She wiped her eyes. “The same as you.”
“Then that means you’re in pain. None of us was ready for losing him.”
“No. I never will be. Rini’s been the light of my life and yours.” Luna sat down on the love seat next to Antonia. “His secretary let me know that one of the miners was Slovenian.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“I want to fly there today if possible and pay our respects to the man’s family.”
“Bless you for thinking of it.”
“There’s just one thing, Leonardo,” Luna added. “I would need a translator to go with me since I don’t speak Slovene.”
“You know Carlo. He’s my official foreign emissary and fluent in half a dozen languages. I’ll send him with you.”
“That would be wonderful!” Luna cried. “He’s one of Rini’s favorites, and mine.”
Leonardo nodded. “I’ll ask him to arrange your flight to Rezana and pick up the flowers. He can arrange a car and escorts to meet you when you arrive there.”
“Oh, thank you. The secretary gave me the address and phone number of Jaka’s family.”
“Plan to leave from here in two hours.”
“You’re wonderful.” Luna flew off the love seat and ran to throw her arms around him once more. “I love you.”
“We love you, too. You and the baby are all we have left of our Rini.”
Luna walked out with Antonia, who pulled her aside. “Thank you for remembering this. It makes Leo happy to do something positive.”
“I feel the same way. Right now I’ll go home to gather a few things, then I’ll be back and meet you out at the helipad behind the palace.” She hugged her grandmother-in-law again before rushing out of the palace.
Two hours later Luna had been strapped into the royal helicopter with Carlo Bruni. The man had served in the San Vitano Military besides having all the leadership qualities Rini had admired. Luna had always liked him and felt comfortable with him as they flew to Rezana, the town two miles away from the mine.
Rini had called it the Re Mida Mine, named for King Midas. Luna had worked for the mining company business office in Asteria, San Vitano’s capital city, but she’d never traveled to the actual mine. Rini had once told her the mountainous terrain there was full of a network of caves. Most of the system was located next to the Slovenian border, wit
h dozens of little settlements clustered on top of the northern rim like a medieval town. Rezana was one of them.
She looked out the window during the descent. Her heart lurched to realize her beloved husband had been caught in the earthquake and lay deep in the rubble that had robbed him and the others of life. Fighting not to break down, she bit her knuckle while they landed.
A driver and government official met them at the small airport, engaging Carlo in conversation. He eventually turned to her. “Since I’m Leonardo’s emissary, their government is giving us assistance by escorting us to the Ravenikar home.”
“That’s very kind of them.”
He opened the car door and they got in. The other car followed. Soon, they wound around to a home in the small, picturesque town. They were met out in front by Jaka’s father.
“This is Anton Ravenikar,” Carlo translated for Luna.
The father of the dead miner looked at the two of them through eyes filled with tears. Luna walked up to him. “My name is Luna Baldasseri. I’m the wife of Rinieri Baldasseri, who was inspecting the mine when the quake struck. I know you’re suffering, Mr. Ravenikar. So am I.”
He nodded.
Unable to hold back she asked, “When your country searched for Jaka’s body, did they see any other bodies?”
She waited while Carlo translated. Turning to her he said, “No, but he wouldn’t know because he couldn’t help in the search.”
Luna closed her eyes for a second. “Ask him if there’s someone who would know.”
Carlo translated again. Anton muttered something.