Valeria’s Cross by Kathi Macias & Susan Wales Page A

Eugenia noted. “Thanks be to God that you are resting again, child. I have gone to church every day to pray for you.”
    Valeria welcomed a distraction from her sadness. “Thank you for your prayers.” She swung her feet off the bed and sunk her toes into the thick Persian rug atop the sparkling pink marble floor, outlined with pure gold.
    Eugenia turned and clapped her hands, and a cadre of servants appeared. It had been days since Valeria had allowed them to open the gold damask curtains. Today she nodded in approval because she wanted to see the ornamental gardensoutside her window. Some of the women carried armfuls of bouquets from the garden to arrange in the vases. Valeria’s senses were piqued as the sweet fragrances of roses, narcissus, lilies, and iris wafted throughout the rooms.
    The servers from the kitchen were a welcome sight as they appeared with her breakfast. Valeria’s appetite had returned with a vengeance, and this morning she was so famished that she plucked a bunch of grapes that cascaded off a servant’s mosaic tray piled high with sumptuous apples, pomegranates, and quinces. At the table, Valeria ate bread, cheese, and eggs. She nodded her thanks to the young woman, who refilled her jeweled goblet with grape juice.
    “You are overdue for a bath,” Eugenia announced. She knelt beside the bed and slid jeweled pink silk slippers onto Valeria’s feet. She usually stood by while the other servants attended to these tasks, but since the recent events in her young mistress’s life, Eugenia had personally attended to some of Valeria’s more immediate needs. Valeria had noticed those small demonstrations of love but had been too sad to acknowledge them.
    “I have not seen you smile in weeks.” Eugenia commented.
    “I’m smiling because last night I dreamed of Mauritius.”
    “You must stop torturing yourself and accept that Mauritius has died.”
    Unflinching, Valeria ignored Eugenia’s warning. “I was hoping my present circumstances were just dreams and Mauritius was still alive, but then I was awakened by the starlings singing outside my window, reminding me I was back in Nicomedia and that my tragic fate was real.”
    “Try not to be so dramatic, please.”
    Valeria sighed. “Would it shock you if I told you that when I went to bed last night, I prayed I would die in my sleep?”
    “The way you have been acting lately, nothing would surprise me.”
    Valeria sighed. “And why not? Lately it seems that God has turned a deaf ear to my prayers. He no longer cares about me.”
    “You must not talk like that, dear one, but trust in the Lord with all your heart.” Eugenia made the sign of the cross over her own heart and sat down on the bed beside Valeria. “He will make your paths straight. Everything will turn out well, you will see.”
    “I do not believe you. What I learned in Egypt about the Lord … it is all rubbish.” Hot tears squeezed their way out of Valeria’s eyes, as she asked, “How could a loving God take Mauritius away from me?”
    Eugenia snatched a linen handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her mistress’s tears, and then pushed an unruly strand of gold-streaked auburn hair from Valeria’s face, gently tucking it behind her ear. “There, there, my darling girl, do not cry. Have you forgotten that we set sail tomorrow to complete your wedding trousseau?”
    If Eugenia’s reminder was meant to cheer Valeria, it failed miserably, instead only increasing her anxiety.
    Eugenia tried again. “In Istanbul there will be great trunks of jewels for you to choose from for your wedding crown, and cloths spun of golden thread in Milan for you to buy for your dressmakers to fashion your gowns.” Eugenia chatted endlessly. It was obvious she was trying to pique her young mistress’s interest, as Valeria had once adored beautiful things. “And I have a surprise for you too! Your mother has mentioned that we may travel to France so we can personally purchase the galloon