Chapter 19
Matteo held his wife’s hand as they walked up the steps of the palace and into the main hall where knights of old would have greeted the castle guests in the outside corridors.
Inside, a huge marble stairwell descended into the main hall where the king had once sat above his knights as a way of being with his men, but overlooking his knights. The history of the place flowed through Matteo’s blood as he was taught from his tutors that his family name had meant something.
Once, long ago, his ancestors would have had a place upstairs, though these days he had little reason to visit the royal palace.
A stiff-postured servant in full royal blue livery greeted them and guided them through the hall, toward the antechamber that stood between the hall and the throne room itself.
She
