“His body?” he said with a frown, turning me toward him. “Gabriella, he is not dead.” He shook his head, but he was smiling. “He suffered a terrible wound, yes. But he will recover.”
I stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. “In truth?” I asked.
“In truth.”
But I was already moving away from him.
Toward my mother, my sister, and the group of men carrying the man in a blanket between them. Dad.
Chapter Thirty-two
“Dad. Dad,” I said, falling to my knees beside him. The men, satisfied that we were far enough away from Castello Paratore’s gates, set him down.
“Gabi,” he said, reaching out to touch my face. He smiled weakly and looked over at Mom and Lia on the other side. “All my girls, safe,” he breathed.
“Oh, Dad. I—I—you’re okay? You’re really okay?”
“He’ll be okay, Gabs,” Mom said. “A good cleaning, some sutures…” She reached across him to hold my hand. “He’ll be all right.”
I looked to Lia, and with one glance to her baby blues puddling in tears, I lost it. They were all here. All safe. Whole. Or almost.
Thank You, God. Thank You. Thank You thank You thank You thank You…
I cried like I was weeping for Dad the first time he died. For all of us, like we’d just died and come back to life. From fear, from exhaustion, from relief, from gratitude. Sheer gratitude. And Mom and Lia cried too, hugging each other, then coming around to wrap me in their embrace as well.
Marcello edged in and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. After a moment he said, “Gabriella, let them take him now, no? Back to the castello, where your mother and the others can see to him?”
“Yes,” I said through my tears, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “Yes,” I repeated, now feeling foolish for keeping him from their care at all.
The men lifted him immediately and hurried off, a regiment of soldiers closing in to flank them, protect them on the way back to Castello Forelli. Mom and Lia were right behind Dad. I started after them but then hesitated and looked back.
Marcello stood there, Rodolfo and Luca behind him, in the flickering torchlight. He lifted his chin and grinned. “Go on, wife. Your part in this battle is done. See to your father. And we shall see this through.”
Luca and Rodolfo nodded, hands on their belts. I knew Marcello was in safe hands. And I…well, I had had it.
I was scary tired. Hurting. Barely able to stand.
Bleary-eyed, I saw Marcello motion to some men, and in a minute they brought horses over for us. He lifted me up to a mare’s broad, bare back and wrapped my hand in her mane. “Go home, beloved,” he said. “I will meet you there.”
I wanted to stay. With him. To help.
But deep inside I knew I’d serve us all best if, this time, I just did as he asked.
I awakened stiff and freezing cold on the stone floor of the castle. Squinching my eyes, I pushed myself up, hit my head on the crossbeam of a bed, and gingerly made my way upright.
“That had to hurt,” Dad mumbled, peeking at me for a sec from one eye, then closing it again as if it pained him. He was under the covers. Mom was asleep in a chair in the corner, Lia by her side.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, rubbing my head. But it was the least of my worries. “How are you?”
“Just great, thanks,” he said, opening his big, brown eyes again. He was pale, but looking good, considering. “Pretty much like any other morning of my life. Except, oh, right”—he raised his brows—“I watched my daughters and wife take on knight after knight at an enemy castle—and survive. And oh, save a bunch of people too. That was cool. The only downer was that I took a sword through the back and my wife had to stitch me up. And we had to leave my son-in-law behind to—”
His eyes moved from me to the doorway behind me, and in that instant I knew Marcello was there. I turned and smiled. He was dirty—seriously covered in filth and sweat—but I swear I’d never seen a more handsome man in my life. He reached out and helped me to my feet. I groaned, feeling every pulled muscle and fresh bruise in my body. But I forgot all of that as Marcello wrapped me in his arms and pulled me close, kissing my temple and hair and holding me as if he never wanted to let me go.
I could hear Mom and Lia rustling behind me, and I saw Rodolfo and Tomas and Luca behind Marcello. They were all back. Safe. I pulled back. “It’s over?”
