CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 15

Iwalked toward the double doors of my parents' suite—one did not enter the bedchamber of Romeo and Juliet without abundant caution—and noted that one of the stones creaked when I stepped on it. In the winter, I'd told Papà he needed to have it fixed, and he said he would. I'd do it myself, but Papà had laid claim to the Casa Montague building repairs, and Papà worked on his own, leisurely schedule. When I mentioned it again in the spring, Papà told me not to nag.

Then I pushed him down the stairs.

I didn't really, but I thought about it really hard and he always immediately fixed something completely different. Apparently he simply couldn't stand to do as I asked.

I knocked and entered at my parents' call. My mother sat in her special, comfortable chair with her feet up on a well-padded stool. My father stood close to her, gently stroking her hair.

He had been given the news, I thought. That made my errand easier.

I wore my street clothes and held my black cape over my arm.

"Here she is!" my father said jovially. "Our Rosie!"

"Your keepsake?" I suggested.

He flushed. "Young Lysander would not have it so."

"Papà, what happened between Lysander and me was no more than a moment. He's not the only youth who has fallen in love by moonlight and regained sense with the rising sun." If Lysander had somehow gotten away from our garden, then no need to mention my post-party walnut tree visitor, or his sudden descent and abrupt landing.

"I don't understand you, Rosie. Don't you want to be wed?" Papà looked at me the way my siblings stared at the paintings of exotic animals in the books I read them.

Poor Papà. Four—no, five—blighted betrothals and he was only now wondering? "I love only one man, and he is splendid, but my mother is already married to him." It was only a little lie, one that made Papà preen, and avoided for the moment the subject I wished a little longer to hug close to my heart. Before he could regain his baggage train of thought, I said, "Madam Mother, these last few days, I've been distracted with the betrothal, the party, and the, um, murder. I wonder, do you need a tonic to stop the illness of morning?" My gaze lingered on Juliet's waistline.

Juliet put her hands on her belly in a betraying gesture. "Do I show so soon?"

"Not at all, Mother. Only to those who know and love you."

Juliet collapsed with a wail of anguish.

I called for a cool cloth to lay on her forehead, patted her hand, and glared significantly at my father.

He understood and came to kneel beside his wife. He grasped her other hand in both of his and pulled it to his chest. "Amora, I'm a good father, am I not?"

Juliet nodded and pressed her handkerchief to her eyes.

"I care for our children, I frolic with them when they're small and as they grow, I teach them swordplay—"

Juliet's eyes snapped open. "I forbade you from teaching the girls. Your mother forbade you from teaching the girls. You listen, do you not, my lord husband?"

"Of course, mi amora. Regardless of how much my sweet little girls beg, I won't let them handle my sword."

"I would hope not. It's too long and they could hurt themselves."

"Exactly."

My father and I did not exchange glances. When my mother chose, she could be fierce in her defense of her children and should she discover that years ago, her dearest Romeo had purchased two miniature swords for his daughters and taught them and a few of their closest friends the use of them, she would be most displeased. That they were blunt would make no difference to her, and indeed when used by inexperienced hands, the edge and the point could leave a bruise. As I had discovered, both offensively and defensively.

Releasing Mamma's hand, I stood with my hands folded at my waist, the picture of feminine serenity and propriety.

Such decorous behavior may have cued my mother's suspicions. She dabbed her drying tears. "Romeo, Cesario is too young and your sole heir. You don't teach him yet, do you?"

"No swordplay," Papà said firmly. "After the incident with Paulina, I'm teaching him to defend himself with his fists."

Last year, Cesario had been teasing our five-year-old girl cousin and she'd given him a black eye.

"That's good." Mother hid a smile.

"Better to teach him not to torment a younger child," I said.

"That too. Montagues are never bullies. We're the good guys, and Cesario now understands that." Papà returned to comforting his wife. "The child in your belly will be as loved as all our other children."

Juliet gave a watery smile. "I know. Put simply, I'm very old to be bearing children."

Papà laughed. "Barely thirty-three and still as beautiful as the dawn." He leaned in for a kiss.

Time to forsake this place before they remembered that when Mamma was already with child, they needed no restraint. I slipped out the door and donned the cloak.

Papà followed sooner than I expected. "You're going to Friar Laurence to make a tonic to stop her sickness?"

"Yes, Papà."

"Get her a strengthening potion, too." Romeo pulled his money pouch off his belt and handed me coins. "I fret when she's tired and ill."

"She'll feel better in a few months," I assured him. "But honestly, my Lord Father, do you have no control? She's already borne seven children!"

Romeo threw his hands into the air. "What do you want me to do? She takes seriously what I poke at her in fun."

"You're not funny!" I shouted.

"Shh." He put a finger to his lips. "Gently. I jest because I worry, Rosie. Each baby, I worry, and we do count the days between her menses, but sometimes . . . God has a soul He wishes to deliver and He chooses us." Romeo looked in equal parts thrilled and afraid.

I hugged him hard. "I know, Papà. I nag because I worry, too. God chooses you and Mother because He wants the child to have a loving home. Mayhap you'll have a second son!"

"Mayhap." He pinched my chin. "Or another daughter of my heart."

I stopped him before he put his pouch away. "Papa, I need a florin."

He frowned at me. "May your father know why you need a florin?"

"I lost a bet with Prince Escalus."

As if disappointed, Papà sighed deeply. "Rosie, if you want to buy yourself a sorbetto on the way to see Friar Laurence, you can buy yourself a sorbetto on the way to see Friar Laurence. There's no reason to lie about it."

"Yes, Papà." I kissed his cheek.

"You'll take the sedan chair?" He sounded anxious.

"Please don't make me. It's so boring. People stare. The bearers jostle me around. I get seasick."

"I know you don't like it, but—you'll take Nurse? For a woman like you, it's dangerous on the streets of Verona."

"Like me?" I reared back in offense. "I did nothing wrong, and yesterday the streets were safe enough for a woman like me."

"Yesterday, daughter, you had not stumbled on your betrothed's body in our garden while you were holding a knife."

"Why do you think that?" I asked sharply. "Prince Escalus testified that he caught me before I went out."

"I'm your father. How many times have you successfully lied to me?"

"Lots of times."

He sighed in exasperation. "How many times have you successfully lied to your mother?"

My mother, Juliet of the Capulets, detector of untruths. "Mamma enlightened you."

"She told me what she believed was the truth. You've now confirmed it."

"Ohhh." I put my hand to my forehead. An amateur's mistake, and how unlike me! Yet . . . my abhorred betrothal was over. The love of my life had visited my balcony and somehow escaped without harm. My cheer would not be diminished. "Papà, Verona believes Prince Escalus."

"Verona contains a sample of all the peoples of the world. Surely you've met some who love to dispense misery."

His doleful tone rasped at my good spirits. "It's not as bad as all that!"

"Am I not allowed to worry about you, too, Rosie?" he chided.

"I'm very capable."

He knew that, and still he was concerned. "A lady of worth and beauty occasions much envy. Please allow me to know more about the evils of the world than you, daughter." He kissed my cheek. "Ease my mind. Take Nurse."

"As you wish." I watched fondly as he went back to my mother. For all their loving and fighting and making up and emoting, they really were a cute couple.