H.R.H. (20 page)

“Yes, it does. Was he angry?” He didn't look it. He looked destroyed, which was worse.

“No. Just sad. So am I.”

“Maybe the two of you can figure something out.”

“We're going to try to meet in Paris after I go back. But that won't change anything, it will just drag it out. In the end, he has to go back to Boston and lead his life, and I'll be in Vaduz, with my father, doing what I'm supposed to do for the rest of my life.”

“There has to be a way,” Fiona insisted.

“There isn't. You don't know my father.”

“He let you come here.”

“That's different. He knew I was coming back. And I wasn't going to be marrying anyone here. This was supposed to be a sabbatical. My deal with him is that I take up my duties when I go back. He's not going to let me marry an American doctor, a commoner, and live in Boston. That's just not going to happen,” she said miserably, and Fiona had to admit it didn't sound hopeful, even to her.

“Talk to your father. Maybe he'll understand. True love, and all that.” She had never seen two people love each other more, or be happier together than Cricky and Parker. It was hard to ignore, and tragic for it to end so senselessly.

“I'll talk to him eventually. But I don't think it will get me anywhere.” Fiona nodded, and walked quietly back to the tent with her. There wasn't much she could say, and she was sad for both of them. It was a sad story, not a happy one.

That night Parker and Cricky sat close together, and for the next weeks they were together more than ever. If anything, what she had shared with him, and its tragic implications, only made them love each other more. They were virtually inseparable until the end of July. And then the first of their agonizing hurdles had to be faced. He had to go back. There was no delaying any further. The director of his research program had asked him to come back on the first of August. Their last days were bittersweet beyond belief, and their last night had an unreal quality to it. Christianna thought it was the saddest night of her life. They sat outside her tent all night, as he held her in his arms. They had had a farewell dinner for him that night, and Parker and Cricky looked as though they were going to burst into tears at any moment. The others in the camp had no idea why it was so tragic, but they sensed easily that something difficult had happened, and that it was an exceptionally hard time for them.

Many of the people he had treated had come to bring him gifts before he left, carvings and statues, bowls and beads, and beautiful objects they had lovingly made for him. He thanked them all, and had tears in his eyes every time. The AIDS patients he had met and treated there had touched his heart.

He and Cricky sat together all through the night, and watched the sun come up together. They took a walk in the gentle early morning light, under the splendor of the African sky. She knew as she walked with him that she would never forget this moment, or this time in her life. She wanted to stop time, and stay there forever with him.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked before they walked back.

“Maybe half as much as I love you,” she teased him, but there was nothing funny about it, or easy. When they went back, the others had gotten up and were moving around the camp. Akuba and Yaw were busy. The others were eating breakfast. Cricky and Parker joined them, but ate nothing. They drank coffee, and sat there silently holding hands. Even Max and Sam looked sad. They knew better than anyone there what lay ahead for her, a life without this sweet man that she loved. And he was truly a good man, though even that would do them no good. He wasn't the husband her father wanted for her, and had no hope whatsoever of becoming it. When he left Senafe, the death sentence for their love would have begun. And no one knew that better than the two of them.

Geoff was driving Parker to Asmara in one of the camp cars, and he had invited Cricky to come along. Their romance was no secret, and everyone heartily approved of it. They weren't sure why, but they all seemed to know that Cricky was not going to be able to pursue it when she went back. They assumed from what she'd said that she had a tyrannical father, who wouldn't approve, and expected her to dance attendance on him. They didn't consider it insurmountable, but difficult certainly. Only Fiona, Geoff, Max, and Sam knew the truth, and the two lovers themselves. The others assumed there was still hope for them. Those who knew who she was knew better, and that in fact there was no hope at all, unless she was prepared to defy her father and walk away from all she was, which seemed unlikely to those who knew her well.

Everyone embraced Parker warmly when he left. Mary particularly thanked him for his invaluable help, and he for hers with his research. He had taken a last walk through the ward, and said goodbye to all the patients there. His heart was aching as he left. He and Cricky got in the car with Geoff, and began the long ride to Asmara. Cricky knew the drive would seem even longer on the way back, without him. Now at least she could touch him, talk to him, see him, feel him near her. She had never been as sad in her life. And finally, after a while, they said nothing and just held hands as Geoff drove. He had a feeling from bits and snips of the conversation between them that Parker now knew who she was, but he didn't ask. He had promised to keep her secret for the duration of her stay, and he had. If she had chosen to tell someone, that was up to her. Even now, he remained discreet.

They arrived in Asmara an hour before Parker's flight. The timing was perfect, and as she and Max and Sam had done when they arrived, they stood waiting, this time for the plane to land. Her heart ached even more when it did. She had been hoping it would be late. Every minute was precious, every ounce of her longed to go with him, and to disappear forever into his life. She had never been as close to running away, even if it meant breaking her father's heart. She was torn between two men she loved, what each needed from her, and what she wanted herself.