“It is over,” Marcello said gently, pushing a coil of hair behind my ear. “The Fiorentini are now five miles beyond Castello Paratore. My men shall see they stay there.” Leaving an arm around my shoulders, he stepped toward Dad. “Sir, I am glad to see you on the mend.”
Dad gripped his outstretched hand. “As am I,” he said with a grin.
“Well, if you encounter further trouble, I am aware of a certain tunnel that has certain healing powers—”
“Impossible,” I said. “Dad shall have to be at death’s door in order for me to leave you again.”
“A suitable threshold,” Dad said.
“Death is always nearby.” I paused and looked around the room, at Mom and Lia and Marcello and Luca and Rodolfo and Tomas. “Let’s embrace this life we’ve been given. Life, Marcello,” I said, squeezing him tight and then drawing back to stare into his eyes. “Let us live like we’re celebrating, every day.”
“Together,” he said, tucking the strand of hair behind my ear again and cradling my cheek. He looked at me with such love it brought tears to my eyes. He bent his forehead to touch mine. “Together.”
“Together,” I whispered.
… a little more …
When a delightful concert comes to an end,
the orchestra might offer an encore.
When a fine meal comes to an end,
it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.
When a great story comes to an end,
we think you may want to linger.
And so, we offer ...
AfterWords—just a little something more after you
have finished a David C Cook novel.
We invite you to stay awhile in the story.
Thanks for reading!
Turn the page for ...
• Discussion Questions
• Historical Notes
• A Letter from Lisa
• Facebook and Mobile Page
Discussion Questions
1. On their way to San Galgano, the family discusses the legend of Excalibur and the sword in the stone. Gabi comments that in her society, people are taught to regard things with suspicion until proven. Do you see that in people you know? What do people believe in without “proof”? Is that a good or bad thing?
2. How old do you think you want to be when you get married? Why?
3. Two-thirds of medieval women were married by the age of nineteen. Some very wealthy noblewomen were as old as twenty-four when they married, but they were a rarity. What do you think marriages would be like today, in contemporary society, if we married earlier rather than later? Would it help or hurt?
4. How did you respond to Gabi’s growing attraction to Rodolfo Greco—and her confusion? Could you understand it? What would you have done in that situation?
5. From the beginning of Waterfall to the end of Torrent, significant changes happen in the Betarrini family dynamics. In the beginning, the girls feel very separate from their parents. Then they feel the loss of their dad, connect with their mom, and in the end, really become one again. Has your family suffered through a time of disunity and come out better for it? Are you in the midst of it now? What made or would make it better?
6. Tomas has a unique perspective on God, given his time and place. He’s serving as a priest, even when he’s no longer representing the Church. What’s your thought on how we should share our beliefs with others?
7. Once again, Gabi has to do things she never thought possible—jumping to another building, cauterizing a wound, risking her life, etc.—what’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do
(even if it wasn’t life threatening!)? How’d you feel afterward?
8. In one passage, the book titles for the series are somewhat explained: “My eyes shifted to the trickling river. Come spring, it would be ten times as wide and just as deep. On and on it went, rushing toward the distant horizon. Like time. Like life. Sometimes gently falling from one pool into the other, other times fast and cascading, and still other times narrowing into a funnel, a torrent of knots and waves.” Have you experienced life like that? Identify three times in your life that feel like a Waterfall, a Cascade, and a Torrent. Which one describes your life right now?
Historical Notes
The events desscribed herein are entirely fictional. While the story is representative of the volatility of medieval Tuscany, it is merely that…representative. A couple of details in regard to Torrent:
The town of Sansicino is based on a Rick Steves show I saw once. In it, he described a hilltop town named Civita di Bagnoregio, which could only be accessed by a bridge. It was founded by the Etruscans and survived two world wars. Today it has a population of ten most of the year and one hundred in the summer. And, yeah, I totally want to visit it someday. How could you not?
