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“Sometime in the spring,” she whispered back, her smile broadening.
The door to their bedchamber opened, and a pair of large, forest-shade eyes peeked around its edge. A moment later, another pair the color of warm earth appeared just below them.
“Come in, darlings,” Mélisande beckoned.
A dark-haired little girl dressed in rumpled nightclothes revealed herself. At her side, chubby fist held firmly in his sister’s hand, was a merry-eyed little boy of nearly four. Shuffling up to the edge of the bed, they looked up hopefully.
Alessandro patted the coverlet. “Come! I have a secret to share with you,” he whispered with excitement as they clambered up onto the bed, the girl helping to haul her little brother up beside her.
“A secret! Tell, Papa! Tell!” the girl begged, bouncing.
“Yes, Papa. Tell us,” echoed the little boy, his demeanor far more serious than his sister’s, despite her being nearly two years his elder.
Alessandro grinned, his heart swelling with pride. “Well, your mother is actually the one with the secret,” he informed them. “Perhaps I should let her tell you?”
Expectant eyes swung over to Mélisande. She smiled over their heads at him. “Oh, I don’t know. I think it would be all right for your Papa to reveal this particular secret,” she teased.
Pleading eyes again swiveled back to Alessandro.
“Do tell us, Papa,” beseeched the girl, squirming with anticipation.
Laughing, he beckoned them closer until their heads nearly touched. “All right,” he whispered, “I shall tell you, but you must promise not to yell and wake the house.” His manner was stern, but his smile belied his ominous tone.
“We promise, Papa,” swore his daughter. She turned to her brother, wearing a perfect copy of her father’s severe expression. “Don’t we, Aldo?” she prompted.
“I promise, Bella,” he replied, his face somber.
Beroaldo might appear serious in comparison to his big sister, but Alessandro knew he was at the root of the recent spate of pranks played on the household staff.
“Very well. But know that I shall hold you to your vow,” he said, eyeing them fiercely until they giggled. “The secret is that you are going to have a new brother or sister sometime next spring.”
The anticipated explosion was not long in coming.
Simultaneously, Isabella and Beroaldo sucked in a deep breath, looking first at each other and then at their father, who’d begun to quake with silent laughter. Squeals of delight erupted as they began jumping up and down on the bed, holding each other’s hands while crowing at the tops of their lungs.
Mélisande reached across the coverlet and took his hand.
Fate had brought them into each other’s lives twice. Now, they would never be apart again.
Fin
(F) = French (I) = Italian (E) = English
Ah, pardon, mademoiselle! Je m’excuse! (F) – Ah, my apologies, miss! Excuse me!
Benissimo (I) – Very good
Bête noire (F) – A person, object, or abstract idea that is particularly disliked or avoided
Bistre (F) – A rich, deep brown pigment. Many of the Old Masters used bistre as the ink for their drawings.
Bragg (E) – An early version of poker
Brocade (E) – A class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. Often called “embossed cloth,” ornamental features in brocade are emphasized and wrought as additions to the main fabric, sometimes stiffening it, though more frequently producing on its face the effect of low relief.
C’est un vrai coureur de jupons, ma fille! Ne pas aller près de lui! (F) – This is a seducer of women, my daughter! Do not go near him!
Calèche (F) – A wired hood worn by women to protect high hairstyles
