The queen was already seated at the table, dressed in a lovely blue suit. Her dark brown eyes flashed in anger when she saw Donetta and Giovanni enter the room at Enrico’s side. There was no sign of the king.
“Your Majesty.” Donetta curtsied before Enrico helped her to a seat around the other side. “Is the king not well today?”
“He’s never well and doesn’t have his dinner until later.”
“Zia Teodora?” Giovanni began. “We have something of vital importance to share with you. So does Princess Donetta.”
Her jaw hardened. “I heard you’d flown to Domodossola during the night.”
“I did.”
“But I brought her back on the royal jet,” Giovanni explained. “The drastic situation required drastic measures in order to restore peace and understanding.”
Donetta was holding her breath. Enrico gripped her hand.
“Thank you for accommodating us, Zia. What I have to tell you will change your perspective on everything.”
After they were served dinner and coffee, Giovanni began. “My story starts when Enrico confided that he’d been in love with Donetta ever since their first concorso in England seventeen years ago. He kept his secret until we came home from Madrid about six weeks ago. That’s the first time I’d heard that he’d been wanting to marry her since college. But I’m afraid I said something to him that presented a challenge.”
In the next instant Donetta listened while Giovanni laid everything out for his aunt so there could be no misunderstanding. “When Enrico made his speech to the cabinet, he was fulfilling his promise to Donetta, who never wanted to rule equally with him.”
The queen’s expression underwent a fundamental change. “I still don’t understand.”
Donetta broke in and told her about her childhood dream to be queen of Domodossola one day. “My sister knew how I felt and shared it with her friend, who happens to be a friend of Giovanni’s.”
He nodded. “I told Enrico he would never be able to marry Donetta because she didn’t intend to marry. She wanted to be queen in her own right.”
“It was a ridiculous, foolish dream I gave up on a long time ago,” Donetta explained. “When Arnaud pursued me and wanted to marry me, I knew I didn’t love him. But if we had children, I knew it would bring me happiness. The trouble was, I had always loved Enrico and had waited in vain for a proposal from him.”
Enrico spoke up. “When she came to our concorso, she let me know she planned to go home and tell Arnaud she would marry him. I proposed anyway. To influence her even more, I told her she could rule equally with me. Until this morning when I told her the truth, Donetta had no idea I had ever heard the gossip about her.”
“You can’t imagine my joy that Enrico loved me, Your Majesty,” Donetta cried. “I told Arnaud it was over with us. Even if Enrico changed his mind about me, I knew I would never love anyone but him.”
The queen sat back in the chair, her eyes dim with thoughts. “This explains why you could never get interested in Valentina, my son. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me and your father.”
Donetta broke in. “I didn’t tell my parents about him, either. I would have if he’d kept on writing and wanted to see me. But there was never a word. My sister Fausta knew how I felt, but she never said anything.”
Enrico’s mother looked at her with sadness. “My husband was struggling so much at the time. When Enrico came home and took over, it was like a godsend. I can see now that I leaned on him too much and had too many expectations that didn’t give him any free time.”
Donetta smiled at her. “I just want you to know that I would have done whatever he asked. But now that I know everything, I have no plan to run the government with him, even if you and the cabinet were to allow it. Please convey that message to them.
“The truth is, I’m just so happy to be Enrico’s wife that it’s all I want, except to hope that one day you will learn to accept me a little bit. He loves you and his father more than you know.”
The queen sat straighter in her chair. “It’s very evident he’s found the love of his life. I hope that one day you’ll be able to forgive me for the ungracious way I have treated you.”
Donetta felt her eyes smart. “There’s nothing to forgive. My biggest worry is that Enrico will not forgive me for leaving.”
“You know I have.” Enrico kissed her ch
eek. “And my gratitude to Giovanni for helping us knows no bounds.”
Queen Teodora patted Giovanni’s arm. “He’s my second son and I love him like my own. When his parents lost their lives in a plane accident, he became one of the family and has been a blessing.”
Donetta smiled. “I can believe that. I love him, too.”
After they’d finished their meal, Enrico got up and walked over to his mother. “Why don’t we go check on Papà?”
“I’d like that.”