We stopped by San Galgano while touring Tuscany—truly one of my favorite excursions of all time (you can read about it on our travel blog, www.TheWorldIsCalling.com), but it was off-season and we could do little more than tour the ghostly, roofless abbey. Up on the hill is the chapel that houses the sword in the stone, but it was closed the day we were there. It’s still on my Must-See list. The potential birthplace of the whole Arthurian legend? C’mon! How could you resist? And I took some liberties with the frescoes described within, because they’ve found alternative drawings beneath the frescoes you can see now. Like the artist changed his mind and just went with what he saw fit for the final version, regardless of what the “rough draft” might’ve been. As an author, I think that’s really wonderful, especially when you can’t change it again with but an easy draft from a computer. It was truly a gamble with frescoes.
I didn’t do a ton of research into medieval Rome, but there really was a barbershop underneath one of the triumphal arches of the Forum—half buried by this time period. Pretty amazing to think about. The Vatican really was in Avignon at the time—and the Romans did have such a command of their plumbing that they could create elaborate bathhouses with radiant heat, saunas, cold pools, and their versions of hot tubs. When I get to Rome this fall, I look forward to touring Caracalla’s public bathhouse (which was closed, last time I went).
Ahh, history. Such rich fodder for a novelist!
—LTB
Dear Torrent Tribe,
Wow, I’ve loved this ride with you—and Gabi and Lia—in medieval Italy. Thank you for so enthusiastically embracing their story and making it your own. From your comments and emails, I know you’ve gathered what I’d hoped you’d get out of it. Not only enjoying the entertainment factor, but also investing in the passion, drive, enthusiasm, interest, power, sacrifice, and Great Questions of life that make life, life. That’s how, for me, this became more of a River of Life series than a River of Time. Regardless of when you’re born, I believe you experience life at a whole different level if you break out of “survival” mode and invest in the plowing/seeding/weeding process, as Gabi and Lia found themselves doing. Then, whether your crop is failing or flourishing, you’re in it…living.
I’ve already heard from many of you, wondering if there will be more River of Time books. I’d truly love to come back and hang out with the Betarrini clan and write Lia and Luca’s love story, but we have to see how these first three books do. In the meantime, I’m writing a series called The Grand Tour, about a group of well-to-do young people in 1914, traveling from England to France to Switzerland, and…wait for it…Italy! (You’re totally shocked, right?) Somehow, Italia has captured my heart like few other places, and I’ll be eager to return—in my imagination, or in person. The Grand Tour books are titled From This Day Forward, To Have and To Hold, and As Long as We Both Shall Live. Look for them to be released June 2012–January 2013 (again, in a short time span, thanks to David C Cook—they know readers agonize as they wait).
I’m heading to Rome soon with my second daughter, off to do research for As Long as We Both Shall Live. But I’ll be holding River of Time close in my heart as I go. Please don’t lose touch with me—find me on Facebook (“River of Time Series” and “Lisa Tawn Bergren”) and on Twitter (@LisaTBergren) and on my own site (www.LisaBergren.com) if you want to follow along with my travels, writing, contests, and such.
I’m so happy you’re one of my readers…which I see is an investment in me and, truly, makes you one of my friends. Contact me at any time via Facebook, Twitter, or email. I look forward to hearing from you.
Every good thing,
Join other readers and Lisa on the “River of Time Series” Facebook page. There, you’ll find information about the books, discussion with other fans, and contest and prize information.
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River of Time.mobi page.
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www.DavidCCook.com
www.DavidCCook.com
Lisa T. Bergren is the best-selling, award-winning author of more than thirty books that have sold more than two million copies. A former publishing executive, she now splits her time writing, editing, and dreaming of her next trip to Italy while parenting her three children with her husband, Tim. They live in Colorado Springs.
www.DavidCCook.com
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
AfterWords
Discussion Questions
Historical Notes
A Letter from Lisa
Facebook and Mobile Page
Torrent Page 32
