Chapter 32
“I suppose, Dr. d’Argenzio, that since you’re the oldest, you will be the next Duke.”
“Unfortunately,” I said.
“Unfortunately?” he said.
“I spent more than a third of my first thirty years training to be a doctor, and that’s all I want to do with my life right now.”
“Sometimes duty calls,” he said.
“I know.” Changing the subject, I said, “You have all of the necessary paperwork ready, I believe.”
“That we do,” he said. “All that remains is to transfer your mother from the facility in Siena.”
“Before we do that,” I said, “I would like very much to have a tour of the hospital.”
“But of course,” he said.
“Marco,” Valerius said, with an unusual and somewhat urgent tone in his voice.
“What?”
“I need to go to the bathroom right now,” he said.
“It’s right across the hall, young man,” Dr. Del Ciello said.
“Will you come with me, Marco?” Valerius said.
“Sure, if that’s what you want,” I said, giving the administrator what I hoped was a ‘what can you do?’ look.