The Voynich Cypher Read Online Free Page A

scent of hay from a nearby barn, intermingled with the smell of garlic drifting from neighboring kitchens. Neither of the pair noticed. They kissed like newlyweds, which was hardly the case – it had been three years since they’d exchanged vows but to any onlooker it would appear that these were teenagers enraptured by the powerful glow of first love.
    The woman’s auburn hair stirred as she pulled away from the man and, rolling an elastic hair tie down her wrist, she drew her mane into a ponytail. He held her at arm’s length, as though memorizing every detail of her face, and then hugged her close once more. They kissed again for a fleeting eternity.
    The moment passed and the woman glanced at her watch. “Oh, Steven, I’m late as usual. Okay, this is goodbye for real this time. I have to go,” Antonia exclaimed.
    “Why are you abandoning me?” Steven asked in a theatrical fashion.
    “ Cara , it’s only a weekend. And you could have come, but you changed your mind at the last minute. You and your hobby, too busy to keep a girl satisfied, so she has to find diversion elsewhere…” Antonia complained. Her English was fluent, yet the unmistakable Italian accent colored the cadence in a musical way.
    “I wish I could go, but I made the arrangements for this meeting weeks ago, and I can’t cancel. It’s taken me a year to get the old bastard interested in selling, and he could change his mind at any time. You know I want to go with you,” Steven declared.
    “ Si, si, I know. Oh well, then, it will be just me and my uncle…and perhaps the pool boy,” Antonia said.
    Steven knew better. Antonia’s uncle, Dante, had a palatial home half an hour south of Venice, as well as ten-bedroom ‘cottages’ in Chianti, Naples, and on the shores of Lake Lugano. There would inevitably be dozens of relatives arriving for his seventy-fifth birthday celebration, and likely everything from visiting heads of state to a reunion of the surviving Beatles to commemorate another year on the planet for the patriarch. It wouldn’t surprise Steven if, upon Antonia’s return, she reported that the Pope had dropped by unexpectedly to wish Dante continued good health.
    “Do try to have a good time, would you? I know how boring old Dante can be,” Steven quipped, fully aware that the weekend would comprise non-stop revelry. “Maybe I’ll take the train up and surprise you. I’m hopeful this meeting won’t be a multi-day negotiation, but you know Italy…”
    “Yeah, yeah. At least I have the internet. I’ll tweet and let you know how the party is going,” Antonia promised.
    “I wouldn’t mind giving you a good tweeting before you go,” Steven fired back.
    “There’s nothing I’d like more, but I have to leave. Really, my little sparrow.” She pulled him next to the car. “ Ciao, amor . I’ll see you in a few days.”
    Antonia kissed Steven’s lips one final time, then opened the door of the silver Audi TT. He couldn’t help but appreciate how magnificent her tanned, lithely-muscled legs looked as she climbed behind the wheel, her fashionably-cut skirt riding up to the top of her thigh. The engine burbled to life, and she shut the door and waved at him through the smoked window as she popped the transmission into gear.
    Steven watched the little car pull down the drive and onto the small strip of pavement that passed for a road in their rural area. Antonia tore off as though the devil was on her heels – a sedate pace for her, he knew. He could hear the engine revving into the distance for a full minute before tranquility descended again.
    You’re a lucky man, Steven .
    It was true. Three years ago he and Antonia had ducked out of the rat race and committed to prioritizing their time together over everything else. They’d roamed Italy for months before settling in Greve, where they could be in Florence within twenty minutes (if Antonia was driving) and yet were still well away from the hubbub of the city.
    Not