§ § § -- August 10, 1991
With Roarke and Leslie both busy attending to the weekend's fantasies, Michiko felt at loose ends. She had eaten breakfast at Julie's inn, then gone to visit Maureen Tomai, not quite able to face her own family just yet. That even included Toki and Myeko at the moment; she was afraid they'd ask too many questions, even though she knew they'd mean well. On her way back to the MacNabb bed-and-breakfast, she found her thoughts turning to tomorrow's gala and had to smile to herself, thinking of the incredible secret she shared with Leslie and Roarke. That Prince Errico had seen fit to tell her who he was astounded her; he was, as Leslie had observed to her the previous evening on the way to the plane dock to meet Errico's children, anything but subtle. But he did mean well, and he had more grace and charm than she might have expected from royalty, who she had always heard tended toward arrogance and delusions of superiority.
His children had been a surprise; all three of them were well-behaved and very sweet, particularly the girl, Adriana. As her father had indicated, she was indeed a great fan of Michiko and had all but fallen at her feet with adoration. It had been flattering and funny and a little bit embarrassing all at the same time, and she had taken care to cultivate the seeds of a friendship with the girl in an attempt to put her at ease. It hadn't helped that her two brothers had teased her mercilessly, but by the time she was too worn out to think of anything but getting some sleep, she had made solid converts out of them too. Errico had escorted her back to the B&B and bid her a heartfelt good night, kissing her hand again and even bowing to her before strolling away.
She halted in the Main House Lane when she heard a car engine behind her and turned to see who was coming, moving quickly aside as she saw one of the candy-striped station wagons rounding the corner from the Ring Road, bearing several occupants. She could see Roarke and Leslie in the front seat, the former at the wheel; behind them sat two figures she couldn't make out. Roarke stopped the car, and Leslie called, "Hi, Michiko!"
"Hi, Leslie," Michiko said and glanced into the back seat, instantly recognizing the couple. "Oh my goodness…Mr. Dumont and Ms. Lohmann!"
Edmond Dumont and Susan Lohmann—who themselves had met on Fantasy Island more than ten years before and fallen in love—recognized her in turn and both beamed at her. "Michiko Tokita, what a surprise!" Susan Lohmann exclaimed. "Are you here for the gala as well?"
"I'm supposed to sing," Michiko admitted. "But actually, I was born and raised on Fantasy Island, so I'm really visiting home for a little vacation."
"Lucky you," Edmond Dumont said and chuckled. He himself had been a resident of Fantasy Island for quite a few years before meeting his wife; he'd had a highly secluded mansion in the jungle some distance removed from the Enclave, the small neighborhood of mansions on south-central Fantasy Island. "Well, don't let us keep you. Mr. Roarke, you really didn't need to set aside a bungalow just for us."
"We're used to hotel rooms," his wife agreed.
"Nothing but the best for our guests," Leslie said with a smile. "If it helps, you're not getting special treatment—our other celebrity guests will be in bungalows too."
"Oh, well, in that case…" Dumont began, and they all laughed. Michiko waved at them as Roarke accelerated and sent the car ahead, saying something to the Dumonts that was lost to distance as they rolled away. Suddenly she thought, Oh no…I hope Mr. Roarke and Leslie don't have to meet whatever charter Russell's coming in on. I guess Mr. Roarke'll have no trouble handling him, but Leslie doesn't really know how awful he can be. He'll give them no end of hell unless I can warn them somehow. She lengthened her stride and got to the main house just in time to see Roarke, Leslie and the Dumonts crossing the veranda on their way inside.
Roarke let the Dumonts precede him inside but turned in time to see her climbing the steps onto the porch. "Yes, Michiko, is there something I can do for you?"
"Well…" Michiko hesitated. "I see you're busy with Mr. Dumont and Ms. Lohmann, but if you don't mind my waiting out here, I need to talk to you for a few minutes."
"Oh, there's no need for you to wait," Roarke said. "Leslie, why don't you stay and speak with her. Once the Dumonts are settled, however, you'll need to check on the Gray fantasy in the usual manner."
"Understood, Mr. Roarke," Leslie said, and he followed the Dumonts into the house and closed the door while she turned to her friend. "What's the matter?"
