Chapter 7

“By the way, are we still gonna enroll in the next Etruscan language course?”

“You bet.”

As far as the rest of the world knew, nobody had spoken Etruscan for more than two millennia, and the last man known to have been able to read the language was the Emperor Claudius. Father had grown up speaking Etruscan because several members of his family were scholars, and it was now regarded as the ‘secret’ language of the family. Had I been raised in Aragoni, I would have grown up speaking the language—the fact that I had been born and raised in the States had prevented that from happening.

“Ready to go back to il Castelloand check out a car?” I said.

“Sure. I just hope they’re not all taken.”

“Not to worry—I made a reservation.”

“When did you do that?” he said.

“The minute I was handed Tom’s rehearsal schedule.”

“That’s my boy—thinking ahead.”