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You would do me a great favor by accepting these. Or you can just send them to the Goodwill.
I love you, Arrington
His heart gave a little leap, but then he saw that the note was dated a week before their parting scene, and it sank again.
He'd think about this later. Right now, he was tired from the trip. He picked up the suitcases, got into the elevator, and rode up to the master suite. Once there, he unpacked, then undressed and got into a nightshirt. Then he remembered the envelope.
He sat down on the bed and opened it. There were some papers and a covering letter, in a neat hand, on Eduardo Bianchi's personal letterhead.
I thought you might like to have these. This ends the matter. I hope to see you soon.
Eduardo
Stone set the letter aside and looked at the papers. There were only two: One was the original of the marriage certificate he and Dolce had signed in Venice; the other was the page from the ledger they and their witnesses had signed in the mayor's office. These made up the whole record of his brief, disastrous marriage.
He took them to the fireplace, struck a match, and watched until they had been consumed. Then he got into bed, and with a profound sense of relief, tinged with sorrow, Stone fell asleep.