Page 43 of Of Might and Mettle

Tears blurred Lorelle’s vision, and she tucked the card into her pocket. She would head out as soon as dawn in two days. How in the world would she fill the time until then?

The sudden shift in tone in the other room let her know the inventor was saying goodbye. Lorelle collected herself and stepped out of the kitchen just as her aunt and uncle returned.

“I—I thank you for the gesture,” Lorelle started, “but I want to know how much it’s going to cost. I want to pay the inventor.”

They shared a glance. “That’s being taken care of,” Tía said. Tío Zacarías gestured for them to sit, and Lorelle sat before her now-cold cup of coffee.

“How?” She twisted her finger around the cold porcelain. “Not one but two hands? Let me speak to the inventor. Let me pay it.”

“The account is settled.” Tío set something on the table between them. When he removed his hand, a silver star winked up at her. One corner was slightly dented from where a small pup had gnawed on it.

Her gaze shot up. “He didn’t. Trade his medal for my—”

Tía Clarisa lifted a hand. “It’s not a trade. He’s getting his medal back. He left us an assurance so that the inventor can trust that payment would be handled.”

Lorelle was struck speechless for the second time that day. Her head spun.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” She swallowed. “I thought—I didn’t think the inventor—” She clamped her lips shut, afraid of what she might let slip. She took a long sip of her coffee.

“Who did you think was coming?” Tía gave her a knowing smile.

Lorelle flushed. “Uh—”

“You might as well go thank the captain yourself,” said Tío over his own cup of coffee. “I’m sure he’d appreciate it more than if it came from me.”

To her surprise, Lorelle found herself standing before she’d even agreed. And now Tía Clarisa pushed her toward the door. “And let him know he’s invited for dinner tonight! I’d like to hear how the two of you caught Sir Thomas.”

And then Lorelle was out on the doorstep and the door was shut behind her. The lock clicked into place.

Very funny.

But she couldn’t help the thrill of excitement coursing through her. She didn’t know exactly where to find Antonio, but she had a good guess.

Taking a deep breath, she ordered a coach.

Chapter twenty-five

A New Foundation

Lightning lit up Teresa’s room with the second thunderstorm since the theater’s collapse. Teresa sat at the window overlooking the courtyard. It was an early thunderstorm, but it cast the afternoon as dark as the evening last week when she couldn’t sleep.

Some of that fire in her nerves still smoldered in certain parts, but the flare-up had passed. It had left her feeling uncertain again. Though she appreciated Papá’s support for her to travel, fear whispered that he could still change his mind. It was all so new, she could hardly believe her future was within reach.

Yair had come to see her earlier when she’d taken another meal in her room, and his words of encouragement had meant the world to her. He had also made the promise to never let a secret fester, seeing how hiding her own infirmity had caused her so much pain. Teresa could only smile tearfully at his earnestness, though she wouldn’t expect him to always tell the truth. He was her ever-protective older brother, after all, and he would bend the truth if he thought it would protect her.

A knock sounded.

“Pasa,” she said. Cerise opened the door and bowed at Mamá’s entrance.

“You can leave us,” Mamá said to Cerise.

The door clicked shut, and Teresa felt for all the world like her only friend was on the other side of the door.

“I’m sorry, Teresa,” Mamá said, her voice breaking. She didn’t wear her normal heavy gown or even her crown, as if she came to Teresa not as her queen but as her mother. Teresa shifted so she could sit on the other side of the window seat.

“Forgive me for not understanding,” she went on. “I’ve tried to help you in the only ways I know, instead of asking you what you wanted or needed. I was afraid. Afraid to lose you to something far beyond my control. But I can see now I’ve only hurt you.”

Teresa looked out the window at the debris of the theater. Much had been hauled away, but it would need to be rebuilt. From the foundation.