“Commemorating the last time a Fiskare stepped into a church,” Johnny said.

“Quiet, you.”

Astrid handed the charms back to Emil and thanked him for showing her, then accepted another toasted marshmallow from Kennet.

“Asta, where did you go to school?” Kirsten asked.

“In Penedo, until I was thirteen. Then I went to a wonderful boarding school in São Paolo. And a really terrible one in Rio.”

“Why terrible?” Kennet asked. He touched his chin discreetly, signaling Astrid had a bit of melted marshmallow on her own. (Be a gentleman if a lady needs to powder her nose, schooled the memory of Marta’s voice. Don’t make fun, don’t make a fuss. Just quietly make it known.)

Astrid smudged her chin and smiled her thanks. “It was Catholic and strict and snobby. Good education, but you learned by fear. Miss one answer and you got rapped on the knuckles. Make one of the nuns mad and you knelt in the corner for an hour, holding all your books. Everyone was so nervous all the time, and nervous people can be mean people. I came home on my first holiday looking like this….” She held up her pinky finger. “All bones and exhaustion. My mother was horrified.”

Trudy, sitting on Emil’s lap, turned wide, solemn eyes to her father. “I don’t ever want to go to boarding school.”

Emil squeezed her. “I would never send you.”

“How did you stand it?” Kirsten asked.

“The library,” Astrid said. “I hated where I was, so I ran away to books. I did have one literature teacher who was lovely. And I made friends after a time. You learn to adjust. Still, fear is no way to make a child learn. If I become a teacher, I’ll…” She trailed off abruptly, as if an unseen hand covered her mouth.

“You want to be a teacher?” Marta asked.

“Yes,” Astrid said slowly. “But my mother has other ideas.”

She looked at Kennet and in her direct gaze he sensed a painful subject being avoided. He asked, “What’s Rio like?”

“Tell us about Carnival,” Minor said.

Major looked at his nephew. “How do you know about Carnival?”

Johnny MacIntyre smacked Major’s arm. “How do you know about Carnival?”

“What’s Carnival?” Kirsten asked.

“It’s the season right before Lent begins,” Astrid said. “You have it here, don’t you? Mardi Gras? Fat Tuesday?”

“It’s more common in the South,” Major said. “In states with French and Spanish colonial roots. Not so much here up north, in the land of puritanical protestant prudes.”

“Pardon your alliteration,” Kennet said.

“What’s a prude?” Little asked.

“Someone who worries someone else is enjoying themselves,” Major said.

Astrid laughed.

“What happens during Carnival?” Marta asked.

“Parties, parades, endless celebration. Lent is the penitential season—you fast, you sacrifice, you go without, you give something up. So in the days leading up to Lent, people go a little crazy. Fazendo tudo.”