Fit for a Queen (Royal Scandals: San Rimini Book 1) by NIcole Burnham

Author:NIcole Burnham [Burnham, NIcole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781941828335
Publisher: Nicole Burnham
Published: 2020-02-13T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 16

With the casino to her back, Daniela approached the wide staircase that descended to Via Vespri. Overhead, palm trees rustled in the evening breeze and the old-fashioned street lamps that characterized the casino and shopping district flickered to life. At the top of the stairs, a family gathered on and around a bench, eating gelato. A melted glob hung off the chin of the smallest child, who sat at one end of the bench. The father attempted to catch it with a napkin before it found its way to the boy’s shirt, but the boy wanted no part of the cleanup and wiggled backward in protest while continuing to lick his cone. Three other children stood behind the bench, ignoring their brother’s antics, and looked toward the harbor, where a large cruise ship glided along the horizon in a westerly direction, likely en route to Venice.

The mother sat at the opposite end of the bench from her struggling son, extra napkins clutched in her fist. She wore her dark hair knotted atop her head and her eyes had drifted shut. Her eyes flew open at a shout from one of the older children, who’d spotted a squirrel under the bench. When the mother realized the reason for the alarm, she shook her head at the girl, whom Daniela guessed to be around nine.

So much for the mother’s moment of rest.

On the opposite side of the split staircase, a group of boys in their late teens sprinted up and down the staircase, their phones held aloft as they recorded each other performing skateboard tricks on the low granite wall that ran alongside the stairs. One teen, his muscled legs poking out from board shorts, lounged near the top step and observed Daniela’s approach, then his eyes went beyond her as he scoured the Strada il Teatro for police. Behind him, a small sign mounted to the wall banned skateboarders from the area.

Daniela smiled to herself as she descended. Some things were the same everywhere, the behavior of energetic teens and tired children topping the list.

A glance at her watch showed she had nine minutes.

Her call with Fabrizia had focused on business. The calendar in the queen’s phone hadn’t been accurately updated to reflect a time change for next week’s speech introducing a new museum exhibit. She also had questions about the expected guests at an upcoming luncheon. So far, the assistant filling in for Daniela had done a fair job, but, as Fabrizia was kind enough to say, “No one is as good at this as you, Daniela. You think of things like updating the calendar in my phone, in addition to the daily and weekly schedules.”

The queen finished the call with a list of items that needed review. Daniela would need to wake up earlier than usual tomorrow to address them, but knowing the queen valued her was motivating.

When she reached the bottom step, she turned onto Via Vespri. A signpost designed to match the streetlights offered directions to points of interest in multiple languages.

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