Love and Honor: The Coltrane Saga, Book 7 Read Online Free PDF Page A

incredulously.
    “Mother wants me to have a new dress, Marilee,” Kit explained carefully, “and she wants it to be a very special dress. She wants me to be the center of attention, so I’m going to be an obedient daughter and do exactly as she wants.”
    Marilee wasn’t fooled. She’d witnessed too many of her cousin’s antics in the past to take her seriously. She warned, “I’ve got a feeling that you’re right—you really are going to be in a lot of trouble.”
    Kit giggled. “I’m just obeying my mother’s wishes!”
     
     
    The lavish Coltrane apartment was situated in a section of Madrid replete with foreign embassies and luxury hotels. They occupied three floors of a tall, narrow stone building on the Paseo de la Castaellana boulevard.
    When their car pulled to the curb in front, a doorman waited to assist them. He stepped back quickly as Kitty Wright Coltrane nearly knocked him down running from the building to hug her namesake.
    “Oh, how I’ve missed you!” Kitty squealed with delight, hugging Kit tightly. She then held her at arm’s length to confide, “And I missed you last night, too. Travis and Marilee and I went to the Casa Mingo, your favorite tavern.”
    “Oh, Kitty, really!” Jade sighed with displeasure, tugging at her gloves as they walked toward the entrance. “I can’t believe that with so many splendid restaurants in Madrid, you took the children to a common tavern !” She looked at Colt, hoping that he would voice his agreement, but, as always, he refused to comment and did not meet her gaze.
    Kitty responded with a haughty toss of her head. “It is not a common tavern. In fact, it’s very popular and happens to be the only place in Madrid where authentic sweet Asturian cider is served.”
    Kit chimed in to agree. “It really is. The waiter holds the glass as low as he can in his left hand, and the bottle of cider as high as he can in his right. Then he pours. It’s like a ritual. And you can also get crusty bread and cabrales —goat cheese.” Glancing at her grandmother, she felt a strange, familiar sensation at seeing another pair of lavender eyes, so like her own. It was like looking in a mirror. She did favor Kitty, and she was glad, because she thought her grandmother was beautiful. “Would you mind going again tonight?”
    Kitty started to say that of course they could, but Jade declared sharply that was out of the question. “We’re all invited to a dinner party being hosted by Don Jose Yubero and his wife. She sent me a personal invitation in Valencia, and I accepted.”
    Kit groaned, following her mother into the foyer, with its black marble floors and ceiling-high mirrors. “I don’t see why Marilee and Travis and I have to go,” she moaned. “I hate eating with the Yuberos.”
    Jade turned on her furiously. “Don Yubero is a very important man, Kit, and he and his wife have always been nice to us. Why don’t you want to go?”
    Kit’s jaw set stubbornly. “Well, for one thing, I think the food they serve is disgusting—bull testicles!”
    Kitty made a face and cried, “Is that what that horrible dish was the last time we were there? Now I don’t want to go, either.”
    Marilee, instinctively moving closer to her grandmother and cousin for support, chimed in meekly, “They also had eel, Aunt Jade, and it made me sick to look at it. I don’t want to go, either. I’d rather go to the tavern.”
    Jade gave them all a scathing look while Colt moved toward the stairs, trying to hide his amusement. With hands on her hips, Jade informed them firmly, “Well, I accepted the invitation, and we are all going. And as for the food they serve, young lady…” She pointed a scolding finger at Kit. “If you had the culture and refinement I’ve tried, unsuccessfully it seems, to instill in you since birth, you would realize that you never turn your nose up at local cuisine, especially in a person’s home. It is the epitome of bad manners.”
    Kitty