#Nehemiah Torricelli

[sweet-vanilla-sims]

Year 1678

TW/CW: Death Mention, Miscarriage

The began with the Ludovici family making preparations for Benetta's thirteenth birthday in October but with that also came talks of future matches though through talks with the Collari family between Leonardo and Alessandra it was agreed that Benetta would marry Jolene's son from her first marriage since he had a noble background but no titles for his own. Alessandra was the one who broke the news to Benetta who admitted that the match was a good one for them and the Collari family who wished to strengthen their ties with their family even if the bond would be indirect with the young man marrying into the Ludovici family.

By February the youngest Morosini boys were roaming the home chasing after their older siblings to the family's joy.

April brought with it Jolene's oldest son turning thirteen as he grew into a rather studious young man.

With Tala gone for nearly a year, Alessandro was once again pushed to marry though given his track record with his wives, he worried but he knew his children needed a mother and his own simply couldn't keep up with three children while he hand his father worked. So he discussed his plight with his daughter hoping for her blessing to remarry though he secretly hoped that she would refuse so that he wouldn't risk the loss of a third wife but Marina hoped her father would find a more permanent happiness and gave her approval.

In late July, Alessandro married Alessandra both of which had little illusions of the practicality of their union. For Alessandro, a wife would be good help for his children and the land and her high status background meant that her connections could lead to his children finding better matches in the future. While Alessandra married lower than her status to remove herself from succession since she had a reasonable claim to her household just like her young niece but she wished to leave that to the one who wanted it and not be a threat going forward besides, her actual lover was already married so it made sense that she should marry as well.

Taking heavily after the Carlisle side of the family more each day, Luisa celebrated her thirteenth birthday in Newcrest as her little sister grew into a little girl.

Sadly, Ashley was gripped with pains one day in early August only to find that she had lost a pregnancy before she had even known about it.

But despite the loss, the family was happy to celebrate Bastiano and Borthola turning six. Both children grew into traits that didn't necessarily suit their farm life as Bastiano had a love for the arts and Borthola was enamored with books and now that she was old enough to do things on her own she spent most of her time reading when she could.

While the older children could not get along when they were younger, the twins were practically attached at the hip all the time.

Back at the Rossi home, Alessandra learned that she was with child as September came though she was confident that the child was Alessandro's given the fact her love was elsewhere for the past weeks, she was disappointed that her child was not her lover's despite the fact that problems would arise for both of them since they were both married to other people. Still, it was more practical that her child was Alessandro's since she had nothing against the man.

At the Collari home, Cristofolo celebrated his thirteenth birthday as well. Though the puppy love he shared with a village girl had secretly bloomed into a silent romance as after the celebrations with his family he snuck out to see her. His love, Antea.

Still, in a way Cristofolo was also grateful to his little cousin since while he was more ambitious than his brother, Cristofolo being third-in-line to the head of house position was more than happy to hand it off if it meant that he could marry for himself.

Giulia was saddened by the news of Orion's passing in Newcrest shortly before Cristofolo's birthday though news didn't reach Tartosa until October.

At the Ludovici household, Benetta celebrated her thirteenth birthday with her brother, his wife and their son.

Borthola lamented that there was no way she'd be able to do much studying in the future when she grew up when Giovanni Cesare made an offhand comment specifying unless with the church. But the comment when he spoke it felt like a light had been raised in Borthola's mind towards the future. Giovanni Cesare could see the visible shift in his niece at his words when her mind registered his statement and went to his brother to tell him his thoughts. It seemed that Giovanni Cesare's slip of the tongue wasn't a foreign thought when Giuliano mentioned it to his wife and after a brief discussion that Ashley relayed to Borthola they decided that if this love for study persisted then perhaps in a few years down the line she would join the church and live in the nearby convent.

Late October, Giovanni Cesare ran home from his work in a hurry a foreign ship was taking servants to the colonies and had room for a few willing participants. With Marcello having to wait to even get the chance to go and even then might take years, Giovanni Cesare knew that this opportunity might not come again and so he spoke to the man in charge and signed up for a few years of labor once he got there but in a week's time he'd be headed to a new land with new people. Giulia was not pleased with her son's course of action, ships wrecked often and the labor he had signed himself into was long and had little reward but the deed was already done. As much as she wished to fight, she chose instead to spend her last moments with her son cherishing him and using what money she had set aside on new clothes and as a gift for his journey so he could start a life when his service was done with.

After his family went to sleep Giovanni Cesare spent his nights just walking through Tartosa, he'd miss it but he couldn't help but feel excited for his new life. November came with Giovanni Cesare's departure on the boat and for the next several weeks through the end of the year, the boat was his home.