“How do you know?”
“At fifteen, I was like a little mouse, moving quiet and unseen through the house. I was privy to many discussions with no one giving any thought to my presence. I was serving tea when Queen Anna Maria came to the Espina Estate in secret. She’d come to ask your family to help them. Alma had weathered the Second World War, but they feared the worst was yet to come for them. Tantaberra was growing in power, staging large demonstrations and causing unrest all over Alma. The royal family was worried that they were losing hold of the country.
“The queen asked the Espinas to help them protect Alma’s historical treasures by smuggling them out of the country before things got worse. The Montoros had to stay as long as they could to appear strong against their opposition, but they feared that when they did leave, they’d have to leave everything behind. The queen couldn’t bear for such important things to be lost, so they arranged for the Espinas to move to Switzerland and take the country’s most important historical artifacts with them.”
Serafia had mentioned that her family lived in Switzerland before moving to Spain. The article had said the family fled before the coup, which was interpreted as suspicious at the time. “What kind of things?” he asked.
“The royal jewels and stores of gold, an oil portrait of the first king of Alma, handwritten historical records of the royal family...everything that would be considered irreplaceable.”
“Were they successful in smuggling everything out?” he asked.
“Yes. I helped load the ship myself. They sailed from Alma with all of their things and a secret cargo of Alman treasure. They traveled down the Rhine River to Switzerland, arriving just weeks before everything fell apart. Your family was not so lucky. They fled to America with nothing, leaving everything else behind for Tantaberra to claim as his own.”
“What about you?”
“I had the option to go with the Espinas, but I couldn’t leave my family behind. I stayed. But I’m glad I did so I could be here to tell you the truth. The Espinas are not traitors. They’re heroes, but no one knows the truth.”
“Why doesn’t anyone know about this? Not even my father has mentioned it.”
“It is likely he does not know. The queen orchestrated everything and may not have told anyone in the family so they could not be tortured for the information. It was a closely guarded secret and everyone was instructed not to speak of it while the Tantaberras were still in power. At the time, they had ties with Franco in Spain and they feared that if anyone knew the truth, their network would seek out the Espinas and retaliate. They were instructed not to breathe a word to anyone until the royal family was restored officially to the throne again.”
“Do you think the family still has the treasures after all these years?”
“I have no doubt of it. I ask you to reach out to Señor Espina in Madrid. He can tell you the truth. After all these years, I’m sure he will be happy to return the royal treasure to where it belongs after the coronation.”
Gabriel was stunned by the entire conversation. Apparently this information had not been passed down through the generations the way it should’ve been. But as they finished their tea, a plan started to form in his mind. He arranged for a car to take Señora Ortega home and finalized the preparations for his flight. Instead of going to Barcelona, he decided a visit to Madrid to see Serafia’s father was in order. If her family had his country’s treasures, they needed to be restored to the people. Once he knew for certain the story was true, he intended for the whole country to know the truth about the Espinas. They deserved a parade in their honor, and all the vicious rumors to be put to bed once and for all.
And while he was there...he wanted to ask Señor Espina for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
Twelve
It was a quick flight to Madrid, but still too long in Gabriel’s eyes. The car that picked him up at the airport rushed him through the streets of the city to the Espina residence. Now all he had to do was face Serafia’s father and accept his punishment for hurting her.
Arturo Espina opened the front door and glared at Gabriel. He had been expecting a less than warm reception. Serafia had no doubt told her family how horribly he’d treated her. He was on a journey to make amends not only with Serafia, but also with her parents. If what Señora Ortega said was true, things needed to be made right with the Espinas. By keeping Queen Anna Maria’s secret so diligently, they’d lived in the shadow of suspicion and rumors for too long. And Gabriel had a long path to redemption where Serafia was concerned. The pain would start here, now, but it had to start somewhere.