Mary Panton

The young woman who has borrowed a Tuscan villa from her friends, the Leonards. Mary is a headstrong, capable young woman. She is a recent widow and is staying in Tuscany in an effort to recover from the trauma of her marriage and its abrupt end. Mary believes herself immune to the whims of youth, but having been denied them at least to some degree during her own youth, finds herself unwilling to commit to marriage with a man who is much older than herself, though he can offer her a great many advantages in life. An interesting fact about Mary is that she believes herself to be a good person and recognizes her own good looks. It's these facts that drive the plot of the story to its climax, the death of Mary's young lover, Karl Richter. Mary cites her honest nature as the reason she...