Meanwhile, while Edgar was at the cemetery, at the Scott house the nanny went to speak with her employer to ask him to be a little gentler with his son.
"He's still a child," she said about Edgar. "How don't you understand that?"
Old Mr. Scott was sitting in an armchair and just sighed.
"Please, Mr. Scott," the nanny continued, not minding his silence, "please don't be so harsh with him. Don't you see? The boy is completely closed off. There's something that always troubles him, and now with the death of Mrs. Scott..."
"It's because of that girl," Mr. Scott interrupted her in a cold tone. "Katerina's death has nothing to do with it."
He was referring to Angelica, a young girl of Italian descent, Edgar's childhood love.
When he was still very young, just ten years old, and his father had just become passionate about wines, Edgar met her, and it was love at first sight.
It was summer when Mr. Scott bought a villa in Florence and opened a small winery. His business was successful and expanded, especially thanks to his workers and the quality of the product. To keep everything under control, Mr. Scott decided to spend a summer in Italy. Of course, he brought both his wife and son. In the Tuscan countryside, the Scott family didn't abandon their customs of hosting and organizing dances. In fact, now social gatherings were an ideal opportunity to find new clients and let them taste their wine. It was during one of these events that Edgar met little Angelica. At the time, she was eight years old, and he was two years older. But she was lively, cheerful, and fun. She loved to dance and chat, especially with adults. But how could one blame her? During the wine-tasting evenings, only adults were around. Little Angelica had no choice but to spend time with them.
Angelica was tall for her age and very, very pretty. Her long brown hair fell on her delicate shoulders. A bright smile adorned her lips. She radiated joy and cheerfulness. Edgar, on the other hand, was clumsy and shy. He watched her spend time with the adults behind his glasses, wondering why she never noticed him. After all, he was the only other child around.
Angelica's family was very rich and of noble origin. She was an excellent match, although it was still too early to talk about it. Who knew if her dowry one day would be valued in bottles of fine wine?
"Don't bother the adults tonight, okay?" her mother advised, fixing her hair.
"Okay," the little girl nodded.
Her mother went to greet Katerina, and the little girl was left alone while everyone around her was dancing, drinking, or chatting.
"How I wish I could dance too," the girl thought. She remembered the promise she had just made and went to sit on a bench.
A few benches away, Edgar was sitting all alone. He was staring at her back and long brown hair. The girl sensed it and suddenly turned around. Their eyes met for two seconds, after which Edgar quickly lowered his head, pretending to be fascinated by his shoes.
Angelica, at that point, turned to look at how the adults were dancing.
"I bet he's still watching me," she thought. She suddenly turned around again and caught him spying on her. She wanted to say something to him but couldn't speak English yet. "He must be the son of the Scotts," she thought. "But why is he spying on me? Why doesn't he ask me for a dance?"
The little girl turned again to face him. He lowered his head. At that point, Angelica got up.
"He's not an adult, so I won't bother him," she thought. She went toward him, happy to have found someone her own age. He was still staring at his shoes when, near them, Angelica's red shoes appeared. She was right there in front of him. Slowly, the boy raised his eyes to her. He saw her smiling and extending her hand.
"Friends?" she asked.
"Friends," Edgar replied, shaking her hand. Then he stood up, and they began to dance.
Little Angelica moved with great grace. Edgar, however, was clumsy, always focused on not stepping on her feet.
"Oh, I see you've made a friend!" exclaimed Angelica's mother.
Little Edgar blushed, and even Angelica felt uncomfortable.
"Dance on, children," Katerina said.
And so, they did. They danced again and again, but always in a religious silence. This was because she didn't know English, and he didn't understand Italian at all. From the very beginning, their pairing seemed incompatible, impossible, not meant to last. And that's exactly what happened.
At first, both begged their parents to help them learn each other's languages. Edgar managed to get an Italian teacher thanks to his mother's indulgence, and Angelica was able to study English much better than before. In addition to the word "friends," she could now say "I love you" and was grown up enough to decide who to say it to.
She said it, but not to Edgar.
Three months before Katerina, Edgar's mother, died, the now young man received a letter from Italy. Angelica was getting married. There were three invitations: for him, his mother, and Mr. Scott. Angelica was marrying an English duke.