I didn't know how long I stayed slumped on the floor, my heartbeat racing so fast I thought it might jump right out of my chest. The only upside to the situation was that I didn't have to be in any hurry to compose myself and pretend to be calm. None of the servants would enter Lucrezia's private quarters without my permission, thank goodness for that.
When at last I could draw in my breaths without hyperventilating, I picked up the journal again and slowly flipped through the pages at a much slower pace. I ran my fingers over the elaborately styled – I couldn't believe even Lucrezia's handwriting looked sophisticated – characters, reading each entry and trying to decipher if there was anything there that would provide more details to the rundown of incidents listed.
