§ § § -- August 9, 2004

Christian waited beside the car, with the triplets already strapped in for the ride home, as the jeep with Roarke and Leslie pulled up beside it. The Enstads had all stayed the night at the main house, parents and babies all squeezing into Leslie's old room, and Leslie had to admit she was more than ready to go home and have a quiet day with her family.

Christian grinned at her. "What? No overwhelming desire to return to work yet?"

"Oh you," said Leslie and playfully bopped him on the arm. "Well, I won't say that, but it surprises me to realize that I'm tired."

"It shouldn't," Roarke commented, amused. "Not after you and Christian were up for two feedings last night. Do you have news, Christian?"

"Yes, I do," Christian said and chuckled. "You must have seen it on my face or something. Anyhow, we're all going to London, my Rose—you and I, the triplets, and Ingrid, as well as Jonathan Ichino. I can't resist going in and taking a hand in that renovation project, especially since I got the offer. I told Jonathan to come in today and arrange for a passport, Mr. Roarke, so you'll probably see him around lunchtime. He's going to work with the London accountant on the financial aspects of the contract, primarily payment terms which I understand are still being worked out, while I join my London staff in installing and programming hardware. I'll be working on their website as well."

"Off to London, huh?" Leslie said and grinned. "This should be fun."

Roarke smiled. "Just let me know if you two find you'll be away beyond the end of the month," he said. "Our busy season will begin immediately after the U.S. Labor Day holiday, and I'll need Leslie back on the job then."

"We'll do our best," Christian promised. "Which reminds me…I shouldn't be in such a hurry to rush home. The triplets need passports as well, don't they?"

Roarke nodded. "So they do!" He and the Enstads leaned down to gaze inside the car, laughing when all three babies began to giggle in response to their broad smiles. "Perhaps you'll be able to get them all to smile for the camera! Why don't you bring them in, and we'll begin processing the necessary paperwork for them."

Inside the main house they found Michiko waiting for them. "Oh my," she said, "an entire entourage."

They all laughed. "What brings you over here?" Leslie asked cheerfully, setting down Tobias' and Karina's infant seats.

"Oh, well, I was just wondering if you'd patched things up. Hello, Mr. Roarke, and hi, Christian," Michiko said. Roarke nodded and smiled at her.

"Hallå då, Michiko," Christian replied amiably. "Patched things up?"

Leslie grinned at him and said, "I confided in Michiko on Saturday when we had our spat about your going back to visit Erik the Loser. Yes, we did, actually. Right now we're about to take pictures of the triplets so they can get passports."

Michiko blinked. "They already need passports? What for?"

"A trip overseas, of course," Leslie said, laughing. "I'm sure it's going to cost us an absolute fortune, but it should be fun anyway. Maybe this time we'll have a chance to go sightseeing beyond London."

"Oh, you're going to England!" Michiko exclaimed.

"It's really a business trip," Christian said and summarized the reason for the journey. "I called the travel agent in town and she's still trying to come up with a fare that won't make me faint when she quotes it. Seven fares to London is just not cheap, even if three of those fares are for infants."

Michiko shook her head. "When do you have to be there?"

"The work begins Wednesday," Christian said, "but my arrival time is flexible."

"Then if you can stand to wait till Wednesday to leave," Michiko said, "you can come back on the royal jet with me. Errico has a state visit to make, and I'm supposed to meet him in London and join him on that before we go back to Arcolos. It'll save you and your company a huge amount of money, and I expect Errico will offer the use of the jet for the return flight, knowing what close allies Arcolos and Lilla Jordsö are."

"But it'll cost him an even more tremendous sum," Christian protested.

Michiko smiled ruefully. "Friendship or no, I can tell you and Errico just haven't had a lot of contact over the years. He'll say something like 'hang the expense' and insist on it. The only reason we even have a royal jet is that one of the smaller rainbow-gem mines shut down temporarily for major repairs, and that sparked a minor panic on the precious-gem market. The price of rainbow gems went up more than a third in the wake of the shutdown, and suddenly the national coffers were overflowing. So Errico got it into his head that Arcolos needed a royal jet. I tried to tell him his name isn't Onassis, but he said it didn't have to be. 'All this money,' he said, 'and nowhere to spend it. Why shouldn't we share the wealth with a country that needs it and can give us something valuable in return?' It should make you happy to hear that the jet was built at Kronström & Dalby—the aircraft manufacturer near Birka in Lilla Jordsö."

Christian burst out laughing, inducing Leslie and Roarke to join in and the triplets to begin gurgling again. "Well, then, how can I refuse? We'll be glad to travel with you!"

Next: Christian's London project turns into an adventure that yields a totally unexpected dividend!