Claire Gulliver #03 - Intrigue in Italics Read Free

turn you off of traveling, are you?” She shook her head, an expression of disbelief on her face. “Travel is fun. It’s enriching. And believe me, it’s safe. And don’t forget we rely on it for our livelihood. You should go!
    “Tuffy-Two, Theroux and I can handle the store.”
    Claire smiled to herself. It was hard to win an argument with Mrs. B; she always seemed to know the right buttons to push. Tuffy-Two, the West Highland Terrier puppy, was no longer a little ball of fluff that customers mistook for a stuffed toy. And Theroux, the bookshop cat had him well in hand, treating him as if he were her kitten instead of a puppy. The customers of the book store loved them both. Mrs. B was right; the three of them could handle the business in the store, which still had not returned to the level it had been before the terrorist attacks.
    Claire turned off the shower and concentrated as she carefully made her way over the slick floor to the thick towel she hung from a hook earlier. She toweled her hair and checked her face in the mirror. She looked okay, the years were being kind. She thought she looked in her thirties a good ten years younger than she was. That was encouraging. It made her feel more energetic. The shower had really perked her up and she was getting a little excited about exploring Florence.
    Her mother and Ruth, had arrived in Florence on the previous Thursday, so they had several days to acclimate themselves before Claire joined them today. They were due to start their Culinary Retreat on Wednesday, leaving Claire to explore Florence on her own and then proceed to Venice where they would meet her when “school” was over. And Claire had a whole list of “things to do” and “places to see,” some she had taken from Marianne Peabody’s lecture, some were suggestions she had collected over the years from travel magazines and newspapers, and some were recommendations from her customers. She knew she wouldn’t do everything but she fully intended to make a big dent in the list.
    Finally, hair dried, dressed in her underwear, she quietly entered the big room, nodding at her mother. She quickly selected and donned a pair of khaki slacks and a sleeveless knit sweater. She was fastening her sturdy sandals when Ruth’s gentle snoring abruptly stopped.
    “Okay,” Ruth said stretching on the bed, “a little nap was just what I needed. So what shall we do this evening?”
    “Well, it’s Claire’s first night, so I think we should do something special.”
    Ruth nodded her agreement.
    “Remember that area of little shops we saw on the other side of Pont Vecchio?” she asked Ruth. “That lady from Toledo said she ate at a very nice restaurant there. Wait, I marked it in my book.” She rummaged around in her bag and came up with the book. “Here it is, Momma Mia’s. And we could show Claire the gold shops on the bridge and look in some of the art galleries and shops in that area. What do you think?”
    “Fine with me.” Claire thought anywhere with food was sounding good about now.
    “Let’s do it,” Ruth agreed, swinging off the bed and looking for her shoes. “But let’s take a taxi to Pont Vecchio. I’ve walked enough today.”
    It didn’t take long for the taxi to drop them at the foot of the ancient stone bridge over the river Arno. The bridge itself was golden, bathed in the rays of the setting sun, and was crammed with shops clinging along both sides selling their gold. Even though it was early evening all the shops were open, their proprietors eager for every sale.
    The women slowly made their way through the pedestrians, examining the endless variety of jewelry, comparing prices. Claire couldn’t resist an intricate gold chain bracelet, deciding to wear it on the same hand as her watch. She was certain it would look perfect with the beautiful gold and diamond Cartier watch Vantage Airlines had given her last September. Of course, she wasn’t wearing it now; she hadn’t even