“Sometimes responsibility sneaked up on you without your seeing it coming, and then, very suddenly, it wouldn’t let you go anymore.”

“She sighed. “Go on, say it. I shouldn’t have come.”“You shouldn’t have come.” He looked sideways at her and gave her a fleeting grin. “But I’m glad you did.”

“Do you still have the revolver you were going to shoot me with?” asked the old man on the telephone.“Yes, I have it here.”“How much ammunition?”“No idea. How do I find out?”He explained. In the moonlight, she felt the bulges of the cartridges in the cylinder. “Six,” she said.“And you don’t know how to use it?”“No.”“But you are American.”“Ha-ha.”“If you do as I say, and go about it cleverly, I hope you won’t need it. Unless Cesare Carnevare crosses your path, in which case please be kind enough to shoot him.”“How about the concordat?”He laughed. “Shoot him when no one’s looking.”

“Clearly we have all the time in the world,” she said crossly. “Feel free to start way back with the dinosaurs—just as long as you get to the Carnevares and Alcantaras sometime.”

“He clasped her fingers, not so she could pull him up but clearly because he wanted to touch them. She wanted it too, way too much, and then he stood there right in front of her, the abyss beside them, and she could smell his skin and his hair, and let go of his hand, even though she secretly wanted something quite different.”

“Would you make a right just up ahead?” he asked.“And then?”“I’ll show you something.”“More mysteries.”“There’s nothing mysterious about it.”“You’re the mystery.”He smiled. “Me?”

“She struggled to find words, and then all the anger she had been damming up for the last few minutes broke out. It made no difference that none of what had happened was his fault. Nor did the fact that he’d saved her, or what he had sacrificed to do it. He was a Carnevare. He was one of them. And he was preventing her from going to her sister’s aid when Zoe needed her.“The girl that Cesare killed … ,” she snapped, “her name was Lilia. She … she loved my sister. Do you understand that? Zoe has just lost the person who probably meant more to her than anything else. And Lilia sacrificed herself for me. How can you think that—”“I’d have done the same thing,” he interrupted her calmly. “I’d have died for you up on that mountain.”That took her breath away. For a moment it deprived her not only of her self-control, but of the ability to utter another syllable.After endless seconds, she stammered, “That—that’s nonsense.”“It’s the truth.” He turned his head and looked at her. “I’m in love with you, Rosa.”She hesitated, fighting for composure.“Oh, hell,” she whispered.He smiled sadly.Then neither of them said anything, until finally she took his cell phone and called Zoe.”