They had another half-hour after the plane landed, as people lined up, carrying boxes and bags. She and Parker stood quietly to one side, holding hands, as Geoff stood at a discreet distance, sorry for them. Knowing the truth about her, he knew full well what this moment meant.

And then it came. The final moment, final touch, final kiss, final feel of his arms around her and hers around him.

“I love you so much,” she whispered, as they both fought back tears.

“It'll be all right,” he said, wishing it were true. She knew better and said nothing. “I'll see you in Paris as soon as you get back. Take care of yourself.” He smiled down at her. For this one last moment she was his, and perhaps never again. It was almost beyond bearing, for both of them. “And watch out for snakes!” he teased.

One last kiss, and he walked down the tarmac to the waiting plane. She stood staring at him, without moving, her eyes glued to him, as he walked up the stairs to the plane, stopped, and looked at her for an endless moment in time. Her eyes were riveted to him. She blew him a kiss and waved. He touched his heart and pointed to her with a sad smile, and then he was gone. She stood there, with tears running down her face. Geoff continued to stand at a discreet distance, wanting to leave her alone with her private grief, the reality of what they both had to face.

They watched the plane take off and circle high in the sky, on its way to Cairo, Rome, and then Boston. She followed Geoff quietly back to the car. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly, and she nodded. She felt as though someone had torn her heart out with their bare hands. She spoke little and never slept all the way back. She just sat, looking out the window at the African landscape sliding by. It looked so different to her now, without him. Everything would for a lifetime. He was gone out of her sky. They would never again have what they had shared for the past six months. It had been an incredible gift, and one she knew she would cherish forever. Their days together in Senafe had been more precious to her than diamonds.

Fiona was waiting for her when she got back. She saw the dazed look on Christianna's face and said nothing to her. She put an arm around her, took her into their tent, and put her to bed. Christianna looked up at her with the broken-hearted eyes of a child. The two women's eyes met, and Fiona smoothed her hair on the pillow and told her to close her eyes and go to sleep. Christianna did as she was told, as Fiona sat and watched her for a while, to make sure she was all right.

Later, Mary came in and spoke to Fiona in a whisper.

“Is she okay?”

“No,” Fiona said honestly, “and she won't be for a while.” Mary nodded and went to bed. No one fully understood it, but they all knew something sad had happened, more than Parker just going home. As surely as if she had gone back to Liechtenstein, her life sentence without him had begun.

Chapter 13

C
hristianna moved through the next two weeks in a daze. She had a letter from Parker after ten days. All he could talk about was meeting her in Paris. He said he had never hated Boston so much in his life. He was pining for her, just as she was for him. She wrote him two letters, but she didn't want to make this harder for him than it already was. It was unfair enough, and she had caused him enough misery with her impossible situation. She told him how much she loved him, but held out no hope.

On the third week after he left, there was a sense of unease one morning when she went to work. She wasn't sure what it was. It was almost palpable in the air. Everyone looked serious at breakfast, and she noticed that Akuba and Yaw weren't outside as she walked to the dining tent. Christianna glanced at Fiona, who looked as mystified as she did. Geoff explained the situation to them before they left for work. There had been an attack on the Ethiopian border the night before. An ambush. It was the first flagrant violation of the truce in many years. Geoff said he hoped it was a single occurrence, but they all had to be aware. If the war began again between Eritrea and Ethiopia, it could become dangerous even for them. But that was still a long way off. This wasn't a war, it was a skirmish, and hopefully nothing more than an unfortunate incident. Geoff said that UN troops were on hand at the border, as well as those of the African Union, to keep the peace. But everyone looked concerned as they went to work, not so much for themselves as for these people they loved so much. They had suffered so terribly during the last war, all the workers at the camp hoped that the breaking of the truce would not light the fires of war again. It was everyone's dearest hope.

The patients were all upset that morning, there was much talking, and a sense of near panic. They had all lived through it before. In addition, the workers at the camp were worried about malaria season, which would be upon them in the next month. They had enough to worry about with that.

The consensus of opinion was that they just had to keep an eye on the situation, and be aware. For the moment, it posed no threat to anyone in the camp. But they were close enough to the border to have some justifiable concern. And after breakfast, Max and Sam came to talk to Christianna.

“Your father won't like this, Your Highness. We have to report to him.” That had been one of the principal conditions of their being with her, and it had even been her agreement with him herself, that if the political situation ever got dicey, she would agree to leave at once.

“It was just a skirmish,” she pointed out to both of them. “We're not at war.” She had no intention of leaving now, particularly with malaria season coming, they needed her more than ever. And there were reports of a fresh outbreak of kala azar.

“It could worsen at any moment,” they said, looking deeply concerned, “and once it does, it could get out of hand very quickly.” Neither of them wanted to be in a situation where they couldn't get her out.

