She perked up. “Lorenzo and I met five days ago by accident in Vernazza. I was being chased by a dog and literally crashed into several crates of your family’s wine.” Heat rushed to her cheeks. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments.”
“You’re the market woman?” Nora spoke quietly. “You are the mystery my younger sister and my mother have been trying to figure out. Lorenzo has been abnormally tight lipped, and it has bothered them to no end.”
Giulia refilled Lorenzo’s glass again, then took the wineglasses utilized by the ladies to the sink and winked at Sabrina.
She looked up at Nora through her eyelashes. “He’s told you about me?”
“Let me put it this way. My brother has stayed up late into the early hours of the morning every day that I’ve been home watching our favorite BBC adaptation ofPride and Prejudice. For a guy who normally prefers to watch sci-fi or superhero films, it raised a blaring red flag that something, or rather someone, had piqued his interest.”
Sabrina tried to picture Lorenzo sitting on a couch with a glass of wine, watching Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy verbally spar with one another. Chills ran through her spine.
“Leonora?.?.?. I’m right here.” Lorenzo stood once more, his legs wobbling. He leaned against the kitchen island. “I don’t appreciate being spoken about in the third person.” He clenched his jaw.
Sabrina wiped her clammy hands on her legs. “You watched P and P for me?”
“I needed to understand the world according to Austen. I thought it would earn me some extra points with a girl like you.” He stared at a fixed spot on the ground. “Leonora is forever complaining about how none of the men in the world will ever measure up to Mr. Darcy, and IthoughtI should know what I might be up against. He is apparently most people’s favorite leading Austen man. Why, I have no idea. He is incorrigible.”
Something tells me without the liquid courage of wine, he would never ever have revealed this to me. From our time together, I know that he’s the type of man who’s humble and tends to shy away from the spotlight. He’s more like Mr. Darcy than he thinks.
Flustered, she said, “I’ve always preferred Mr. Knightley.”
Nora huffed. “Darcy is universally loved and admired because of the transformation his character undergoes. Knightley is equally as swoon worthy as Darcy. He values humility and kindness above all else. As a romantic gesture, at the end ofEmma, he even moves from his beloved Donwell Abbey to Hartfield just so Emma might be happy and able to continue to care for her father.”
“Not to be the devil’s advocate, but they were neighbors,” Sabrina said.
“Okay,” Nora conceded. She snapped her fingers. “What about Captain Wentworth? Colonel Brandon? I can list at least fifty reasons as to why either one of those two men could arguably top the list of Austen heroes.”
“You ask one question, and all of the sudden Leonora turns it into a debate.” Lorenzo rubbed his temples. “My memory is a little fuzzy. Which books are these two gents from?”
“PersuasionandSense and Sensibility,” Nora and Sabrina said at the same time.
“Right,” Lorenzo said.
Nora smirked. “Debates are a useful tool for bringing up points from differing perspectives.”
“I would quit while you are ahead, Lorenzo,” Giulia said. He opened and closed his mouth. “Leonora is a champion debater. Bere. Drink.”
Sabrina enjoyed the bantering between brother and sister. He took the glass into his hand and emptied it once more.
They must have a close sibling relationship. Is their other sister Lucia more like Lorenzo or Nora?
Nora cleared her throat and glanced at her watch. “As much as I would love to discuss Austen with you, if we are going to catch the next train home, we need to start making our way to the train station. Do you still have the spare key to my flat? From the looks you two were giving one another, it’s obvious you’ll be visiting Florence sooner rather than later.”
Giulia wiped her hands on her apron. “If he can’t find it, I’ll lend him our spare.”
Lorenzo schooled his face into mock hurt. “And what if I wanted to stop by and see myfavoritesister, and attend one of your concerts?”
Nora rolled her eyes. “In the three seasons I’ve held the chair of first violinist, I can count on one hand the number of times you or Lucia have made an active effort to visit. You two are bored to tears by classical music.”
He deflated. “Touché, Your Serene Highness.”
Sabrina’s stomach clenched. Up until this moment, she’d forgotten about the royal roots of the two Toscani siblings.
Nora is Leonora?.?.?. the Crown Princess of Isola Nostrum.
The shock of the news was catching up to her. Hearing it from Giulia had lessened the boom, but standing three feet apart from a prince and a princess suddenly brought everything into perspective.
Her vision suddenly grew fuzzy. Her chest tightened. “You two are royals,” she sputtered.
