Reclaiming the Prince's Heart Read online

  “Of course. Go on.”

  “Besides the deep gash on his arm, my examination has revealed he suffered a blow to the back of the head. He also lost a great deal of blood and is still recovering. But I am only a general doctor. This village hospital doesn’t have the sophisticated equipment to diagnose him. When you get him home, he needs all kinds of care and must see a neurological specialist right away. You will need a medevac helicopter to transport him back to San Vitano.”

  “I understand and am so thankful you’ve been here to take care of him. There are no words to tell you how grateful I am.” She turned to Carlo. “I’ll call the King and Queen to let them know he’s alive. Leonardo will send a medical helicopter immediately.”

  She pulled out her cell and phoned Rini’s grandparents, who were speechless with joy when they heard the news. They all wept for a long time.

  “I’ll explain everything later. Right now Carlo is here with me and we’re at the hospital with the doctor treating Rini, who has a deep cut on his arm. It’s infected and they’re giving him an antibiotic.” She heard Antonia cry out in pain. “Can you send a neurosurgeon with the helicopter? We also need to know how soon to expect it.”

  “It will arrive there within the hour,” Leonardo promised. “A miracle happened today, and all because of you. You have no idea the measure of our gratitude for you.”

  “I love you both. We have our Rini back. It’s a glorious day.”

  “Indeed it is. Come home safely, my dear. We’ll have everything ready for you at the hospital.”

  She hung up and related the news to the doctor. “Can I sit with my husband until he’s transferred?”

  “I don’t see why not but realize he’s very nervous and trusts no one. We can’t communicate with him. When you get home, he’ll need medical help to see to his immediate needs.”

  “Thank you for taking such wonderful care of him, Doctor Miakar. We’ll make sure you and the hospital are recompensed for all you’ve done.”

  “It’s an honor.”

  “We’re going to be here for a while,” Carlo murmured to her. “I’ll have the driver take me to the helicopter and tell them to fly home. Then I’ll return for you and we’ll wait for the other helicopter. It will land here at the hospital.”

  “You’re a treasure, Carlo. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

  After he left the hospital, she turned to the doctor. “Can I see my husband now?”

  He indicated she should follow him. Luna was living to see Rini again and just fill her eyes. The wonder of his being alive consumed her.

  When she went back to his room and sat down by him, she realized he hadn’t moved. It gave her the opportunity to feast her hungry eyes on his face and body. The first time she’d met him, she knew the tall, hunky, black-haired Crown Prince had to be the most attractive man alive.

  “Rini—” she sobbed his name quietly, unable to imagine how horrible his life must have been since the earthquake. Why couldn’t he speak or understand anything? They said he spoke a strange language. She couldn’t get over it.

  Luna walked around to see the top of his head. The doctor said he’d received a blow. She couldn’t detect anything with all that black hair covering his scalp. Who knew what horrors he’d had to live through?

  He was hooked up to an IV, and one of the nursing staff was checking his vital signs. After a while Luna could tell he was coming to because he moved his strong legs and turned his head to the other side of the pillow.

  She moved to the other side of his bed to be close to him. Without thinking, she whispered, “Jeu carezel tei, Rini,” in her native language. It meant I love you.

  Suddenly, he opened those translucent gray eyes she’d thought she’d never see again. They stared at her without recognition. She assumed it was because he was still sedated. “Ti discurras rumantch?”

  Her heart turned over because he’d heard her outpouring of love and understood. He’d just asked her if she spoke Romansh. That was the strange language no one understood?

  “Gea. Yes, yes, yes.”

  “How come no one else can communicate? Where am I? I’ve been going insane that no one understands me. But you do. Why? Do you know me?”

  His questions were fired one after another. The last question shocked her, but now was not the time to try and understand what was going on.

  “I know you very well.” Her voice shook. “Your name is Rini and I’m your wife, Luna.”

  An incredulous expression entered his intelligent eyes. “Impossible! I’ve never been married.”

  Help. Something was terribly wrong. Don’t panic, Luna. “Thank heaven you’re alive and that I’ve found you. You’re in a hospital in Rezana, Slovenia. I’m going to take you home. A helicopter is on the way.”

  At that moment Carlo appeared at the door. He motioned her to come out into the hall. Her gaze shot back to her precious husband, who was so disoriented, she realized he was still under the effects of the anesthetic. “I have to leave you for a few minutes.”

  “You can’t go. No one else understands me.” He sounded utterly frantic. It wrenched her heart.

  “I promise I’ll see you in a few minutes. Trust me.”

  * * *

  Trust her?

  That breathtaking blonde woman, a stranger, had just said she was his wife? How could that possibly be? No man could forget her if he’d been married to her. He realized he must be dreaming. It had to be the anesthetic that had put him to sleep and he’d started to hallucinate.

  What was he doing in Slovenia? No words had made sense to him until he heard a voice say that she loved him. Those were the first words he’d understood since waking up in the hospital. Whoever she really was, he would have to trust her all right since she was his lifeline to get out of here.

