her dreams seemed to be coming true. The glamour and glitter of
Venice was even more spellbinding than she could have imagined.
She spent her precious spare time visiting one church after another,
deeply impressed by their wonderful paintings. The bustling
city was for her one huge treasure-trove of new discoveries. Her
employer was kind and generous, often giving her chambermaid a
book to read, later to discuss its contents with her. The girl could
not have been happier. But after a couple of months Venice began
to pall on her. She saw it was nothing more than a huge, richly
filled cake and, having tasted it, you had soon had enough. Behind
the décor of art and concerti, architecture and opera, she found
only a great desert of plain superficiality. Art here had become
something that one person had to possess in order to trump
another. The music was as ephemeral as the sea air; everyone
breathed it in without giving it a moment’s thought. Everything
was transitory and more and more superfluous. It was a relief when
she came across a like-minded spirit, but such meetings were
few and far between. Carnival, she had discovered, provided
moments of fascination and unexpected encounters, but some of
these had unexpected and unwelcome consequences. Oh, how she
would miss the city! If only she did not to have to leave, but there
was no other way.
She had taken some while to realise it. At first she had
thought her sore and swollen breasts might be due to the weather.
But when her monthly ‘curse’ failed to appear she soon realised the
condition she was in. She tried to hide it for as long as possible;
after all, something could always go wrong. But the time came
when her rosy cheeks and rounding figure could no longer escape
the notice of the rest of the house. People were already whispering,
and once that happened in Venice a secret was very soon a secret no
more. She knew the rules of the household, sorrowfully packed up
her few belongings, including the two books bought out of last
year’s earnings, and left. The morning she left, using the door onto
the street, only a couple of the staff came out to say their goodbyes
to her, sobbing and with a hug and a good luck wish. Her mistress,
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