“I think my dad had mentioned something about that once,” she said. “But I'm not sure how this all relates.”
“It means, my dear child, that your father is of royal blood,” Carlo explained, his eyes lighting up. “With his lineage, not only is he royal blood, but he can be knighted for his ancestor's battle bravery. If your father becomes a Knight of Orsino, and you are his next of kin, then you are no longer considered common blood. Far from it.”
Sabrina's knees went weak and she held onto Marco for support.
“You mean...” she whispered.
“Yes, you will be able to marry Marco and the law won't have anything to say about it,” Carlo said. “And, on that same note, Magdalena won't be able to say anything about it either. She can try to take it to the courts, but nothing will stand up there because you won't be breaking any law.”
Sabrina fell forward and wrapped her arms around Carlo's neck, pulling him in for a hug. Her heart swelled and she held him close. She sobbed, but this time, it was tears of joy that fell from her eyes. When she pulled away, she noticed that Carlo had shed a few tears of his own.
“Thank you, King Carlo,” Sabrina said.
Marco dropped to one knee beside the bed and held Carlo's hand. “Father, I'm eternally grateful. You've just made me the happiest man alive.”
Carlo cleared his throat and coughed once more. “It's the least I can do for my son. Now, let's get Sabrina's parents out here. We need to get this process started sooner than later. According to the doctors, my surgery went well. But I still don't know what that means as far as how much time I might have. We must make haste.”
Chapter 23
Marco
Three weeks later...
Marco stepped out of his bedroom at the same time his father was walking down the hallway.
“Marco, you startled me,” Carlo said, his voice still a bit raspy, but getting better. “I just woke up from a nap. I can’t believe how drowsy these pain medications make me.”
“You look like you're feeling much better, though,” Marco said.
“Indeed I am,” Carlo said. “The tests yesterday went well, too. I'm told that I am completely cancer free, at least for the moment. That's good enough for me.”
Marco pulled his father close and hugged him, breathing out a sigh of relief. He'd been waiting anxiously to hear about the test results.
“I'm so glad to hear,” he said, squeezing his father affectionately. “Let's keep our fingers crossed that the results continue to stay that way. What do you say?”
“I'd say that's a fine plan,” Carlo said, with a smile.
Carlo was starting to act like his old self again, and Marco couldn't have been happier. Just three weeks after the surgery, and Carlo was up and moving around. He wasn't able to attend to all of his duties as King, at least not quite yet. But he did manage to gather enough energy to perform one sacred ritual with Sabrina's father, who was now considered a “Knight of Orsino” because of it.
“Is Sabrina downstairs?” Marco asked. “I haven't seen her since this morning, with all the chaos.”
“Yes, I just passed them, actually,” Carlo said. “She's in the library with her parents.”
“Perfect,” Marco said, as he turned away from his father. “I'm going to go visit with them for a few minutes before we have to get dressed.”
“Ah yes,” Carlo said, nodding his head. “You’d better hurry, before she gets her dress on. You know how the old superstition goes.”
Marco rolled his eyes. “You know I don’t believe in that sort of nonsense.”
“All the same.” Carlo smiled, patting his headstrong son on the shoulder. “It’s best not to tempt fate. After all, it’s been so good to you lately.”
Laughing, Marco shook his head. “All right, all right. I won’t argue with you, but only because you’re under the weather.
Marco turned and walked down the stairs, making his way toward the library. The palace felt different than it had just a couple of weeks ago. It felt lighter and happier. He wasn't completely sure why, but he had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that Magdalena hadn't shown her face around there in over a week.
According to Carlo, she'd gone to their summer retreat cabin a few miles north of the palace. She was there with Alonso, her not-so-secret lover. At first, Carlo was heartbroken, although he did his best not to show it. Despite her bitterness, she’d been a fixture in his life for so long, it was hard for him to accept that she was truly gone. But with the hustle and bustle of last-minute wedding preparations all around him, it was hard to stay sad for long.
Marco poked his head into the library to find Sabrina standing with her parents.