§ § § -- September 6, 2004

"I've pushed it through," Gabriella announced proudly at the dinner table that evening. "We can go through with the ceremony, Uncle Christian—parliament agreed that recovering the original crown was more than enough justification for restoring your title to you. Now, Aunt Anna-Laura, you can go ahead and write the ceremonial speeches."

"Ach, yet another chore on my list," Anna-Laura murmured, shaking her head and giving Christian and Leslie a sympathetic look. "I'll try to keep it short."

"What about displaying the crown at the museum?" Christian asked.

"Ah yes…that's been settled," Anna-Laura assured him. "They have one team set up to begin restoration of the Royal Glory when she's delivered to the museum tomorrow, and in the meantime a second team has begun final cleanup and polishing of the crown. They have a heavily fortified display box ready for it and, once it's been placed in its final position, the security team will put alarms, cameras and other devices in place before the crown is locked into the display box. They're hoping to complete all this by Friday so that you and Leslie can come out there and cut the ribbon for the official opening of the exhibit."

"More pomp and circumstance, my Rose," Christian said with a grin at Leslie. "But ribbon-cuttings aren't so bad. We'll have the chance to tour the museum as well, I expect, so you'll enjoy that."

"Why don't you take the triplets with you?" Gabriella suggested. "That would bring out the crowds for certain."

"I don't know if they're ready for that," Leslie said doubtfully.

Christian grinned at Gabriella. "I think she means she doesn't know if she's ready to give them such mass exposure. Frankly, I'm not certain of it myself. With so many people expected to be there, I think it better that they remain here. They'll have enough exposure to large crowds at the restoration ceremony."

"Did someone send for Anna-Kristina and tell her she should be here for that?" Gabriella wanted to know.

"I e-mailed her, don't worry," Margareta said. "She's to bring Mateo and Natalia as well. It's a shame, Aunt Leslie, that Mr. Roarke couldn't come."

Leslie smiled. "He's likely to see it on TV," she said. But she found herself wishing the whole crazy series of events had already ended and that she, Christian and their children were on their way home. She frowned to herself. It wasn't as if she'd never felt that way before, but for some reason the sensation was much stronger this time. Uneasy now, she laid her fork on her half-empty plate and looked up, speaking to Amalia, the first person whose eye she caught. "If I could be excused…"

"Of course," Amalia replied, and Leslie quickly arose and left the dining room as fast as she could without running. She had a sudden urgent need to make sure her children were all right, to talk to Roarke…something, anything.

Before she'd gotten to the door of their suite, Christian had caught up with her. "Wait a moment," he said, catching her arm a few steps shy of the door. "What was that all about? Is there a fire somewhere?"

"There might be," Leslie mumbled, biting her lip.

Christian frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

She looked pleadingly up at him. "I'm not sure how to explain it. I just got this sense of foreboding out of nowhere. Maybe it's crazy, but I have this feeling, as if something's going to happen. Something bad."

Christian considered that for a moment, then focused on her. "Maybe it's the elevated public agenda getting to you. We don't usually undergo that much press coverage, but since the raising of the Royal Glory and the recovery of the crown, and then, of course, the restoration of my title, you must be feeling spooked."

"Maybe that's it," Leslie murmured, not quite convinced.

Christian gathered her into his arms. "Do you need to talk to Mr. Roarke?"

"I think I should," Leslie said slowly. "In light of the nature of Father's business, I learned fast enough not to just dismiss such a strong sensation out of hand. In all honesty, I wish all this were over with and we were on our way home right now."

"I as well," Christian admitted. "That's all right, my Rose. Let's go in and have a talk with Mr. Roarke. If he feels you should pay attention to that feeling, then I'll mention it to the family and we'll try to work something out."

They slipped into their suite, where Ingrid was just changing Karina and the other triplets lay on the bed nearby. Susanna and Tobias both smiled hugely when they saw their parents come in the door, and Karina turned her head and beamed as well. Leslie had to laugh, and Christian grinned with some relief, following her across the room to the bed. He spoke in jordiska to Ingrid, who nodded, finished changing Karina's diaper and left the room. Meanwhile Leslie settled carefully onto the bed and lay on her stomach in between Susanna and Tobias, while Christian put Karina onto her tummy and then lowered himself onto his own stomach on the bed facing Leslie, with the triplets between them.

"I can't let anything happen to them," Leslie said softly, reaching out to trace a fingertip down each triplet's cheek. "It's a miracle they even exist, and if anything happened…"

Christian watched her, and when she met his gaze he urged quietly, "Call Mr. Roarke. You need to discuss this with him."

"Yeah," she agreed with a sigh and lifted herself off the bed, picking up the phone and punching out the number from memory. Christian murmured to the triplets in his own tongue, making funny faces at them, and Leslie smiled wistfully, waiting for the connection to go through, her stomach knotting.

"Yes," Roarke's voice sounded in her ear.

