§ § § - June 26, 2001
The younger generation gathered in a group several feet behind the chairs that had been set up for the queen, Anna-Laura, Carl Johan and Amalia, and Christian and Leslie. As these half-dozen took their seats, they all noticed the assorted media members giving Leslie a curious once-over and glanced at one another in private amusement. A middle-aged man, whom Christian identified as the director of the live television broadcast, worked his way down the line clipping small microphones to everyone's collars, then went back and gave them to Anna-Kristina, Gerhard and Liselotta as well.
Carl Johan, as the oldest of the Enstad siblings currently present, took charge. "We will begin by answering your questions regarding King Arnulf," he said formally, "and after that you may bring up whatever other topics may be on your agenda. I must remind you, however, that intrusive or rude questions will not be tolerated, and if at any time any of us feels that a line has been crossed, we reserve the right to terminate this conference without warning and without rescheduling. Am I clear?" Heads nodded, and Carl Johan said, "Thank you. Very well, you may begin when the director is ready."
As soon as the director had counted down seconds and indicated that they were on the air, an overeager-sounding woman with long blonde hair and a bit too much makeup, wearing a slightly clingy dress, spoke up. A camera was trained on her, and her manner was brisk and demanding. "Exactly how serious is King Arnulf's condition? We see, after all, that Prince Christian is here with his wife."
"The prognosis is not good," Carl Johan admitted, his voice nearly emotionless—a sign of his careful control. "We felt it best that the entire family gather at this time."
"Is he dying?" someone else asked point-blank.
"That is yet to be determined," Anna-Laura answered.
"Is he conscious?" the same reporter volleyed.
"At times," said Anna-Laura. She sounded formal and distant; Leslie wondered if this was merely a façade to hide her worry over her brother.
When the princess didn't elaborate, the reporter persisted, "Is he lucid, then?"
"Yes," Carl Johan said, "and in fact he has repeatedly requested to see Prince Christian, which is part of the reason for his presence."
"Only Prince Christian?" another voice queried in surprise.
Carl Johan looked slightly impatient. "So we are told. The only ones who have been allowed to actually see him are his wife and daughters, thus far."
Anna-Laura leaned to Kristina and said something to her; Kristina nodded and spoke in jordiska, loudly enough for the media to hear. For the benefit of the broadcast, Anna-Laura then translated: "Queen Kristina tells us that the king recognizes her and Princesses Anna-Kristina, Gabriella and Margareta, but has insisted that he must see Prince Christian."
"Why?" chorused at least ten voices.
"We don't know," Carl Johan said and glanced at Christian; as if acting on a signal, the question was promptly blasted at Christian.
"I don't know either," Christian said with a slight shrug. "I was informed of the king's heart attack by Princess Anna-Kristina, but there was no suggestion that he had given any reason for his wish to see me."
Glances were exchanged, and a few more questions about Arnulf were presented and answered before the topic was exhausted for lack of further information. Christian gave Leslie a quick glance, as much as if to say, Brace yourself, before Carl Johan announced, "If there are no further questions regarding the king, you may move to other topics."
It was as if the assembled reporters had been waiting for this. "Prince Christian!" a barrage of voices called out, and Leslie felt her stomach drop a few stories. Christian, on the other hand, clearly took it in stride and gave a good-natured, if reluctant, grin.
"One at a time, please," he requested. "You there, in the back?"
A very young-looking woman with a yellow legal pad and pencil beamed delightedly at being singled out. "Thank you, Your Highness! Please, would you introduce your wife to us? We know so little about her, and I know the people want to meet her."
Christian laughed and turned to Leslie, his amusement shifting into something else altogether when he saw her wide-eyed, pleading look. "As you can probably see," he said to the gathering, "she's never been through one of these conferences before, and she's very nervous, so be gentle with her." He turned back to her and leaned closer to murmur, "Just be yourself, my Rose, that's all. I'll be with you if you need me." Leslie nodded rapidly, as much to dispel the shudder that shot up her spine as to convey assent. Christian took her hand, again interlacing their fingers, and said, "This is my wife, Leslie—the adopted daughter of Mr. Roarke, of Fantasy Island. Maybe you know the story after last summer's little revelation in regard to my arranged marriage to Marina LiSciola. I actually met Leslie about five years ago, just before I discovered I had been married to Marina."
