Page 24 of What Dreams May Come
“I was worried abouther,too!” Katherina protested.
Probably she wasn’t; as did most of my family, Katherina had an exaggerated opinion of my competence, one that I had fostered and tonight had been stripped from me.
So to speak.
Princess Isabella tore a chunk from the bread and handed it to me. “I’m in your debt, and I’ll never forget this as long as I live. You are indeed my sisterof the heart.”
I looked at the ring. “Youhave no idea.”
“Let me see it!” Katherina held out herhand, palm up.
I shook my head and nibbled on the bread.
“C’mon, Rosie. It’s my one chance to see a diamond up close. Isabella doesn’t mind if I look at it.” Katherina cajoled Isabella. “Do you?”
“No,” Isabella said. “But you have to promise not to put it on, because the next personto wear it is—”
“I know. I know. Prince Escalus’s betrothed, whoever she is. I mean, really. It won’t be too bad for her. He’s deadly boring and he has those scars, but he has an air about him. I don’t knowwhat it is...”
“Competence,” I said. After all, he had very competently handled me.
They looked at me as if I’d growna gorgon head.
“Rosie, you have no romance in your soul!” Katherina didn’t spare me her little-sister judgment.
“I used to,” Isaid wistfully.
“You never!”Katherina said.
“Except about Lysander,” Isabella reminded her.
In unison the girls clasped their hands and pretended to swoon.
In a businesslike tone, Katherina said, “Really, Rosie, let me hold the ring!” When I didn’t move, she began tugging on my hand.
I curled my fingers into a fist andshook my head.
“It’s not yours!” Katherina said. “If you won’t give it to me, give it to Isabella! It’s hers.Her mother’s!”
I felt sad at being the one to deprive Isabella, but I had no choice. I had made my vow. Again Ishook my head.
Isabella figured it out first. She drew back, stared at my face, stared at the ring, stared at my face. “Oh.” The word dropped from her lips, and like a pebble in the pond, its effect spread outward, breaking into Katherina’s determined discourse, making my sister sit back on her heels and look at me, too.
“Rosie? What is it?” When I didn’t reply, shesaid, “Rosie!”
“It’s not Lysander she’s betrothed to,” Isabella said gravely.“It’s Escalus.”
Katherina flopped onto her butt as if someone had pushed her. “No.” She looked between me andIsabella. “No!”
I couldn’t stand to see those disillusioned young faces staring at me as if I’d betrayed their sweet dreams of love, so I stood and walked to the marble-topped table. “Yes. I am the betrothed of Prince Escalus.” I poured water from the jug into the basin, splashed water on my hot face, and wiped it carefully with the towel. “Tonight, after he’d recovered the ring, he placed it on my finger and told me I was under no circumstances to remove it tonight.”
“No!” Katherina seemed unable to budge from that disbelief. “You were going to meet Lysander. What happened to Lysander?”
“How do you know I was going to meet Lysander? Why do you think something happened to Lysander?”
“Because I overheard Nurse plot the scheme to get you wed to him!”
I bent my stern gaze on Katherina. “Overheard?”
