The Ornaments of Love

Chapter Thirty

Three days passed like centuries. Father Mateu had come to the townhouse before she had left for Castell de Amontoní to discuss the matters of the Marquesa's funeral. The girl gave her ascent to everything he said, nodding from the terrible numbness that had taken residence in her soul. The event would take place in the cathedral within a fortnight, and she could trust him to manage everything with the Marquesa's attorneys. When he had moved to leave her, Veronica had rushed to him and hugged him. The priest was taken back by the gesture, but he allowed the child the time she needed to hold him before quietly moving on.

Returning to Castell de Amontoní, where hundreds of condolences came from throughout the city, Veronica wondered if the news had yet spread beyond Barcelona, and what might come from the remainder of Spain and the outside world. She had always known of and understood her aunt's celebrity, but had not grasped the scope of her role until the Marquesa's attorneys had requested an audience with Veronica.

They had come to the house after mid-morning on the third day, an army of seven men, all of whom retained a single client, the noble House of Amontoní. Somber would not do them justice, for these men presented themselves before their lady's niece with an underlying tension in the eyes that represented utter horror. No doubt, they had already heard rumors from their own private sources that this girl's engagement with the youngest son of Don Ferrero had been called off. They likely had found the notion of settling the business at hand with a barely sixteen-year-old girl, who was not even married and had no family to be consulted with in this affair, to be utterly horrifying. In their present actions was their future, and after a career of serving a single house with no true heir, they had settled themselves to take charge of the situation and inform the young child what it was they expected her to do.

"There is an urgent manner before us," the head of the panel began, shortly after delivering a customary dialogue of condolences and apologies for burdening her at a time like this. "In the months before her passing, your aunt had seen to it that all possible precautions were taken to ensure her estate would be settled before you were to be married three years from now."

Veronica did not react to this statement in any way that was threatening to the gentlemen, but merely held her concentrated gaze at them, allowing them the opportunity to say all that was of the utmost importance to them. Indeed, she would hear everything they had to say without resistance.

"I must ask you, though, to settle one issue for us. We have heard speculation that your engagement with Dídac Ferrero has been called off. Will you tell us now if this is true?"

"Yes, we are no longer engaged to be married, señor," she consented to him without a moment's pause. There was silence in the long seconds after she announced this, as Veronica allowed the men to well ingest the state of affairs. "Then, as your future is no longer set," the middle-aged man continued, "it is with the utmost urgency that we settle these matters for you."

A somber shuffling commenced among the group as they produced documentation that was handed to this man, Señor Rios, who spoke for them.

"The Marquesa had concentrated our efforts in the past year towards securing her estate into the hands of your union with young Señor Ferrero, but as that is no longer a factor in our efforts, I must revert to the previous design, which addresses our situation now. The Marquesa had settled a wide series of parameters for her estate should, upon her death, her daughter, I mean yourself, be left as primary beneficiary.

Veronica did not understand why he would refer to her as the woman's daughter and thought he must surely have misspoken. The twisted furrow of her brow caught the man unprepared and he paused.

"It certainly does not come as a surprise to you that your aunt named you as her heir? There is a very sizable inheritance left to your sister in Madrid, as well, but as..."