The Heir

“Just be yourself and remember: anytime you feel intimidated just think of them sitting on a toilet.”

I smile at him. “Thank you.”

At the bottom of a gracefully curving staircase we enter what looks like the lobby of a very expensive hotel. The walls are adorned with a reddish-gold fleur-de-lis pattern on an off-white background. On strategically placed plinths sit marble statues of human figures and animals. One that catches my attention is a marble statue of a doe with her head held high as if listening for any danger that may endanger the fawn lying at her feet.

Dante notices my fascination.

“That’s one of my favorites too,” he tells me. “As a small boy, I used to wonder what the mother deer was listening for.”

I turn to him. “That is beautiful. I think I would have loved to have known Dante the boy.”

He smiles and leads me across the room to another hallway. We enter another vast, richly decorated room where I see a couple in their early fifties sitting opposite each other. One glance is enough to know they don’t love each other.

The man has dark brown hair and a moustache that slants downward at the corners of his mouth. Like the woman beside him, he seems too thin. He is wearing a black suit and a soft blue shirt. The woman is slender, almost emaciated, with rich blonde shoulder-length hair. She is wearing an emerald-green, full-length gown and a pearl necklace. Diamonds shine in her earlobes.

“Linnea,” Dante says politely as we go up to them. “It is my pleasure to introduce Rosa Winchester to you.” He turns to me. “Rosa, I present Her Majesty, Queen Linnea of Avanti.”

I curtsy.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” she says, extending a smooth, narrow hand towards me. She smiles, and I’m struck by how it doesn’t reach her chilly gray eyes.

“The pleasure is all mine,” I murmur as she withdraws her hand and clasps her other hand over it.

Dante exerts gentle pressure on the small of my back and turns me slightly to my left.

“Father this is Rosa. Rosa, meet my father, His Majesty, the King of Avanti.”

I bow my head as Dante had instructed.

“Welcome to Avanti,” his father says. “I hope you are enjoying your stay.”

“Thank you very much, Your Majesty. You have a beautiful pala … home.”

He smiles and reaching forward takes my right hand in both of his. His grip is weak and reminds me of the clutch of a very old man. Startled, I stare at him. I can feel the queen narrow her eyes with surprise and displeasure.

He withdraws his hands. “I am glad my son found you. I can see now why he is so enamored of you.”

Thankfully, I am saved from answering as Cassandra enters the room with a man I presume to be Dante’s brother, though there seems to be little resemblance to him. While Dante is tall and broad, his brother Riccardo has more of a wrestler’s build with an angular face and sly eyes. His hair is light brown with an almost reddish tint.

Cassandra makes a funny face, and I can’t help but smile back.

Dante turns to me. “You’ve already met Cassandra, and this is my brother Linnus. Linnus, my fiancée, Rosa Winchester.”

“A pleasure,” he says, giving me a wide smile.

“Likewise,” I reply.

Cassandra throws her arms around my waist and kisses me on the cheek. “Again, welcome to Avanti, Rosa. I am so glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad to be here,” I tell her, slightly embarrassed.

“Well, shall we be seated?” the queen says coldly.

Servants appear as if from nowhere to seat everyone at the table. Then begins a seven-course meal—first a spicy cucumber salad with anchovy butter and crushed new potatoes. Throughout the meal, as Dante predicted, there is almost no talking. After the sea bass with fennel and spicy grape relish, is slow-roasted pork ribs with membrillo glaze, followed by lamb steaks. Every course is cooked to perfection.

Cassandra, seated on my left, leans toward me. “What do you think?” she asks.

What I think is; I’m so stuffed I don’t know if I can even get out of my chair, but what I say is, “Absolutely delicious. Especially those lamb steaks with yeast butter and warm hummus. It’s not like this every day, is it?”

“It’s like this every day,” she says flatly.

My eyes widen. “How on earth do you stay so slim?”

