Wings of the Falcon

307 Pages·2005·0.85 MB·English

by  Barbara Michaels

Wings of the
Falcon
ELIZABETH PETERS
WRITING AS
BARBARA MICHAELS

To Joan and Fred
Caroline, Mary Ann, and Nancy
and the four-footed Hartsocks
whose number is, at the time,
Indeterminate.

Contents
Author’s Note vii
Chapter 1
Authors who write in the first person
cannot expect their… 1
Chapter 2
To call my cousin Andrea impetuous is to
do him… 25
Chapter 3
When I awoke, the interior of the coach
was dusky… 61
Chapter 4
Girls know when they are pretty. Mirrors
may lie, but… 79
Chapter 5
“You were never in serious danger, you
know.” How he… 117
Chapter 6
We were late returning, and the others
were just sitting… 143
Chapter 7 169
Stefano had sprained his ankle; he retired
to his lair…
Chapter 8
One breathlessly hot afternoon a week or
so after Andrea’s… 189
Chapter 9
No one said anything to Miss Perkins
about the flowerpot… 215
Chapter 10
Time had no meaning in the stifling
darkness. It might… 235
Chapter 11
She had been speaking Italian, of course.
I ought to… 265
About the Author
Praise For
Other Books by Barbara Michaels
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Though all of the characters in this book are completely
fictitious, some of the more improbable events are based on
actual fact. The history of the Risorgimento in Italy is filled
with incidents as dramatic as any writer could invent. The
Falcon, of course, is an invention; but Emilio and Attilio
Bandiera are not. The town of Parezzo is imaginary, but
Perugia’s insurrection and the retaliation of the papal troops
are factual. Captain De Merode is a fictitious character, but
Schmidt of Perugia and other mercenary commanders sup-
plied the data on which I based my fanatical soldier. There
is not and never was a family like the Tarcontis. However,
their Etruscan cemetery resembles real ones and the tomb
of the princess is based on the historical Regolini-Galassi
tomb. Several early excavators claim to have seen perfectly
preserved bodies crumble as the air entered the tomb. Even
the white rabbits come from a factual account by Mrs.
Hamilton Gray.
The historical background of Italy in 1860 is as accurate
as I could make it. I hope I have succeeded in conveying the
courage and dedication of the men who fought to unite Italy
and free her of medieval institutions.