  A nurse came in to check his vital signs again. He kept waiting for the woman named Luna to return. To finally be able to talk to someone, and then she had to leave the room. He’d go out of his mind waiting for her to come back.

  What if she didn’t?

  He broke out in a cold sweat.

  The nurse looked worried as she checked his blood pressure. After she’d listened to his heart, she left the room. Damn. How long did he have to remain in this limbo?

  When he was about ready to pull out the IV and leave the room on his own to find this Luna, a strange man came in wearing a business suit. “Rini?”

  According to Luna, Rini was his name.

  The man smiled and patted his own chest. “I’m Doctor Romano.”

  Romano? It meant nothing to him.

  The man came around to check Rini’s skull. His hands were gentle, but Rini’s crown had been tender since he’d awakened in the hospital. The slight probing hurt. What was going on?

  He nodded to Rini before leaving the room. Now what? Another endless wait?

  Before long two male hospital workers came inside. They removed the IV and wheeled him out of the room and down the hall to an elevator. Once on the main floor, he was taken down another hall and outside where he saw a medevac helicopter standing by.

  Where in the hell was Luna? Where was he being taken? He tried to get off the gurney, but they restrained him.

  * * *

  Luna and Carlo stayed in Dr. Miakar’s office, waiting to hear what would happen next. Soon, another man came inside. He smiled at Luna.

  “Principessa Baldasseri?” He spoke Italian. “I’m Doctor Piero Romano from the Sacred Heart Hospital in San Vitano.”

  “Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” She took in the fiftyish-looking brown-haired man standing there in a business suit. “You must be the neurosurgeon my grandfather-in-law sent. It was marvelous of you to come at a moment’s notice when I know how busy you must be. Thank you more than you know.”

  “I’m honored to have been asked to help you
r husband. I just wanted to say that San Vitano was devastated over the reported death of the Crown Prince. I don’t have to tell you how overjoyed the King and Queen are to learn that he’s alive and will be returning. The country will celebrate the moment it hears their favorite son is alive. But I dare say no one is happier than you.”

  “You’re right. No one could know how I’m feeling at this moment.” Tears gushed down her cheeks.

  “I’ve already checked your husband.”

  “You’ve seen him?”

  “I have, and we’re going to take good care of him. Before we leave in the helicopter, however, there are things I need to tell you. I spoke briefly with Doctor Miakar and we looked at your husband’s record of confinement. I’ll know a lot more when I get him scanned, but one thing is clear. He’s suffering from amnesia.”

  “Amnesia...” She stared at him in alarm, unable to comprehend it. That was the reason he didn’t understand anything?

  “I need information. What languages does he speak, Principessa?”

  She brushed the moisture off her cheeks. “Please call me Luna.”

  “If you wish.”

  “I do. My husband speaks Italian, German, Slovene, English and Romansh.”

  “Romansh?”

  “Yes. It’s my native language and Rini learned it living at his second cousin’s home in Switzerland. When I first saw him a little while ago, I told him I loved him in Romansh. He opened his eyes, shocked that I spoke a language he could understand.”

  “Wonderful. You’re going to be the great key to helping him.”

  “But shouldn’t he have recovered his memory since the quake? Surely, it ought to be returning by now.”

  “Not necessarily.”

  Paralyzing pain swept through her. Now that he’d explained everything, Luna was starting to understand why Rini had fired all those questions at her. It was incomprehensible to her. All of it.

  “Doctor Romano, you don’t mean he might never regain it—” she half groaned the words “—that he’ll never recognize me or his world?”

  “We don’t know. I’ve read of a case history of a man living in Canada who had a blow to the head and forgot who he was. It’s called a fugue state, and very rare. Years later he suddenly remembered who he was, but he’d been missing for years.”

  Years...

  “Perhaps when your husband is transferred to familiar surroundings, he’ll remember everything. But if he doesn’t, then you need to be aware of his condition and prepare yourself that recognition might not happen right away. For now, we’ll take it a step at a time.”

  Another moan escaped her lips. Rini might never recognize her? How could that be? She shuddered.

  “As soon as we arrive at the hospital, he’ll be taken to the suite reserved for the King where everything will be done for him. The history on him says he’s manageable if you give him time to think about it.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “He’s lost his memory and doesn’t know what’s happened to him. It has made him paranoid because he hasn’t been able to communicate with anyone until now. Doctor Miakar described that condition exactly. Your husband is a tall, strong man, so it’s doubly important we try to keep him as calm as possible until we’ve worked with him. It’s no wonder he’s skittish.”

  Rini skittish? That didn’t sound like the husband she knew. Out of all the things that could have happened to him, having amnesia would never have been a possibility in her mind. She turned to the doctor. “He must be terrified not to remember anything! I can’t imagine it.”

  He eyed her with compassion. “Exactly.”

  Her body trembled. “I’m frightened, Doctor Romano.”

  “Of course you are, but I’m here to help you as well as your husband. With the aid of Doctor Tullia, an outstanding neuropsychologist I’ve asked to be on this case, you’ll be able to deal with a situation new to all of you. If you’re ready, we’ll go out to the helicopter.”

