Jessie was asleep in the backseat when they arrived at the Château Frontenac atop Cap Diamant, poised above the narrow streets of the city. It was an imposing old castle with high turrets and a drive that swept up the stone and brick to the entryway and circular courtyard out front. David pulled up near the doors, where a tall young man with a shock of curly reddish hair and a sharp-looking uniform was waiting patiently. Across the wide, flat stretch of Dufferin Terrace was the wall, and below that, the lower city and the river. They got out of the car and walked slowly across the terrace, past the giant statue of Champlain on their left, to look at the view.

“God, it’s gorgeous,” Helen whispered. The old buildings were clearly visible from here with their dusting of snow, and the long, thin streets that divided them split the city into parts of a complex and varied whole. They stood close together at the edge of the wall, their breath rising and mingling in clouds of white steam. Behind and to their right perched the Citadelle, in the light of the sinking sun, a fortress complete with parapets, bastions and cold, gray stone.

“Mommy, are we staying with Cinderella?” Jessie had gotten herself out of the car and stood next to them, tugging at Helen’s sleeve.

“No, honey.” She laughed, a high, girlish giggle. She’s happy, David thought. He hardly recognized the sound.

“It sure looks like Cinderella’s castle, doesn’t it?” He leaned down and scooped Jessie up. “Let’s go see who’s inside.”

The tall, young man in uniform had returned from parking the car, and held two of their overnight bags from the backseat in his hands. He set them down on the front steps to open the doors to the hotel, and Helen smiled warmly at him and walked through like a queen.

David followed her into the large hall, and promptly stopped short at the sight. The floors were richly carpeted, the walls a pinkish stone and layered with paintings in heavy frames. The ceiling curved away above them, dotted with several heavy-looking chandeliers, bringing the eye with it down to the far end where the elevators waited to carry guests into the heart of the old hotel.

Jessie was squirming in his arms. He put her down, and she ran immediately over to one of the bellboys who now held Johnny Bear in one hand and a suitcase in the other. Once she had retrieved the bear, Jessie smiled at the boy and promptly stuck a thumb in her mouth.

David wandered over to the desk, which sat unobtrusively against the wall to his left, next to a set of double doors that he assumed led into the restaurant. There was a short man in uniform behind the desk and an old, gray-haired gentleman standing next to it, his manicured hands placed neatly on the counter.