Chapter 43

“Could I?” she said.

“By all means,” I said.

“When?”

“Right now, if you like,” I said. “Come with us. From the look of things, the other ladies won’t even know you’ve gone.”

“Go ahead,” Father said. “Modesto will have one of his people take you there and bring you back when you’re through.”

“What do I need to take with me?” she said.

“Nothing at all—everything you need is already there.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” she said.

So we went back down the mountain and to the castle complex. When we stepped through the door, Maria was overwhelmed. “It really is like the paintings I have seen of the baths in Rome,” she said, “but on a smaller scale.”

Good thinking, Maria. I suppose when you’ve lived that long you reach a point at which you automatically tailor what you say to fit the audience.

“That’s true,” I said, and pointed, “the dressing rooms are over there.”