The Plague Doctor's Daughter

24. Giovanna

The Convent of Saints Cosma and Damiano was an imposing building on the island of Giudecca just a boat ride across its namesake canal. Erected a century and a half earlier, the compound was a favorite with patricians for stowing-away their troublesome daughters—in exchange for a suitable dowry, of course.

Those receiving an education while they (and their chastity) waited to be wed were the lucky ones. Girls deemed un-marriable for one reason or another would never leave. High walls, barred windows, and vigilant nuns limited access in and out, but Giovanna hoped she'd not only find Ottavia, but somehow also free her.

"This is useless," Dilara mumbled as Giovanna knocked on the convent's door. It seemed the Turkish girl had expected more from the excursion than walking up to the front entrance and simply asking for their friend's return.

"Ssh," Giovanna hushed as the cover on the door viewer slid aside.

"What do you want?" The gruff inquiry came from wrinkled eyes exuding unbridled suspicion.

Giovanna pulled herself straight and smiled. "Good morning, sister. I am the daughter of Agostino Rienzo, a plague doctor who—"

The panel slammed shut before she had a chance to finish.

"We have no need for your potions and tonics," yelled the nun from behind the door. "Now go with God, and don't bother us again."

Giovanna's eyes widened and she threw herself against the door, pounding on the wood with her open palm. "No, please! You misunderstand. I am not here to peddle cures. You have my friend inside. Ottavia Michiel is her name, and I must speak with her at once."

The plea was met with silence.

Dilara gently tugged on Giovanna's arm. "Come. We must figure out a better way. Perhaps if you appealed to her father—"

"No," Giovanna said, shaking off her grip, all the while scouring the facade with her gaze. Men put women into these places, not the other way around. "If I just knew which part of the building they were keeping her in . . .."

"The courtyard side," called out an unfamiliar voice.

Giovanna looked around for its source. "Who said that?"

"If it's the new girl you seek, her chambers are on the second floor looking into the courtyard," came the response from above.

Looking beyond the shadows, Giovanna saw a young woman in a Benedictine habit. "Thank you kindly," she yelled up with a smile before hiking up her skirt to her ankles.

"What do you think you're doing?" Dilara asked as she made her way to the garden wall.

Finding an imperfection in the masonry that her foot could fit into, Giovanna pulled herself up. "If Ottavia can't come to us, then I'll go to her."

Dilara laughed nervously. "You're mad. You'll break your neck."

Giovanna placed her hand higher and hoisted herself on top of the wall. Sitting side-saddle, she looked back on Dilara with a mischievous grin. "It's nice of you to worry, but it's wholly unnecessary," she said. Hopping to her feet, she gracefully walked along the narrow wall, gingerly placing one foot in front of the other. "I've done this many times."

"You have experience in this sort of thing?" Dilara asked, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot like an impatient mother hen.

Giovanna reached the convent's wall and tested the narrow ledge. Her toes fit just enough to work, and by grabbing protruding bricks making up the second level's window sills, she could probably maneuver to Ottavia's room without falling. Probably.