Antonio pinched Maria’s cheek and laughed. “Ever the disciplinarian, Maria,” he teased. “There is plenty of pancetta to go around. Besides, if we need more, the larder is full.” He stuffed a piece in his mouth, grinning like a reprobate who’d been handed the keys to heaven’s gate.
Maria waved Antonio away, dismissing him. “Vai via!There’s work to be done.”
Gaby stood with her hands on her hips, smiling. In only a brief time, she’d bonded with the hardworking members of her team, and they had begun to feel like a family, much like the employees at the restaurant, whom she missed.
Gaby sighed.I can do nothing but live each day as best I can.
“I’m going to the root cellar,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll bring up the potatoes, onions, and garlic for thepatate e pomodori arrostiti.” The main side dish for the boar stew would be delicious roasted potatoes and tomatoes with oregano.
“Take the torch,” said Antonio. “It’s dark down there. Be careful on the stairs.”
Gaby climbed down the narrow stairs to what Americans called a root cellar, but the British called an earth cellar. Gaby marveled at the flashlight. It had only recently been invented by David Misell, a British scientist. The invention worked off a patented paper tube with a turn-of-the-century version of D batteries. The batteries filled the paper tube, connecting with a light bulb on one end and a brass reflector on the other. Gaby found these early versions of standard modern technology primitive, but useful under the circumstances.
She wished she could share her knowledge of the future with Jack.
She sighed.Just get on with it.She had tons of work to do, and daydreaming about what could never be would only make things worse.
The dark underground room had a dirt floor and thick, plastered walls. Shelves with wood-slatted backs lined the walls, filled with baskets of jarred vegetable and fruit preserves. On the ground, large baskets held several types of potatoes, turnips, yams, onions, and garlic. Gaby got on her knees and shined the flashlight on the many baskets as she looked for the small red-and-white new potatoes. She couldn’t find them, so she began pulling the baskets away from the wall. They could have toppled behind the large baskets. Where the ground met the shelving, there was a gap. She shined the flashlight on it and squinted, trying to figure out what was back there. It looked like a burlap-wrapped object.How odd.
Standing, she began removing everything from the shelves. She moved the jars and added them to the storage shelves on either side. When everything was removed, she knocked on the wall.Very odd.The wall had a hollow sound. Was it some sort of hidden cantina? Or something else?
Her instincts kicked into high alert. Why had Allegretto sent her here, to this place? It wasn’t a coincidence. She’d only been here a few days and felt so overwhelmed by everything, especially her feelings for Jack, that she hadn’t really had time to think, concentrate, or focus on the fact that Allegretto had flung her back in time to this place. Why?
She tried to pull the shelves away from the wall but couldn’t budge them. She needed help. Running up the steps, she called, “Where’s Luigi? I need him in the root cellar.”
Maria nodded to the back door. “He’s probably in the stables.”
Gaby rushed to the back door.
Maria called after her, “Is everything okay, Gabriella?”
“Yes. Just keep working,” Gaby called over her shoulder.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she ran for the stable. Horse neighs and whinnies greeted her as she entered. “Luigi, where are you? I need you to come with me to the root cellar.”
Luigi’s head poked out of one of the stalls. “Did you see insects or rodents? I can bring the pitchfork or grab a broom.”
“No, no, it’s not any kind of pest. Come, I’ll show you, and you can help me. I need to move something.”
Luigi raised his brows quizzically and leaned the pitchfork he’d been holding against the stall.
“Come. Hurry!”
He trotted after her, following her into the kitchen. Gabriella ignored the questioning looks from Maria and Katia and ran down the stairs.
When Luigi joined her, she was already on one side of the shelf, poised to move it away from the wall. “Get on the other side and help me move these shelves.”
“But why, signorina?”
“There’s something hidden behind here, and I need to find out what it is.”
“Si,signorina.” Luigi held the other side, grunting and groaning.
They managed to move the shelves an inch away from the wall before stopping to catch their breath. It was good that it was so cool in the root cellar, but the exertion brought a sheen to Luigi’s brow, and he wiped his forehead on his sleeve. “They are cumbersome. Should I get Antonio? This is maybe too difficult for you.”
“No, no, we can do this.”
Luigi sighed with resignation. “Okay, let us try again.”
