Adelaide tugged on the damask bellpull. “Brill will bring your breakfast.” She smoothed the quilt and plumped the pillows. “Yes, you are the only guest.”
“This is the only room?”
“If there’s only one guest, there is need for only one room.”
“Adelaide, do you know the lady in white who sent me here?”
“She was to help you find your way. You are never alone. We are the keepers. The watchers.” To the window, Adelaide shoved the curtains the full way open and straightened the window seat pillows.
“Keepers of . . .”
Brill, the old bear, appeared in the room with a tray of tea, eggs, bacon, and toasted muffins. It smelled divine.
“Set it there, Brill.” Adelaide pointed to the table beside the chaise lounge. “She’s a busy day ahead.”
“Does she now?” The old man winked at Corina with a nod toward Adelaide. “Don’t mind her. She can be a bit bossy.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me ears. I can hear you.” Adelaide brushed her hand over the desk and lamp, then inspected her hand for the nonexistent dust. “Corina, if you spend time fretting over what was, you’ll lose passion for what is meant to be, to see what God has written on your heart. You’ll walk limp, like the prince, and never arrive at your position of authority. Hear me?”
How did she switch from demure to commanding in less than a breath? “I hear you.”
“The path to life and love is pressing forward to what lies ahead. Not dwelling on what lies behind. That tiara is a sign to you. Accept it or deny it, but do not fret about it.”
“Don’t you see, the past is my future? If I don’t reckon with it, how can I go forward?”
“He called you to walk the waves and you stepped out. Don’t stare limpid-eyed at the shore, now.” Steel. Each word, like a sword, trimming the fat of Corina’s bravado.
“And if I fail?”
“You fight. You win the day. Just like King Stephen I and Queen Magdalena. And because of their love, they loved others. Well.”
Corina laughed, sinking down to her bed. “But I’m not the only one involved here, Adelaide. What about Stephen?”
Adelaide stood by the door, one step from leaving. “This isn’t about two but one. You. Your heart.”
“But I can’t love him if he doesn’t love me.”
“Think on it. Love is vast, rich, textured. If you limit yourself to only romantic love, you will never love well.”
“You mean love as friends?” The notion settled disappointment on Corina. She wanted to be more than friends with Stephen. Truth was, she couldn’t imagine life without him.
“This is your journey.” Adelaide returned to the interior of the room, her eyes a portal of power and fire. “I’m only here to help you see.” Then she was gone.
Corina brushed the chill from her arms as a light rain splattered against the window and her spirit churned.
She prayed for a long moment before settling down to her breakfast. Sipping her tea, she thought of Stephen. And her crazy journey.
What was he doing this cozy, rainy morning? Was he thinking of her? It rained every day the first week of their marriage, and they used the time well, cuddled up with the intentions of young lovers.
Corina finished her breakfast, thinking, praying. Then put aside her musings, gathered herself, wrote and filed her premier piece, then prepared for an afternoon with the incomparable Clive Boston.
The rain had stopped by the time she arrived at the café a few minutes before two and stepped out of a taxi, the wind catching up the full pleats and thick hem of her red-and-gold sundress.
Clive wolf-called from just under the café awning. “Gorgeous legs, darling,” he said.
Corina grimaced, holding down her skirt, letting the ends of her ponytail flutter across her face as she adjusted the strap of her messenger bag.Ignore him.
“How does it feel?” she said, air kissing his cheek. “To be the star of another hit movie?”