“Let's not panic yet,” she said tersely, and went to work.

Nothing further happened for the next two weeks. It was the first of September by then, and the first cases of malaria began to come in. It was a grueling time for all of them, compounded by heavy rains. It was miserable in the camp, even in their tents, as they waded through heavy mud. She had been in Africa for eight months by then, and it had already seeped into her soul. With the heavier workload, and the miserable weather, they all fell into bed exhausted every night. And her father had been railing at Max and Sam for weeks to get her home, ever since the border skirmish, which he didn't like at all. But Christianna was refusing to go anywhere. They needed her, and she was staying. She sent the message to him via Sam and Max. She no longer had time to go to the post office to talk to him herself, which was just as well. She didn't want to argue with him. She was still too upset about Parker, and had too much on her mind.

“God, don't you hate this bloody weather?” Fiona said one night as they got back to the tent. She had been out delivering babies all day. Christianna had been helping with AIDS and malaria patients, and two more cases of kala azar had come in, and Geoff was deeply concerned. They didn't need a major outbreak of that on their hands as well.

Fiona had been back for less than an hour, when they called her out again. A woman not far from the camp was delivering twins. Still soaked to the skin, she went back out, praying her little car wouldn't get stuck in the mud, which it had already done several times. One night she had had to walk home in the pouring rain, well over two miles. She'd had a cough ever since.

Christianna saw her go out and waved with a tired smile. “Have fun!”

“Sod off!” Fiona said gamely. “At least you'll be dry in here.” At certain times, it was a hard life, and this was one of them. And Fiona worked as hard as all the rest, often harder. She never complained, she loved what she did, and knew how badly they needed her.

Christianna heard the little car drive off, and finally went to sleep. They were all exhausted, from the weather and increased workload. And it didn't surprise her when she didn't see Fiona in her bed in the morning. She often stayed out all night, especially if the delivery was rough, or the baby frail. And with twins, it was bound to be hard.

Christianna went to breakfast with the others, and as he glanced around, Geoff looked suddenly concerned.

“Where's Fiona? Asleep or still out?”

“Out,” Christianna answered as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

“I hope her car didn't get stuck in the mud.” He said something to Maggie, and then decided to drive out himself and check. The rains hadn't let up all night, and still hadn't. Max volunteered to go with him. If the car was stuck, he could help push it out of the mud. A few minutes later, the two men set off. Christianna and Maggie went to the AIDS clinic, Ushi to her classroom, and everyone to their respective jobs. It was a morning like any other in the rainy season, except wetter and darker.

Christianna was in her office doing some paperwork later that morning when Max and Geoff got back. They had found the car, and Fiona wasn't in it. They had gone to the house where the twins were born, and were told that Fiona had left hours before.

It was the first time that anything like that had happened. Max came to tell her, and Christianna wondered if she had tried to walk home, and either got waylaid, or took shelter in someone's house. She knew just about everyone in the area, since she'd been delivering their babies for several years.

Looking grim, Geoff organized a search party, and assigned drivers to all their cars. Max drove one, Sam another, Ernst, Klaus, and Geoff jumped in the school bus. And Didier managed to start their worst and most unreliable car. Two of the women went with them, and at the last minute, Christianna jumped into the passenger seat beside Max. They had agreed to fan out, and comb the area, stopping at every house to see if she was there. Knowing Fiona, Christianna felt almost sure that she had done something like that. She was a practical, independent woman, and she wouldn't have spent the night in a car stuck in the mud. She would have gotten to a house and knocked on the door. She felt sure they would find her soon enough. Everyone in the area was so friendly. She was probably sitting cozily by the fire in one of their homes, until the rain stopped or she could get a ride back to the camp.

Max said nothing as they drove up one road and down another. They saw the school bus after a while, and conferred with the others. No one had seen anything, and the people in the houses where they stopped hadn't seen her either, although they all knew who she was.

They were out for well over two hours, and Max was still driving diligently, as Christianna looked intently at the side of the road. And then suddenly Max stopped. Something had caught his eye. He said nothing to Christianna, so as not to worry her unduly. He got out, ran through the rain, and then stopped. There she was, lying by the side of the road, like a rag doll, naked, her hair matted, her face half in the mud, her eyes wide. Christianna ran up behind him and saw her, and was horrified by what she saw. Fiona had obviously been raped and murdered, stabbed dozens of times. It was the most horrifying thing Christianna had ever seen. Max pushed her gently away, and told her to go back to the car.

