The warm summer sun, in a final act before acquiescing to the moon, beat down upon the stones, removing all trace of rain. The fading rays peeked through the clouds sending diamonds afloat on the shimmering water of the fountain. My walk brought me here on many nights since I became mistress of the manor, and tonight was no different.

My vision lowered to the floor of the fountain's pool and I wondered that there were no coins there. Had the Baron become so accustomed to his method of acquiring wealth and lands and provision that he had forgotten how to wish? My breath became labored as his image came to mind. Rough hands and rougher manners. Briefly, I imagined him on his sickbed and yearned for news of his demise. I shook my head as if to ward off the mental picture, and refocused.

The lions on the plinth roared silently as an endless stream of liquid poured from their fearsome mouths into the base. I reached into my pocket, and my hand closed around an object. I brought it out into the fading light and smiled at the ducat; or moreso, what it represented: the images of La Rocca, and of my friends so well-met there. I hoped that recent letters sent had reached them in time to urge them come and keep me company.

My teeth grazed my lower lip and I felt a small surge of hope in my breast. Quickly, I dispatched it, and held the coin between index finger and thumb over the fountain whispering so that even the nearby birds could not hear me:

"I would wish for love. I would wish for adventure. I would wish an escape from my current situation. But no . . . none of these shall be mine until fortune bestows on me that which I need and not desire. And so, today, I simply wish...."

I left my fate to fortune as the sun glinted off the coin before it sank into the horizon. End over end over end, and finally, noiselessly, sliced through the surface of the water and gently landed at the bottom of the fountain. A wavering mark of my hope, barely visible, but clearly present.

I turned, walking toward the manor and stopped to pick a bloom, breathing in its sweet perfume and softly murmuring: "I shall be patient."