Prologue

"Rodrigo how could you?!"

Lucrezia winced as she heard something smashing on the ground. Obviously her mother had flung something at her father, perhaps a vase or one of their china plates. She could hear her father crying out that it hadn't meant anything and that she was over-reacting.

She was on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly. She hated hearing them fight, and since the birth of little Joffre it seemed to be happening more often. She knew what her mother knew; that father was getting bored and so was beginning to stray.

However, this time had been too far, for any of them.

A disgusted tsk behind her interrupted her thoughts. She turned to loom at her brothers. Juan, who had made the sound, had his arms crossed and his eyes burned. "We're such a stereotype," he complained, "the Spanish family fighting and throwing crockery and having wild sex wherever we can."

"It is a little embarrassing," muttered Cesare, who was sitting behind a computer apparently completely unperturbed by the situation between their parents. Lucrezia stared at him. He had caught father having sex with Giulia, their foster sister, in their parent's bed. She didn't understand how he could be so calm.

"Well," Juan shuffled a little, not used to having Cesare agree with him on anything, "not all bad. The wild sex thing isn't too bed, other than the fact that she was the foster sister of course. That's a bit weird." He brushed his hand through his hair and sighed, "oh I don't care, I'm getting out of here," he opened up the window and swung his leg out, "call me when mom ends up forgiving him ok?" he leapt out with respectable agility and vanished into the night.

Lucrezia looked at a sleeping Joffre who was tucked into bed beside her. He was only seven years old. "Thank God he's sleeping through this," she muttered, "He's been raised on angry voices and bitterness."

"Its dad's fault," answered Cesare, his eyes narrowing, "I wish mother wouldn't forgive him. I wish we could just leave with her, you, me and Joffre. We could go live by the sea-side, like mom always wanted. We could take on her second name and start all over again."

"No Juan?"

He loves father more than he loves us," he replied coldly.

Lucrezia said nothing, knowing that the sibling rivalry between her brothers was another wedge in their family. Instead she walked over to him and hugged him tightly from behind. He sighed and leaned back into her. She buried her face in his hair and for that moment revelled in how much she loved her brother.

The screaming had stopped now, replaced with sound of their mother weeping piteously and father trying to talk to her quietly. The siblings walked over to the bed and climbed in, joining Joffre. Hugging one another, they fell asleep.