The lake shimmered in the afternoon sun. Rising above it was the palace, with a commanding view of the water and the landscape. After they reached the estate, he drove them to his private entrance.
Enrico parked the Land Rover and walked around to open her door. He leaned in and gave her a long, sensuous kiss. “Welcome home, squisita.”
Donetta felt his eagerness to take her to his apartment. Their apartment now. She was excited, too, never having seen it before.
He reached for their bags and escorted her inside the doors. A guard nodded to both of them. “Welcome home, Your Highness.”
“Grazie.”
They walked up the staircase to the second floor, where another guard nodded. Donetta stayed close to Enrico as they walked down the hallway to a set of double doors. After he opened them, he put the bags down and turned to her. She knew what he was going to do before he picked her up and carried her over the threshold.
“You need to go to your parents.”
“I will after I’ve shown you your new home.”
Donetta had known his luxurious apartment would be fabulous. She loved it immediately, especially the view of the lake. He carried her around to every bedroom, the sitting room, study, dining room and kitchen.
“What do you think?”
“I know I’m going to be ecstatically happy here.”
He let out a triumphant sound as his mouth closed over hers. They clung as if they’d never kissed before. When he eventually let her go he said, “I fear it’s a man’s domain, so I want you to decorate it any way you want.”
“I love the light blue décor. The ambience is so you. The only thing I might change is to showcase all your riding trophies and pictures in a prominent place rather than a walk-in closet in one of the bedrooms. I remember your winning all of them.”
“I’ll agree to find a special spot as long as we ship your trophies here and display them together. They represent a big part of our lives.”
She grasped his shoulders as she looked up at him. “Am I dreaming, or are we really standing in our own home?”
He lowered his mouth to kiss her again, but she finally pulled away from him. “You need to go.”
“I promise I’ll be back soon.”
Donetta blew him a kiss, knowing he’d be gone a long time. By now the queen would know they’d returned.
She took the suitcases to Enrico’s bedroom, which also had a spectacular view of the lake. Taking advantage of the time, she took a long shower and washed her hair. While she dried it, she phoned her family to let them know she was back and happier than she’d ever been in her life. Fausta had gone to town. Donetta would call her later.
She found jeans and a short-sleeved soft orange top to wear and then walked back to the living room. Donetta was drawn to the three framed oil paintings of his horses artistically arranged on part of one wall. Their names had been engraved on brass plaques below each one.
Donetta immediately recognized Malik and Rajah, the two horses that had garnered Enrico international championships. But she didn’t know about the third one, which was a pony named Osman. All were black and came from the Sanfratellano breed.
“Osman means warrior in Arabic.”
She turned around to see Enrico had come into the bedroom. “Darling—”
He put an arm around her waist. “My father gave me that pony when I was five years old. I felt like a warrior riding him around until my tenth birthday. At that point I’d outgrown him and was presented with Malik.”
At the concorso in England, Enrico had told Donetta that the name Malik meant king in Arabic.
“The artist of these magnificent oils has captured their living, breathing essence. I wish I’d had paintings done of my horses.”
“It’s not too late. You have pictures. We could hire an artist.”
“You’re right, but it’s not like painting them from real life. These are treasures.”
“You’re my real, live treasure.”
She hugged him. “How’s your father?”
“It’s difficult to tell. He’s been given pain medication and has to keep his arm in a sling.”
“Poor thing. I bet your mother is happy you’re back.”
“She is, but she’s insistent that I send a letter to Valentina and her parents right away. I told her I’d already planned to do it.” He drew Donetta to the bedroom and sat down on the bed with her. “Now enough said about that.”
“I agree. It would have been wrong for both of us to marry people we don’t love, but all that is in the past.”
“Tonight you and I have been asked to join Mamma and Papà for dinner at six thirty. But if—”
She put a finger to his lips. “Of course we’ll go. I intend to do everything I can to win her trust.”
“Donetta—” He crushed her to him.
For the rest of the afternoon the world receded to a place where only Enrico could take her. They would have been late for dinner if his cell phone hadn’t rung.
Her husband groaned in protest. “I’d better answer it.”
He reached for his shirt on the floor and found his phone. It was Giovanni. Clicking on, he said, “Ciao, amico.” Enrico eyed her. “It’s hard for us to come back, you know?”
Whatever his cousin said next produced a frown, forcing him to leave the bed and head for his walk-in closet. After noticing the time, Donetta got up to take a quick shower.
By the time she’d dressed in a silky black-on-white printed short-sleeved dress and slipped into her white high heels, he’d reappeared in a navy robe.
His eyes played over her. “You look fabulous.”
She eyed him anxiously. “Thank you, but I can tell something’s wrong.”
“Give me a minute to shower and change. Then we’ll talk.”
* * *
Enrico dressed in record time, putting on a casual light blue suit with an open-collared darker blue shirt. Ten minutes wouldn’t give him much time for what he had to tell his wife, but he needed to prepare her after hearing Giovanni’s latest news.
