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Authors: Donna Leon
Tags: Mystery
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& Hawkes, she also knew, had begun to publish Baroque music: she knew she could not find a better company. If anything could launch her career, this was it.
She nodded, quite as if this were a normal part of any job she’d ever had. Then she asked, “And if I were to publish any of the other papers?”
He lowered his hands and said, “I do civil law, Dottoressa. Breach of contract is something my office deals with every day.”
“What does that mean, Dottore?” Caterina asked, conscious that her tone had changed.
He considered her question and her tone and answered, “To do so would be a breach of contract, Dottoressa, in which event a case surely would be brought against you. It would be a very long and a very expensive case.” He left it to her to assume that, though the length would concern them both equally, perhaps the cost would be more of a burden to her.
“How long would a case like this take to pass through the courts?” she asked, then explained, “If I might ask for the sake of curiosity.”
He leaned farther back against Roseanna’s desk and let the hand that still held the paper fall to his side. “I’d imagine the least it could take is eight or nine years. That is, if the verdict were appealed.”
“I see,” Caterina said, preferring not to ask how much it might cost. “I’m perfectly willing to agree to the conditions.”
His whole body seemed to relax when she said that, and she wondered if perhaps he had had some personal interest in controlling the information in the trunks. What could he and the cousins fear would be hidden in those documents? What scandal might have survived all these generations, quietly ticking away inside two locked chests? Caterina gave herself a mental shake and dismissed the idea. To think like this was to enter into the same world of paranoia in which the cousins seemed to live.
Before Dottor Moretti could thank her for agreeing, she held up a hand and said, “I want to make something clear.” He leaned forward, the very picture of attention. “I want to repeat that I am not a historian, so it might be necessary for me to spend time reading about the historical background in the Marciana to get some sense of what was going on when these documents were written. Is that understood?”
Dottor Moretti smiled. “Your letters of recommendation said you were an eager student and researcher, Dottoressa. I’m happy to see signs of it now.” His smile broadened. “Of course you can read. It will be of invaluable use, I hope, in helping you to put any events mentioned into their correct historical context.”
Roseanna broke in to say, “I doubt that they’ll like paying for historical context.” In response to Caterina’s glance, she said, “You’ve met them, they have blunt minds. They think in numbers and yes and no.” She looked across at Dottor Moretti.
“I think you’re right, Signora, that they won’t grasp the need to understand the background,” he said. Then to Caterina, “You’re a scholar. Of course you have to do the background reading, otherwise it makes no sense for you to read anything. They won’t like it, but I think I have sufficient influence with them to encourage them to allow it.” Then, after a pause, “I think it’s both essential and prudent that you do it.”
Caterina was struck by his use of that word, for Dottor Moretti, more than any other thing, seemed a prudent man. For Caterina, however, the term was only descriptive and could as easily be a vice as a virtue. She hoped that it was a virtue in the lawyer.
Her reflections were interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.
Dottor Moretti looked at his watch and said, looking at Roseanna, “You were right, Signora, it’s just noon. Indeed, our two guests do think in numbers.”
Seven
R OSEANNA GOT TO HER FEET, SAYING, “ D OTTORE, MIGHT I ASK you to open the door for our guests?” It was Monday, Caterina recalled, the day the library was closed to
She nodded, quite as if this were a normal part of any job she’d ever had. Then she asked, “And if I were to publish any of the other papers?”
He lowered his hands and said, “I do civil law, Dottoressa. Breach of contract is something my office deals with every day.”
“What does that mean, Dottore?” Caterina asked, conscious that her tone had changed.
He considered her question and her tone and answered, “To do so would be a breach of contract, Dottoressa, in which event a case surely would be brought against you. It would be a very long and a very expensive case.” He left it to her to assume that, though the length would concern them both equally, perhaps the cost would be more of a burden to her.
“How long would a case like this take to pass through the courts?” she asked, then explained, “If I might ask for the sake of curiosity.”
He leaned farther back against Roseanna’s desk and let the hand that still held the paper fall to his side. “I’d imagine the least it could take is eight or nine years. That is, if the verdict were appealed.”
“I see,” Caterina said, preferring not to ask how much it might cost. “I’m perfectly willing to agree to the conditions.”
His whole body seemed to relax when she said that, and she wondered if perhaps he had had some personal interest in controlling the information in the trunks. What could he and the cousins fear would be hidden in those documents? What scandal might have survived all these generations, quietly ticking away inside two locked chests? Caterina gave herself a mental shake and dismissed the idea. To think like this was to enter into the same world of paranoia in which the cousins seemed to live.
Before Dottor Moretti could thank her for agreeing, she held up a hand and said, “I want to make something clear.” He leaned forward, the very picture of attention. “I want to repeat that I am not a historian, so it might be necessary for me to spend time reading about the historical background in the Marciana to get some sense of what was going on when these documents were written. Is that understood?”
Dottor Moretti smiled. “Your letters of recommendation said you were an eager student and researcher, Dottoressa. I’m happy to see signs of it now.” His smile broadened. “Of course you can read. It will be of invaluable use, I hope, in helping you to put any events mentioned into their correct historical context.”
Roseanna broke in to say, “I doubt that they’ll like paying for historical context.” In response to Caterina’s glance, she said, “You’ve met them, they have blunt minds. They think in numbers and yes and no.” She looked across at Dottor Moretti.
“I think you’re right, Signora, that they won’t grasp the need to understand the background,” he said. Then to Caterina, “You’re a scholar. Of course you have to do the background reading, otherwise it makes no sense for you to read anything. They won’t like it, but I think I have sufficient influence with them to encourage them to allow it.” Then, after a pause, “I think it’s both essential and prudent that you do it.”
Caterina was struck by his use of that word, for Dottor Moretti, more than any other thing, seemed a prudent man. For Caterina, however, the term was only descriptive and could as easily be a vice as a virtue. She hoped that it was a virtue in the lawyer.
Her reflections were interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.
Dottor Moretti looked at his watch and said, looking at Roseanna, “You were right, Signora, it’s just noon. Indeed, our two guests do think in numbers.”
Seven
R OSEANNA GOT TO HER FEET, SAYING, “ D OTTORE, MIGHT I ASK you to open the door for our guests?” It was Monday, Caterina recalled, the day the library was closed to
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