' I must study!' she announced upon returning to her room, 'I cannot appear stupid in front of my new tutor!'  Josephine, her maid, was shocked, it was the first time she had ever heard her mistress express voluntarily the wish to read her school books.

'Tell me more abou him, Josi!' she ordered as she smoothed her skirts and settled herself in the niche near the window, so she could read.

'Well, miss, they do say he is from a good family, one that fell on hard times. He is learned, and' she added in a hushed whisper, 'he writes poetry!'

' Poetry?' echoed Elisabetta, enchanted.

'Yes,' breathed Josephine, 'but he is poor as a church mouse miss, and no respectable family would consider him a good match, even if his name was once held up with the Medicis'.

'Yes,yes, but what does he look like? Has anyone seen him?' She demanded hungrily. Josephine knew how to spin out a good story, she felt her young mistresses urgency keenly, and played on it, enjoying her undivided attention for once.

' Well, Agnes said that the Master's manservant said, even if I'm sure i don't know wht right he has to be talking, being a man and all, OUCH!' she jumped as Elisabetta's sly pinch made itself felt.

'Oooh,'she rubbed her arm to relieve the pain, ' You hurt me.' She drew her face into a study of injured pride, and Elisabetta relented a little, ' Sorry Josi, it's just I want to hear about him, and you were going on...dai! dimmi tutto!'

'Va bene, okay okay, he's quite tall and slim but not too skinny, jet black hair and deep brown eyes, but nothing special, Agnes said that you'd find better down the fish market early in the morning.'

But Elisabetta was already lost, building herself castles of sand, based on a sketchy third hand description.

When the fateful morning came she rose early so she could bathe and Josi could tease her hair into ringlets. She had studied all the previous week and was determined to impress. She was on tenterhooks, every movement made her jump, so sensitive was she to all the noises in the house. Finally when the knock came to go to her lessons, she leapt up startled, a pink hue coming to her cheeks. Josephine, grabbed her hand to calm her, and adjusted her hair, and gown.
'Well ma'am, shall we go?' she curtsied half ironically to her charge and motioned with her head towards the door, trying to diffuse the tension.

Elisabetta felt as if she might faint, her heart was beating forcefully within her ribcage. She felt lightheaded as she stalked down the long corridors, remembering her comportment lessons, and repeating to herself over and over,  'Head up, stomach in, walk tall, eyes straight.' until she finally arrived at the door.

How many times had she passed through this very door, taking her last gasp of clean unadulterated air, before suffering Dottore Trovato's various bodily effluences. She suddenly realised with a jolt that he too might be unwashed, a drinker, a garlic eater, and she took a deep breath and entered the room.