Re: The Secretary/The Crowned
Archie had guessed, but he was too polite to draw attention to it. Whatever her station, whatever had happened in her life, it was not his duty or his desire to draw notice to the things she might not have.
"I'm not at all surprised. No matter how we feel about death, it is a reality we must all one day face. There's something to be learned in all the preparations they made for death. Rulers face something different when they die -- and most are obsessed with being remembered, with capturing the imagination in death as they did in life."
His voice softened as they moved from one car into the next, his free hand reaching out briefly to touch her knuckles. "Or they want something remembered. The Taj Mahal, for instance. Do you remember that it was built by Shah Jahan, or do you remember that he built it to house his favorite wife, Mumtaz?
"I've been lucky enough to be there once, and only once. It is steeped in history, as buildings that have lasted ages are. They all have a different feel to them, as though those that lived there have left something behind. Something of them. That, I believe, is the best part of visiting those places. Of course everywhere around the globe, the ground has that same knowledge, but it's condensed around buildings."
He went quiet then as they entered the dining car, and he led her to a set of seats half way down, with a small, cleaned off table, large enough to fit whatever they might decide to order.