‘Claudia thought the man she loved had betrayed her,’ replied Orelia, distantly.
‘Claudia was in love with someone? Who?’
‘Does it matter now?’
‘No, it doesn’t.’ Bastian pressed his hands against hands his face. Orelia was about to reach out a hand to comfort him when she remembered who he was and the things he’d done. She stood up abruptly, grasping for her bag.
Bastian caught her hand and stood up to face her. ‘Please don’t go. I beg you,’ he said. ‘I love you, Orelia. There are so many things I must tell you.’ He looked at her so tenderly that if Orelia hadn’t known better, she would have believed him. She pulled her hand away forcefully. She opened her bag and rummaged around inside.
‘Where are you doing?’ asked Bastian.
‘Here,’ Orelia said, pulling out her white chemise. ‘This is what you want. Take it.’
Bastian stared at it. ‘You know?’
‘You really shouldn’t discuss your bets so openly in taverns.’ Orelia screwed the chemise into a ball and threw it at Bastian.
He let it fall to the ground. ‘I don’t want it. I want you,’ he said, stepping towards her.
Orelia laughed dryly. ‘You expect me to believe your lies?’
‘It’s not a lie. Yes, it started as a bet, but I ended up falling in love with you.’ Bastian took a step towards her. ‘Please believe me. I never meant to hurt you.’
Orelia backed away, a look of disgust on her face. ‘What about Angelique? You didn’t mind hurting her.’
‘I was desperate. My father wanted to send me to Padua. I acted rashly and then things got beyond my control.’
‘Your father is right; you need to start acting like a man.’
Silence filled the space between them.
‘Do you love me?’ asked Bastian.
For a moment, Orelia thought she heard a snatch of a canary’s song, but there was only silence. ‘No,’ she said with a finality that invited no argument. ‘But take my chemise and leave Venice with your prize money because I’m done with running, and I do not want to see your face every day.’
Bastian stared at her with so many unfamiliar emotions playing out on his face: sadness, longing, defeat. Orelia held his gaze for a few seconds, and then replaced her mask. She picked up her bag and turned away, crossing the square with determined steps. She did not look back.
The light of the new day was beginning to appear over the rooftops. It was quiet; that magical time before Venetians headed home from a night of pleasure-seeking.
Orelia, too, was ready to go home.
She drew in a deep breath and started walking, knowing her way through the twisting network of streets. Crossing a bridge, she paused to look at her reflection in the green and gold water of the canal. With steady fingers, she untied the ribbons of the mask and tossed it into the water.
While much attention has been paid to the historical accuracy of this book, it is a work of fiction and some liberties have been taken for the sake of the story. One notable liberty regards society and women.
The rather ‘free and licentious life’ of the characters, in particular the young women, in this novel was characteristic of this period in Venetian history. In 1776, the Council of Ten stated, ‘The way the times are going, together with the great and universal alteration in manners whose full effect is with us now, demonstrate, to our profound and justifiable grief, the inevitable result of the free and licentious life our women lead. This was, and ever will be, the chief cause of the decline and ruin of the Republic.’
However, eighteenth century Venetian women did not begin living this pleasure-seeking life until after they were married. Prior to this, girls of a privileged background were educated in convents until a husband was found for them. It was once they were married that they flung themselves into the social whirl, not unlike the whirl the characters of Masquerade find themselves caught up in.
All the characters and families in Masquerade are a work of fiction, including the Doge of the time. The Contarini and D’Este palaces are also works of my imagination – a combination of many palaces I researched and visited, though the terms and layouts are as accurate as I could make them to work in with the story. Of all the other places described in Masquerade, only the impressive opera house, La Fenice, did not exist at this time, as it did not begin construction until 1790.
Venice, or the Most Serene Republic as it is also known, is one of the most visually unique cities in the world. To give readers a glimpse into the world of this book and truly appreciate many of the places, objects and clothing featured in Masquerade, including 18th century paintings of Venice, fashion from the period, and of course, masks, I have created a Pinterest board under the title ‘Masquerade, a young adult novel’. You can find it at:
http://www.pinterest.com/kyliefornasier/masquerade-a-young-adult-novel/
There were many books and websites that were used in my research for Masquerade. Some of the books that I highly recommend include: Venice: Pure City by Peter Ackroyd; Daily Life in Venice at the Time of Casanova by Maurice Andrieux; Casanova’s Venice: A Walking Guide by Kathleen Ann González; The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova by Jacques Casanova; Francesco’s Venice by Francesco Da Mosto; Francesco’s Kitchen: An Intimate Guide to the Authentic Flavours of Venice by Francesco Da Mosto; Venice: Tales of the City anthology by Michelle Lovric; Private Lives in Renaissance Venice by Patricia Fortini Brown; and A Venetian Affair: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in the 18th Century by Andrea Di Robilant.
Finally, I hope you love Masquerade as much as I’ve loved writing it.
Thank you.
Kylie Fornasier
Masquerade Page 30