After dinner each night, Francesco, Katarina and Alessandro had what was called quiet study time, where they sat together in the lesson room, just the three of them, and worked on whatever task their tutor might have assigned them. If they didn't have any work to do, they could doodle or write or simply stare off into space, as long as they sat their quietly.
The night after he received the letters from Maria and Vincenza, during quiet study time, Francesco set about writing them back.
He took his pen and began writing, "Dear everybody," He scratched that out and began again, "My dearest sisters." Vincenza might say it wasn't right, but it seemed a little more appropriate. He kept going. "Thank you so much for your letters." He scratched that out. It sounded a little overly-sincere, even if he was grateful.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed to write two letters, one to Maria, and another to Vincenza. And if he were going to do that, he should probably write one to the twins, and one to Damiana, so she wouldn't feel left out. And of course one to his mother.
He took the letter he had started and crumpled it up, earning him odd looks from Katarina and Alessandro. He ignored them, and set to work on the first of his letters.
A/N-Each of the letters will have its own chapter.