Chapter 91

“Good morning, Mrs. Rosati,” I said.

She took my proffered hand, saying, “Hello, Marco. I don’t believe you’ve met my oldest daughter, Sylvia Churchill. Sylvia, this is Marco d’Argenzio.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said.

“Likewise,” she said in a rich contralto voice. “Has Dani told you that I’m the black sheep of the family?”

“No. Dani seems to think that he holds that position in perpetuity.”

“Well, I suppose it’s fair to say that I only held the title for a couple of years, until his sins trumped mine.”

“And what were yours, if I may ask?” I said.

“Well, to borrow a line from a movie, I ‘married an Aryan from Darien’.”

“That’s odd. You don’t sound like a girl with ‘braces on her brains’.”

“No, but I amraising my children in the heathen Lutheran Church, and that’s pretty serious, as sins are reckoned.”

“That’s one of my favorite movies,” I said, smiling.

“Sylvia,” Mrs. Rosati said sharply, “you promised to be good, and what are you two talking about?”