§ § § - April 11, 1981

Shortly before lunchtime, Delphine came in, still alone. "Hi, uncle. Hi there, Leslie," she said. "Seen Greg?"

"No, I believe he and Tattoo are still on their deluxe tour of the island," Roarke said, smiling. Delphine laughed at that.

"Sooner or later he'll have to get around to the house where Julie and I grew up," she said. "I'd show it to him myself, but I don't think we have time, and it's probably filled with dust anyway...after all, we haven't been back for years. I wonder if the key's still hidden in the same place."

Roarke chuckled. "I should imagine so." At that moment the phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

Delphine turned to Leslie. "So how old are you?"

"I'll be sixteen next month," said Leslie. Delphine nodded, and Leslie pulled in a deep breath and pushed out the question before she could chicken out. "That trick you did this morning...I mean...the levitation and all..."

Delphine made a face and mumbled, "Oh, that. It's kind of a pain, now that I'm about to get married. Greg doesn't know, just as I told uncle. If he ever finds out..."

"I think your powers are really cool, Delphine," Leslie insisted. "Actually, it reminds me of that old TV show 'Bewitched'."

"And Greg's going to be Darrin," said Delphine in a glum tone. Leslie couldn't help herself and laughed; Delphine looked up with a reluctant smile. "Honestly, though. If my parents were still around, I'd ask them why in the world they had to go and have kids."

"What happened to them?" Leslie ventured.

Delphine hunched her shoulders for a moment and let her gaze drift toward the windows. "They're dead now, but uncle helped them immigrate to the island ages ago after they suffered a lot of persecution in Ireland. They were part of a branch of the family that first settled here roughly a hundred years ago for the same reason. My sister and I were both born here. We still have a lot of relatives in the British Isles, though. How they keep ordinary people from finding out about the powers is a complete mystery to me."

Probably the same way you do, Leslie considered, but kept this to herself. Instead she said, "Well, I still say they're cool. And I also say that if your fiancé is a decent guy, he'll still love you no matter what."

Delphine pulled her gaze back to Leslie, surprised; then she smiled warmly. "You're a sweet kid, Leslie. Thanks. But I think life will be a lot less complicated if he doesn't know and if I can keep him from finding out."

Leslie shrugged, just as Roarke hung up the phone and regarded Delphine with a warm smile. "I presume you yourself visited some of your old haunts."

"Yeah, I went around exploring the turf," Delphine agreed, grinning. "F.I. High hasn't changed too much, but boy, you really remodeled downtown Amberville. I love that pedestrian shopping area. I was wondering if I could talk to you...if you've got a little time, we could take a walk outside. I just want to enjoy the fresh air, after all the dusty heat in Las Vegas. Could we?"

"Of course, of course," Roarke agreed, going to the shelves and picking up a small book to take with them. "Leslie, why don't you come as well; I think you've earned a break."

Roarke began to page through the book as Leslie and Delphine preceded him out the door and across the veranda; Delphine's curiosity was piqued, and she queried, "What's that you're reading, uncle?"

"It's an old almanac, and according to it, during the next forty-eight hours, you must summon all your willpower. Constantly tell yourself," Roarke instructed firmly as they paused beside the front walk, "that you are just an ordinary human being." Leslie wondered if the little book really said such a thing, but she couldn't see the pages, and had a sneaking feeling that if she tried, Roarke wouldn't let her.

"Well, I'll try my best, uncle," Delphine said with a smile.

"Good," Roarke replied and read a little further in the book; meantime, Delphine reached out toward something behind his back, and a banana flew off a tree near the porch railing and sailed through the air. Delphine neatly caught it and had begun peeling it before she noticed Roarke's admonishing look and Leslie's delighted stare.

"That is so cool!" Leslie blurted. "I wish I could do that!"

Roarke shot her a quelling look that made her clear her throat, but she refused to exhibit much remorse. He shook his head and turned back to Delphine, who realized at last what she had just done and froze for a second.

"Oh...I, uh...I didn't mean it," she said quickly. "Honest." Roarke nodded, still eyeing her, and she blurted, "It's like...a habit! An unconscious reflex. Whenever I'm with someone I know and I..."

