"It was Rosalba's idea. Angela said. "I taught her how to read and she said, 'You should teach the children too, and anyone else who wishes to learn. You never know who might send you a letter.'"
She looked down at the baby, who had finished suckling and was now fast asleep. "Here, hold her a minute. I will get more wine. I see," she said, looking down the valley, "that they are coming." And she thrust the baby into Mike's arms, who clutched her in a vice-like grip, terrified he would drop her. The baby, sensing she was in the arms of someone inexperienced and feeling insecure, woke up and began to scream. Mike stared down at her helplessly in a kind of horrified trance, unable to move a muscle, gripping more fiercely than ever in his fear that she would kick out and throw herself off his knee. And so, although he was peripherally aware of the sound of goat bells and of someone coming into the yard, he did not look up to see who it was.