Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

Nothing could replace the contentment he felt in the presence of his wife and child. Although he knew there would be times in his life when they had to be parted, he resolved to keep those times as short as possible. Because without them, his luxurious, pretentious, scholastic life was empty a

nd small.

Perhaps it was this realization that caused Dante to pen The Divine Comedy. Having had so great a love, his life was small without it. So he had to write a magnum opus in order to describe adequately his experience.

Gabriel put aside his tea and strode over to the writing desk that sat on the opposite wall. He picked up his cell phone and did something he’d sworn once he’d never do: He took a self-portrait. And he smiled gently in it.

He put on his glasses and with a few flicks of his fingers across the screen, he attached the photograph to an email he addressed to Julianne. He told her about his day and evening and wrote a very specific greeting to Clare,

Daddy loves you, Clare.

Be a good girl for Mommy.

I’ll see you soon.

XO

Gabriel pressed send. As he readied himself for bed, he thought about Julianne opening the email in a few hours. He thought about her showing the photograph to Clare, and Clare pointing to the picture and recognizing him.

He was Clare’s father, and perhaps that was Professor Emerson’s most important title of all.

Chapter Sixty-Three

The next couple of days were the longest of Julia’s life. Or so it seemed.

She enjoyed the workshop and felt she was gathering lots of ideas for her dissertation, but Cecilia remained cold and distant toward her, especially when in the presence of Katherine Picton.

Julia spent most of her time during the day with Paul and Graham, when she wasn’t running back to her rooms to feed Clare. Julia was grateful for Rebecca, who took Clare for walks and picnics and visits with her godmother, Katherine, who excused herself from a session or two in order to accompany the baby around Oxford.

On this day, Gabriel was due to return from London on the afternoon train. They’d kept in touch via emails and FaceTime, but he’d been busy during the day and evenings.

Gabriel described the other academics as something akin to what one might find in the British Museum. In fact, he hypothesized that a particular professor from University College London predated the Rosetta Stone.

And Cecilia had announced suddenly during the morning coffee break that she’d be returning to America the following morning, which meant that Julia could no longer wait. She had to ask Cecilia again for approval of a semester abroad at Edinburgh. So it was with great trepidation that Julia stood outside the door of Cecilia’s temporary office in the New Building at Magdalen College on Thursday afternoon.

Julia took a deep breath and knocked.

“Come in,” Cecilia called.

Julia opened the door. “Do you have a minute?”

“Certainly.” Cecilia gestured to a nearby chair and Julia sat. The office was small but cozy, with a window that looked out onto The Grove. Nearby, a herd of deer were quietly nibbling grass. One could see the college’s white buck standing proud among them.

Cecilia’s desk was covered with papers and books, and her laptop was open. She appeared to be in the middle of writing.

She waited politely for Julia to speak.

Julia rummaged in her messenger bag, which had been a gift from Rachel and Gabriel several years ago. She retrieved a piece of paper and handed it to Cecilia.

Cecilia gave her a questioning look. “What is this?”

“This is the list of graduate courses in Italian Studies that are being taught in the fall at Edinburgh.”

Cecilia’s expression grew frosty. She skimmed the list and returned it to Julia. “Graham Todd’s course in Dante is fine. But I don’t see how coursework in modern Italian cinema will contribute to your program.”

“There’s a course on the influence of the Bible on Renaissance literature,” Julia protested quietly. “There’s a course in medieval poetry.”

“The coursework offered at Harvard is more extensive, and more appropriate for your research. I’ll be teaching a comparative course on Virgil and Dante that you should take.” Cecilia’s demeanor was implacable.