Golden Roses Read Free Page A

ornately carved. There was a large desk against a wall, opposite the stone fireplace. In the middle of another wall, flanked by long, arched windows, was an enormous bed with a canopy of pink and red velvet fringed by gold satin.
    Amber’s eyes went to the tiny woman who lay there. She seemed lost in the huge bed with its puffy, lacy pillows. She raised her head to stare at Amber, wide-eyed.
    Moving forward on tiptoe—for the moment seemed to command reverence—Amber whispered, “Are you my stepmother?”
    “ Sí , this is your stepmother.” Valdis sighed impatiently. “We tried to persuade Amber to retire for the night, but she insisted on seeing her father. There was nothing to do but bring her to you.”
    “As you should have.” Allegra Alezparito sat up, gathering a delicate crocheted bed jacket of soft pink over her shoulders. She beckoned to Amber. “Come here, my child. Sit down beside me. We must talk.”
    “I am going to bed,” Valdis called over his shoulder as he left the room. “If everyone in this house and the entire valley wants to sit up all night, it is their privilege.”
    The slam of the door told Amber that she and her stepmother were alone. She still had not made a move toward the bed and glanced around the large room, asking nervously, “Where is my father? Does he not sleep in here? Is he somewhere else?” Her eyes filled with tears as she stared beseechingly at the woman. “Please, won’t you tell me what is going on? I am so tired, and the way everyone is behaving is so frightening—”
    “Come.” The older woman gestured again. “Come and sit down.”
    Amber obeyed, dismayed to see that tears were slipping down her stepmother’s cheeks.
    Amber sat down on the edge of the bed, and Allegra wrapped a cool hand around hers and squeezed softly. “It is terrible to have to tell you this, my child, when you were expecting a joyful reunion. Your father had been so looking forward to seeing you. It was all he talked about for the longest time.”
    Amber shook her head wildly from side to side. Understanding was a cold snake wrapping itself around her heart. “You…you talk as though…” Her voice caught and she sobbed, “Dead! My father is dead!”
    When Allegra did not reply, Amber knew the anguish of truth.
    “No!” she screamed, leaping to her feet. “He can’t be dead. A cruel, cruel joke!” She backed away from the bed in horror, staring down at her stepmother as she continued to shake her head.
    Allegra whispered, all in a rush, “ Sí , it is true, Amber. He died two days ago. His heart, the doctor thinks. He is to be buried tomorrow. Please sit down. We must talk. We can comfort each other.”
    For Amber, something snapped. “He’s downstairs, isn’t he?” she screamed, backing away. “Down there. In that room with the candles and all those people. That’s where my father is, isn’t he?”
    She turned and fled, oblivious to Allegra’s pleas. She ran down the hall, down the stairs, stumbling, brushing by servants in the foyer, and flung herself against the parlor door. It swung open, and the man who had stepped out of the room before appeared once again. He stepped aside, stunned by her hysterical rush into the room.
    The others seated around the parlor rose to their feet, gasping as Amber came to a standstill at the side of the casket. The mahogany casket sat on a bier, flanked at each end by burning white tapers. She looked through her tears at the ghastly white body inside, the head on a satin pillow. Her hands began to twitch wildly and her throat convulsed with gulping sobs. Her whole being wrenched with spasms of grief deeper than anything she had felt in her nineteen years.
    She took a step forward and forced her trembling hand to touch the cold fingers clasped on his chest. She recoiled at the touch, but forced herself to reach out again.
    Her father’s eyes were closed, and she felt her knees buckle. She clutched the edge of the coffin for support,