He made for the edge of the tower in order to climb back down to the roof, but stopped when he saw that Ezio had remained where he was. 'What is it?'
'Wait a minute.'
'What are you looking at?' asked Federico, rejoining him. He followed Ezio's gaze and then his face broke out into a grin. 'You sly devil! You're not thinking of going there now, are you? Let the poor girl sleep!'
'No - I think it's time Cristina woke up.'
Ezio had met Cristina Calfucci only a short time before, but already they seemed inseparable, despite the fact that their parents still deemed them too young to form a serious alliance. Ezio disagreed, but Cristina was only seventeen and her parents expected Ezio to rein in his wild habits before they would even begin to look more kindly on him. Of course, this only served to make him more impetuous.
Federico and he had been lounging in the main market after buying some trinkets for their sister's Saint's Day, watching the pretty girls of the town with their accompagnatrice as they flitted from stall to stall, examining lace here, ribbons and bolts of silk there. But one girl had stood out from her companions, more beautiful and graceful than anyone Ezio had ever seen before. Ezio would never forget that day, the day on which he had first set eyes on her.
'Oh,' he had gasped involuntarily. 'Look! She's so beautiful.'
'Well,' said his ever-practical brother. 'Why don't you go over and say hello?'
'What?' Ezio was shocked. 'And after I've said hello - what then?'
'Well, you could try talking to her. What you've bought, what she's bought - it doesn't matter. You see, little brother, most men are so afraid of beautiful girls that anyone who actually plucks up the courage to have a chat stands at an immediate advantage. What? You think they don't want to be noticed, they don't want to enjoy a little conversation with a man? Of course they do! Anyway, you're not bad-looking, and you are an Auditore. So go for it - and I'll distract the chaperone. Come to think of it, she's not so bad-looking herself.'