"You've known her that long?" asked the young reporter, awed. Christian nodded indulgently at her and grinned, making the girl's face light up.
"It seems you have another devoted fan," Carl Johan said aloud, and everyone laughed, including Leslie. The girl went bright red but didn't stop beaming.
"You say she is Mr. Roarke's adopted daughter?" the blonde TV reporter asked. "Who is she really, then?"
Leslie noticed the immediate change in Christian's demeanor; coolly he replied, "She's my wife, pure and simple. Had you meant to ask something else?"
"It's okay, Christian," Leslie said softly, aware of the sudden shift of collective attention in her direction. Christian eyed her in concern.
"You're sure?" he asked, and she nodded. "All right, then, go ahead, my darling."
"I was born Leslie Hamilton," Leslie explained, speaking carefully to try to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice. "I'm originally from Connecticut in the United States. I was orphaned when I was thirteen years old, and went to live on Fantasy Island for the lack of living relatives to go to. When I was eighteen, Mr. Roarke adopted me, and I think of and refer to him as my father." She, along with the entire Enstad family, was amused at the way the crowd seemed to hang on every word she said. "I'm also my father's assistant in his business. When Christian and I were married, Christian moved the home office of his own business to Fantasy Island, but he still maintains a branch here."
"How long have you and Prince Christian been married now?" someone asked.
"A little more than five months," Leslie said.
"Are you planning to have children?" came the inevitable query.
Leslie gnawed on the inside of her cheek, an almost automatic reaction; Christian, who had been watching, immediately took over. "Not right away. We may decide not to have children at all. That's entirely our business. In the meantime, Leslie and I are very happy together, just the two of us, and we're savoring our time with each other."
"How is it, Your Highness, that you suddenly found this woman you wanted so much?" asked a previously-unheard voice. "I'm sure you're aware that you're well-known in the jordiska media for remaining emotionally untouched by any woman."
Christian shrugged. "I fell in love for the first time in my life," he said. "Don't ask me exactly how. I know only that Leslie accepted me as I am, crown and all, and no one else ever did that for me. I think that's what drew me to her."
"You were really never in love before?" asked the star-struck young girl from the back. "I mean…we all know the stories. You were married off to Johanna when you were only 19, and it was obviously a bad match from the start. And then after you were widowed, you were seen escorting Ingela Vikslund, heiress to the Vikslund oil fortune; then that Swedish film starlet, Maria Dahl." Leslie found herself watching Christian with surprise and amusement as the girl went on, "After that you were seen with the singer, Astrid Franzén, and then in 1992 you spent nearly a year dating Karin Grimsby, who is the sole heiress to the Grimsby jewelry empire here…the only local jeweler with the right to import rainbow gems." She gave a knowing nod. "I can see the ones in your wedding rings."
"Goodness, my love, you really got around," Leslie kidded gently, and then grinned when the press laughed.
"She makes it sound worse than it really was," Christian told her with a sheepish grin of his own. "It was almost serious with Karin, but in the end I knew I could never be more than friends with her. I understand she's happily married now. It's as well it worked out so, because the wait for you was very much worth it."
"Is there some reason you don't live in Lilla Jordsö?" someone asked.
"I chose to leave," Christian said. "Leslie was married and widowed once also, and that marriage took her away from her home. I saw no need to do that to her again; and in any case, I'm not exactly essential to the succession. As I'm sure you are all aware, there are nine others in line for the throne ahead of me, and it seemed reasonable to conclude that the kingdom could do without me. The government is evidently reluctant to officially end my princely status, but I'm patient. I want only to be where Leslie is, and since she is on Fantasy Island, that's where I am now."
A few more questions were put forth, inconsequential ones that Christian answered; then someone asked if it were true that Carl Johan and Amalia were due to become grandparents soon, and another ten minutes was expended on confirmation of that rumor. Then the spotlight shifted to Anna-Kristina and her very visible romance with Prince Carlono, which took up fifteen more minutes. Anna-Kristina answered all the questions herself, and was so bright-eyed and cheerful that Christian and Leslie found themselves alternately staring at her and looking at each other with some disbelief.
