‘You’re safe with us.’ Marina reassured her, haunted by bad recollections of her own. Being an only child to a powerful, traditional family was hard, resulted on too many restrictions and unfair judgment. She exhaled loudly as they kept walking, slowly, toward what looked like a death penalty.

The Ferrers’ Mansion…

Bette glanced around the rectangular table. Everyone but Manfredi Ferrer had stopped eating on the moment Marina and Jenny closed the main door and went away. The American girls kept shooting meaningful glares between themselves, holding silent discussions which indeed shouted their disbelief.

Only Mr. Ferrer’s ears were deaf to their cries. He went on eating the main course as if nothing at all had happened.

‘Should we go after them?’ Bette questioned aloud, unable to hold her tongue.

‘What if we got lost? Jenny has a guide, but we’d be on our own if they ran ahead.’ Alice put on sensibly. ‘Did anybody here have the curiosity to memorize a map of Florence before we came?’

‘Unless Mr. Ferrer goes with us.’ Dana hinted. ‘Would you, Mr. Ferrer?’

‘It is a waste of time.’ He dismissed the matter with a brutal wave of his hands, almost hit Tonya with a fork. ‘Marina and your friend will be back soon. Besides, I haven’t finished my lunch yet and I’ll go nowhere until it’s finished.’

Robin ignored his last comment, almost rolled her eyes in disgust. ‘How do you know that they’ll be back soon?’

‘They’ll just want to take that girl to her home. Then her angry parents will pull her inside, scolding her for being late for meal, and they’ll have to come back.’

‘Having lunch after midday is a crime in Firenze, Mr. Ferrer?’ Bette asked sarcastically. ‘Would Alba’s folks simply yell at her because she is late?’

‘You Americans know nothing of tradition. Every old, respectful family has a certain time set for meals and this time has to be respected above everything else. You can have lunch at whatever hour you want, but in this house and in the Hernandezes’, it’s at midday. Her parents would use it as an excuse to chastise her, no wonder about that. They hate her.’

‘Hate her? Why?’ Shane asked, taken aback. ‘She seemed to be nice.’