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'Love does not need any comforting. It does not even need requiting. All it needs is itself.' Florence, 1502. Marshal Louis de La Tr�mouille's small army has stopped off en route to Naples, to buy objects d'art for King Louis XII of France. Naturally, Leonardo da Vinci's workshop is on the shopping list; and during their visit to his house, the young nobleman de Bougainville chances upon the not-quite-finished Mona Lisa. He promptly, utterly and hopelessly falls in love with the woman in the painting, and is determined to find her - despite rumours that she has long ago died. A visit to an empty tomb, assault upon an Italian nobleman's mansion, duel and execution later, the secret of la Gioconda's smile is (possibly) revealed. An entertaining story, told with style - about love, life, art, and the Quixotic things that a man will do to realise his dream.