"Do you think she's really in love with him?" Leslie whispered to Christian at one point, taking care to avoid being picked up by the miniature microphone clipped to her dress. "I mean…look at her, all happy and smiling…"
Christian shook his head slightly and whispered back, "No, I think it's a front. But she's a princess: there'll be no hint of her true feelings for Mateo. I'm afraid we'll have to consider that a closed book and let her make her own decisions."
After that the press conference came to an end, and the family lingered long enough to let the director collect his mini-mikes before retreating to the adjacent room to wait for the media to clear out. Christian turned to Leslie and asked, "Are you all right, my Rose?"
"Thank God that's over," she mumbled and abruptly hugged him. He chuckled softly and hugged her back.
"You did beautifully," he assured her. "You had your ordeal, and you passed with flying colors." He sighed. "Now it will be my turn to endure an ordeal."
"I'll be right there with you," she reminded him, drawing back enough to smile at him. "Don't worry, my love. You're not alone, I promise."
Christian smiled back. "I think that's the only thing that gives me strength enough to face this. We'll leave in about an hour—I'll put in a request for a car to take us there."
‡ ‡ ‡
In the end, they were accompanied to the city hospital by Carl Johan, Anna-Laura, Anna-Kristina, Gerhard and Liselotta, and Gabriella and Elias. The younger princes and princesses rode in one car together, behind the one carrying Carl Johan, Anna-Laura, Leslie and Christian. Christian's mood began to slide back south once more, and Leslie grasped his hand in both of hers, earning a quick smile from him before he went back to brooding. His brother and sister watched him.
"Christian, what on earth makes you so angry about all this?" Carl Johan asked, as if satisfying a great and all-consuming curiosity. "You did this same thing yesterday when you and Leslie first arrived, and I hope you know you were really frightening her."
Christian's frown deepened and he focused on his older brother. "You can't honestly be wondering why this upsets me so," he said incredulously. "I don't know what Arnulf could possibly want with me. Leslie thinks there's a chance he wants to make his peace."
Anna-Laura leaned forward. "That was my thought as well," she said with a tremor in her voice, "but if it's true, then perhaps he's convinced he is dying."
"And if he is?" Christian shot back.
Shock radiated from Anna-Laura and Carl Johan; only Leslie understood. "You both know how Arnulf's treated Christian all these years," she said gently. "I think he suffered a sense of disbelief, of having a prolonged dream, when Arnulf set him free so we could get married. But did you know Arnulf actually ferreted out the number to our private honeymoon cottage and called us, trying to make Christian go out on yet another one of those promotional trips he spent the last couple of years sending him on?"
Carl Johan and Anna-Laura looked at each other in astonishment. "He went that far?" Anna-Laura asked. "I never thought he would do such a thing."
"Well, he did," Christian said, his frustration finally breaking loose. "I've never understood his and Father's obsessive need to control my life, almost from the day I was born. You two were left untouched, but for some reason I found restraints and discouragement everywhere I turned. I know well enough that I wasn't even supposed to exist in the first place; Father made it clear enough to me on a number of occasions as I was growing up, usually whenever I did something he considered particularly heinous. After Father's mind started to go, Arnulf took over, and I think in some ways he was even worse."
Carl Johan stared; Anna-Laura seemed shocked beyond speech. "Father told you that?" Carl Johan demanded in a stunned voice.
"More than once, yes," Christian said stonily. "I must have put up quite the front if you two never knew about that. Didn't Mother or Father ever tell you about how they were trying for a girl after Arnulf was born and meant to stop once Anna-Laura came along? I was unplanned, and I suspect I wasn't a very pleasant surprise, from all I ever heard. I know I was a spirited and rebellious child, and I know I had a mind of my own and was constantly at odds with what Father and Arnulf wanted for me. But is that a reason to punish me? Or was it simply because I merely existed?"
Anna-Laura put a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, her face pale and her expression horrified. Carl Johan slowly shook his head; Leslie's eyes had filled with tears, out of her empathy for Christian and for the shock his siblings were undergoing. "So this is what's driving you," Carl Johan said after a moment. "Tell me just one thing, Christian: do you hate Arnulf? And don't be afraid to tell the truth. Remember, Anna-Laura and I, the entire family, saw much of what he did to you, especially after he became king."
