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Dante waited just ten minutes this time.
‘Please, follow me.’
He walked up large staircase which was almost familiar for Alicia had told him about it—how she and Beatrice would chatter on their way up and then sit nervously on the bench he was looking at now.
No doubt his mother had sat there too, waiting to be summoned. Chastised.
‘Please,’ the nun said. ‘Take a seat.’
He didn’t get a chance to, though.
‘Thank you, Sister Angelique,’ said a tiny figure as it appeared at the doorway. ‘I shall take it from here.’
Reverend Mother gave a tight smile as they took their seats in her office. ‘You want to see me regarding a delicate matter?’
‘A baby,’ Dante said.
‘Signor...’she put up her hand ‘...can I stop you there? I say this with the utmost respect, but before we continue you must know that words once said cannot—’
‘I am not here to disrupt anybody’s life,’ Dante stated. ‘But the fact is I believe my brother was left here—’
‘Your brother?’ Reverend Mother interrupted. ‘I thought you were here regarding—’ She stopped herself.
‘I don’t have a son,’ Dante said, and met her eyes. ‘My father returned for my mother’s funeral. He watched from a distance and I am guessing he—’ Dante halted. He would not be getting into salacious presumption with Reverend Mother. ‘Certainly the baby was not mine.’
‘Then I owe you an apology,signor.’
‘No need,’ he said. ‘You weren’t the only one to jump to the same conclusion.’
It galled him that Alicia had simply assumed the worst. It smeared the sacredness of the time they’d shared—the one decent memory he had of this damned place—but for now he kept his thoughts in check.
‘I really can’t discuss this further with you. It was different when I thought you might be the father of an infant left here.’
‘I accept that you can’t discuss Roberto in detail,’ Dante said, purposely letting her know that he knew the boy’s name. ‘Please tell me only what you are comfortable sharing. I do have some questions, though.’
Dante was here about more than a baby.
Their conversation was thwarted, though, when they heard footsteps and then a knock at the door. Sister Angelique appeared with a tray.
‘Signor Schininà and I have decided to go for a walk,’ said Reverend Mother. She looked to Dante. ‘Unless you would like coffee first?’
‘A walk sounds good.’
It was windy on the headlands, but nice to walk after his drive, and he was comfortable with the silence, knowing it would be broken only after deep consideration.
‘He’s happy,’ Reverend Mother said. ‘That much I can tell you. He’s with a loving family and he is thriving.’
‘Can I ask how long he was here?’ The detail mattered to him; he didn’t want his brother to have been here for long, for he knew how much his mother had hated it.
‘A few months. Initially there was a young couple we hoped might adopt him, but that didn’t work out.’
‘So he was moved around?’
‘Oh, no.’ Reverend Mother shook her head. ‘Roberto was taken care of in the nursery here, and he was very loved. Another couple adopted him when he was nine months old. They have since...’ She looked over and smiled. ‘Well, he has a sibling.’
‘Will he be told about his start in life?’
‘I can’t discuss that. I do keep letters and such in my safe, though, should a situation arise when they are asked for. If you choose to do so, can I suggest you wait?’