Roarke overrode her embarrassed protest, taking the banana from her. "It is a mystery to me how you have managed this far to conceal the true nature of your unique talents from your fiancé!"

"Well," Delphine admitted, "whenever I slip up, I just pass it off as another conjuring trick—something I learned from my boss." She grinned engagingly. "The Great Zachariah, Prince of Magic!"

"Hmm, I see," murmured Roarke. "But in the daily intimacy of marriage, you will not be able to hide the truth very long, will you?"

"And then it really will be Darrin and Samantha Stephens," Leslie said, grinning. Roarke cast her another look, and she shrugged, but her grin lingered, especially when Delphine quirked a brief smile back as if in acknowledgment.

"No," Delphine admitted to Roarke, downcast. She sighed, then stared up at him in appeal. "What do I do, uncle?"

Roarke glanced down at the banana in his hand, then gave it back to her and said flatly, "Eat it." With that, he strode off, leaving Leslie and Delphine staring after him.

"You think maybe uncle's getting just a little exasperated?" Delphine murmured finally, watching Roarke disappear down the lane.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe," Leslie returned coyly, eyeing Delphine sidelong.

Delphine caught her look, rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air, barely managing not to inadvertently toss the banana aside in so doing. "Oh, phooey. Well, I might as well go back to the bungalow. I've got a lot of practicing to do to be ordinary."

"Good luck," Leslie called after her, and Delphine waved the banana in the air as an acknowledgment, without turning or breaking stride. Leslie grinned and went back into the house, where she fielded a phone call that turned out to be from Lauren. "Wow, what're you doing calling here today?" she asked.

Lauren laughed. "I was getting bored and I took a chance that you might be home, that's all. Anything exciting going on this weekend?"

"Yeah, well...plenty, I guess. Can't tell you much, except that..." Leslie hesitated, then grinned. "Well, it's too bad you couldn't be in on this one fantasy. Do you think there's life somewhere in the galaxy that's silicon-based?"

"Heck, who knows," Lauren said. "I guess anything's possible, at least theoretically, but it sounds like something out of 'Star Trek'. Is there somebody looking for that?"

"Yup. No telling what he's gonna find. How can you be bored, unless your mother made you babysit Deborah and Adrian or something?"

"She did," Lauren grunted. "I guess maybe I ought to let you go, though. I know Mr. Roarke doesn't like us making you hog the phone on weekends. I'm gonna look forward to this silicon-life business on Monday, though. It sounds really cool."

"Yeah...definitely science fiction," Leslie murmured. "Maybe it'll turn into science fact. Well, talk to you Monday."

"Whoa—hey, wait, my mother just came up the front walk. If Mr. Roarke doesn't need you for a while, you want to meet me in town and we can get burgers and some ice cream after? I've really got to get out of this house."

"Well, Mr. Roarke just went somewhere, and Tattoo's giving somebody a really detailed tour of the island, so I'm here alone right now. Mr. Roarke did say I was due for a break. I'll leave him a note and we can meet in the town square."

"Great—see you in a few!" Lauren hung up, and Leslie put the phone down, scrawled a hasty message for Roarke, put the note atop his date book where he would be certain to see it, and left the house through the French shutters.

She saw Lauren loitering in front of the theater and waved at her; the girls greeted each other and started toward the pedestrian shopping area, making their way there via the perimeter of the square and passing the various shops along the way. Lauren interrupted her tale of woe about something Adrian had done that morning to watch someone enter one of the shops some twenty yards ahead. "Oh, look—nobody ever goes into that place."

Leslie saw just enough to recognize the person. "Hey...that was the Great Zachariah. I wonder what that was all about?"

"The Great Zachariah? You mean that magician who's been performing in Vegas for years now? What's he doing here?" Lauren asked, amazed.

Leslie hesitated. "Well, it's a long story, actually. But I'm pretty sure he's up to no good. Mr. Roarke and I saw him earlier at the main house, and there was something about him that kind of made me think he's got some kind of scheme."

"Hm." Lauren gave it a few seconds' thought, then turned to Leslie with a grin. "So, you want to eavesdrop on him?"

