Chapter 42: Good Alcohol

Sophie and Ilaria

The Palace - The Next Morning 2 AM

Many hours later, Sophie laughed while listening to Phillen tell a story about Laura falling into an Amsterdam canal in 1870 after drinking Heineken for the first time. The famous brewery had only opened a few years before.

Gabriella sat in an ornate straight back chair—one leg draped over an armrest—drinking martinis and listening to her old friend recount stories of their adventures. A white woman and an Indian man traveling together had always caused quite the stir wherever they went apparently.

When the party began to wind down, Phillen had invited them to his upstairs lounge. At least that had been what he had called it. Like the rest of the keep, the room was decadent and full of classical ostentation.

But its best feature was the balcony that overlooked the ballroom. It provided a close up view of the ballroom’s stained glass dome. The centerpiece of the middle chandelier hung just before them.