Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

Julia watched as Katherine’s happiness was replaced by a look of regret. She’d loved Professor Hutton, her supervisor at Oxford, but he had been married. As Katherine had admitted once to Julia, he had been the love of her life.

Her expression brightened. “Old Hut found it in a bookstore in Oxford, years ago.”

“Really?” Gabriel’s eyebrows lifted.

“It was a remarkable find. He had it authenticated by a private museum in Switzerland that owned other, similar manuscripts.”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “Do you remember the name of the

museum?”

“The Cassirer Foundation Museum. Near Geneva.”

A look passed between Gabriel and Julia.

Katherine continued. “The manuscript belonged to Galeazzo Malatesta. Galeazzo was married to Battista da Montefeltro. Her great-great-grandfather, Federico I, took over Urbino after Guido’s death.”

Julia reached for the manuscript but stopped short of touching it. “I can’t believe it.”

“Battista joined the Franciscan sisters after her husband died. She was a remarkable scholar in her own right and the grandmother of Costanza Varano, who was one of the most revered women in the midfifteenth century.” Katherine nodded at Julia. “Your interest in Guido and the Franciscans persuaded me that this manuscript belonged in your home. This is a gift for my goddaughter, but I don’t mind if her parents read it.”

Katherine laughed at her own joke and sat back, taking great pleasure in watching Julia and Gabriel fawn over the gift. “There’s some interesting marginalia and a few illuminations. You may find something relevant to your research, Julia.”

“Thank you.” Julia stood and hugged Katherine.

Gabriel repeated the gesture.

“Not bad for an old spinster.” Katherine’s voice was gruff. She tried to hide her sniffling by pushing the Emersons aside and pointing out some of the interesting features of the manuscript.

Julia and Gabriel pretended not to notice the sudden wetness on her cheeks.

Chapter Seventeen

The sound of a baby’s cries split the night.

Julia groaned and reached for her phone. It was amazing how Clare had adjusted to the feeding schedule. She was right on time, her cries of hunger anticipating Julia’s alarm by only a few minutes.

Julia switched the alarm off and closed her eyes, just for a moment.

Gabriel was asleep next to her, his face half-buried in a pillow, his arm slung over her abdomen. In fact, he was snoring—the obnoxious sound fortuitously muffled by the pillow.

He’d had a busy day. He’d responded to the University of Edinburgh, accepting the position of Sage Lecturer. They’d cautioned him to keep news of his appointment secret from everyone except his employer until the formal announcement and gala, which they wanted to schedule as soon as possible.

He and Julia had hosted a celebratory lunch with Richard, Rachel, and Katherine. Popping champagne and ginger ale, Gabriel lauded Julia’s invitation to the Oxford workshop, which she had accepted that afternoon, explaining to the family what a tremendous compliment it was.

Gabriel spent most of the afternoon in his home office, fielding phone calls and going through his files. He was supposed to announce the topic of his lectures, at least in very general terms, at the gala. The Professor, as usual, was not a person who would leave things to the last minute.

He’d tumbled into bed just after the late-night feeding. And now he snored. It appeared the Professor could sleep through Clare’s cries.

Julia could not. She swung her legs to the bare floor and winced.

Her right leg felt as if it were asleep. She flexed it, steeling herself for the pins and needles she was sure to experience as her circulation corrected itself. Instead, the pins and needles never came.

She leaned over, poking her bare leg with her thumb from knee to ankle. She could feel the pressure, but the feeling was dull. Her lower leg remained numb.

She moved her leg. She had full range of motion of leg, ankle, and foot. She could wiggle her toes. But the nagging, dull numbness persisted.

Clare’s cries had abated, but it was still time to feed her. Julia stood, putting most of her weight on her left leg, and limped over to the baby. She lifted Clare and kissed her, then moved uncertainly to the nursery, taking care to stay close to the wall in case she fell.