Cassandra throws back her head and laughs. “Simple. Take only half of what you want and eat half of what you take.”

“But what a waste.”

“The staff will eat it,” she says airily.

“Is the food to your satisfaction?” Dante’s father asks from across the table.

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you approve so heartily,” he says with a smile.

“I certainly do.”

“So,” the queen says, “I understand you are originally from London.”

“Yes, I am. You have an accent that is not Avantian, is it?”

“No, I am of Austrian and German ancestry,” she admits.

“It’s a wonderful accent,” I tell her.

“I used to love to hear her talk,” Dante’s father says. He glances at her. “I don’t mean that I no longer like to hear her. I’ll always want to hear her talk …” he trails off. There’s an almost sad smile on his face. “Actually, I think I’d better stop talking before I get myself into hot water.”

The queen glances in his direction, her eyes filled with barely concealed impatience. He returns her look, then laughs, and takes a sip of his wine.

“Don’t drink too much, darling. It will interfere with your … supplements,” she admonishes.

He puts his glass back down on the table. “You’re right, of course, my darling. Can’t have anything interfering with my … supplements.”

Astounded by the odd exchange, I glance at Dante. He is staring at his father with a strange expression. If this is Cassandra’s idea of ‘stuffy’, I wonder what ‘unstuffy’ would be. I look over at my future sister-in-law who simply raises her eyebrows and shrugs at me. I gather from that what I’ve witnessed isn’t typical behavior.

“So, Rosa,” the king says, “what has Dante told you about our country?”

“Not a great deal,” I answer slowly. “I know that the economy is based on being a tax haven.”

“It is, indeed, but mostly because we have been fortunate enough as to attract some of the richest people in the world to live in our country. There are more billionaires per-square foot here then there are anywhere else in the world,” Linnus says proudly.

“Really?” I say, impressed.

“Though you may hardly have heard of our country, it’s centuries old. Founded in the twelve hundreds, actually,” the king says.

“I didn’t realize that.” I look over at Cassandra who rolls her eyes.

“Here we go,” she mouths to me.

As she predicted he launches into a history which I find fascinating, but is obviously uninteresting to Cassandra. She pays little attention, and even has to stifle a yawn. Maybe she’s heard it all before—or even learned about it in school. Whatever the reason she is very bored.

Cassandra leans forward and whispers into my ear, “I told you. Stuffy, stuffy, stuffy.”

I don’t react, but I actually feel bad for Dante’s father. I know he saw her whisper in my ear and maybe even heard what she said. He is the head of this household and yet Cassandra openly shows disrespect.

Dante pushes his chair back and stands. He turns to his father. “Thank you for a very enlightening explanation,” he says. I can’t tell if he’s being sincere or not, but his voice is stiff and strained. I have never heard it like that before. “It was very helpful to Rosa and you’ve mentioned some things that I didn’t even know.”

The king nods. He appears exhausted and defeated.

“Shall we?” Dante says turning toward me.

I nod, and a servant arrives to pull back my chair.

?

?Goodnight,” Dante says, addressing everyone. I echo his sentiment and there are murmurs all around the table.

Cassandra reminds me of our shopping trip and Dante takes my arm to guide me out. Once we’re in the hallway, I turn toward him.

“What was that all about?”

“Palace politics. Stay out of it, Rosa. We won’t be living here, thank God.”

“Dante?”

He looks down at me and I can see that even though his voice is normal, his eyes are troubled. “Yes?”

“I liked your father. I thought he was nice.”

He swallows, then smiles distantly. “I think he liked you too. Come on, I want to show you the view from the tower.”

We walk to the tower in silence.

“Careful. These stairs are treacherous,” Dante warns as we start climbing the winding steps.”

When we get to the top of the tower I let out an unconscious gasp. The stars are shining brightly in the night sky above us and the lights of the city like a twinkling carpet beneath us. It is just magnificent. It is almost a shame to think only one family could enjoy this view.