Prologue
There’s always blood: that’s what the midwife is thinking. Blood…
Chapter One
Lucrezia and Spinetta Buti arrived at the Convent Santa Margherita…
Chapter Two
Dropping her feet onto the cool stone floor, Lucrezia bent…
Chapter Three
“We haven’t had enough rain,” Sister Pureza said in a…
Chapter Four
Far from the serenity of the convent garden, behind the…
Chapter Five
Fra Filippo Lippi sat beneath the window in his bottega…
Chapter Six
A glance at the fine steed tied just beyond his…
Chapter Seven
A uniformed Medici messenger entered the convent courtyard on Tuesday…
Chapter Eight
When Fra Filippo saw the sun shine into his workshop…
Chapter Nine
The sky went from midnight blue to deep black, and…
Chapter Ten
Seated in the confessional, Fra Filippo knew many of the…
Chapter Eleven
With the Feast of the Sacred Belt only two days…
Chapter Twelve
The waning moon seemed to follow Sister Pureza and Lucrezia…
Chapter Thirteen
Filing into the church for Lauds on the morning of…
Chapter Fourteen
Lucrezia sat in a sturdy wooden chair next to Fra…
Chapter Fifteen
Lucrezia woke to the sound of pots rattling in the…
Chapter Sixteen
“Perhaps you could go to Signora Valenti,” Spinetta said, her…
Chapter Seventeen
More than a week passed with no word from Florence…
Chapter Eighteen
Lucrezia’s bruises healed until they were barely shadows on her…
Chapter Nineteen
“I wouldn’t have believed it if my Luigi hadn’t delivered…
Chapter Twenty
Fra Filippo labored every morning on the frescoes, and every…
Chapter Twenty-One
In small niches along the streets of Prato, parishioners festooned…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fra Filippo was at the center of activity in the…
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lucrezia was stitching a small sleeve onto an infant’s gown…
Chapter Twenty-Four
Prioress Bartolommea clutched the three gold florins in her hand…
Chapter Twenty-Five
There was no mistaking the pains this time. Water rushed…
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Please, Lucrezia, just a little bit.” Spinetta spoke her first…
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Prioress Bartolommea reached for her new spectacles, which had been…
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Candles and oil lanterns flickered and hissed as the painter…
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dawn was still far away when an invisible hand pulled…
Chapter Thirty
It was an especially warm day and Sister Pureza was…
Chapter Thirty-One
“Home,” the emissary drawled. He stood, his voice drunken, but…
Epilogue
Light filters through the stained-glass window of the small chapel…