“Thank you.” Celeste looked at her daughter. “And you’re stunning, Jessica.” She smiled. “You seemed to have a nice time with Giovanni and Hector this afternoon.”
“He’s a nice kid.”
Giovanni had invited them to dinner in the main dining room of the castle. Stopping in front of a huge open doorway at the corner of the interior walls, Jess asked her mother, “Is this the dining room?”
They were given directions, but the room seemed empty. Pushing the door open, she peered inside. No, not empty. In the far corner people sat at a table, light spilling onto them from an open kitchen where she saw a chef in a white hat. Giovanni saw her and waved them over.
Jess turned to Celeste and shrugged. “I guess it’s just us for dinner.” She opened the door and walked in—a huge room, with at least forty tables all set in white linen and shining tableware. Twenty-foot high arched windows lined the walls, with even higher cathedral ceilings. Lit tea candles burned in the centers of all the empty tables.
“Sorry,” apologized Giovanni as they approached, standing to greet them. “This dining hall was built in a different era. We still use it to host weddings from time to time. I wanted it to feel, well, lived in.” He hung back, seeming awkward, but stepped forward to kiss Celeste on both cheeks.
He turned to Jess, leaned in, and she felt his warmth and the stubble of his cheeks on hers as he kissed both sides. “The hall is beautiful,” she said. “And please, stop apologizing.”
At the table, Nico and Hector both stood. Nico kissed Celeste and Jess on both cheeks, while Hector stood at attention.
“Good evening, Madame Tosetti,” Hector said when they all looked at him. “And Mistress Jessica, you look lovely.”
Jess rolled her eyes and looked at Giovanni. “You taught him that.”
Giovanni shrugged and smiled. They all laughed politely.
“Please, sit.” Giovanni pulled back a chair for Jess, while Nico did the same for Celeste. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering a set course from the chef. I hope there are no vegetarians?”
Celeste and Jess shook their heads.
“Good.”
A waiter swooped in and arranged napkins in their laps. Another appeared with a heaping plate of antipasto to place in the middle of the table, poured glasses of wine for everyone, then described the elements of the antipasto plate.
“So are those all pictures of you, Giovanni? All the mountaintops?” Celeste asked after the waiter finished his explanations.
“Yes, those are of me,” Giovanni admitted, almost sheepishly. “My father put them up all around the house. The family wealth afforded me a certain”—he paused to carefully choose his words—“lifestyle. I have been on many expeditions. Of course in the Alps, but also the Himalaya.”
“Jess is an outdoor nut as well.” Celeste grinned at Giovanni and then Jess while picking up her glass of wine.
“Your father?” Jess asked, ignoring her mother. “So there are two Barons? You’re very young to be a Baron, aren’t you?” In the afternoon, she hadn’t pushed Nico, sensing his discomfort, but she was curious. “Sorry, I’m not familiar with royalty conventions.”
Giovanni smiled sadly. “My father died recently, after a protracted illness. My mother, she died when I was young.”
Jess’s smile slid from her face. “I’m sorry. My condolences.”
“Thank you.” Giovanni took a sip from his wine. “I was on an expedition in Antarctica. It took me a long time to return,” Giovanni added. “Nico was here, however, caring for him.” He smiled at Nico, who nodded and smiled a tight-lipped smile in return.
“And what about little Hector?” Jess asked, looking at her mother, then at Giovanni. “Does Mrs. Ruspoli take care of him while you’re away? He calls you ‘Zio’…is that short for Giovanni?”
Giovanni put down his glass of wine before laughing. “No, zio is ‘uncle’ in Italian. He is only visiting. I’m not married.”
Jess had to purposely avoid her mother’s eyes at that revelation.
“Little Hector’s mother and father are on holiday in Zambia, on safari,” Giovanni continued. “Hector is staying with me for two weeks, a small adventure for the both of us.” He paused to smile at Jess. “Family is the most important thing in life, no?”
“I guess.” Jess picked a piece of bread and tore it in half.
“No, you don’t think so?”
“I don’t want a family, not of my own, if that’s what you mean.” Jess stuffed the bread into her mouth. “I think what’s important in life is to be free, be independent, to explore.” She swallowed the bread. “Like you. If I had your money, I’d do what you’re doing.”