"Russell St. Anthony," Michiko said urgently. "I thought I'd better warn you about him. He's the most demanding man on earth—wants everything a certain way. And he can be a total horror if he doesn't get it, right down to the last excruciating detail."
"Oh, we know," Leslie said ruefully. "He's already arrived, and he's bought out the entire top floor of the hotel. Now I see why he's been referred to as the Beast of Broadway." She smiled. "It's all right, Michiko. I don't think you have to worry much about running into him. When Mr. Roarke suggested he see some of the attractions around the island, he stuck his nose in the air and said he had no use for guest amenities that he knew had been frequented by hoi polloi, and that he planned to stay in his room all day."
"Ooooh," Michiko winced. "That's Russell all right. Well, even so, I think I'd better go back to Julie's B&B and stay hidden away there. I just don't want to chance it."
"That's up to you," Leslie said, "but don't you think your family would miss you?"
"I've already had three phone calls from my parents as it is," Michiko said. "I'm supposed to have dinner at their house, and Toki and Myeko will be there, along with Saburo and Kalani." Saburo was Michiko's oldest brother; Kalani, his wife, was a pretty native islander who worked in the main-house kitchen under Mariki's supervision. "And of course, Reiko will be there too," she added, referring to her youngest sibling, "since she still lives with Mother and Father. They're all going to ask me questions galore."
"There's no reason for you to tell them anything you don't feel comfortable telling them," Leslie said. "Even if they ask, don't say anything. Leave out the stuff you don't want to talk about. Besides, I'm sure they're only wondering what your career must be like."
"I hope you're right," Michiko said doubtfully. "Well, at least you know about Russell now. I'll be going, so you can get back to work." She returned Leslie's smile and started back down the porch, only to be waylaid by Prince Errico and all three children, who lit up when they saw her. Leslie grinned to herself and slipped unnoticed into the house.
"What a lovely surprise to see you, Michiko!" Errico exclaimed, as delighted as his children. "We were just on our way to the pool. Won't you join us?"
"Yes, please!" cried young Princess Adriana, ten years old and a sweet-faced little girl with a headful of glossy black hair in ringlets. "It'll be so much more fun with you!"
Michiko laughed. "What an invitation! All right, if you'll give me a chance to get to my room at the B&B and change my clothes, I'll be happy to come with you."
Errico and the children, who also included eleven-year-old Prince Paolono and Prince Marcolo, eight, insisted on accompanying her there. However, when they arrived, Julie's pool turned out to be deserted, as if waiting for someone to take advantage, and Michiko realized she was still in no mood to go out in public. "Look, why don't we swim here instead? I'm one of Julie's guests, so she probably won't mind at all. I'll let her know."
"Let me know what?" Julie MacNabb, thirty-one years old and still single, stepped out the back door into the fenced-in pool area. "Hi, Michiko, looks like you have some friends. Welcome, everyone. If you'd like some refreshment, I can bring it out and leave it on the table here."
"A splendid idea," Errico said, bowing slightly to her and kissing her hand. "I am Errico Bartolomé, dear lady, and we thank you for your kind hospitality."
Julie grinned. "Not at all. I'm Julie MacNabb, nice to meet you. Be right back." Michiko followed her inside on her way to her room to change clothes.
A few minutes later she emerged from the house to find the children splashing happily in the pool and Errico stretched out on a chaise, sipping from a tall glass of tea and watching his offspring. He brightened when he saw Michiko. "Ah, here you are. Please, come and sit here beside me." He indicated the empty chaise next to his.
Michiko settled down and watched the children herself for a few minutes, letting the summer sun warm her skin and slowly relaxing. After a little while Errico remarked, "I've seen very little of our hosts today, have you?"
"Same here," Michiko said. "Between their usual fantasies for the weekend and all the famous folks coming in for the gala tomorrow, they're practically running a marathon. But they thrive on it, both of them. Mr. Roarke's been in this business for who knows how many years, and Leslie's been involved with it to some extent almost ever since she first set foot on the island. She loves it."
"I don't quite understand," Errico said, sounding a bit perplexed. "Was she not born here as you were?"
