with some roasted pigeon. There was also a small plate of pale, crumbly cheese.
‘Grazie, Hafeza,’ I said as she placed the tray carefully on my bedside table.
With a flurry of fingers and hands, she asked me if I would like the bed turned down.
‘Sì, grazie.’ She bobbed her head and moved towards the bed. I made a noise that was meant to be a yawn and stretched my arms up in the air. ‘I am very tired. Must be because of all the work I did today. I think I’ll eat and go straight to sleep. Please, don’t bother collecting the tray tonight. The morning will do.’ I winced at my poor performance and prayed Hafeza believed me. I chattered away as she folded back the sheets and plumped the pillows. At first I wasn’t sure she’d heard me, but when she finished, she turned, curtsied and, with a flash of white teeth, left the room.
To my surprise, I was perspiring. I hadn’t lied to Hafeza before. I didn’t like it. But I had to know what was going on in this casa. To what I was sacrificing my talents.
I quickly ate some of the soup and nibbled the pigeon and cheese. I wasn’t very hungry. My stomach felt like a tumbler had taken up residence inside.
I waited a little longer and then extinguished the candles and sat on the edge of the bed. There was no moon tonight. Outside my window, a thick fog lurked, turning the glass opaque. If I could make it undetected to the hiding place I’d chosen, the darkness would serve me well.
After a while I heard a door close then another open. A burst of laughter made me jump before it was quickly muffled. The guests were here. I guessed that the first course was being served. I’d estimated that there would be a sufficient length of time between the service of the second course and collection of the plates for me to leave my room and make my way to the dining room unobserved.
I tiptoed across the floor and pressed my ear to the door. There. A door opened. Footsteps, and then a burst of noise before another click. I counted the footsteps. Three servants tonight. They’d hired extra help. Their longed-for soldi were starting to become manifest. My breathing filled my ears.
Minutes passed and I heard nothing more. I turned the handle and eased the door open and peered out.
The corridor was alive with dancing shadows, all cast by the candles in their sconces. My heart pounded and for a moment my courage deserted me. What was I doing? Did I really need to know what the Maleovellis were up to? Hadn’t they been good to me? What if I was caught?
Before doubt paralysed me, I jumped into the hallway, shut the door and ran. Cloth eyes followed me as I bolted past tapestries before pausing beside a tall cabinet, ready to melt into the shadows if needed. I thought about snuffing out the candles and throwing the corridor into complete darkness, but knew that would arouse suspicion and activity. So I continued on.
I darted past Signor Maleovelli’s study, reaching the top of the stairs, hesitating long enough to make sure that no-one was ascending. I kept moving, careful not to bump into anything. I scurried past Jacopo’s room and into the main salon.
The dining room ran straight off the portego. All I had to do was go through the portego and get as close to where they were feasting as possible. I already knew from things Salzi and Jacopo said that the Maleovellis didn’t entertain in the portego at this time of year. It was too expensive to heat and light. So I imagined I would be alone in the gloom; no-one would be using the main room.
I paused inside the door and took my bearings. The moon may have been hidden, but there was still enough light to turn the room into a palette of greys, and the furnishings into the stuff of nightmares.
The kiss of crystal and tinkling laughter would have directed me to the other end of the room if the glimmer of candlelight hadn’t. I moved around the edges, careful not to be heard. Sidling up to the doorframe, I dropped onto all fours and peeped around the corner. I learnt to do that eavesdropping on Pillar and Quinn when I was much younger. Illicit looks at eye level were much more likely to be caught than