Chapter 26

During a lull in the conversation, I asked our hostess a question about the survival of her family when Rome fell. “It was a difficult time for all Romans,” she said, “and ten times more difficult for single women. Unless she was a patrician, a woman without a husband or other male protector was quite vulnerable. Many members of my family survived solely because my grandmother arranged marriages for them with powerful men. Unfortunately, not all of their husbands were smart enough to escape the chaos.”

“There was an item in the newspapers last year,” one of the women said. “A letter to Contessa Clarafrom a woman claiming to have unusual female problems. Were you people responsible for that?”

“Yes, Signora, we were,” I said.

“We discussed that letter for months, and came very close to responding to it, but finally decided not to do so.”