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discreet.”
    “He wouldn’t last long in our business if he wasn’t.”
    Unspoken between us was the knowledge that equipment such as I sought and Rocco made was believed by many to be used by servants of the Devil. Who else would want to plumb the secrets of nature so thoroughly, transform matter in new and possibly dangerous ways, and even try to understand the very essence of Creation? Such was the province of God, not Man, as any right-thinking person should surely know.
    Yet here in Rome and elsewhere in the Italian states, reaching up into La Francia and the Low Countries, even, it was said, as far away as L’Angleterre, there were daring men and women willing to give their lives for the conviction that faith is not a substitute for knowledge.
    It was even whispered that some had dared to band together in mutual support, calling themselves that which they most longed to bring into the world: Lux—Light. If my suspicions were correct, my father had been one of them.
    With my business concluded, I lingered, enjoying Rocco andNando’s company. The love so evident between them reminded me of all I had lost, yet it was still a comfort to know that such love remained possible in a world that seemed to be spiraling into ever greater darkness and danger.
    When I finally rose to leave, Rocco walked me to the door. Keeping his voice low so the boy could not hear, he touched my arm lightly and said, “Giovanni’s murder shocked everyone, yet so far there has been very little talk. That won’t last. If I hear anything, I will send word to you. In the meantime, guard yourself well, Francesca. Your father would want nothing less.”
    I nodded in gratitude. Rocco might seem a simple, even humble man, but the nature of his work meant that he had contacts in the universities, among the great families, and, it was even said, within the Curia itself. Inevitably that meant he was also privy to a great many secrets. It was possible that he knew those my father had been associated with, who might in turn have information regarding the circumstances of his death. It was even within the realm of possibility that Rocco himself was part of Lux, assuming that it truly existed. As not even my father had ever confided in me directly concerning it, I could hardly expect Rocco to admit any such involvement. But I could and did count on him to deal with me honestly.
    I pressed his hand in thanks, bade a fond farewell to Nando over his father’s shoulder, and set off for the Palazzo Borgia. It was in my mind that I needed to unpack the chest I had so hastily filled after learning of my father’s death, all that I was able to secure before the Cardinal’s guards sealed the apartment. They had searched the chest, but finding only my own clothing, had seen no reason not to let me take it. Had they known of the compartment hidden beneath the false bottom, they would have acted differently.
    The thunderheads were passing off toward the west and a freshening breeze blew out of the north. The relative coolness lightened my step and may, along with my general preoccupation, have contributed to my failure to pay proper attention to my surroundings. Whatever the cause, I was taken by surprise when, almost within sight of the palazzo, a trio of men appeared suddenly from an alley.
    Blocking the street in front of me, they looked me up and down and sneered.
    “Puttana,”
the largest of them said. “What do you think you are doing, whore?”
    “Get away from me,” I snapped. At that moment, I was not yet afraid. They seemed just three more idiots bent on harassing women. My clothes marked me as not of the nobility but still far from poor, a woman who would have a degree of protection. They could be bold enough to verbally assault me but nothing more. Even so, I did not wait for their response but began to go around them.
    Only to be stopped when the one nearest me grabbed my arm.
    “Puttana,”
he repeated and threw me to the ground.
    In that