"That's rude," Leslie protested, and Lauren nodded reluctant concession. The girls eyed each other; then Leslie muttered, "Come on, let's go, before it's too late."

Lauren snickered, and they crept up to within a few inches of the plate-glass window in the storefront, which was called Madame Cluny's Curio Shop. Lauren had been right when she said no one ever went in there; in Leslie's experience it had very odd and limited hours, and in fact this was the first time she could remember seeing it open for business. Ever so slowly, they dared peek through the window; there was Zachariah, talking to a stern-faced, plump older woman wearing a Victorian-style dress and a little red cap perched atop her head. She wore a ring on every finger and cradled a long-haired black cat. "That must be Madame Cluny herself," Lauren whispered.

"Never saw her before," Leslie agreed. "How long's this shop been here?"

"Oh, I dunno...at least since I was a little kid. I always used to want to come in here and look around, but somehow it never seemed to be open when we were in town. Right now I'd just about kill to go in there and see what she's got."

Suddenly they faintly heard Zachariah's voice from inside, where he must have raised it. "Surely you've heard! Delphy quit my act—to be married!"

They didn't hear Cluny's response, but they read her lips: "Married!" Cluny's expression seemed horrified; Lauren shot Leslie a perplexed look, but Leslie barely noticed, trying to catch every word she possibly could.

"You mean she hasn't invited the dear old nanny to the wedding?" Zachariah asked, as if astonished. Cluny's face shut down and Leslie frowned as Zachariah remarked, "I can't understand what's gotten into the girl."

"Where is she?" asked Cluny, just audibly.

"Right here, on the island," said Zachariah.

Cluny arose, cuddling the cat. "That ungrateful child!" she intoned, loudly enough that her voice clearly carried through the glass.

"It's worse than you think," Zachariah informed her. "Even now as we talk, the dear girl is deliberately and methodically attempting to rid herself of the family gift."

"No! No, no! She cannot!" Cluny snapped. "You need her the way she is."

"Precisely, madame. I spoke to Roarke, and I'm convinced he's helping her. If I can't get her back, with her powers intact and accessible, my act is finished! The Great Zachariah is all washed up! And there'll be no more monthly checks for you." At that, Leslie and Lauren looked at each other; was that why Cluny's shop was rarely open?

"Work the cards," they heard Zachariah say, and both girls watched as Cluny settled back in her chair, pushed aside a card off a stack on her desk and lifted the next one. They couldn't quite see what was on it, but they knew it wasn't a playing card, especially when both Cluny and Zachariah began cackling gleefully.

"That's a tarot card," Lauren muttered. "I know those things—Deborah was into that stuff a couple years ago. I think it's all bunk...but you know what? When it comes to this place and that magician and all..." She watched Leslie nod; the girls slunk a few steps back, then peered at each other. "So who's Delphy, and what'd he mean about powers?"

Leslie released a sigh of defeat and quietly explained, "Delphine MacNabb. She's Zachariah's assistant in his act—and she's Mr. Roarke's goddaughter. She's the only reason Zachariah's act is any good. She actually has magical powers. Trouble is, her fiancé doesn't know she has them, and she wants to get rid of them so she can be, well, normal."

"MacNabb..." Lauren mumbled. "You know, I bet she's related to my old babysitter. Anyway—so Delphine's essentially supporting these people, and now they want to keep her from having her own life just so they can keep getting paid?"

"Looks like it," Leslie agreed. "I wonder if I should tell Mr. Roarke."

"Well, if this guy's trying to stop Delphine's wedding, I'd definitely say something if I were you," Lauren advised. "Come on, let's get those burgers and ice creams, and we'll figure out what you should tell him."

§ § § - April 12, 1981

Leslie woke earlier than usual on Sunday morning, thinking back over what she had ended up telling Roarke the previous evening. It had astonished her when he'd merely let out a chuckle and remarked, "That's certainly no surprise."

She had stared at him. "But Mr. Roarke, he's going to sabotage the wedding!"

