Then Louis turned to Beatrice and said, “Beatrice, this room …well, I—”
“Open the door, my lord,” said Mattie, her hands on her hips.
With that, Louis made a slight bow to Beatrice and nodded to his steward who unlatched the wooden door.
Beatrice stepped in. Colored sunlight flooded the room, and Beatrice walked into the center, held out her arms, and twirled around and around. The blues of the windowpanes flickered on her hands and arms and turned the white lily aqua. Two small windows were ajar, and the suspended fish swayed above her.
“Now you really are a mermaid,” said Mattie, loosening Beatrice’s hair so that it cascaded around her blue dress.
Beatrice laughed and spun around.
Pons scratched his chin. “It’s a wonder.”
Bertrand patted Louis on the back and said, “Well?”
Louis held up his hand. They heard a peculiar vibrating sound.
“I have a surprise,” said Louis. “For Beatrice. For all of you.”
A bald little man playing a peculiar drumlike instrument danced through the doorway and into the room. He was dressed in a shirt of saffron silk with short ginger pants and bright green leggings. He capered about the room, pirouetting around each person. Then he stopped playing his drum, turned toward the door, and clapped his hands. The steward entered carrying a large cloth sack that he deposited in front of the little man. The little man rummaged in the sack, muttering to himself; he withdrew a small string-tied packet that he tried to hand to Pons, but the old man stepped back, and the little man yammered at him in a foreign tongue.
“It’s all right, Pons,” said Louis. “He has a gift for you.”
Pons took the package and turned it over and over.
“Open it, Brother,” said Mattie impatiently.
Pons nodded and began to unwrap the square package. Inside was a hinged leather box. He slid the catch with his thumb, opened the box, and removed an ivory bowl with a glass cover.
“What is this?” Pons asked, displaying the ivory bowl.
“It’s called a compass,” said Louis. “See the little needle? See how it dances? It will always pivot and point to the north.”
Pons shook his head. “Magic?”
“No, not magic. But extraordinary,” said Louis with a half smile.
Pons nodded and turned the bowl, watching the needle spin. “Never in my life!” he said.
Meanwhile, the little man dragged his sack to Mattie and pulled out a flat bundle that he handed to her. She took the package and opened it. Inside she found a beautiful crimson cape. The lamb’s wool was soft and tightly woven, and she smiled broadly at Louis as the little man danced across the room to Beatrice. He bowed deeply and presented her with the biggest parcel, a thick long roll tied with ribbons of orange, green, and yellow. First she untied the ribbons, then Beatrice unrolled the sackcloth wrapping, dropping it on the floor. She shook out a bright yellow silk dress and held it up against her chest.
“But how?” Beatrice asked Louis. “How did you know?”
Louis smiled and turned to the doorway.
In stepped a tall blond gentleman wearing a buttercup-yellow silk tunic. A handsome gray-and-red bird sat on his shoulder. The gentleman put his arm around Louis’s shoulders. The two stood linked, one with dark hair, one with gold, both with the same extraordinary blue eyes, the same remarkable smile. Together they bowed to Beatrice: the count and his brother, the boy with one ear.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My thanks to: The encyclopedic Janet Pascal for her knowledge and vigilance.
My divine literary agent, Jill Kneerim, for her patience, wisdom, and humor.
My masterly editor Joy Peskin for her relentlessness and her vision.
Thanks also to my early readers: AL, AR, BK, CF, EP, GA, GL, JG, LH, MJ, MS, MT, PM, and VB, as well as to Maddy, KP, Anna & Richmond, JS, and Anonymous for inspiration and education.
And especially, with love, I want to thank CBL, WHGB, NBL, GEB, FBL, and SFS.
The Unfortunate Son Page 21
