Although I wasn’t here to teach morality, I was glad to hear him say that. “Yes, it was. In America we usually marry for life.” With a fifty percent divorce rate? My words made me cringe. My own marriage hadn’t worked out that way. “In most cases,” I added.
Gregorio hadn't missed that last part and he did an eye check with Lexi seated next to him.
“Unless your father drinks too much,” she said, with such loss in her voice. My heart knotted in my chest. Suddenly the room felt too small. This little book might hold a whole world of heartache.
“I guess that's all for today.” While Gregorio and Lexi packed up, I went to the window. “Gregorio, are we at the highest point of the castle?”
“Yes, except for the towers.”
“You have towers? Really?” Lexi's voice rose with excitement.
“Want to see?” He was already on his feet.
Of course I wanted to see. After stuffing my notes and book into my tote, I was ready for a tour. Gregorio moved with the bumbling motions of a growing boy. When he caught his foot on the chair, it scraped across the floor. I pretended not to notice and so did Lexi. Maybe she was learning.
We followed Gregorio down the hall.
“Were you born here?” I asked as he opened a door leading to a stairway.
“Of course.” He started up the winding stairs and I was right behind him.
“In the town hospital, you mean?” Lexi asked.
“Oh, no. We are always born in our castle. The doctors come.”
I smiled at the “we,” which must refer to royalty.
“How cool.” Lexi’s voice bubbled with excitement.
“Trust me, not if you’re the mother.” The idea of bringing a child into the world in this bone-chilling castle made my stomach heave and other parts of my body clench.
Our feet scuffed up endless steps. From time to time we passed a window.
“Are we almost there?” Lexi groaned.
“Yes.” Gregorio stomped along above me. Although I never would have pegged him as an athlete, the stairs didn’t seem to bother him. How often did he come up here?
“You won’t believe what you can see from up here.” Gregorio sounded excited.
Conversation became impossible. I was too busy panting. At the top of the stairs, a carved bench sat on a landing below a medieval painting. The whole mood changed. Snatching a key from a hidden cranny, Gregorio opened the door with the ornate, old-fashioned key. Lexi and I crowded in behind him.
Lexi’s eyes swept the room. “Look at all this stuff.”
In the center of the spacious room sat a four-poster bed draped with drop cloths. Furniture was also shrouded. Lexi pulled the cloth off a mirrored dressing table and another from the bench in front of it. “Mom, look at this.” She was elated by her discovery.
Dust sprayed into the air, causing a major coughing fit. “Lexi, stop.”
“But, Mom, this is so great.” Lexi plopped down on the padded bench. “Do you think I could move this downstairs? You know, just for now?”
I snapped my attention from the paintings on the walls. “Of course not.”
“I would have to ask.” Gregorio ran his fingers over the inlaid wood on the dressing table. “This was my mother’s.”
Feeling light-headed, I grabbed the bedpost. “Do you mean this was your mother’s room?” A bedroom was personal territory. Now I felt like an intruder, but I was more than curious. What in heaven’s name would the poor woman be doing up here? My eyes went to the heavy drapes and huge fireplace. A woven blue and rose-colored rug covered most of the stone floor. Yes, someone could have stayed here.
“Yes, I remember playing on this rug.” He glanced down at the floral pattern. “Wish I could remember her more.”
The boy’s sigh went straight to my heart.