"No, Leslie's Mr. Roarke's adopted daughter," Michiko said. "Her family was killed in a house fire when she was fourteen, and a few months later she came here, per her mother's will, to be raised by Mr. Roarke, because she had no living relatives left. She was kind of a second assistant to him before she met her husband and left the island with him for a few years, and by then Mr. Roarke's longtime assistant had married and moved away as well. After that he kept going through assistants like mad, so when Leslie came back last year after her husband died, he took her on. It's the perfect arrangement for both of them. She's lost nearly everyone she ever loved in some way, and Mr. Roarke seems to be about the only constant in her life. I can't blame her for not wanting to pull up stakes."
"I see," Errico murmured. "And I've been told she's still in mourning for her husband."
"She loved him deeply," Michiko remembered. "Their wedding was beautiful, and you could see in their eyes how much in love they were. When she first came back, one of our friends told me, she was underweight and grieving heavily. She's lost too much in her life, and I have a funny feeling that she doesn't want to risk even more loss."
"And there I was, trying to pack her away in my luggage and carry her off to Arcolos by sheer force," Errico said ruefully, sighing. "Now I understand why she was so vocal in her refusals. In any case, Mr. Roarke himself rendered everything academic. I couldn't have married her even if she had agreed."
"Really? Why not?" Michiko asked.
Errico explained the Arcolosian law that had prevented him from pressing his pursuit of Leslie. "So you see, here I am still searching, and running out of time all too quickly. My children do have a governess, of course, but they really need a mother. Adriana in particular feels quite lost at times. She is the only female in the family. I have two younger brothers who live elsewhere on the island; we live in the palace with my father, who is the current king. My own mother passed on when I was eighteen—Adriana is named for her—and my wife died giving birth to Marcolo. So the poor child is outnumbered badly, and I know she would very much welcome a stepmother in her life."
"I'm sorry about your mother and your wife," Michiko said sincerely. "Do Paolono and Adriana remember her at all?"
"No, they were both quite small when she died," Errico said. "They have had a number of different governesses through the years, but a governess can never be the same as a mother. I had so hoped to present them with the right candidate when they arrived."
Michiko smiled. "They're wonderful kids. Any woman should be thrilled to get them for stepchildren. It amazes me you're not out actively looking."
Errico sighed. "Mr. Roarke continually tells me not to give up faith, but I don't see how he can grant my fantasy in the few hours remaining." He glanced at her and then looked again, smiling a little, his eyes thoughtful. "I realize you don't wish to make your presence known, and I believe I can accommodate that, since I understand perfectly. I would be honored if you would consent to dinner with me at my bungalow this evening, Michiko. The children would be overjoyed, and you would make me a most happy man."
Michiko brightened in surprise and started to accept; then she blinked and let out a groan. "Oh no, I can't. My family insists that I eat with them. I wish I could get out of it, because I know they're going to give me the third degree. And they don't know about my involvement with Russell St. Anthony."
"The Beast of Broadway," Errico quoted and grinned. "I'm aware of his eccentricities, yes. At one time he was in a stage show that held four performances in Santi Arcuros, and I attended its opening night there. No hotel would accept him as a guest due to his outrageous demands—so believe it or not, I was forced to put him up in the palace. To this day, the servants shudder if they ever hear his name mentioned. He treated everyone simply abominably, and it was a great relief to see the last of him." He eyed her curiously. "Forgive me, my dear, if I intrude…but I can't understand for the life of me what you saw in him."
"Then you haven't seen him around women," Michiko said and told him about her relationship with St. Anthony. "As long as he's pursuing a woman, he comes across to her as the eighth world wonder, and invariably they fall hard and fast. I was no exception, I'm sorry to admit. His true colors come out only after he's made the conquest and gotten tired of having her around, and then it's no less than a Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation."
"I understand," Errico said. "Hmm. So dinner is out of the question, apparently. Then in that case, perhaps you'd allow me to fetch you at your parents' home, and we might go out dancing. The schedule of events posted in my bungalow states that the supper club is having dancing this evening, and I should feel privileged to have you as my dance partner. Will you come with me for that, if not for dinner?"
Michiko smiled slowly; something inside her warmed. "I'd be very happy to. It'll give me something to look forward to after the grilling I'm likely to get at supper."
Errico reached out and took her hand in his. "Then I hope to be able to erase any sad feelings you may find yourself burdened with as a result, my dear Michiko."