‘In the Old World from which my parents come, it’s quite common for a young lady to undertake a cultural tour before she settles down to marriage. They will accept it. So, querida

Izabela, don’t keep me waiting any longer. I can hardly bear the agony.’

‘I think . . .’ Bel took a deep breath. ‘I think that I will say yes.’

‘Meu Deus. Thank God,’ he said in genuine relief. ‘Then I can give you this.’

Gustavo reached into an inner jacket pocket and pulled out a battered leather-covered box. ‘The ring inside is a part of the Aires Cabral heritage. Worn, so the story goes, by the cousin of Emperor Dom Pedro when she became engaged.’

Bel gazed at the flawless diamond, set between two sapphires. ‘It’s beautiful,’ she replied honestly.

‘The stone in the centre is very old, cut from the mines of Tejuco, and the gold is from Ouro Preto. May I place it on your finger? Just for size,’ he added hastily. ‘Because of course, I must accompany you back home and ask your father formally for your hand.’

‘Of course.’

Gustavo slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her right hand. ‘There,’ he said. ‘It will need to be altered slightly to fit your beautiful slim finger, but it looks well on you.’ Gustavo took her hand in his and kissed the ring. ‘Do you know, my sweet Izabela, that the first thing I noticed about you was your hands? They are,’ he said as he kissed each fingertip, ‘exquisite.’

‘Obrigada.’

Gustavo gently removed the ring from her finger and placed it back in its box. ‘Now, we had better make our way down before the train stops running for the night and we are stranded here. I can’t imagine that would please your father,’ he commented wryly.

‘No,’ she agreed as he drew her by the hand out of the pavilion and guided her back down the stairs towards the little station. But secretly, she knew that now she had netted her ‘prince’, her father would be pleased about absolutely everything.

When they arrived home, Bel disappeared immediately to her room while Gustavo spoke to her father. She sat tensely on the edge of her bed, shooing Gabriela away when she asked if she wished to change. She felt uncertain and ecstatic in equal measure.

She pondered the reason for Gustavo’s decision to encourage her trip to Europe. Was it possible that he was secretly relieved to have an excuse to postpone their inevitable union, that he too felt unready for a hasty marriage? Perhaps, she mused, poor Gustavo had been subjected to the same pressure from his parents as she had from her father? But then, the look of affection in his eyes when he’d proposed had seemed so genuine . . .

Her thoughts were interrupted as Gabriela came into her bedroom, a beaming smile on her face. ‘It seems your father wishes for your presence downstairs. I have been told to serve the best champagne. Congratulations, senhorita. I hope that you will be happy and that Our Lady will bless you with many children.’