"If he tries, he will have me to deal with," Roarke had told her firmly, "but at the same time, if Delphine is ever to have a successful marriage, she will have to control herself with extreme care. And I am afraid that she has a habit of being rather impulsive." He shook his head at some memory. "It's my hope that marriage will help her to gain patience and understanding and tolerance; Greg Randolph will be just the tempering influence she needs."

"So then, you should stop Zachariah and Cluny," Leslie insisted. "They're up to something, Mr. Roarke. Lauren and I heard them!"

At that Roarke had eyed her sharply. "Leslie Susan, were you somewhere you should not have been? Surely you've learned better than that, at your age."

"We just happened to see him go into Cluny's shop, and we thought it was weird because that place is never open," Leslie protested. "It turns out Delphine's the only reason that fraud Zachariah is any kind of success, and he's been using her, taking the credit for what she does, and then supporting that...that fortuneteller. No wonder her shop's never open; she's too busy mooching off the earnings that Zachariah's using Delphine to make!"

"I know all about that, Leslie," Roarke had told her. "There is no doubt in my mind that, one way or another, the entire house of cards will collapse before the weekend is over. Kindly finish your meal, please; there are still plenty of arrangements to make for Delphine's wedding, and everything must be perfect."

Now she swung out of bed and dressed, then made the bed and straightened the room before slipping downstairs. Tattoo wasn't there, but of course Roarke was already up. She had learned early on that no matter how early she got out of bed, especially on a weekend, Roarke was always up before she was. He smiled a greeting at her, and she settled down by the desk in her usual chair. "So have you seen anyone yet?"

"As in Zachariah and Madame Cluny?" Roarke prompted, and Leslie nodded. "You might have noticed that it isn't yet seven o'clock. I suggest we set the matter aside and turn our minds to breakfast, so that we're fortified for the wedding."

As it happened, they spent all morning readying the terrace for the wedding, and for once Mana'olana didn't complain about Leslie's appetite at lunch. About two-thirty, Delphine came over and used the time-travel room to change into a lovely, understated wedding dress with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back; it was the color of rich cream and flattered her figure very nicely. Leslie felt like a garish poppy next to a delicate rose. "Wow, you look gorgeous!" she exclaimed.

Delphine twirled in front of her, grinning. "Thank you—and you look sweet too, Leslie. That shade of pink really suits you." At Leslie's sheepish smile, Delphine winked at her, then turned to Roarke. "You're sure Mr. Zachariah isn't angry with me for breaking up the act?" Delphine had come over that morning to update Roarke on her progress with the suppression of her magical powers, and Roarke had told her about Zachariah's visit.

"Well," Roarke said, "he insisted that he had come all this way hoping that you might grant him the privilege of giving away the bride."

Delphine shrugged, smiling. "Granted! That's very sweet of him."

Roarke smiled back, taking her hands and raising them, clearly very proud of her. "May I say you look...enchanting."

Delphine snickered. "Thanks...but I wish you'd picked another word, uncle." They all laughed quietly at that.

"That's all over, isn't it," Roarke murmured. "You are sure in your heart that you now have complete control of yourself?"

She nodded. "I have the gift safely locked away."

"I know it wasn't easy for you. But a wish that exists in the heart and mind can always be made to exist in the world." Roarke smiled just as they heard the organ strike up the wedding march on the terrace; Leslie straightened abruptly, and Roarke smiled at her, then kissed Delphine's hands and suggested, "Well, let's proceed with the ceremony...my goddaughter." Delphine beamed at that, and Roarke opened the shutters, allowing Delphine out first. Greg was there watching her, and Zachariah stood nearby; he lit up when Delphine came out, and Leslie fell in beside Roarke in time to watch him offer his arm to the young woman. Roarke in turn offered his arm to Leslie, who took it with a surprised but delighted smile that made him grin back at her with amusement, and they brought up the rear on their way to the wedding venue.

She went to stand beside Tattoo, who waited at the organ, and soon the ceremony was under way; it was quiet, with hardly anyone there, and Leslie wondered if that was the way Greg and Delphine had planned it. Still, it made for a peaceful, tranquil scene, and presently Roarke reached the meat of the ceremony. "And if anyone here can show just cause why this man and this woman may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace." Nearby, Zachariah fidgeted noticeably, and Leslie eyed him suspiciously, scowling.