"Hi, Father, it's Leslie. I hope I didn't disturb you," she said a little anxiously.

"Not at all, child," Roarke responded warmly. "How are Christian and the children?"

"They're all fine," Leslie said, still watching Christian with the babies. "I…um…"

"Are you all right? What's wrong?" Roarke asked.

Leslie swallowed, then sighed deeply and wandered across the room to the windows, unaware of Christian's gaze on her. "I'm feeling…strange. Out of nowhere at supper I got the feeling that something bad's going to happen, and it was a really strong feeling, too. I'm not trying to suggest I have ESP or anything like that, but the sensation was so urgent that when I told Christian, he said I should call you."

"Good advice," Roarke said. "Leslie, can you pin down any aspect of this feeling? Do you have a sense, for example, of whom this will happen to, or when, or of what might happen? Is there anything specific about it that you can identify?"

Leslie frowned. "I'm not sure," she said slowly, examining the emotion and going over her memory of its initial onset. Finally she admitted, "No, I don't have any specifics, just this certainty that something's going to go really wrong."

"What do you think triggered it?" Roarke asked.

"I remember thinking at supper that I wished all these high-profile events were already done and over with and that Christian and I and the babies were on our way home. And that's when it hit me, just like that."

Roarke sounded faintly confused. "What 'high-profile events' do you mean?"

Leslie explained quickly about the Royal Glory and the discovery of the original royal crown. "The raising of the ship has been covered pretty extensively in the local press, and when it gets out that the crown's been found—and that Christian was on the boat when it happened and personally brought it back to shore—they'll go nuts. The national historical museum has the crown now and they're cleaning it and preparing to display it, and if they stay on schedule, Christian and I will cut the ribbon on the display on Friday. And what's more, since Christian brought back the crown, Gabriella decided he should be rewarded—so his title's being restored to him once a ceremony's cooked up."

"I see," said Roarke, sounding quite surprised. "Yes, I understand that these are indeed unusually high-profile events. Did you say Christian's title is being restored?" At Leslie's affirmation he remarked, "I'm sure he has mixed feelings about it, not least because of the enormous publicity that will surround the two of you."

"And I think that's why I feel something bad will happen," Leslie said. "We'll be very visible, and unless other people besides Christian take me seriously and put precautionary measures into place, a tragedy could occur."

For a moment Roarke was quiet; then he said, "It's been my experience that such strong foreboding should be heeded. By all means, make sure Christian's family knows how you feel, and if necessary, have Christian help you explain it. Even if in fact nothing happens, you'll feel better knowing you took steps to prevent a possible problem."

"What if something does happen?" Leslie asked worriedly.

"Leslie," Roarke said kindly, "as the saying goes, don't borrow trouble. Be alert, but don't let the possibility consume every moment. You'll ruin yours and Christian's time in Lilla Jordsö, you'll transfer your anxiety to the babies—who will be very difficult to deal with in that case—and you may well irritate Christian and the rest of the family. Just let them know about your feelings now, make certain they'll be acted upon, and then put it to the back of your mind. There is no doubt that there will be adequate security measures for you and Christian and the children. Try to enjoy the week."

Leslie smiled a little. "I guess I'll feel better once we've told the others," she mused. "The more people who know, the more relaxed I'll probably be. Okay…thanks, Father."

"Of course, child," Roarke said. "Give the family my greetings, and let me know when you and Christian are likely to be home."

She agreed, and they exchanged goodbyes and hung up. Christian promptly asked, "What did he advise?"

"That I should let the rest of the family know, so that they can decide what steps need to be taken," Leslie told him, replacing the cordless phone on its base and joining him and the triplets on the bed again. "And then, I'm supposed to pretty much forget about it."

"Exactly so," Christian agreed. "The triplets will sense your feelings and become a trio of little devils as a result, unless you refuse to allow it to consume your entire being."

"Father said something similar," Leslie said, nodding. "Okay, I don't have any problem with that, but the sooner we tell the others, the better."

Christian grinned and teased her, "If only for my peace of mind, whether you have any or not." Leslie rolled her eyes and he chuckled. "Try not to worry so, my Rose. It might help reassure you to know that whenever the family does appear, alone or en masse, at one function or another, there's heightened security, after those barbaric attacks in New York a few years ago. And it will be particularly tight around these events. I believe it was a college friend of Gerhard's whose security company the family employs, and I understand they're as thorough as they can be. Now if you'll put a second triplet in my arms, we'll take the babies back in to see the family, and perhaps you can finally finish your meal."

"Maybe we'll be in time for dessert," Leslie said with a little grin, lifting Tobias and placing him into his father's embrace along with Susanna.

"You didn't finish your supper," Christian singsonged back, and they both laughed as Leslie picked up Karina and they all headed back to the dining room.

§ § § -- September 8, 2004

"This place is a hole. You idiot, why couldn't you do better than this?"

"We're hiding, you fool. You must have left your brain at home."

