Free Midnight Angels by Lorenzo Carcaterra Page B

know a bit more than I do right now.”
    Kate sat back and looked around the crowded restaurant. She understood all the reasons for Marco’s confusion and his trepidation about venturing deeper into the corridor. She would feel much the same way if she were in his position. But more than that, she wished she could give him a satisfactory answer, one that would help relieve his doubts. The problem was, she didn’t have an answer, or at least one that would make any sense. She was working on instinct now.
    “I guess just being curious isn’t enough?” she asked.
    “I’m afraid not,” Marco said. “Not when it involves something this important.”
    “You’re right,” Kate said, leaning back as a young waiter cleared the empty plates from their table. “It’s too much of a risk for you to take. If we get caught in there, it could cause you all sorts of troubles. Might even get you thrown out of the program, and I wouldn’t want to see that happen, especially after all the hard work that went into your getting accepted.”
    “But that will happen to you as well,” he said. “And I know the program means as much to you as it does to me.”
    “So I better make sure I don’t get caught,” she said.
    “But why do it at all?” Marco asked. “Is going in there really worth it?”
    “Yes,” Kate said, “it is.”
    Marco stared at the table, his fingers toying with the small white sugar bowl resting in the center. He was drawn to Kate and had been from the start of the program, recalling how easily she’d managed to navigate her way through that first day, when it all seemed like nothing more than an avalanche of rules and forms, intermingled with class instructions too complicated to write down, let alone remember. She had a comforting way about her, appearing to be as much at ease with herself as she was in the company of strangers. Kate didn’t shy away from being the center of attention, but did so in a way that managed to ingratiate her to others. Yet beneath the warmth and charm she exhibited, Marco sensed a longing to both explore and exploit the boundaries of uncharted terrains, and he was as drawn to those elements of her personality as he was frightened by them.
    “You scare me at times,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.
    “I don’t mean to.”
    “I know,” he said. “And it’s as much me as it is you. I can’t explain it, really. Maybe it’s more envy I feel than fear. You shrug off any risks that might be in your way and are content to let your heart chart your course. In that sense, it makes you so much more Italian than me.”
    “I always factor in the risks of anything I do,” Kate said. “It would be foolish not to. But sometimes the bigger risk is not taking the chance.”
    “Would you think less of me if I didn’t try to sneak into the corridor with you?” Marco asked.
    “Of course not,” Kate said.
    “But you wouldn’t mind if I did come along?” he asked.
    “It’s always better to have company,” she said.
    “This could turn out to be one of those decisions I’ll always regret,” Marco said.
    “Or it might be one that could change your life forever,” Kate said. “Or it could end up being nothing more than an adventure for us both. But the potential for it to be any of those possibilities makes the attempt worth the gamble.”
    “When do you plan to do this?” he asked.
    “Saturday at noon, thirty minutes before lunch.”
    “Why then?”
    “That’s when it will be at its most crowded,” she said, “especially thearea closest to the sealed-off corridor. The few guards stationed at the front of the Uffizi will have their hands full following the various tour groups coming in and going out of the halls. There’s more than a good chance we can get in without being noticed.”
    “And what about getting out?” Marco asked.
    “We’ll stay inside until the crowds begin to return after lunch,” Kate said. “We’ll come out the Palazzo Vecchio side