Carmella Commands
house. Carmella showed him to the door, and returned to the living room, where Tommaso and Maria were eagerly waiting to be told the story.
Briefly, in Italian, Carmella outlined the case. Maria wrung her hands, but Tommaso merely smoked more heavily than usual, and watched his daughter.
Carmella started to turn to her schoolbooks, but suddenly jumped to her feet and ran for her hat.
“I’m going over to sleep with Mrs. Pieri,” she said. “She won’t miss Nicolo till late, but she’ll be awful then. I’ve gotta break the news to her. And I’ll stay all night. She’ll need me.”
Tommaso looked doubtful, but Maria smiled and nodded.
[219]