"Shut up, both of you! We have too much to do to hide in plain sight, the way you think we should. We've already spent more than we can afford on a week's rent for this place as it is, and it's eating into the budget we planned for the operation. No more newspapers or magazines. Just use the television, it's cheaper."

"How much do we have left?"

"Barely enough…"

"Before you start to argue about money again, look at this. This could give us all the information we need to put the plan in motion."

Christian remembered having really enjoyed family press conferences as a child; in those days it had been fun. Now, as an adult, he found them tedious, and was happy not to have to participate often in them any longer. This time the adults were all gathered in the great entry, as they did when the press came to cover the royal family's Christmas celebration; and Anna-Laura was explaining about the restoration of the Royal Glory, which had just arrived at the museum the previous day and begun the long process of being made ready for display. "There is a special basement room that is being prepared for the ship, where people can view it once it's ready," she concluded.

"And what of this great treasure that rumor has it Prince Christian is involved with?" someone wanted to know. "Will you also reveal that?"

The family looked at one another; they'd talked this over in great depth at breakfast, trying to decide what the best course of action would be in order to prevent anything untoward taking place. When Roald had pointed out that Gerhard's friend's security firm was devoting its entire staff to all these events, Gabriella had decreed that it was time to tell the people what the "treasure" actually was. Carl Johan took over for the reply to this question. "Yes, we'll do it now," he said. "Christian, of course, was on a shipwreck-search excursion with a firm from the U.K., examining the Royal Glory to ascertain that it could be raised. At the same time, this concern had another ship out, exploring what proved to be a group of three Irish shipwrecks not far from the site where the Royal Glory lay. The divers on that vessel had been bringing up a great many artifacts from the bottom, and one of these attracted special interest. Christian himself had a hand in its cleanup, and was the one to realize that in fact a diver had found the original royal crown of Lilla Jordsö—the one lost by King Erik VII in 1542."

For about two seconds absolute silence filled the great entry; then loud gasps went up and heads turned to exchange shocked, amazed looks. Christian found himself having to stifle a broad grin; he caught Leslie's eye and she winked, making the grin break out and triggering a curious thought as to how much of the conference she was picking up, since it was being held entirely in jordiska.

"We also have a special surprise," Gabriella put in, from her place on the throne, around which the rest of the family stood or sat. Liselotta sat on one side with Christian and Leslie, while Anna-Laura, Carl Johan and Amalia sat on the other, and Gabriella's sister and cousins stood behind the older adults on either side of the throne. "You're aware, of course, that a motion to strike down the law of title revocation has been pending for many months in parliament. While I have been considering several drastic measures to end the meaningless and time-consuming debating, I felt it only right that my uncle be rewarded for his hand in the discovery and return of the original crown. Therefore, I hereby announce that on September 18, 2004, my uncle shall have his rightful title of prince restored to him, and from that date will once again be known as His Royal Highness, Prince Christian."

This created still another stir, and Christian glanced at Leslie, whose face betrayed a hint of claustrophobia. The conference was beginning to get to her, he realized. He reached out and grasped her hand, squeezing in reassurance. A question cut through the growing chatter: "What of Prince Christian's wife and children?"

Christian and Gabriella looked at each other, and she gestured to him; he squeezed Leslie's hand again, then released it and raised his own for silence. "My wife will regain the title she acquired upon our marriage," he said, "and our children will also receive the titles they would otherwise have been born with."

"Will there be a formal ceremony?" someone shouted.

Gabriella stood, and Christian smiled again at Leslie. She still looked a little spooked, and her earlier fears came back to him. As Gabriella responded to the question, he leaned to her and murmured, "It's all right, don't worry, my Rose. Don't forget, we have security on full alert, and there'll be extra people on the days of the ribbon-cutting for the crown exhibit and my title-restoration ceremony. If anyone is planning anything, they'll have a lot of human beings to get through before they reach us."

Leslie nodded slowly, then said, "I guess we can't exactly hide the triplets when they restore your title…after all, they'll be 'crowned' too, so I suppose they have to be there. I think that's what's worrying me the most."

"You shouldn't fear," Christian told her. "We're having formal invitations printed up, and they'll have a special hologram on them so that they can't be counterfeited by anyone who might want to do us harm. No one without a hologrammed invitation will get into the castle for the ceremony, that I can promise you."

Leslie smiled, looking a little sheepish. "All that extra expense because I got scared for no concrete reason."

"Not so," Christian reprimanded gently. "You had plenty of reason. That crown is worth immeasurable money; and the family knows enough about Fantasy Island and Mr. Roarke by now to pay attention to any hunch you have—especially when it's as strong as this one was. And don't forget, the Liljefors clan is still under official protection by royal decree, for reasons that wouldn't surprise Mr. Roarke at all. When you spoke out, we knew to pay attention. Stop fretting, Leslie, please, all right?"

"I'll try," she murmured, and he had to grin at her truthfulness. He kissed her cheek and sat up again, tuning back in to the conference.