Epilogue

EPILOGUE

S even months later, in Catania

Giving his mother one last hug, Donald stepped back and handed her his handkerchief. Tears had begun streaming down her face even before their trunks were loaded on the ship that would take her, Will, Randy, Tom, and David to Greece. “We’ll join you when you are ready to tour the mainland,” he said, reminding her of their plans.

“Are you quite sure you cannot come with us?” Barbara asked.

“Mother, I’m about to become a father again. I do not want Nikky to have to endure such arduous travel when she is so close to her confinement,” Donald explained.

“Of course not,” Barbara agreed, scooping Antony into her arms. “I am going to miss you so much, and, oh dear, you’ve grown far too heavy to lift, my little lord,” she added before setting him down.

“ Ciao, nonna ,” he said, kissing her cheek.

Will embraced his son and then Nicoletta, careful to stay clear of her rounding belly. “We’ll see you again soon,” he said. “I can hardly wait to meet my next grandchild.” Even as he said the words, he reached down and lifted Antony so the boy sailed over his head before he gripped his ankles and held him upside down.

Antony shrieked with joy.

“Darling, do remember, he’s a marchese,” Barbara scolded.

“Ah, but I rather doubt I’ll be able to lift him like this the next time I see him,” Will countered. “He’ll be far too heavy and tall.” He brought his grandson to an upright position and made sure his feet were firmly on the ground before he gave up his hold on him. “Take care of your parents,” he said.

“I will,” Antony replied. “Take care of my nonna .”

Chuckling, Will said, “I will.”

The cousins and David each shook Donald’s hand before they headed up the gangway.

With the ropes already untied and the crew waiting for Will and Barbara to board, they were quick with their final farewells. A few minutes later, and the steam-powered Greek ship Son of Apollo left the dock headed east.

Donald, Nicoletta, and Antony waved until the ship was too far away to see anyone on board. Donald lifted his son onto his shoulders before he offered his arm to his wife.

Nicoletta threaded her arm through his, and they made their way back to where the Montblanc coach had parked.

“There will be two colts joining your stable in the next month,” he said. “Probably about the time you’re giving birth.”

She inhaled softly. “You are sure?”

He nodded. “I bred the mares before we departed. They’re both doing fine in their new pasture on Aetna.”

“You are still happy with the idea of seeing to the stables? Even now?” she asked. They had spent over six months traveling around Sicily, not only visiting the sites along the coasts but also going inland to discover the Norman-style churches and intricately glazed ceramics in the mountain village of Erice and the Ancient Greek sites in Syracuse.

“I am,” he replied. “And I’m going to write another book.”

“You are?”

“About traveling in Sicily. I have new drawings and a journal full of notes,” he explained. “There’s just one place I haven’t been to recently, though.”

“Oh? I was sure we had seen all of the island.”

He chuckled. “Would you be amenable for a visit to the Roman theater?” he asked. “The boys went there without me, and I haven’t been since the first time you took me there.”

Grinning, she glanced up at Antony, who was enjoying his ride on his father’s shoulder. “Seven years ago, was it not?”

“Indeed,” he replied, chuckling softly. There were times when his first trip to Catania seemed as if it had been only seven weeks ago rather than seven years.

“We can walk there from here,” she suggested.

“Are you sure you can manage?”

She grinned. “I am with child. Not infirm,” she reminded him. “Besides, you can rub my feet when we are home.”

He let out a guffaw before he gave instructions to the coach to meet them at the Roman ruins.

The walk was not long, but it was mostly uphill, so by the time they reached the theatre, they were ready for a rest. Given the low clearance at the entry, Donald was forced to remove Antony from his shoulders. The boy walked between them, his hands held in theirs as they made their way through the access passageway and into the open area of the theatre beyond.

Much like the first time they had been there, they had the space to themselves.

“Do you remember what we were doing here?” Donald asked as they settled onto a set of large limestone blocks that had at one time been some of the seats of the theatre.

“I taught you how to kiss me,” Nicoletta replied, grinning in delight.

“You were quite insistent I do it a certain way,” he commented.

“Because I liked it that way,” she reasoned.

“And now?”

She grinned. “I still like it that way,” she replied.

“Antony, close your eyes,” Donald instructed. “I’m going to kiss your mother senseless,” he added, grinning.

The boy scrunched his eyes shut as Donald pulled Nicoletta into his arms and kissed her, angling his head to one side and pulling her as close as he could manage given her protruding belly.

When they finally ended the kiss, Nicoletta tittered when she saw her son still had his eyes closed.

“You can open your eyes now, darling.”

Antony slowly opened one eye and then the other, as if to make sure his parents were no longer kissing. “Are you going to do it again?” he asked, grimacing.

They chuckled as they both leaned over to kiss him on the head. “Every day for the rest of our lives,” Donald said.

“Every night, too,” Nicoletta added, tittering when she saw his pained expression.

“You are a spoiled aristocrat,” he accused.

“I am indeed,” she admitted.

Deciding it best he not say anything, Donald simply offered his arm and led them out to the coach for the ride back to Villa Montblanc.