Angelo Donati

Father Angelo Donati is a man with a mission. He was grief-stricken thirteen years ago, when his twin Angela died; when conflicting rumors about her death emerged, he began to become suspicious. His fortunate discovery of Pietra was proof: there was a lot more to Angela Donati's death than a fever. He largely suspects his mother Teodora of some wrongdoing, but will not take drastic action until he has some kind of proof.

To that end, he has begun to cultivate a network of contacts beyond his family's traditional influence. As a charismatic churchman, he is in the midst of making a brilliant career within the Vaticine Church; a personal lack of piety isn't much of a hindrance in Vodacce. His mission work with the local poor has garnered him a reputation as a devout and compassionate man. In the meantime, his lobbying before Judge Bernardo Donati has given a modest number of violent criminals "the chance to remake themselves in the image of the Prophets and the saints" - or to perform underhanded or dirty tasks for Father Donati. Some of the miscreants disappear out of Monfalcone, some actually reform, but enough feel that they owe the priest something to make it worthwhile.

Lord Donati has been pressing Angelo to get married; it would be a dreadful shame if his Unbound gift were to pass out of the family. To that end, candidate wives are being brought in for review. Lady Ellen Locke is the latest.

Angelo and Ellen hit it off well, each apparently finding the other likeable, but without too many other expectations. Angelo did his best to keep in touch with Ellen throughout the week, despite such small distractions as planning to have two of his brothers killed, dealing with his twin sister's ghost, and securing a future for his ward Pietra. In the end, Angelo's machinations have finally brought all of the Donati brothers to a common cause - for now, at least.

The trip to Mondavi Island may have overturned many of Angelo's plans. Pietra's future is well-secured, indeed: she has been formally betrothed to Barone Oreste Mondavi, the prince's second son. But the imminent loss of his ward depressed Angelo. He followed up on the strange sympathy he felt for Beatrice Caligari, the strega whose cursed black strands led her to a solitary life in her father's palace. As an Unbound, he believed that he had nothing to fear from her curse, and her obvious isolation mirrored his own feelings of disconnection from society. She slowly warmed to his offers of friendship, and (with a cold nudge from Prince Caligari) friendship turned to love or something quite like it. Angelo is seriously considering ending marriage negotiations with the Locke family pending an annullment of Beatrice's unconsummated marriage, marrying the strega and effectively ending his ambitions for a higher position within the church.

He is also a little concerned about how Antonio's plan to kill the entire Caligari family is going to affect Beatrice.