“That reminds me,” Fiona asked, looking at her with a puzzled frown. “What am I supposed to call you, now that I know?” She was teasing her, and Christianna laughed at the question.
“I thought ‘you little shit’ was rather good. What about that?”
“You serene little shit perhaps? Your serene shittiness? You big royal shit!” Despite the seriousness of what they were discussing, they collapsed on their beds in gales of laughter like two naughty kids. They laughed until tears of laughter, and not grief this time, rolled down their faces. They were still laughing when Mary Walker and Ushi walked in, and inquired about what was so funny. The two younger women were incoherent with giggles.
“Oh, I was just telling Cricky what a pain in the ass she is. She was reading my magazine and tore a page right out. She's such a princess sometimes,” Fiona said, rolling her eyes, as Christianna stared at her in horror.
“You little shit!” Christianna said to her this time, and they collapsed in laughter again, as the older women looked at them, rolled their eyes, and went outside to take a shower.
“It must be the heat getting to them,” Ushi said to Mary with a grin, as they left the tent, and Christianna and Fiona exchanged a long look. In the end, Fiona's discovery had tightened the bond between them. The one Fiona was worried about now was Parker. And so was Cricky. This was going to be devastating for him.
Chapter 12
Christianna and Parker went to Massawa for a weekend, as they had hoped to, in June. Samuel and Max let her go alone again. They had an even better time the second time they went away. Every moment they spent together was idyllic, and this time when they got back from their magical weekend, Parker started hinting vaguely about marriage. It was everything Christianna would have wanted in other circumstances. But there was no question of it between them. She tried to avoid the subject, and then finally said that there was no way she could leave her father. He expected her to come home, and stay there, working in the family business with him. She had said all that to Parker before, but this time he was obviously upset and annoyed. It made no sense to him, or even to her now. But she felt bound by her father's wishes as much as by history and tradition. She had been taught since birth to sacrifice herself for her country, her subjects, and to obey her father's wishes on all decisions like this one. She knew that defying him would seem to him and even to her, the ultimate betrayal. She hadn't been brought up to be one of the young royals who married their trainer, a cocktail waitress, or even a respectable young doctor like Parker. If she was to proceed with this, she needed, and wanted, her father's approval, and she knew there was no way she would ever get it. It was simply not going to happen.
“For heaven's sake, Cricky, that's ridiculous. What does he expect you to do, stay home and become an old maid, working for him?” She smiled sadly at the question. In fact, her father expected her to marry, but it had to be someone he approved of, or even chose. Someone from a family comparable to theirs. Parker was from a very nice family, he was well educated. His brother and father were doctors. His mother had been a debutante, he told her once, laughing, because he thought all of that was so silly. Christianna was a Serene Highness, which was even sillier. But the result of it was not going to seem silly to him once he knew. It was going to seem tragic to him, too.
“That is what he expects of me,” she said firmly. “And I'm not going to be able to marry for a long time. Besides, I'm too young,” she said, trying to find plausible excuses to discourage him. She was turning twentyfour in a few weeks, which was not too young to marry. And her father was starting to make noises about her coming home. She had been gone for almost six months, and he thought it was long enough. Parker was still planning to leave in July. And if at all possible, Christianna wanted to finish out the year in Senafe. She had fought hard for it the last time she and her father talked, and things were at a standoff for now. With him at least. But Parker was starting to press her hard.
“Cricky, do you love me?” he finally asked her bluntly with a look of anguish in his eyes. He had never loved anyone as much in his life, nor had she.
“Yes, I do,” she said solemnly. “I love you very much.”
“I'm not suggesting we get married here, or next week. But I'm leaving soon, and before I go, I want you to know how serious I am. You said you might go back to school. Why don't you come to Boston to do it? There are lots of schools for you to choose from. Harvard, Boston University, Tufts, Boston College. Your father let you go to college in the States. Why not graduate school, too?”
“I think I used up the last of my tickets here. He wants me to go to school in Paris now, because it's a lot closer to home, or settle down in Vaduz.”
“Boston is six hours from Europe.” And he had already understood that money was not an object to them. She had never bragged about it, but he could tell. His own father's circumstances were comfortable, too. Parker was no stranger to the good life, or a moneyed world. His father was very successful, as was his brother, and his mother had left him a small trust fund when she died. He was in good shape. Paying for his education had never been a problem. He even owned a small house in Cambridge, and if they married, he could offer her a good solid life. But not if she insisted on playing handmaiden to her father and letting him run her life. Hearing about it really upset him. “You have a right to your own life,” he insisted.
“No, I don't,” she said firmly. “You don't understand.”
“No, I don't, dammit. Maybe if I meet him, he would understand that I'm a respectable person. Cricky, I love you…I want to know when I leave Africa that one day you'll be my wife.” Her eyes filled with tears as he said it. This was awful. She realized more than ever that she should never have allowed this to start. The inevitable sad ending had been written from the first. She nearly choked on her response.
“I can't.”
“Why? What is it that you've never told me? There is some dark, awful secret that you've been hiding from me all along. I don't care what it is. It can't be that awful. I love you, Cricky. Whatever it is, we'll work it out.” All she could do was look at him and shake her head. “I want you to tell me now.”
“It doesn't matter what it is. Believe me, Parker, all I want is what you're offering. But my father will never let me.” She sounded absolutely sure, as Parker looked more and more upset by the minute.
“Does he hate Americans? Or doctors? Why are you so sure we can't work this out?” There was an interminable silence as she looked at him hopelessly. It was time. She knew she had no other choice but to tell him now. It took forever for her to open her mouth and form the words, and then finally she did.
“He doesn't hate anybody. And he wouldn't hate you. I'm sure he would like you very much. But not for me.” The words sounded cruel, and the reality of her situation was cruel. For both of them. “My father is the reigning prince of Liechtenstein.” There was an interminable silence as Parker stared at her, trying to absorb what she had just said. The concept was so foreign to him that he sat very still for a long time, looking at her with no expression on his face.
“Say that again,” he said quietly, and she shook her head.
“You heard me the first time. I don't think you know what that means. I am entirely ruled by him, our constitution, and tradition. And when the time comes, he won't let me marry anyone who is not of royal birth. In some countries, they feel differently about those things. My father doesn't, he is very old-fashioned, and neither he nor the Family Court that makes those decisions will ever allow me to marry you, no matter how much I love you, and I do.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper when she finished, as Parker stared at her in disbelief.