I Florence. Finally, she was in Florence. She was staying in a luxurious bed and breakfast on Via del Parione. She was happy with her room: from the window, she had an incredible view of Piazza Santa Trinità, with the column rising in the centre - the Colonna della Giustizia, as it was called. Directly in front of her stood Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, and to the right Palazzo Buondelmonti, now home to the Ferragamo Museum. It was February 10th, a Saturday afternoon - a beautiful, sunny day, with a golden light spreading over that living painting that was Piazza Santa Trinita, unfolding beneath her window as she watched. When she had arrived, in the lift — very old, with unsettling lateral movements — she had met a young Italian gentleman, well dressed, elegant. Blue‑eyed. He had offered a polite “Buonasera, signora” as he stepped out on the third floor. Lucy had replied “Buonasera, signore”, letting the doors close before pressing the button for the fourth. She couldn’t forget those e...