Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

“Good.” Julia touched his biceps. “Maybe we should keep the memento mori, just for a while. Then donate it anonymously to Palazzo Riccardi. I’m sure they’d be happy to have it.”

“Yes, they would.” Gabriel began pushing the stroller, with Julianne at his side.

Clare turned around in her seat and pointed a chubby finger at Gabriel. “Dadadadada.”

Gabriel practically tripped over himself, he stopped so fast. He came around to the front of the stroller and crouched in front of Clare.

“Dada.” He pointed to himself. “Dada.”

“Dada.” Clare repeated. She moved her head back and forth. “Dadadada.”

“That’s right, Principessa.” He pointed to himself once again. “Dada.”

“Dadadada,” Clare repeated. She clapped her hands and grabbed her bunny and began to chew on it.

“Dada,” Gabriel whispered. It was more of a prayer than a name.

“I’ve been trying to get her to say Mama first.” Julia touched Gabriel’s shoulder. “Of course Clare, like her father, has her own ideas.”

“I think Clare, like her mother, has her own ideas.” He ruffled Clare’s hair and straightened.

“That was intense.” He pressed his lips together for a moment. (And if you had said his eyes were watering, he would have told you it was his allergies.) “Where are we going? I’ve lost track of what we were doing.”

Julia took hold of the stroller. “We’re going to our rooms so I can call Greg Matthews. And then I’m going to take a video of Clare calling you Dada. We can save it for posterity and send it to our families.”

“Perfect.” Gabriel fell into step with Juli

a and the stroller, keeping a watchful eye on Clare.

In that moment, with his family, with the name his beloved daughter had blessed him with, and with the prospect of a new adventure in Scotland together, Gabriel had never been happier or more hopeful. No matter what challenges or dangers he and Julianne faced, they would do so as a family.

And that was Gabriel’s promise.

Fin.

Acknowledgments

I owe a debt to Cambridge, Boston, Selinsgrove, Edinburgh, London, Cologny, Zermatt, Miami, Florence, and Oxford. Thank you for your hospitality and inspiration. All quotations of Dante’s Divine Comedy are from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s translation. All quotations of Dante’s La Vita Nuova are from Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s translation.

I am grateful to Kris, who read an early draft and offered valuable constructive criticism. I am also thankful to Jennifer and Nina for their extensive comments and corrections.

I’ve been very pleased to work again with Cindy Hwang, my editor, and with Cassie Hanjian, my agent. I’d like to thank Kim Schefler for her guidance and counsel.

My publicist, Nina Bocci, works tirelessly to promote my writing and to help me with social media, which enables me to keep in touch with readers. I’m honored to be part of her team. She is an author in her own right and I heartily recommend her novels.

I am grateful to Erika for her friendship and support. I also want to thank the many book bloggers who have taken time to read and review my work.

I especially want to thank you, readers, for your tremendous enthusiasm. This book was written for you, with my gratitude. While I was editing this novel, I learned that Tori, a longtime reader and supporter, had passed away. Tori was my first reader and she shared her affection for the Professor with her family and friends. She was kind and encouraging and is greatly missed.

I want to thank the Muses, Argyle Empire, FS Meurinne, the Fox Den on Facebook, the readers from around the world who operate the SRFans and TMITBS social media accounts, and the readers who recorded the podcasts in English, Spanish, and Portuguese devoted to my novels. Thank you for your continued support.

I am also thankful to Tosca Musk and her team at Passionflix, who will be bringing The Gabriel Series to film.

Finally, I would like to thank my readers for continuing this journey with me. We form a diverse, supportive community that spans the globe. I am so grateful to be part of this community.

—SR

Keep reading for outtakes from Sylvain Reynard’s novels