Once a Soldier by Mary Jo Putney

Author:Mary Jo Putney
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-06-27T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Sofia managed to control her curiosity about the excavation until Justin followed Athena into the shaft. Exasperated, she slipped in after him. A sizable amount of the stored wine was hers, or at least her family’s, which surely gave her license to view the proceedings.

The clinking of the tools at the tunnel end covered her quiet footsteps. She passed a workman who recognized her and made an awkward attempt to bow. She waved that off and touched a finger to her lips in a request for silence. He bobbed his head in understanding and continued on with his buckets of earth.

She came up behind Athena and Justin just as Will Masterson finished clearing the door and yielded to Señor da Cunha. Being small, she could easily lurk unseen. Her wine master ceremoniously produced a massive iron key and inserted it into the lock.

As he worked to open the lock, Will ordered, “You two retreat at least a dozen feet. This isn’t a mine, so probably there won’t be explosive gasses, but there’s no telling what your landslide might have stirred up.”

His warning sent Athena, Justin, and Sofia a dozen feet back. The wine master jiggled the key until he was able to turn it. When that was done, Will locked both hands on the wrought-iron handle and pulled hard. The door opened with a grinding squeal.

A blast of heavy, wine-scented air poured into the tunnel. The smell was so intense that Athena sneezed and Sofia almost coughed.

“The angel’s share!” Justin exclaimed fondly. “The intoxicating aroma of a wine warehouse. Amazing how much evaporated alcohol can accumulate when a cave has been shut for the better part of a year.”

Sofia had always loved the term “angel’s share” for the alcohol that evaporated from storage casks while wine was aging, so it seemed a good time to announce her presence with applause. When Athena and Justin turned, surprised, Sofia said brightly, “I couldn’t resist watching, either. After all, much of the wine belongs to House Alcantara.”

The wine master, who had taught Sofia almost everything she knew about wine, clucked with indulgent disapproval. Handing her one of the lanterns, he said, “You may have the honor of being the first in, your highness.”

Sofia took the lantern in one hand and used the other to clasp Athena’s hand. “Come, my friend, we shall see what we wrought that dangerous day.”

“Not much damage, I hope!” Athena said fervently.

Side by side, they stepped through the broad doorway into the wine cave. From the intensity of the scents, Sofia had feared seeing broken casks, but everything looked miraculously intact. Here and there, small piles of dirt showed where earth had been shaken loose from the roof by the landslide, but all the casks were far enough from the door to have avoided damage.

She lifted the lantern above her head and the light revealed racks and racks of casks disappearing into the darkness. Each cask was marked with the name of the quinta that produced it. A third or so were stamped with the royal Alcantara arms.

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