We Set the Dark on Fire (We Set the Dark on Fire, #1)(17)
Se?ora Garcia actually smiled at this, her pride in her son the first crack Dani had seen in her perfect restraint. She cataloged it for safekeeping, this pride. Too much of anything could be a weakness. “Yes, well,” the se?ora said. “We’ll see, won’t we?”
Dani had heard the whispers, of course, that Mateo was being groomed for the top job. But to hear it like this—intimately, in the very place where the office itself stood—felt like something different.
The presidency was the only governmental seat in Medio that was elected by the people. If Mateo ran, she would be a candidate’s Primera, responsible for assessing the wives of his rivals for probing points, for showing the voting public that Mateo could be trusted.
But if he won, and she was allowed to assume the role her training had prepared her for, rather than just shuffling mail from one side of the house to the other, she would be the most powerful woman in Medio.
The tour of their “modest yet respectable” home took the rest of the morning. There were only two levels, but the floor plan was sprawling and open, with the same rose stone walls inside as out. The floors were tiled, each room a work of art.
It was a far cry from the dirt floor Dani had grown up on, she thought, remembering the fanned feet of her corn-husk dolls kicking up tiny clouds of dust in the summer months. The single bed the three of them had shared. When she’d moved into the dormitory at school, everything had felt temporary; she had still thought of that little slant-walled house as home. How long would it take to start thinking of this enormous place that way?
“And that’s the house!” said Mama Garcia when they had finished at last, gathered back in the entryway.
“It’s beautiful,” Dani murmured, giving herself permission to be awestruck. She couldn’t pretend it was anything less than magical.
Mama Garcia’s eyes softened. “It’s a good life,” she said, tousling her hair absentmindedly. “Though it would be better if those miscreants across the wall were locked up in jail where they belong for carrying on like this and we could get rid of all these damn checkpoints. My hair is unacceptable after all that humidity.”
There it is, Dani thought. It had been inevitable.
Se?ora Garcia grumbled her agreement, and Dani forced herself not to speak. It had taken only one morning for the ghosts of her past to invade her future.
“Well,” said Carmen lightly, and Dani’s chest tightened further still. Whatever Princess Carmen had to say on the subject, Dani was sure she didn’t want to hear it. “I suppose they’ll keep carrying on until they’re not hungry anymore.”
It was masterful, the way she did it. A statement that neither confirmed nor denied her sympathy. But the skin around her eyes was tight, a mirror of the way Dani’s own face would have looked—had she been at liberty to express the tension now buzzing within her.
But what did Carmen care about the outer islanders? She’d made it her personal mission to make sure everyone knew just how deficient Dani’s upbringing had been, and now this?
“I suppose,” said Mama Garcia, to a statement that would have been incendiary if Carmen had been in rags at the border. “But I’ve been plenty hungry and I’ve never felt the need to disrupt the peace of an entire nation, for Sun’s sake.”
“Mateo will be home this evening,” said Se?ora Garcia, skillfully changing the distasteful subject. “I expect the size and scope of the house won’t prevent you from remembering your duties.”
Dani was suddenly exhausted. They had toured the kitchens, the dining hall, three living rooms, a collection of studies, a library, and acres of gardens. Even without the unwanted foray into political commentary, she’d never imagined walking around a single house could make you so tired.
“Please make yourselves at home,” Se?ora Garcia continued, more tension in her face after Mama Garcia and Carmen’s exchange. “It’s been a long day, and there’s still much for you both to accomplish before Mateo’s homecoming. Once the house has been prepared, we’ve instructed Roberta to have dinner sent to your rooms. She’s one of the girls from our kitchen, and she’ll be assisting you until Daniela hires appropriate house staff of your own.” Dani nodded her understanding. “Well, you have plenty of reading to do before morning,” she said by way of dismissal, eyeing the thick folders in their hands.
“We’re glad to have you both here,” said Mama Garcia warmly, smiling at them in turn, her earlier distaste for the downtrodden already forgotten. “Daniela for the order and stability you will bring to our son’s home, and Carmen for the warmth and beauty that will be your contribution.”
“It’s quite a job,” said the se?ora with a self-mocking smile. “And Garcia men don’t rise to great heights because they are docile or easy to manage. But, Dani, your background”—Dani cringed inwardly at the mention—“could very well have been a detriment. You managed to make it a strength. We know you’re capable of rising to the top, despite any adversity. You and Mateo have that in common. Carmen . . .” She gave Carmen a once-over. “You’ve proven to have an attention to detail and an aesthetic sensibility that will keep him happy at home.”
“And your children will be lovely.” Mama Garcia beamed. “We just want you girls to know we didn’t make these choices lightly,” she said. “We know you’ll do your best to live up to our very high expectations.”