Page 277 - The Grotesque Children's Book

Chapter 34.
Buying the locket

The change in Bianca was instantaneous. She was dubious about the healing effects of
air and exercise, particularly because she actually indulged in very little of either, even after the
new doctor's prescription. No, it was having someone to talk to about her shivering, that alone
lifted her spirits and got her skipping about again. The doctor told her he had been already able
to eliminate a number of possible causes, and would be able to speak with some certainty about
several others in just a few weeks.

She felt giddy and young again. To mark the occasion, she went to the goldsmiths and
had made a lovely gold-and-pearl locket in which to put a tiny portrait of her beloved husband.
In his honor, she had the jeweler install a little puzzle of a latch in the locket. How he loves his
puzzles!

*
Francesco noticed the change and immediately had the idea to commission a portrait of
her, to coincide with the opening of his new art galleries. Little did he care what chaos this
would cause in the lives of the ceiling fresco painter Allori. He hadn't given him a single
thought.

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