Chapter TwoThe Marquis walked with Lucia along a narrow street from the corner of the San Marco, then into a much narrower callete in which the high houses on either side were in a very dilapidated condition.
It was what the Marquis expected.
At the same time it struck him that if he was walking into a trap where he would be robbed and doubtless rendered unconscious, he had nobody to blame but himself.
Then Lucia led the way through the high double door of a 17th century building which the Marquis guessed had once been a nobleman’s house.
There was a long flight of stone stairs winding upwards and the steps themselves were chipped and broken.
As they climbed and went on climbing, the Marquis was glad that he was in good athletic condition.
He noticed that the steepness and height of