  The medevac helicopter team helped the three of them climb in and strapped them in along the side. Her heart pounded hard as Rini was brought out to the helicopter and lifted to the airbed.

  “Luna!” he cried when he saw her. “I thought you’d gone.”

  Oh, Rini, Rini. “I promised I wouldn’t leave you,” she said in Romansh.

  “Where have you been?” His eyes probed hers.

  “Talking to the doctors. But you’re going home now. Try to relax. It’s only a half-hour flight.”

  Her husband was returning wrapped in hospital green Slovenian swaddling clothes. Where were his own clothes, let alone his wedding ring and watch?

  After the helicopter lifted off, Rini held her gaze. “How did we meet?”

  “It’s a long story. I was born in Scuol, Switzerland, where we speak Italian and Romansh. You have a second cousin Vincenzo, who also lives in Scuol and you learned to speak it.

  “I started working for your company. You and I spoke Romansh on the first day we met. When you found out I’d been born in Scuol, it gave us a unique connection. We often spoke it so no one else could understand.” It was their private language of love. In truth, it had been love at first sight for them, but he didn’t want to hear that now.

  “I don’t have any family.”

  Oh, dear. Too much information. “Don’t worry about that right now.”

  Before long they reached the Sacred Heart Hospital in Asteria and landed on the roof, where attendants were waiting.

  “We’re here, Rini.”

  “Where?”

  “At the hospital in your hometown. You need to be taken care of for a little while longer.”

  His features hardened. “I don’t want to be in another hospital.”

  “Just for a little while until I know you’ll be all right. That infection was a bad one.”

  “Where will you be?”

  “Right here with you. But first you must go with Doctor Romano. I’ll join you in a minute.”

  “You swear it?” The demand broke her heart. He was so paranoid it frightened her.

  Oh, Rini. Darling. “I swear.”

  The doctor got out of the helicopter first to accompany Rini, who was wheeled inside to the top-floor suite of the hospital. With security everywhere, she knew the King and Queen had been waiting on the premises.

  She and Carlo followed. When they emerged from the elevator, Antonia cried Luna’s name and ran to her. They hugged and cried tears together. “Where’s Leonardo?”

  “Doctor Romano is talking to him while another doctor is taking care of the gash on Rini’s arm and getting him settled. They’re already talking over a plan of tests and will call in a nutritionist to get him healthy again. When I glimpsed him, I must admit I hardly recognized my grandson with facial hair and weight loss.”

  “I know. It’s a shock. Before we go in to him, there’s something of vital importance you should know first.” They hurried toward the door to the suite and walked inside. Dr. Romano saw them and motioned them over to him and the King.

  Rini’s grandfather wept, but it wasn’t for joy. Not this time. Luna turned to Dr. Romano. “Will you tell my grandmother-in-law your diagnosis?”

  “Tell me what?” the older woman murmured.

  In the next few minutes the doctor explained that Rini had amnesia and how careful they would have to be to hide their alarm. Luna’s heart went out to them, but she knew Rini was desperate for her to come to him, and no wonder. He couldn’t talk to anyone else! “May I go in to him right now?”

  The doctor nodded. “Go ahead. We’ll come in soon.”

  After giving Leonardo a hug, she hurried into the room where Rini lay on the bed. He shot up when he saw her. “Where is this hospital?”

  “This is the Sacred Heart Hospital in Asteria, San Vitano.”

  “San Vita
no?”

  She moaned. “It’s the country on the Italian-Swiss border where you were born and live.”

  None of it seemed to make an impression. Her beloved husband looked so bewildered she wanted to cry buckets but couldn’t. Not in front of him.

  “Where’s the doctor who operated on my arm?”

  “He’s at the hospital in Rezana, Slovenia, where you were taken to treat your gash and get antibiotics.”

  “How long do I have to be in this hospital?”

  They were getting into dangerous territory. “If you’ll wait a minute, I’ll get the doctor, who will answer a lot of your questions.”

  “Wait—”

  “Rini—I promise I’ll be right back.” She didn’t know how much to tell him. This was uncharted territory.

  Nervous, yet excited out of her mind that she had her husband back, she left the room and found the doctor talking with Rini’s grandparents. They turned to her and gave her another hug. She knew they were dying to see Rini.

  “Doctor Romano? Rini has so many questions. So do I. What I don’t understand is, how’s it possible that he doesn’t remember any of the other languages he knows?”

  The doctor shook his head. “I can’t explain how amnesia works, but what’s happened is miraculous for him and you. Your being able to get through to him speaking Romansh is going to make all the difference in his recovery. It’ll mean you need to be around him constantly and serve as his translator.”

  “I’m his wife and there’s nothing I want more.” She smiled. “Right now he’s so loaded with questions, it worries me. I don’t know what I should tell him.”

  “Understood,” the doctor replied. “And it’s true we don’t want to overload him. I’ll go in to talk to him.” He turned to Rini’s grandparents. “In a few minutes I’ll ask the two of you to come in.”

  Leonardo nodded. “We’ll be waiting.”

  “I won’t be long. Now I must see to our patient.” His comment relieved Luna. She led the way.