Summary: By Robert J. Santa Read by Shawn Robertson Period: early 1700's Setting: Assisi, Italy Today's historical fiction returns us to Italy, this time to the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi where we find the great violinist Giuseppe Tartini hiding out from the persecution of the Cardinal in Padua. Giuseppe Tartini (April 8, 1692 - February 26, 1770) was a Venetian composer and violinist. According to legend, his most famous solo violin sonata was inspired by a dream… Giuseppe awoke in darkness. Eyes closed, body relaxed, he stretched out on his simple bed listening to the sounds of night. He heard no birds calling, signaling the hour before sunrise. He heard no distant rattling of boards and stone sheets as Brother Guillermo baked the morning's bread. It was early, and all of Assisi was shrouded in blackness and quiet. Yet in the stillness, without a sound to confirm it, Giuseppe knew someone stood in his chamber. He listened for the stranger. Could it be the Abbott, watching him as he had done every day for the last six months? Why would the Abbott come stalking in the middle of the night? No, there was a malevolence present, and the hairs on Giuseppe's uncovered neck and forearm rose with gooseflesh. He flung the covers back and jumped out of bed. Facing the dark corner and doorway, he stood there poised, ready to grab at the rapier leaning against his headboard. The chamber was empty.
