AN EXCERPT FROM BEATRICE'S JOURNAL

It has been ages since I picked up my pen to record in my journal; I have so much to write about that I'm not sure where to start. I've been living in Sorrentina for almost two years now and have an excellent job as secretary to Conte Foscari who works from his office in the Villa. Now I will be travelling again--on business but, I hope, for pleasure too. Today the Count, Hugo and I left Sorrentina and set sail for Provence!

Hugo, Beatrice and Conte Frascari

Leaving Sorrentina

From Provence we will begin a long journey by carriage to Prussia. It will take us through central Europe - the mountain passes, forests and hillsides. We will be staying at inns and perhaps taverns, so I do hope we won't encounter any fleas or vermin. I will wrap myself in my velvet cloak when I sleep. I packed some clothes that I hope will keep me warm and dry in this miserable winter weather which I know will only get colder when we travel further north and into high altitudes. When she said goodbye, Elisabetta tearfully gave me a warm woolen scarf she had knitted for me that I will tie round my neck once we arrive in Marseille. I will miss my sister but I'm glad she is staying in the warmth and safety of Sorrentina.

I am joining a trading mission that was initiated by the Count, although I am not too clear what goods will be sold or bought. He is relying on my knowledge of French and German to help in his business transactions so I am bound to learn the details soon enough. Both men are very secretive about the nature of their mission. Hugo is joining us as a companion and also to do business. I'm so glad; he is such a gentle kind man. I will have interesting travelling companions.

A winter storm

We left Sorrentina as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful evening but one that turned into a violent storm, driving us indoors to the warmth of the cabin below. I was feeling quite seasick as a result of the violent movement of the ship but after resting for a bit and drinking some ginger tea, I began to recover. As the ship pitched and rolled, I began to think about the past as well as about the weeks ahead.

In the cabin below deck

Only the Count knows about my past; I shared it with him during our first interview in Sorrentina- over a year ago. The time of my departure from Prussia was a painful one despite its pleasant beginnings. I grew up playing in the gardens of Sanssouci, Frederick the Great's summer palace in Prussia. When I was 18, I married Duke Vaclav Wolf von Mecklenberg, from a small Duchy north of Prussia. He had joined the army of Frederic the Great with whom he had a terrible falling out. The monarch of Prussia had begun to conquer half of Europe and became quite ruthless in his way of treating people, including his soldiers. My husband, always outspoken, became more and more critical of him, occasionally quite publicly. He made many enemies as a result of his outspokenness--enemies who, I fear may exist today. He was eventually stripped of his rank as Captain and ordered to leave the army. Disheartened and broken, his dreams of being part of united Europe destroyed, my dear Vaclav, filled with shame, abandoned me and the rest of his family and quietly left the country under the cover of darkness. I was informed, a few months later, that he died alone, of tuberculosis in a Viennese hospital run by nuns. We were never able to say goodbye to each other, a source of immense grief to me. I cant even say goodby to him now-he must be buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the Austrian Alps.

I was heartbroken of course and wanted to leave this cursed country, so I moved to Austria with my sister Elisabetta. We lived a hand to mouth existence in Vienna, surviving off the sales of all my jewelry (except my mother's precious moonstone necklace she gave me on her deathbed.) Using the rest of our savings my sister was able to study at a convent where she learned the genteel arts of sewing, embroidery and petit point. We eventually made our way across the high mountain passes to finally arrive in Venezia where I made my living as many women did, as a courtesan. Later, with the help of Hugo, my sister and I escaped to the haven of Sorrentina.

And now I am returning to the land which gave me so much pain. I will have to place my trust in God, my friends and my wit.