Sophia’s brow creased, her head tilted to one side in confusion.
“I am a Barnabotti. It is the place of my home and the way of my life.”
Sophia was taken aback; she had never heard a resident of the poor parish of San Barnaba call themselves by the less-than-flattering term.
“My family’s fortune has long since disappeared,” Teodoro continued with a careless shrug of his wide shoulders, attention locked on the gloom just out of the torch light’s glow. “If I were to marry we would lose our government’s assistance, such as it is. No, my brother will be the only one to marry and produce an heir. I will happily serve the Serenissima as a council member until I outlive my usefulness, like the monk in a monastery. In truth, the fratellanza is not much different. It is where I live, where I wil
