonia said to her father, also in a whisper.
He
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