Christian thought carefully for a long, tense moment. Finally he looked at Carl Johan with a bleak expression and admitted, "Yes, perhaps I do…or at least I'm very close to it."
Carl Johan nodded a couple of times. "I won't ask if you think you can forgive him. It's a great deal to overlook, I know. But at least listen to what he has to say."
Christian sighed very deeply, let his head fall back and closed his eyes for a moment. "I suppose I have little choice in the matter," he said and focused on Carl Johan again. "Mind you, I'm doing this for my own sake, not Arnulf's. If that sounds selfish, I'm sorry, but I guess I'm just not big enough of soul to keep from indulging myself." He finally seemed to notice his distraught sister and reached out with his free hand to touch her arm. "For fate's sake, Anna-Laura, don't get so upset. There was nothing you could have done."
"But it wasn't right," Anna-Laura insisted. "Truly, Christian, did both Mother and Father let you believe you were a mistake that they regretted making?"
"Father said it in so many words," Christian said. "Mother didn't, but she never contradicted Father's words, either. I believe they did regret having me."
Leslie couldn't endure any more. "Stop, Christian, my love, please," she begged, beginning to cry. "I don't care what anybody else might have ever told you. You're not a mistake! You're here for a reason—even if it's only because…because…where would I be if you had never been born? Don't you remember? I love you, Christian Enstad!"
Christian stared at her, stricken, then gathered her close when she broke down. "I know, my darling, I know…I'm sorry." He looked ruefully at his siblings and said, "I've gone and frightened her again; you don't have to tell me."
"You should listen to her, Christian Carl Tobias," Anna-Laura scolded, her own voice a bit thick with emotion. "This family wouldn't have been complete without you."
"Look," Carl Johan said, "take it out on Arnulf, Christian. If anyone has any answers, he will. Try to remember that we're behind you in this, and keep in mind that you have a true champion in that wife of yours. You finally got lucky in the marriage game, and you'd better not forget that or take it for granted."
"Are you finished lecturing me, äldrebror?" Christian asked with a wry little smile, stroking Leslie's hair and cradling her against him. "I think I've been effectively reminded that there's a purpose to my existence, so you can stop now." He turned to Leslie then, disregarding his brother and sister, and tipped her head up till she was looking at him through streaming eyes. "I love you desperately, Leslie Enstad, and I especially love you for reminding me of my importance in your life. The next time I start feeling sorry for myself, tell me that again, as many times as you feel you must, until I remember." She nodded, and he kissed away a tear or two before shifting to her mouth and covering it with his own. She could taste the salt of her own tears in his kiss, and it prompted a few more, but she felt safe and reassured in his embrace.
When Christian pulled back, he smiled at her, his eyes warm. "I'm going to be relying on your strength, my Leslie Rose, so if you think you're done crying, let me know. You know how much it hurts me to see you cry. I'm always afraid I can't comfort you properly."
"That's silly," she said in a soft shaky voice. "You always know how to comfort me."
"You two sound like a bad romance novel," Carl Johan snorted, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated show of disgust. Christian and Leslie grinned, and Anna-Laura shot Carl Johan a black look that made them burst into laughter.
"Don't listen to him; he's jealous," she said. "I know I am, and I'm not ashamed to say so. Christian, think of this love you've found with Leslie as your well-deserved reward for all you've put up with over these years, from the time Father married you off to Johanna and ever since then. And if I were you, I'd ask Arnulf every question you've ever wanted to ask him, including the ones that may be the hardest on him—for your own peace of mind."
"Believe me, I will," Christian said with quiet resolve. "And Leslie will be my witness."
Inside the hospital, the Enstads were promptly recognized and greeted with instant deference; Carl Johan asked about Arnulf. Christian listened and then translated the reply for Leslie. "They say he's been awake for some time now—he's refused the sedatives they've had him on for the last couple of days—and is still demanding to see me."
"I wonder if he saw the press conference," Leslie murmured.
