Page 15 of The Royal Governess
Guilty as charged. I had shamelessly dangled that carrot in front of my daughter. The stable had been mentioned in Marco’s ad. I wondered how many tutors had responded because of the stables.
“I ran into Gregorio in the kitchen. He reminded me about it.” She twisted her hair into a neat braid. Zipping up her boots, she stood up. Energy radiated from her. Lexi was eager to leave and no doubt would have been on her way without checking with me.
“While we’re here, I have to know where you are.”
The bottom lip came out. “Why? I’m not a child.”
“No, you aren’t.” I had to be very careful here. “But you are my daughter and I’m responsible for you.”
“What does that mean?”
It means I don’t want you getting into trouble.“Exactly what I just said. We have to treat things with respect. You can’t just pile onto one of their horses.”
Standing with one hand on her hip, my little girl looked as if she could be eighteen. With her father’s height, she looked mature. But she wasn’t. The tears trembling in her eyes told me that this situation was difficult. And I'd gotten her into this. Maybe I should have left her home with Reena. My good-hearted best friend had offered to take Lexi for the summer. But then she’d had an emergency call from her aunt in England. Her summer plans now included nursing her Aunt Penelope.
And in all honesty how could I leave Lexi with anyone? Her friends would still be there, along with the problems they presented. Sending her off to her father’s, as Lexi had suggested, was totally out of the question. Wallace wasn’t great on discipline––something he’d never known himself. And then there was his closet drinking problem. That hadn’t changed.
“Okay, fine.” I threw up my hands in surrender. “But I’m coming with you. I just have to change.”
“Oh, Mom. Make it quick.”
Tromping over to my room, I wished again that we had a connecting door. The stables had been on my list for today. But I hadn’t wanted Lexi around when I scoped it out. The boots I’d found at a second-hand shop couldn’t compare with the ones I’d bought Lexi two years ago. But they would have to do. Two minutes later, I was ready and we took off. Lexi was amazed when I showed her the elevator that whisked us to the first floor.
“Why didn’t Gregorio’s grandmother tell us about this cool elevator?” She ran a hand over the wooden paneling.
“Lexi let’s not leave fingerprints.”
She dropped her hand. “Mom, please don’t talk to me like I'm a little kid.”
I bit my lip. She had a point. Lexi was growing up so fast. From my years of teaching, I knew that girls matured faster than the boys. When I’d run into boys in the mall after graduation, they always amazed me.
Once on the first floor, we did a little exploring. Eventually we came across the door that opened to the outside. But we scooted around the central courtyard. I did not want to run into the royal grandmother.
“Gee, Mom, you really know your way around,” Lexi commented as I led her into the park-like area that we could see from our rooms. No way was I taking the maze today. There were probably shorter ways to get there. Eventually I found the road Marco had taken with me only yesterday. Walking down the gravel road, I couldn’t help but remember the feel of him behind me, the earthy smell of the stable boy.
Fifteen minutes later we were standing in the stable that housed quite a few horses. Some hung their heads out of their stall, looking at us with large, liquid eyes. A man’s voice drifted over one of the stalls. Of course, we couldn't understand a thing he was saying. Lexi had chosen to take Italian in school but she’d only finished her first year. Still, she listened. “That isn’t Italian,” she whispered. “But it’s close.”
The horse in the stall behind us must have heard her voice because the animal lowered its head over the stall. Speaking to him in halting language, Lexi seemed to hit it off with the beautiful tan horse with a blonde mane.
“Good morning.” With a smile that creased his entire face, the older gentleman who’d been with Marco yesterday pushed the stall door open. Lexi walked in. Wearing a pleased smile, the man handed her a carrot. Whatever they were saying as they fed the horse, they seemed to understand each other. I hadn't seen her look this happy in a long time, and my heart melted.
“What is the horse’s name?” I asked him.
“Nombre?” Lexi threw in.
“Rudolfo.” He pointed to himself and then the horse, stroking her neck. “Cara. Sweet, no?”
“She sure is sweet.” And Lexi went back to murmuring baby talk to the horse.
Rudolfo’s eyes flitted between the horse and this young American girl. Was he sizing her up? The two of them had a quick conversation, straining a bit to understand each other.
Before I knew it, Rudolfo was throwing a blanket over the horse. A saddle soon followed. “What are you doing?” I gripped the top of the stall tight enough to cause slivers. “What's going on?”
“Rudolfo’s going to let me ride out on this horse. Isn't that cool?” Her hands clasped in front of her, Lexi was beside herself.
“No, it's not cool.” Fear clutched in my throat. I could hardly get the words out. “You're in a strange country. We haven't seen a hospital anywhere.”
My daughter’s face drew a blank. “Why would we need a hospital?”
