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!”
    Kate opened her mouth to point out that, in fact, by the time Juliet drank the potion, the Capulets and Montagues were well enmeshed in a bitter rivalry, two people had been killed in sword fights, and Romeo had been banished . . . then she remembered Annie’s warning and quickly shut her mouth.
    But maybe Tom would reveal hidden depths. A deeply held passion for poetry, perhaps, or an interest in the historical context of the plays.
    â€œWhat about you, Tom?” she asked as they started down the breakfast buffet. “Why did you enter the Shakespeare Scholar competition?”
    To her surprise, the question seemed to unnerve him. “Me?” He looked up from a serious contemplation of the yogurt, fruit, and cheese, his expression startled, as if it had never occurred to him that someone might ask him this question. Finally, he muttered, “Um, well, I guess I just, you know . . . like Shakespeare?”
    Kate nodded encouragingly and waited.
    But he glanced away, his eyes lighting with interest on a plate of prosciutto. He picked up a piece of the thinly sliced ham and took a cautious bite. “Hey, you should try this. It’s really good.”
    â€œWhat was your essay about?” Kate persisted.
    â€œWell, I just picked an idea,” he muttered. “I didn’t think about it too much.”
    â€œDid you bring a copy with you?” Kate asked. “I’d love to read it some time.”
    â€œYeah, well . . .” Now he looked positively hunted. “My hard drive crashed a month ago, so I don’t know . . .”
    He was rescued by Lucy. “Well, I’m just glad I won, I really didn’t think I had a chance in the world, to tell you the truth, but here I am in Verona!” she said. “Walking the actual streets where Romeo and Juliet walked! Oh, listen, I have a fabulous idea. Why don’t we all go to Juliet’s House after we eat? We have hours before we have to get ready for the opening-night party, and I just can’t wait to see where all the events of the play took place in real life! Imagine standing on the very spot where Juliet stood when she first met Romeo!”
    Her eyes were shining with enthusiasm, so Kate decided not to mention that no one could confirm that a Capulet family had ever lived in the house, that Juliet’s existence had never been proven, or that the famous balcony had been added to the house in 1928.
    Instead, she shrugged and said, “Why not?”

Act I
Scene IV
    When it came to romance, Kate knew that people preferred illusion to reality. Even when they knew it was illusion, they would always rather be diverted by the magician’s sleight-of-hand than discover how the trick was done.
    Case in point: the courtyard of Juliet’s House, where she and Lucy and Tom were now standing.
    They had walked across an ancient bridge to get to the part of town where Juliet’s House stood. Sunlight glinted off the water, which ran swiftly beneath the stone arches. Tall, dark green cypresses stood along the riverbanks like arrows, black as shadows against the cloudless blue sky. When they reached the other side of the river, they had wended their way through narrow streets lined with old buildings. They had to inch along behind the tourists who stopped every few feet to consult their maps, but Kate, usually so impatient to get where she was going, didn’t mind. Everywhere she looked, she saw a view that could have been transported directly from a Renaissance painting; everywhere she walked, she felt the mysterious presence of centuries of people walking the same path; every breath she took seemed to smell of dark coffee and fresh-baked bread. A feeling of absolute contentment filled her up and carried her all the way to number 23 Via Capelli, where, at last, they arrived at Juliet’s House.
    When they turned down the street and found the right address, they discovered large iron gates that opened into a