"It's possible," Christian allowed. "Anna-Kristina said during breakfast that the television is on in his room every time someone comes to see him. However, from what we've been told of his condition, it's anyone's guess whether he ever sees what's on it." He slid an arm around her and addressed one of the nurses, who dropped a quick curtsy; he said, "My wife and I are here to see the king."
"Nej," she said in a firm voice, "bara prinsen ensam. En i taget."
Christian scowled and said, "Jag ber att du snacker engelska for min frus skull." He sounded abruptly very imperial, and Leslie gave him a surprised look, which he caught. "I insisted that she use English for your sake," he explained, and she nodded.
The nurse looked at Leslie as if she had only just noticed her presence. "My apologies, Princess. But only one visitor at a time may see His Majesty: he is very weak, and since he has asked for Prince Christian, obviously no one else may go in."
Christian's expression was cold. "I won't go in there unless my wife is with me," he said flatly. "You can tell the king so. If he refuses, then he won't see me."
"But you must see him," another nurse exclaimed, looking very worried. "It is the belief of his doctors that if he does not see you, he will not recover."
"He sees me with my wife, or not at all," Christian reiterated implacably.
The nurses proceeded to argue with Christian, who occasionally repeated his stance on the matter in a frigid, quiet tone. Carl Johan shook his head and said something to Christian in jordiska; Christian simply shrugged, and Carl Johan went to join the younger people, who had retreated to waiting-room chairs.
Anna-Laura and Leslie looked at each other with mutual exasperation, and Anna-Laura cleared her throat loudly. "The obvious solution is to ask the king's doctors," she said. "Would someone kindly go and do so?" Two of the nurses scuttled off, and Anna-Laura eyed her younger brother with a scolding look. "Really, Christian, were you going to stand here all afternoon and argue with those nurses?"
"She has a point, my love," Leslie teased gently, and Christian rolled his eyes.
"Perhaps I was stalling," he suggested pointedly, aiming this mostly at his sister. "You know how I feel about this whole thing to begin with."
"Why don't you just get it over with?" Anna-Laura offered. "Then it wouldn't weigh on your mind so, and you'd stop having these moods and terrifying Leslie."
"I suspect Leslie is less frightened than you think she is," Christian said, "since she actually understands why I feel as I do. Whatever happens, I won't back down in this. If Arnulf won't see me with Leslie, he won't see me, finis."
Two doctors appeared just then, one male and one female. They greeted Christian and Anna-Laura with the requisite deferential bows; then the female doctor asked, "Exactly what is the problem?"
"Is it necessary for the king to be restricted to only one visitor at a time?" Anna-Laura wanted to know. "Christian won't see him unless he can bring his wife in as well, and there's no changing his mind."
"The king is weak, and it's not good for him to be excited," the male doctor said.
Christian cursed in jordiska. "I find that ridiculous, if you must know the truth," he said. "Due to the strained relationship between me and my brother, I doubt he'd find it any less exciting to see me alone than with Leslie. I tell you for the last time: if Leslie can't come with me, then Arnulf doesn't see me." He saw the doctors look at each other and added, "I think perhaps you'd better see what the king himself says."
The man nodded at the woman, and she promptly left. In the silence that followed, Leslie pressed her head against Christian's and whispered, "That nurse called me Princess. Am I really entitled to that, or is it just formality for your sake?"
"The government hasn't revoked my title yet," Christian replied, amused, "and as long as that's the case, you're a princess simply because you're married to me. I'd tell you not to get used to it, but you never know with the government."
Leslie laughed. "True! But even at that, I doubt I'd ever get used to it. It made me wonder who she was talking to." Christian chuckled in response and settled his stance, his arm still securely around her shoulders.
The doctor returned about thirty seconds later and peered at Christian, half apologetic, half disapproving. "King Arnulf has agreed to let your wife accompany you, Your Highness. In fact, he said it was all the better, for he wishes to meet Princess Leslie."
"Very good, thank you," Christian said, the imperial mien back on him like a cloak. "Will you kindly escort us to my brother's room?" The doctor nodded and led them off down a long hallway in which Christian's and Leslie's footsteps echoed slightly off the walls and ceiling. The last room on the left was Arnulf's; the doctor opened the door long enough to let them step inside, then pulled it shut behind them.