“Donetta?”
“I’m right here, enjoying the view.” So she was. He joined her at the bedroom window. “There are a lot of sailboats out on the lake. Do you have one?”
He smiled. “I’m sure you know the answer to that. Have you done much sailing?”
“No. You’ll have to teach me.”
“I’ll take you out this coming weekend. There’s a resort on the other side where we’ll have dinner and go dancing. Afterwards we’ll sleep on the boat overnight.”
“That sounds heavenly, but now I want to know what has produced those lines around that mouth I can’t stop kissing.”
He drew her over to the love seat and sat down with her, resting his arm on the frame behind her.
“As I told you when you first came to Vallefiore, our country has too much corruption causing serious trouble. My father did his best to deal with the problems. But just when he was gaining ground, he was stricken with Alzheimer’s.”
“I realize that’s why you were so involved when you returned from England. But I had no idea how deeply you’ve had to contend with these problems.”
“I’m glad you understand. The day Giovanni informed me you had arrived in Vallefiore, I’d been in one of the villages where I’d ordered some arrests. I had just left there to drive to Caserta, another village, to do an investigation. But when I knew you were at the hotel, I turned around and sped home.”
He took a few minutes to explain the reason for the arrests. “But there are other problems cropping up. Because prosecutors have tried to break up certain strongholds, the criminals have been pushed back to their rural origins. Some of them have been operating their corrupt money laundering and drug business dealings here in Vallefiore for years.
“Let me give you
an example of what has been happening on another part of our island. A family of wheat farmers have complained to the police that a huge herd of cows and horses have been invading their fields and destroying their entire wheat harvest.”
“That’s unconscionable, Enrico.”
“Amen. Illegal grazing is the oldest form of intimidation. Six months ago a poisoned dog and half a dozen poisoned cow carcasses were delivered to the home of one of the farmers. A few months later the farmer’s thresher had been destroyed.”
She shook her head.
“All this has to be stopped, but it takes a lot of undercover investigating and difficult police infiltration work to produce the proof for the prosecutors. Since I’ve given our police full power to go after these people, we’re getting a lot of pushback.”
“You mean death threats.” Donetta was a quick study. “Who’s receiving them?”
“In the past, a police chief and several of the officials in my government.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve had several. When Giovanni phoned me just now, he told me the latest threat against me personally came into the office by an anonymous phone call they couldn’t trace. The timing coincides with those arrests I ordered in Avezzano on the day you flew here.”
“I hope you’ve quadrupled the security surrounding you.”
“Around all of us and now you. We’ve tried to shield my mother, but her palace spies keep her informed. If she brings any of this up during dinner, I wanted you to be prepared.”
“Is this the news you didn’t want to talk about when we left on our honeymoon?”
He nodded. “As you can see, I’m going to have my hands full cracking down on this criminal element. With you governing the normal areas of our government on a day-to-day basis from here on out, I’ll be free to set up and follow through to trap these lowlifes and put them away for good.”
“I know it’s dangerous business, but if anyone can handle it and make a difference, you can.”
“Thank heaven you have confidence in me. Tomorrow we’ll go to my office and I’ll walk you through my schedule of responsibilities, many of which you’ll understand because you’ve been a close observer of your father all your life. There won’t be anything you can’t handle. I know in my gut you’re going to be a great ruler.”
She stared hard at him, as if mystified. “Why do you have so much faith in me?”
Because Giovanni had made him party to a very important secret and Enrico loved her enough to help her succeed at something she’d wanted all her life.
“I’ve observed your strength for years. You have a natural leadership ability along with a softness that sets you apart from everyone else. The way you’ve handled my mother so far has been masterful.”
“In that case we’d better be on time.”
His half smile melted her bones. “She knows we’re still on our honeymoon and will forgive us if we’re a few minutes late.”
“But she’ll like me better if I don’t find ways to detain you when she wants your attention.”
He chuckled. “You’re sounding like an intuitive queen already. When I first saw you astride your horse Luna, you sat like a young queen. I was mesmerized by a ten-year-old girl who had an astounding bearing and command of her horse.
“During the jumping, your composure was flawless. You weren’t like any other girl, Donetta, and my impression of you never changed that you were someone exceptional. I couldn’t wait to see you again at the next concorso, and the next.”
Her gaze didn’t leave his. “You’ve left me speechless.”
He kissed her and they clung before he pulled her to her feet and they left to walk to the small dining room in the other part of the palace. This time his mother was already seated at the table next to his father, waiting for them. King Nuncio’s casted lower arm was in a sling. His caregiver was helping him eat. Enrico’s heart went out to him.
“Your Majesty.” Donetta curtsied to him and then bowed to the queen. “Your Majesty, I’m so sorry His Majesty fell. How hard that must’ve been for him and you. We came back the minute we learned what had happened.”
