A Dancer in Darkness (2012)
“They were received in Naples with respect. The Duchess had chosen her pretext well. If one was upon a pious errand, and could not go to Rome, one went to Loreto. Like a journey to Mecca, a journey there was sacrosanct. Merely setting out for Loreto made one untouchable and therefore safe, providing one went with a large and public company.
The baroque taste for showy marvels made the shrine popular. Nor was the Duchess less devout for taking the matter lightly. We can believe and disbelieve in the same miracle at the same time with equal fervour. After all, if we prove a miracle false, then it only becomes the more miraculous, and the story of Loreto was well known. It was, after all, the house of the Virgin Mary, spirited from Palestine by a tempest.
But first there was Naples to be dealt with.
Perhaps because she had been born there, the Duchess was not afraid of Naples. As soon as the ships drew in to the mole, she felt more secure than she had ever felt at Amalfi.
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