May 1718
VeniceI carried on my courtship of Rachel for another year and then proposed marriage. During this period, she received interest from other men; I even caught sight of more than a single clandestine meeting or message from “A.V.” But I was in a superior position to the other suitors and believed that I could win Rachel for myself despite the competition from younger – or more famous – others.
It was in the cold months of winter at the beginning of this year that I made a formal proposal. I was welcomed into the d'Invito home and presented Signora with a bouquet of flowers, a tribute nearly impossible to secure in mid-winter except by a man of significant wealth such as myself.
I presented Ludovico with a contract to award his company a sizable fortune, and he smiled grandly at
