“I can’t imagine that burden.”
“I think it was worth it. I heard that Tantaberra was furious when he took the palace and all the gold and jewels he’d coveted were gone.”
Gabriel had never given much thought to his great-grandmother, Anna Maria, but in that moment, he admired her fire. He wished he could’ve seen the dictator’s face when he realized that the Montoros had outsmarted him. “That means your family still has it?”
Arturo stood. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.” He disappeared down a hallway and returned a few minutes later with something in his hand. When he sat down again, he placed two small items on the table. One, a gold coin, and the other, a diamond and ruby ring. “This is just a small part of what my family has protected for seventy years.”
Gabriel reached out and picked up the coin. It was a coin minted in Alma in the 1800s. “You keep it here?”
“No. I’ve always kept a few tiny items in my safe for a moment like this, but the rest is in a vault in Switzerland. We were to keep it until the coronation took place, to ensure it was official, and then it can all be restored to the palace. I’ve always hoped to see this day happen. It’s been a weight on my shoulders since my father told me the truth.”
Returning the coin, Gabriel examined the ruby ring and felt a touch of sadness come over him. It was so beautiful, with a dark red oval ruby that had to be nearly four carats. It was surrounded by a ring of tiny diamonds and flanked on each side by a pear-shaped diamond. The setting was a mix of platinum and gold filigree. It was more beautiful than any ring had a right to be. He was incredibly grateful the Espinas had hidden it away from the Tantaberras, yet sad that no one had enjoyed the ring for all these years. This ring was meant to be on the hand of a queen—a woman like Serafia.
“I’ve betrayed the family that I should’ve trusted above all others. I’m so sorry. I can’t apologize enough. I want to see to it that the truth gets out. When the treasure is restored, I want it put on display in Alma’s national museum so that everyone will know how the Espinas safeguarded it all these years, and put an end to the rumors once and for all.”
“That would be wonderful,” Arturo said. “I would like to move back to Alma one day. My father was born there. I grew up in Switzerland, but I’ve always dreamed of going back to where my people belonged.”
Looking down at the ring, Gabriel was reminded of the other reason he’d come here today. The truth was nice, but even if the old woman’s story was just a fabrication, his first priority was getting Serafia to forgive—and marry—him. He put the ring back on the table and looked at Arturo.
“I also came here today because I want Serafia in my life,” he said. “I...I love her. I want her to be my queen. Do you think she’ll ever be able to forgive me for the way I’ve treated her?”
Arturo sat back in his seat and looked at him with a serious expression. “I don’t know. She’s taken this very hard. Her mother and I have been worried about her.”
Gabriel’s gaze met his. “Worried?”
“Did she tell you about her illness?” Arturo asked.
“The anorexia? Yes, but she said that was behind her.”
“We’d hoped so,” Arturo explained, “but her doctors had warned us that patients are never fully cured of this disease. Stress, especially emotional upheaval, can send her spiraling back into her bad habits. Her housekeeper has told us that she is hardly eating. That she does nothing but exercise and sleep since she returned to Barcelona. There have been a few times where she’s fallen into this slump before, but she’s righted herself before it went too far. I’m hoping that you can help pull her out of it.”
Gabriel sensed the worry and fear in Arturo’s voice and felt even more miserable than he had before. He knew how much Serafia struggled with her image and how hard she’d worked to overcome her illness. She’d done so well when they were together that he never would’ve known about the anorexia if she hadn’t told him the truth. If he’d sent her into such an emotional state that she fell prey to it again—if she got hurt because of it—he’d never forgive himself.
“I’m flying directly to Barcelona from here. I’ll do everything I can to make things right, I promise. Even if she doesn’t want me, even if she won’t forgive me, I won’t leave until I’m certain she’s safe.”
Arturo watched him as he spoke, and then nodded. “You said earlier that you wanted my daughter to be your queen. You’re serious about this?”