Further notes. For those who have been following the action with a historical atlas in hand, you’ve likely noticed that the tiny province of Pontalba is not to be found within the Duchy of Milan… or anywhere else, for that matter. Both it and the unpleasant Nicodemo, Duke of Pontalba, are my own creations. As for the spunky Marianna, she is one of several fictional relatives that, purely for story purposes, I’ve given Il Moro in the course of this and past books.

Finally, the quote in the epilogue attributed to Delfina della Fazia is actually a well-known citation that has long been credited to Leonardo da Vinci… though likely it was never written or said by him at all. But while no Leonardo expert has discovered those words among the Master’s volumes of work, neither has anyone yet identified the actual writer of this lofty sentiment. And so, with greatest apologies to that unknown author, I’ve taken the liberty of putting those words into Delfina’s mouth. For I have no doubt that, following her dramatic flight around Castle Pontalba, she must have recorded a similarly memorable affirmation in her own notebook!