The Seer's Choice: A Novella of the Golden City by Cheney J. Kathleen

Author:Cheney, J. Kathleen [Cheney, J. Kathleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: J. Kathleen Cheney, Fantasy, Portugal, The Golden City series
Published: 2015-09-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

* * *

Sunday, 3 May 1903

GENOVEVA DIDN’T THINK she understood football any better today than she had the previous Sunday. She’d sat with Mrs. Gaspar again, who’d patiently explained this and that point, but Genoveva hadn’t been all that attentive. She didn’t particularly care about the rules of the game. It was obvious how much the captain enjoyed playing, and that was the important part.

This week they played an English team and managed to finish one point ahead. Afterward the captain sought her out and chatted amiably with Mrs. Gaspar for a few minutes while Inspector Gaspar talked with a member of the opposing team. When Gaspar came running over, he and his wife invited them to join them for dinner later, but the captain glanced over at Genoveva. “I’m afraid we have a previous engagement,” he said. “Perhaps some other time?”

“That would be lovely,” Mrs. Gaspar said, taking her husband’s arm.

It was only after the couple had left that Genoveva realized that Captain Pinheiro had answered for both of them. “I was unaware that I had supper plans.”

He laughed ruefully. “I apologize. I set a reservation at the Restaurant Comercial for this evening, for us and a guest. Do you mind?”

The Comercial, located in the Stock Exchange Palace itself, had been her favorite restaurant before she left her life in society. She was not going to question whether the captain could afford such a venue. “Of course not,” she said. “But I would have preferred you not assume.”

“You don’t like surprises, do you?”

Genoveva looked down at her sensible shoes. In her life, it seemed that everything surprising had turned out to be unpleasant. “No, not very much.”

He glanced about the stands. The players had mostly wandered away from the playing field, and only a handful of spectators still clumped at the other end of the stands. He turned back to her, evidently satisfied that they wouldn’t be overheard. “This is my plan,” he said. “I’m going to return to my apartment and change into formal dinner clothes. Then I’ll escort you—if you wish—back to your rooms so that you can change as well and pick up clothes for a few more days. We’ll return to Lady Ferreira’s home where you can leave the bag, and then we will go to the Comercial where, while we’re waiting, you and I will have a discussion about my finances and expectations and, if you’re amenable, we might make an announcement of some sort to our other dinner companion—who is your mother, by the way.”

Genoveva swallowed. She understood the word announcement very well. Every girl in society was trained to anticipate that moment as one of the highlights of her life.

“I’m telling you now so that you won’t be surprised later,” the captain clarified.

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

He peered up at the overcast sky, and then offered her his arm. “Shall we go?”

Genoveva lightly set her hand on his white sleeve, feeling a little breathless. “Yes, of course.”

He smiled at her, and they began the trek along the cobbled streets back to Bom Sucesso Street where he lived.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.