“No!” she screamed at him. “No!” She crouched in the mud beside her friend, took her own coat off and covered her, and gently lifted her face out of the mud and cradled her head, as she herself was soaked by the rain. Christianna was nearly lying in the mud, holding her, sobbing and screaming, while Max tried to pull her away and couldn't. A few minutes later the school bus drove by and he flagged them down. Everyone ran out and saw what had happened. Klaus and Ernst gently helped Max pull Christianna away. They radioed to the others, and someone brought a tarp. Christianna was led away, sobbing, and they gently wrapped Fiona, put her in the bus, and drove back to camp.

The rest of the day was a blur for everyone. The authorities were at the camp all day. They combed the area, but no one had seen anything or anyone. No one knew anything, and the local authorities insisted it had been done by marauding Ethiopians, which seemed unlikely to everyone in the camp. It was obviously some local madman who had gone undiscovered. It was the first violence they had ever experienced in the camp. Geoff went to the post office in Senafe to notify the family by phone himself. They were devastated, predictably. And even though Christianna begged them not to, Max and Sam went to the post office with Geoff to call her father.

His response was exactly what they had expected. “Bring her back. Now. Tomorrow. Today. Get her out.” They came back and told Christianna, but she was in no condition to leave, she was devastated by the death of her friend, and the agonizing way she had died. Conditions being what they were in Africa, Fiona's family had reluctantly agreed to have her buried there. They were still in shock, but it would have been complicated and expensive to bring her home. And she had loved Africa so much. It seemed right and fitting to bury her there.

Christianna wanted to talk to Parker, but she was too distraught to go to the post office with Sam and Max, and she didn't want to talk to her father. She didn't care what he said. She wasn't going home, at least until they buried Fiona. The scene around her was suddenly a jumble and a blur. Everything had gone so wrong, and now suddenly they were all afraid.

They buried Fiona the next day, with the entire camp still in shock. Word spread in the surrounding areas. There was a sense of outrage and horror among the locals, as well as among the workers in the camp. After her brief funeral service and burial, the residents of the camp huddled in the dining tent, crying and looking grim. There was no sense of an Irish wake, which she would have liked. Instead, there were crying, angry, frightened people, unable to believe that they had lost their beloved friend. Christianna and Mary hugged, sobbing. Ushi was inconsolable. Geoff and Maggie were shaken beyond words. It was a terrible time at the camp. And then suddenly the roof caved in.

Two days after they buried Fiona, there was another border skirmish, and within three days Ethiopia and Eritrea were once more at war. This time there was no conversation. Sam and Max did not go to the post office to call her father or discuss it with Christianna. Sam packed her bag, and Max waited outside while she dressed. There was no choice. They were going to carry her out if they had to. She insisted she didn't want to leave her friends. She had come to love this place and the people in it. Everyone gathered around her, and they all cried when she left. Geoff was in full agreement with Sam and Max. The others were all going to have to make their own decisions as to whether they stayed or left. But Geoff told Christianna himself that she had to leave. She had served them well, given richly of herself, and they all loved her for it. But as much as Sam and Max and her father did, he wanted her out. This was not her job, it was a piece of her heart and soul she had given, and he did not now want it to cost her her life. The other workers accepted the risk as part of their mission. Christianna's mission was very different. The time she had spent with them in Africa was a gift to them and for herself.

They all said tearful goodbyes, she made a last tour of the patients in the AIDS clinic to say goodbye to them, and Geoff drove them to Asmara. Once there, they stood in the pouring rain, and she clung to Geoff like a crying child. So much had happened, and she was so frightened for all of them. She felt like a traitor leaving them now. UN and African Union troops had been arriving in the area for days.

“You have to leave, Your Highness,” he said as though to remind her of who she was. “Your father would never forgive us if something happened.” She had been there for nine months, and she still wasn't ready to go home, and knew she never would be. Her heart was here, and a piece of her life she would never forget.

“What about the rest of you?” she asked as the plane landed.

“We'll see what happens in the next few days. It's too soon to say. We'll see what they decide in Geneva, and what the others want to do. But it's definitely time for you to go home.” In the end, this was their home and not hers. She hugged him tightly before she left, and thanked him for the happiest months of her life. He thanked her for all she'd done and all she'd given. He told her she was an extraordinary young woman and wished her well. He knew none of them would forget her, or her loving, selfless grace.

And then she, Max, and Sam got on the plane. She saw Geoff watching them as she looked out the window. He waved, and then ran back to the bus. Moments later, the plane took off for the endless flight back to Frankfurt, and then the short hop to Zurich, and finally home.

She sat staring into space for a long time on the flight, thinking of Fiona, and Parker, Laure before that, Ushi and all the children they had taught, Mary and all the women and children in the AIDS ward. She had left behind so many people that she had come to love. And poor Fiona left with her, forever in her heart. For once, she said absolutely nothing to Sam and Max. She sat on one side of the aisle, and they sat on the other. This time they had done their job. They would have carried her out, if they had to. With a war starting, there was no question in their minds, or her father's, where she belonged. Even Christianna didn't fight them this time. She knew she had no choice.