Chapter 41: The Spirit’s Leading

I looked at him with glassy eyes, regretting deeply all the time I had invested in coming to know him. Day after day – whenever I had the urge, that is – I’d ventured forth dreamily in the outskirts of the Vatican, privately, away from my father. Sometimes he’d even set aside special time for me to visit him, even if he was busy with “pack business.”

Empty flattery, false hopes and dreams, he had given me – so then I ...