Delicious smells of a pork roast filled the palazzo. She hurried into the kitchen to check on the potatoes in a half shell. Rini would be eating a meal he’d never had before that included roasted asparagus and stuffed apples. Luna had been born and raised in Scuol, Switzerland. She’d prepared some of her late grandmother’s recipes. It would be exciting to serve him something she loved in honor of their becoming parents.
While she arranged the apples in a deep dish, their housekeeper, Viola, came into the kitchen. Her normal ruddy complexion had lost color. “Luna—you’d better come in the salon. The King and Queen are here.”
Rini’s grandparents had come to the palazzo? They’d only made an appearance once before at her and Rini’s dinner invitation. What on earth would have caused them to do something this unprecedented with no advanced warning?
She rushed through the palazzo to the salon and found them both seated on the couch. What could have brought them here? Luna sat down in a chair opposite them. “I know you’re here because something is seriously wrong. Tell me.”
The look of devastation on their faces caused Luna’s heart to plunge to her feet. Leonardo leaned forward. “There was an earthquake. It affected the mine.”
Luna started to feel sick. “Were some of the miners injured?”
“I’m afraid eight were killed.”
Killed? Aghast, she cried, “Did Rini tell you that?”
He shook his head as Antonia gripped her husband’s arm. “It pains us to the core to tell you this, but...he was killed, too.”
* * *
Rini was dead?
“No—” Luna jumped to her feet. “That isn’t possible! I don’t believe it.”
Antonia got up and walked over to put her arm around her. “We don’t want to believe it either, but we’ve had positive confirmation and came over here immediately to tell you.”
She turned to her desolate grandmother-in-law. “This couldn’t be. Not Rini—” Tears gushed down her cheeks. “He’s the love of my life. There’s no purpose without him. I can’t live without him. Surely, there’s been a mistake.”
At this point Leonardo walked over and put his arms around both of them. “We know how you feel, darling.”
She stared at them both through a blur. “You really believe he was killed?”
“He went down in the mine with the other seven. None of them ever came up again.”
“No—no—This is a nightmare. Please tell me this is a nightmare and I’m going to wake up.” Her tears had become a river.
“Come and sit down,” he murmured, but she couldn’t move. She felt numb. The room started to spin.
“Call our doctor and tell him to come here at once,” she heard Antonia tell her husband. But the ringing in Luna’s ears had grown so loud, everything went black.
In another few minutes she had cognizance of her surroundings again and found herself lying on the couch. There were voices in the room and the palace doctor, Dr. Norelli, came over to her.
“I’m so sorry, Principessa. Stay still while I examine you.” He took her vital signs. “You seem to be all right, but you’ve just undergone a severe shock. You need rest. I’m going to give you a sedative to help you get through the next few days.” He left a bottle of pills on the coffee table.
She struggled to sit up. “Doctor—I’m pregnant even though I haven’t seen my OB yet.” She heard gasps of surprise come from Rini’s grandparents. “I don’t want to take anything that would hurt my baby.”
“Don’t worry. What I’ve got there will do no harm to you or your child.”
By now Viola and her husband, Mateo, had come into the salon. The doctor motioned to him. “Come and help me take her upstairs to the bedroom.”
Luna slowly got to her feet. “I’m okay and can make it on my own.”
“I’m going to stay the night with you,” Antonia murmured.
“We’ll both stay,” the King added.
“No, Leo,” his wife implored. “You go back to the palace in case there’s more news. I’ll stay in touch with you.”
Tears fell down his cheeks. “You’re sure?”