“You were away much longer than I had anticipated.” Her wintry tone couldn’t have been more deflating.
“You’re only given one honeymoon in life, Mamma. We wanted to make it last as long as possible.”
Enrico kissed his parents before seating Donetta next to him. The staff served them dinner and poured coffee. He waited until they’d left the dining room to talk.
“To be honest, we had the honeymoon of a lifetime and couldn’t bear to come back.”
The queen’s eyes riveted on him were closer to black than brown. “At least you came back. There’s been another death threat on your life, figlio mio.”
“Giovanni has already informed me, but it’s nothing new.”
“You’re entirely too cavalier about it. When I learned the two of you have been camping out instead of flying to another country, I couldn’t believe you’d left yourselves open as targets.”
“I understand your fear, and I’m afraid that’s my fault,” Donetta spoke up. “Enrico asked me where I’d like to go. We share a lot of the same interests and love being in the mountains.”
“But that’s not the proper kind of honeymoon for you.”
“It was what we both wanted, Mamma, and we’ve never been so happy. Just so you know, I’ll be spending all day tomorrow and evening with Donetta. If there’s anything I can do for you or Papà before morning, I’ll be happy to do it now.”
“As a matter of fact there are several things we need to discuss.”
“I totally understand you two have missed each other and want to talk,” Donetta spoke up. “I have some phone calls to make to my sisters, so why don’t I leave you now. We’ll see each other later, Enrico.”
He loved this wife of his for her understanding. Giving her a kiss, he helped her to her feet.
“Thank you for the lovely welcome-home dinner, Your Majesty. Buona notte.”
Donetta sent her husband a silent message that she’d be waiting for him and then left to go back to his apartment. But some of their earlier conversation had given her the oddest feeling and she was anxious to talk it over with Fausta.
Once she reached the bedroom, she hung up her dress and brushed her teeth. After putting on a yellow cotton shorty nightgown, she sat up in the bed to talk to her.
Disappointed when her call went to voice mail, she left a message for her sister to phone her back when she could. Fausta was probably still out with Mia and her friends.
The next call to her sister Lanza went to voice mail, too. Donetta left the message that she and Enrico were back from their camping honeymoon and installed at the palace. She hoped to hear from her soon.
After sending her love, Donetta hung up and reached for the TV remote to watch the nightly news. She imagined Enrico would join his mother and talk to her while the caregiver put his father to bed. Enrico would probably be late returning to their apartment.
A half hour later, the phone rang. It was Fausta. “Thanks for calling me back.”
“I’ve been hoping to hear from you. Is he still to die for?”
“Yes.”
“Just yes? What kind of an answer is that?”
“I—It’s an I-don’t-know kind of answer,” she said, her voice faltering.
“Donetta—what’s wrong?”
She sucked in her breath. “Maybe nothing and I’m just being paranoid.”
“About what?”
“Everything has been so divinely perfect until this afternoon.”
“Go on.”
“Today was the first time he talked about my running the country. He kept paying me all these compliments and telling me I was going to be a great leader. It sounded so odd when he doesn’t know if I could
do the job or not.
“When I asked him why he had such faith in me, he said that I’d seemed like a queen to him even when I was ten years old and he’d always admired my strength. Don’t you find that strange? Bizarre even?”
“Are you kidding me? He’s in love and letting you know how much! Before you got married, he said he wanted you to rule equally with him. How has that changed?”
“I don’t know!” she cried. “You weren’t there. Enrico was...different.”
“Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? To be queen?”
Donetta gripped the phone tighter. “I thought I did once. But not like this...”
“Not like what?”
“What he said to me today didn’t sound like the real Enrico. It was more like he was reading from a script. Oh—I realize I’m not explaining this right or making sense. All I know is, he didn’t seem like the man I married. When he told me I’d been a close observer of my father all my life and there wouldn’t be anything I couldn’t handle, it disturbed me.”
“Disturbed you? Am I talking to the real Donetta?”
“Don’t make fun of me, Fausta.”
“I’m not. I’m just surprised.”
“Why does he think he knows so much about me? Something else is strange, too. He was supposed to be crowned king at his marriage, but because he married me instead of Valentina, his mother wouldn’t allow the coronation to happen.”
“You’re kidding. I thought his father was incapacitated. Is Enrico upset about it?”
“I can’t tell.” Suddenly she heard a noise and knew Enrico had come back. “I’ll have to call you another time, Fausta. Good night.” She clicked off and put the phone on the side table just as he walked into the room. Thankfully, the TV was still on.
Those penetrating black eyes of his zeroed in on her. “There you are. Just where I want you to be and looking delightful in yellow.” When he disappeared into the bathroom, she turned the TV off with the remote.
In a minute he’d changed out of his clothes and put on a robe. After turning out the lights, he slid into bed and pulled her against him. “Our first night in our own home. I hope it will feel that way to you soon.”
The Prince's Forbidden Bride (The Princess Brides Book 2) Page 11