The Venice Sketchbook(115)

But no, she could see the impressions of the ink and where it had dried on old paper. And it was signed in the bottom corner. Picasso.

“The sketches,” she whispered to herself. Aunt Lettie had sent her here to find the sketches. She had no idea how her aunt might have acquired such things, but she realized the implication. If they truly belonged to her great-aunt, Caroline might now be exceedingly rich. And then she remembered that brief mention in the diary: Contessa Fiorito saying that in her youth she had modelled for some of the great artists and they had given her sketches as a thank-you gift. Was this one of the same sketches? Had the contessa given them to Great-Aunt Lettie? Hadn’t she mentioned leaving them to Juliet in her will if anything happened to her? There would be some digging to do, but Luca could help with that.

She couldn’t wait to show them to Luca. She couldn’t wait to see Luca again. And she pictured Josh’s face when she arrived in New York with Luca at her side, to bring Teddy home.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


My thanks, as always, to Danielle and my brilliant team at Lake Union, and to Meg, Christina and the equally brilliant team at Jane Rotrosen Agency. Also heartfelt thanks to Clare, Jane and John, who always provide such thoughtful insights and suggestions.

Thanks to the librarians at the Correr Museum Library in St Mark’s Square, who enthusiastically provided me with more research materials than I could ever tackle.

Venice has always held a special place in my heart, ever since my parents used to rent a little villa in Treviso, half an hour outside the city, when I was a teenager. They’d drive across the causeway, park and give my brother and me some money. “See you at five o’clock,” they’d say, and we were free to wander, explore, buy gelato. I’ve been back many times since, including reading through lots of history books in the library of the Correr Museum last summer. And every time, I find the city takes my breath away. It is indeed La Serenissima.