He loved this wife of his for her understanding. Giving her a kiss, he helped her to her feet.
“Thank you for the lovely welcome-home dinner, Your Majesty. Buona notte.”
Donetta sent her husband a silent message that she’d be waiting for him and then left to go back to his apartment. But some of their earlier conversation had given her the oddest feeling and she was anxious to talk it over with Fausta.
Once she reached the bedroom, she hung up her dress and brushed her teeth. After putting on a yellow cotton shorty nightgown, she sat up in the bed to talk to her.
Disappointed when her call went to voice mail, she left a message for her sister to phone her back when she could. Fausta was probably still out with Mia and her friends.
The next call to her sister Lanza went to voice mail, too. Donetta left the message that she and Enrico were back from their camping honeymoon and installed at the palace. She hoped to hear from her soon.
After sending her love, Donetta hung up and reached for the TV remote to watch the nightly news. She imagined Enrico would join his mother and talk to her while the caregiver put his father to bed. Enrico would probably be late returning to their apartment.
A half hour later, the phone rang. It was Fausta. “Thanks for calling me back.”
“I’ve been hoping to hear from you. Is he still to die for?”
“Yes.”
“Just yes? What kind of an answer is that?”
“I—It’s an I-don’t-know kind of answer,” she said, her voice faltering.
“Donetta—what’s wrong?”
She sucked in her breath. “Maybe nothing and I’m just being paranoid.”
“About what?”
“Everything has been so divinely perfect until this afternoon.”
“Go on.”
“Today was the first time he talked about my running the country. He kept paying me all these compliments and telling me I was going to be a great leader. It sounded so odd when he doesn’t know if I could
do the job or not.
“When I asked him why he had such faith in me, he said that I’d seemed like a queen to him even when I was ten years old and he’d always admired my strength. Don’t you find that strange? Bizarre even?”
“Are you kidding me? He’s in love and letting you know how much! Before you got married, he said he wanted you to rule equally with him. How has that changed?”
“I don’t know!” she cried. “You weren’t there. Enrico was...different.”
“Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? To be queen?”
Donetta gripped the phone tighter. “I thought I did once. But not like this...”
“Not like what?”
“What he said to me today didn’t sound like the real Enrico. It was more like he was reading from a script. Oh—I realize I’m not explaining this right or making sense. All I know is, he didn’t seem like the man I married. When he told me I’d been a close observer of my father all my life and there wouldn’t be anything I couldn’t handle, it disturbed me.”
“Disturbed you? Am I talking to the real Donetta?”
“Don’t make fun of me, Fausta.”
“I’m not. I’m just surprised.”
“Why does he think he knows so much about me? Something else is strange, too. He was supposed to be crowned king at his marriage, but because he married me instead of Valentina, his mother wouldn’t allow the coronation to happen.”