good," the King said. "Quite good. You capture her essence, senorita , her"--he looked Up at the Queen--"sweetness."
The Queen smiled shyly.
The King handed me the drawings. "Pack them Up. Doctor Hernandez says the Queen will soon be well enough to travel, and we will go to Madrid for Lent."
"Oh, I should like that!" the Queen exclaimed. She caught the King's gaze. "My Lord," she said softly, "I should like to be with you."
They regarded each other in silence. Between them, the workings of the golden clock clicked and whirled in their continual rounds.
A voice came from across the room. "Then perhaps you will want this when you go."
I cannot say who was the most surprised to find Don Juan standing at the door, but I can say who seemed least glad.
"Senor," the King said icily. "What brings you here?"
Don Juan bowed, then asked the Queen, "May I enter, My Lady?"
"Certainly--if my husband permits it."
"Of course," the King said.
Don Juan's young countenance was lit with a friendly smile as he approached. "I did not mean to interrupt, Your Majesty. I am here as a favor to His Majesty the Prince Don Carlos."
The King drew an irritated breath. "What does my son want?"
"I am sorry to say that Don Carlos's fever has risen this afternoon, and the only way any of Us could convince him to return to bed was to promise to give you this, My Lady."
"Something from Don Carlos?" said the Queen.
Don Juan opened his hand, revealing the black pearl the Queen had ripped from her dress to throw at the Prince.
"He said to tell you that it fell from Heaven," Don Juan said in rapid French.
"Perhaps an angel sent it," the Queen said in the same tongue.
"Yes." Don Juan's smile was genuine. "I believe one did."
The Queen turned pink.
"What is it?" snapped the King. His face was so hard it was difficult to imagine I'd seen a gentle creature in it only moments before.
"Nothing," said the Queen. "A pearl that had fallen from my dress." She reached for it quickly.
"You may not take it."
She stopped, her hand above the pearl.
"It has left your person," the King said. "It cannot be returned by common hands."
"But My Lord," said the Queen, "your son Don Carlos picked it Up. He is family."
The King's chill gaze went to Don Juan.
An edge of incredulousness crept into the Queen's voice. "And so is Don Juan." She took the pearl.
The King lifted the Queen's hand, the pearl still clasped within it. "Keep better watch over your things, my dear." He kissed her hand and left.
When he was gone, Don Juan said in the Queen's language, "I did not mean to interrupt, Your Majesty."
"How can you interrupt when there was nothing to interrupt?" she said lightly in French.
With a quick brush of his lips to her hand, he left immediately, the very model of decorum.
So why do I feel that I was a witness to wrongdoing, when no one has committed a wrong?
My Dearest Daughter,
I am glad to hear you are faring well in spite of the many bull runs you are forced to witness. Do not judge the Spanish too harshly. The grisly spectacle you describe is no more gruesome than the bear-baiting preferred by the Cremonese, and at least it is economical in that it provides meat at the end of the ordeal. Just be grateful that the bulls' terror is short-lived and that soon they are in God's hands as are all His beloved creatures in the end.
My own beloved creatures do well here. Lucia has completed a portrait of your mother that captures her delicate beauty. Gazing upon it gives your mother a moment's respite from her worries, which is a relief to me as well, for the poor woman's anxieties grow greater by the day. Her prayers are so endless she will barely eat or sleep, for she feels that if she stops, something terrible will befall the family. The weight she must feel! But you must not think it is all gloom and sorrow here. On the contrary, Asdrubale still charms us with his clowning as does Anna Maria with her sweetness and Europa with the predictability of her
The Queen smiled shyly.
The King handed me the drawings. "Pack them Up. Doctor Hernandez says the Queen will soon be well enough to travel, and we will go to Madrid for Lent."
"Oh, I should like that!" the Queen exclaimed. She caught the King's gaze. "My Lord," she said softly, "I should like to be with you."
They regarded each other in silence. Between them, the workings of the golden clock clicked and whirled in their continual rounds.
A voice came from across the room. "Then perhaps you will want this when you go."
I cannot say who was the most surprised to find Don Juan standing at the door, but I can say who seemed least glad.
"Senor," the King said icily. "What brings you here?"
Don Juan bowed, then asked the Queen, "May I enter, My Lady?"
"Certainly--if my husband permits it."
"Of course," the King said.
Don Juan's young countenance was lit with a friendly smile as he approached. "I did not mean to interrupt, Your Majesty. I am here as a favor to His Majesty the Prince Don Carlos."
The King drew an irritated breath. "What does my son want?"
"I am sorry to say that Don Carlos's fever has risen this afternoon, and the only way any of Us could convince him to return to bed was to promise to give you this, My Lady."
"Something from Don Carlos?" said the Queen.
Don Juan opened his hand, revealing the black pearl the Queen had ripped from her dress to throw at the Prince.
"He said to tell you that it fell from Heaven," Don Juan said in rapid French.
"Perhaps an angel sent it," the Queen said in the same tongue.
"Yes." Don Juan's smile was genuine. "I believe one did."
The Queen turned pink.
"What is it?" snapped the King. His face was so hard it was difficult to imagine I'd seen a gentle creature in it only moments before.
"Nothing," said the Queen. "A pearl that had fallen from my dress." She reached for it quickly.
"You may not take it."
She stopped, her hand above the pearl.
"It has left your person," the King said. "It cannot be returned by common hands."
"But My Lord," said the Queen, "your son Don Carlos picked it Up. He is family."
The King's chill gaze went to Don Juan.
An edge of incredulousness crept into the Queen's voice. "And so is Don Juan." She took the pearl.
The King lifted the Queen's hand, the pearl still clasped within it. "Keep better watch over your things, my dear." He kissed her hand and left.
When he was gone, Don Juan said in the Queen's language, "I did not mean to interrupt, Your Majesty."
"How can you interrupt when there was nothing to interrupt?" she said lightly in French.
With a quick brush of his lips to her hand, he left immediately, the very model of decorum.
So why do I feel that I was a witness to wrongdoing, when no one has committed a wrong?
My Dearest Daughter,
I am glad to hear you are faring well in spite of the many bull runs you are forced to witness. Do not judge the Spanish too harshly. The grisly spectacle you describe is no more gruesome than the bear-baiting preferred by the Cremonese, and at least it is economical in that it provides meat at the end of the ordeal. Just be grateful that the bulls' terror is short-lived and that soon they are in God's hands as are all His beloved creatures in the end.
My own beloved creatures do well here. Lucia has completed a portrait of your mother that captures her delicate beauty. Gazing upon it gives your mother a moment's respite from her worries, which is a relief to me as well, for the poor woman's anxieties grow greater by the day. Her prayers are so endless she will barely eat or sleep, for she feels that if she stops, something terrible will befall the family. The weight she must feel! But you must not think it is all gloom and sorrow here. On the contrary, Asdrubale still charms us with his clowning as does Anna Maria with her sweetness and Europa with the predictability of her
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