Banquets, Books, and Bedlam | 28/12, late afternoon- Xmas 1677

[Sophia de la Cerda]

Sophia's eyes narrowed slightly. How did Esteban know what kind of gifts a man in love would appreciate? He seemed incapable of that emotion himself, at least with her. Not for the first time, she wondered if he had a mistress or if he had fallen in love with a Spanish lady and wished he could have married her instead?. Maybe most of his days had not been spent with Juan while they were in Madrid, but at the home of his beloved. She knew she could not expect him to be faithful when she was the mistress of his master and the notion that he might fancy another woman did not bother her at all.

 

“Maybe I will embroider a handkerchief with his coat of arms,” she mused aloud, a soft smile turning up the corners of her lips. He would like that, and it was something he could carry around with him at all times to remember her by. She had also written two letters to him so far, one about the opera and one about the ball. Together with the others she planned to write, they would be given to him when he returned to her.

 

The gift she really wanted to give him was a child, but it had been too long since they had been together. If she became pregnant now, the baby would be Esteban's.

 

A look of alarm crossed her face when her husband admitted that he had not heard from Juan. He had gone to Italy with an army to quell some sort of uprising. Sophia hoped that he had not been injured … or worse. If something had happened to him, I would know. I would feel his pain as if it were my own. We are connected in mind, body, and spirit.

 

“It would be like him to surprise us. Maybe he will show up at our banquet. It would be the perfect time.” All she needed from Juan was to see him smile, to be kissed and embraced, and to feel him inside her where he belonged. The most extravagant gift in the world would pale next to that.

 

Sophia sighed. Esteban was not going to budge on the amount he was willing to give her for gifts. She knew not to push him further and she should tell him she was grateful for his generosity. Maybe fifty pounds was all she needed. She wasn't going to buy all her gifts at the Curiosity Shop. She hoped he wouldn't be angry about what she had already spent there even though it was more than fifty pounds.

 

“Thank you, Esteban. You are very good to me.” Her eyes swept the ballroom and then returned to him. “I am certain you have other matters to attend to and I should get back to supervising the decorations. One of the banners has been put in the wrong place already.” Not sure how married couples usually parted ways, she held up her hand to be kissed. "Please let me know if you hear from Don Juan. I will feel much better if I know he is safe."