“Yes.”
“Our hearts are with you.” The King pressed a kiss to Luna’s cheek and left the room with the doctor.
Antonia reached for the pills and looped her arm through Luna’s. They walked slowly to the staircase in the foyer.
Luna buried her face against the older woman’s shoulder. “Thank you for staying with me tonight. If it weren’t for Rini’s baby I’m carrying, I’d want to die.”
“But for my great-grandchild you’re carrying, I’d want to die, too.”
They reached the master suite and Antonia helped Luna get ready for bed. After swallowing two pills, she climbed under the covers and rested her head against the pillows. Antonia sat on the side of the bed and held her hand.
“There are no words, are there?”
“No,” Luna whispered, “but your presence means the world to me. I loved Rini the first moment I met him. It was like magic. He’s the great love of my life. To think he died in a mine collapse. How terrifying those moments must have been for him! Oh, Tonia... I can’t bear that I’ve lost him.”
Luna broke down in heaving sobs. Loving arms reached over to hug her. They stayed that way for a long time. Eventually, she said, “I’ll go to the guest room down the hall and we’ll talk in the morning. If you need me during the night, call me on my phone. Now, let the sedative help you sleep.” She kissed her forehead and left the bedroom.
The next morning Luna awakened in so much pain, she didn’t know why she was alive. She turned to reach for her husband, then realized he wouldn’t be coming home and was hit with another unbearable wave of grief.
“Luna?”
Antonia had come into the room with a tray. “I’ve brought us some coffee and rolls. You need to eat something since you didn’t eat dinner last night.”
She sat up with tears dripping off her face. “I couldn’t. Is there any more news?”
“Leo said search parties worked all night, hoping to bring out the bodies, but they couldn’t penetrate the blockage. There’s n
o way to recover them.”
Luna slid her legs over the side of the bed. “I’m a terrible person, Antonia. I’ve been thinking of myself without giving thought to you or the families of the miners.” She looked up at her. “If Rini were alive, he’d be the first one to visit them and try to bring some comfort. As his wife, that’s what I need to do.”
“That would be a wonderful tribute to them, but not today. You need to take it easy.”
“I can’t just lie here, Antonia. I’ll get dressed and go back to the palace with you. With Leonardo’s help, I can gather the names and addresses of the families involved and make plans to visit them during the week. Rini would want this.”
“He’d be so proud of you for thinking of them. But I insist you eat and drink a little to keep up your strength.”
“I will, but I’m ashamed that I haven’t thought of you and Leo or your needs. I should be waiting on you. Rini’s your darling grandson. After losing your two sons and another grandson, I don’t know how you’re handling this. You’re the strongest people I’ve ever known.”
She hurried over to the Queen, who had sat down next to a table with the tray. Luna threw her arms around her and they both wept again.
“With lots of love and faith, we got through. You will, too.”
“I want to do everything I can so Rini will be proud of me.”
“He adored you. After he met you, he told me his life was complete.”
“He said that?” she cried through the tears. “Oh—I can’t believe he’s gone. I just can’t believe it, but I have to.”
They both drank coffee and bit into Viola’s wonderful rolls. “I’ll hurry to shower and get ready. Leonardo needs us.”
Antonia nodded with fresh tears in her eyes.
“He has already called Rini’s cousin Vincenzo with the news.”
Luna could understand that. “Vincenzo and Rini are best friends.”
“Yes. Leo says he’s devastated. With Rini gone, Vincenzo is the next in line to be the Crown Prince.”