"I will speak!" announced a hoarse, low-pitched female voice in a strange eastern-European accent, and Madame Cluny scuttled into view from one of the paths, shoving aside fern fronds. Everyone turned to see who it was, and Delphine brightened.

"Cluny, how nice of you to come!" she exclaimed.

"I raised that girl," Cluny intoned ominously. "I was her nursemaid. I can tell you she is a sorceress!"

Tattoo and Leslie exchanged glances—his bewildered, hers dismayed—and Greg Randolph threw her a disbelieving look. "A what?"

"She is the source," droned Cluny, "the custodian of a magical force passed down from her family—the Gift of the MacNabbs!" Greg shot Delphine a look; Delphine seemed a little stunned. "And she deliberately and flagrantly deceived this young man—hidden from him her powers! Roarke, I call upon you to denounce her, and stop the marriage!"

Leslie rolled her eyes. Like he'd ever do that! she thought in disgust. She saw the skeptical look on Greg's face and the expression of angry betrayal on Delphine's, the disapproving expression on Roarke, and held her breath, waiting.

"No," Delphine burst out. "I love him." She raised her left hand in a deliberate move that made Leslie wince; from the corner of her eye she noticed Zachariah toss out a pair of small spheres toward Cluny. They bounced in the fortuneteller's direction and exploded briefly into a tall flame; when it died out, Cluny had vanished.

Greg did a slight double take; Delphine gaped, then wilted with defeat. "It's true," she moaned, looking ready to burst into tears. "I can't marry you, Greg." Nearby Zachariah shifted his stance, a satisfied look on his face. "I can't get this thing under control! I told uncle this isn't a gift, it's a family curse!" She turned away from Greg and moved a few steps aside, her head low and her eyes closed.

"You are wrong, my dear," Roarke told her. "You can control it." Greg stared at him, but he continued to address Delphine. "This, for once, was not your doing." Delphine turned around and gave him an astonished look, and he smiled. "Oh, you had the thought in your heart, but someone else performed the deed." His left arm shot out and he pointed straight at the true culprit without taking his eyes from Delphine. "Mr. Zachariah."

Zachariah looked aghast for a moment, his cane sliding through his gloved hands as if he were about to drop it; then he surged forward. "Come now, my dear fellow. I'm just a stage illusionist! I do tricks, but I have no special powers..."

"Precisely," Roarke broke in, turning to him. "For years you have used Miss MacNabb's special powers to perform all kinds of astounding tricks which none of your stage rivals could duplicate. But now, without those powers, you were forced to conjure up a somewhat spectacular, if routine, illusion."

Leslie ducked her head a little to hide the grin that began to break out across her face; Tattoo blinked in amazement, and Greg stared at Delphine. "Come out of the bushes, Cluny," Roarke commanded, as if reprimanding a misbehaving child. The ferns behind Tattoo and Leslie rustled, and they turned around, watching the shamefaced fortuneteller get to her feet and peer sheepishly out from between fronds.

Greg turned back to Delphine, who went to Zachariah and touched his cheek. "If only I had known. I would never have run out on you."

Zachariah smiled mistily. "So...consider yourself fired," he said and winked in an ostentatious manner. He kissed her cheek, and she grinned.

Roarke turned to face a still-bewildered Greg. "Miss MacNabb has self-control; she earned it by a supreme effort of willpower and a profound love for you. You are a very fortunate young man, Mr. Randolph. With such a wife, there is no telling how much you can accomplish in life." He took in Greg's still befuddled look and offered, "Shall we, uh, continue with the ceremony?"

Greg seemed to give up. "Continue, by all means, Mr. Roarke," he said, and finally smiled, making Delphine light up and join him at his side once more.

"Now...where was I?" Roarke asked, rubbing his forehead in confusion.

"Something about speaking now or holding your peace?" Leslie offered, trying to recall whether he had finished that part of the ceremony or not.

"Boss," Tattoo spoke up, "why don't you start at the beginning? Weddings turn me on." He smiled broadly, and everyone laughed.