Sofia had begged him. That was the only reason he was here.
"Please, Benjamin. I want you there. I need you there." Her eyes were welling with tears, pleading.
He hadn't been able to say no to that. He never could.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
In the days before their departure, Benjamin told Madam Wagner she was coming. He had expected protests. He received them.
"The clinic cannot run itself," she said.
"Charles has made arrangements. A relief physician. Two weeks, Madam."
"The imperial palace is no place for commoners like us," she continued to protest with downcast eyes.
"I am a commoner as well," Benjamin said, taking Madam Wagner's hands into his. "But we've all been invited, by Prince Charles and his sister, Princess Sofia."
The truth was that he told Sofia he'd come, but asked if Madam Wagner and the girls and boys could come along. He wanted them to see the world outside Aster and even Isadora. He knew this chance wouldn't come often, or maybe ever again.
