ISABELLA VALERI KING sat by the fountain in the loggia, waiting for Antonio to fly in from Innisfail. It was Friday, and on Sunday there would be a family luncheon here at the castle to celebrate his engagement to Hannah O'Neill, but he wanted this private meeting with her first.
His request had not surprised her. All was not as it should be. Isabella had reflected on the events of last weekend many times—the shock announcement on Saturday evening that the O'Neill family had arrived in Port Douglas—all twenty-four members—and he was going to marry Hannah. She was wearing his ring. No time to talk then. They were to dine with the O'Neill family and could he bring them all up to the castle for afternoon tea on Sunday?
Isabella had gone to bed that night filled with joy. Choosing Hannah O'Neill as the chef for Duchess had been the right move. Antonio had fallen in love with her—such a suitable young woman for him—and she would soon have a second grandson married.
She had enjoyed meeting the very large O'Neill family on Sunday—all of them so clever and talented—good stock—but she had felt uneasy at the way Antonio had been very protective of Hannah in front of them, fending off any questions directed at her about their future, answering them himself.
It was charmingly done. Isabella doubted the O'Neills had found anything amiss. When Antonio performed, he gave out so much dynamic energy, people didn't really notice anybody else and he had been in dazzling form that afternoon. No one seemed to notice that Hannah was being passive, letting him take control. No one except Isabella.
It didn't feel right to her. At the job interview, and on two subsequent meetings with her, Hannah had shown herself to be very active and enterprising, not at all backward in taking the initiative, confident in expressing herself—a delightful personality. Yet all that had been subdued on Sunday afternoon. Maybe she had wanted Antonio to shine in front of her family, but surely not as much as he had, even handling all the questions about wedding plans.
Tony had declared they would be married in Port Douglas—a decisive announcement with no input from Hannah, no excuse to her family why she did not choose to marry in Sydney from her parental home, which was the bride's prerogative. Oddly enough none of the O'Neills had protested this although Hannah's mother had looked sadly wistful for several moments before putting a cheerful face over her private feelings.
Antonio had gone on to state that the wedding ceremony would be held in the local church, St. Mary's by the sea, and the reception would be here at the castle. Then he had asked Isabella to show the older family members the ballroom while he and Hannah took the younger children up to the tower.
Which was, perhaps, a reasonable arrangement, but why wouldn't Hannah want to check out the ballroom personally with her mother? This was not normal behaviour from a happy bride-to-be.
Two years of running away...that was what Antonio had said the night he had taken Hannah to Nautilis, intent on confronting the couple who had distressed her. Was she still running away? What did this mean in the context of consenting to marry Antonio?
The sound of the helicopter coming in broke into her disturbing thoughts.
Soon she would know the truth.
As much as she wanted Antonio married, it was so important to get it right. She remembered sitting here with Elizabeth whose three sons—the Kings of the Kimberley—had all made good marriages. Elizabeth had understood her need for the family to go on, building on what had been built. She had also understood it couldn't be done without the right women. Partners for life. Absolute commitment. No running away.
I have lived for eighty years, Isabella thought, years that have brought many joys and many sorrows. She wanted to see her grandsons settled in good marriages with families of their own before she died...the last achievement that would make sense of all the rest. But time was getting shorter and shorter. It went so fast now. Even so, it would be bad if Antonio rushed into a marriage that was wrong. Such a mistake would be very costly.
"Nonna..." He emerged from the castle foyer, closing one of the big entrance doors behind him. "...I thought you'd be inside."
"I like sitting here, Antonio. I find it...harmonious."
It was eminently clear all was not harmonious in his world. He brought tension with him like an ill wind, as well as the battle energy that signalled a problem he was determined on facing and beating.
"I told Rosita not to bring us anything. I hope you don't mind," he said as he took the chair at the opposite end of the table to hers.
"You want to talk about Hannah without interruption," she surmised, her eyes informing him she was well aware of the sensitivity of this conversation. "I suspect you have moved too fast for her, Antonio."
A wry little smile acknowledged her perception. "One has to move fast to catch a butterfly, Nonna."
A butterfly? The fanciful allusion worried Isabella. A beautiful creature, yes, but... "It is wrong to pin one down," she pointed out, thinking such a fluttery characteristic was not what she had envisaged in a wife for Antonio.
"Hannah wants to fly with me. It's a matter of proving I won't stray from her side."
"You...stray?" Isabella shook her head, frowning over such a doubt.
Hannah could not know him well enough. Once Antonio made up his mind, nothing could shift him from his course. "She needs more time with you."
"I've bought enough time," he claimed With confidence. "Hannah will wear my ring as long as it keeps feeling right. I've made a bargain with her and I need your help to carry it through, Nonna."
"Then you had best explain it to me."
He gave her the knowledge she was lacking, painting the backdrop to the current situation with all the shades she'd been missing. Hannah's previous high-pressure career as a top-line events organiser did not really surprise her. A useful talent to have in any walk of life, Isabella thought.
The story of her relationships with Flynn and Jodie Lovett was illuminating. That betrayal and the humiliation in front of her family explained much. It was relatively easy to piece together the problem. Hannah had suffered a massive loss of trust, not only in her own judgement of people, but also in planning for any future at all.
It took time to build trust, time to be convinced it would never be abused. Antonio had rushed in, knowing what his word was worth and expecting, as usual, to carry all before him, only to discover that winning his own way was not so simple.
Still, the bridal bargain he had made with Hannah was clever, possibly a masterstroke, though it laid him open to public humiliation should she cancel the wedding. He was taking all the risks, leaving Hannah free to walk away without any cost at all from their relationship.
The gift of love...
Did Hannah recognise it for what it was?
"So you see, Nonna, I need your help. You know how to go about planning a wedding. If you'll tell me what I have to do and when to do it..."
"Are you absolutely certain it will be right for both of you in the end, Antonio?" she asked, not wanting to see him hurt.
"Nonna, I have never felt anything more right," he answered with quiet gravity. "In my heart, I know Hannah loves me. And in her heart, she knows I love her. She is simply afraid to believe it."
Was it true?
Or was it blind faith? Five months...
Isabella gathered herself and stood up, knowing she had to trust Antonio's instincts. "Come. We will go to the library so I can look up available dates for a wedding in my work diary. We must set a day. All planning begins with that."
Antonio heaved a huge sigh of relief as he rose from his chair. A few quick steps and he was hugging her in an emotional overflow of gratitude. "Thank you. I want the very best for Hannah, Nonna. It has to be the best."
"The choices must be yours, Antonio. I will put them to you. I will see that your decisions are carried out. But this wedding must be your gift to Hannah, not mine. You do understand this?"
"Yes." He drew back to meet the challenge in her eyes with the fire in his soul. "I took the responsibility. I'll see it through. When Hannah walks down the aisle as my bride, Nonna, you'll see that it's right. She needs me to do this. It's the proof of my love for her."
A quest...that was what it was, and Hannah needed him to fulfil it. Isabella smiled.
Getting his teeth into a quest was so Antonio. Did Hannah know instinctively it would bind him to her more effectively than anything else? She had agreed to the bargain. That alone had to mean she valued this relationship very highly. The butterfly might not yet be caught but it seemed she wanted to be caught. And to Antonio, failure was inconceivable.
Isabella hoped she would see Hannah O'Neill walk down the aisle to him as his bride. If she did...then it would be right.