Page 23 of The Royal Governess
“I know.” Gregorio opened the cleverly hidden elevator door. After making sure no one was looking, he ushered us inside. “For a long time, no one else had an elevator to their dungeon.”
Oh, really? “And now?”
“A few have them. How do you say it?”
“Copycats,” Lexi provided with a pleased grin.
“Yes. I think so.” He closed the metal door and pushed a button. Lexi giggled.
“What?” Gregorio gave her a patient smile, and for the first time I saw the age difference. He seemed more sophisticated than Lexi. “My father’s very progressive in that way.”
I snorted and then broke into a cough. Progressive? A man who kept his wife in a tower?
He shrugged. “Of course we don’t use the dungeon anymore.”
Okay, I wondered how recently it had been used.
“My father had a huge wine cellar built down here. That was really why he added the elevator.”
Cold seeped into my bones as the elevator slowly descended. Lexi seemed too excited to notice. This experience might run pretty close to one of the fairy tales she used to love. InHansel and Gretel, the children wound up imprisoned.
Finally, we reached the bottom. The elevator stopped with a jolt, and Gregorio pushed the door open. We stepped out into dank darkness. Lexi fell against me, quivering. I squeezed her arm. But I wasn’t feeling that brave myself. A cold chill iced my spine. With a crisp click, Gregorio flipped a switch on the wall.
Overhead neon lights flickered to life. Lexi released a breath and pulled away. “This is really creepy.”
“Yeah. Creepy,” Gregorio said, a smile lifting his voice. “All the dungeons are like this.” His tone implied this was the best thing since sliced bread.
I erupted into laughter and Gregorio gave me an injured glance.
“Oh, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that we don't have dungeons in our country.” I tried to explain. “In our basements we just do the laundry.”
Gregorio shook his head as if that were equally puzzling. We moved ahead, our feet scuffing on the earthen floor. You didn't have to walk far to find the dungeon. A hallway on the left led to two cells with iron bars, facing each other. “There are separate cells.” I felt as if we were on a movie set.
Although I knew nothing about dungeons these looked long, narrow and dark. “Maybe we'll readThe Count of Monte Cristosometime,” I murmured.
“Oh, Mom, stop.” Lexi turned to Gregorio. “The Count lived in prison for years and years.”
His expression never changed. “Sometimes that happens.”
I crossed my arms tight to keep from shivering. The elevator looked pretty tempting right then. Another hallway led in the opposite direction. “What’s down here?”
“Only the torture chamber.” His tone was matter of fact.
“Yuk!” Lexi squealed. “Your family tortured people down here?”
“Of course. Those times were very difficult. People always wanted to take your land and kill your family. Some of your own people might turn into spies.”
Okay, with that I did an about-face. No way was I headed down that dark hallway. “That's terrible.”
Back at the elevator, I waited for them. All I wanted was to be carried back up to the light and sanity. I never would have made it in medieval times.
“So you don’t want to see the wine cellar?” Gregorio asked, an injured look on his face.
“Um, not today.”
“Yeah, some other time.” Huddling next to me, Lexi nodded.
Gregorio held the door open. Lexi and I barreled into the elevator, shivering when he clicked off the light in the lower chambers. Joining us, he pressed the button for the first floor. By that time, I was starting to feel a serious disconnect between my life and the life that Gregorio lived. How could I prepare him for the world of Harvard and Boston when he was surrounded by this past?
