“I live in the capital, Vaduz. And I'm going to work for my father when I go home. But I'm hoping to stay here all year first. If he lets me. He gets a bit nervous when I'm away. But my brother will be home from China soon … that will distract him, I hope. Or drive him insane, depending on what my brother does.” They both laughed.

“Is he a race car driver? You mentioned fast cars.”

“No.” She laughed harder this time, as they walked down a path bordered by bushes, flowers, and trees. The smell of the flowers was heavy and sweet, and one that she would always associate with Africa now. “He's just a very bad boy.”

“Doesn't he work at all?” He looked surprised. That concept was new to him, though not to her. Most princes didn't, especially crown princes like her brother, although most were far more respectable than he was, and found tamer ways to fill their time.

“Actually, he works for my father sometimes, too, but he doesn't like it much. He prefers to travel. He's been traveling in Asia now for several months. He was in Japan before, and now China. He's planning to stop in Burma on his way home.” They sounded like an in teresting family to him.

“And your father?”

“He's in politics and PR.” She had it down pat now, and had said it often enough. She had almost convinced herself. “I'll work for him in PR when I go home.”

“That sounds like fun,” he said generously, and she groaned.

“I can't think of anything worse. I'd much rather be here.”

“And what does he think of that?” he asked, looking at her cautiously. She was beginning to intrigue him. She was a very bright girl.

“He's not too pleased. But he let me come. He agreed to six months, but I'm going to push for a year.” He realized that she was still young enough to be ruled by her father, and somewhat dependent on him. He had no idea to what extent she was bound by her father's rules, and the duties imposed on her as a princess. He would have been stunned had he known.

“I have to be back at Harvard in June, but I love it here, too. It's the most interesting place I've ever been. Africa, I mean. I did some research in Central America a few years ago. My specialty is AIDS in developing countries. This has been a terrific opportunity for me.”

“Doctors Without Borders is a wonderful group. Everyone respects them a great deal.”

“It will be interesting for me in Senafe, too, and nice to stay for a while. What I've been doing for the past month was a little more hit and run, although I've been very grateful that they let me tag along.” She nodded as they slowly turned back. It had been a very pleasant walk with him. He asked her about Berkeley then and if she liked it, and she said she did, very much.

“I was very sorry to go home in June.”

“It doesn't sound like you or your brother like being home a lot,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“You're right. Liechtenstein is a very small place. There's not much to do. There's far more for me to do here.” She was enjoying her AIDS work, and the children she was teaching in the afternoon. She felt useful here, which meant a lot to her.

“I'll have to visit there sometime,” he said politely. “I've been to Vienna, and Lausanne and Zurich, but I've never been to Liechtenstein.”

“It's very pretty,” she said loyally, not sounding convinced herself.

“And very dull,” he added for her.

“Yes, very dull,” she admitted with a smile.

“So why go back?” He looked puzzled. In the States, if people didn't like where they lived, they moved, just as he and his brother had. He liked San Francisco, but it was too quiet for him, too.

“I don't have any choice,” she said sadly, but there was no way she could explain. He assumed from what she'd said that her father was pressing her into the family business, particularly if she had an irresponsible brother. It didn't sound fair to him. And the truth of her situation was the farthest thing from his mind. He couldn't have imagined it in a million years. “That's just the way it is. Now I have this year off, and then I have to go back for good.”

“Maybe you can rethink that while you're here.” She laughed out loud at that, and shook her head.

“I'm afraid there's no way I can do that. Sometimes you just have to accept your responsibilities and do what's expected of you, no matter how tedious it is.”

“You can do anything you want in life,” he insisted, “or not do what you don't want. I've never believed you have to play by other people's rules. My father taught me that when I was very young.”

“I wish I could say my father thought that way, but he doesn't. Very much the opposite. He believes in duty before anything. And tradition.” He sounded tough, maybe even unreasonably so, Parker thought, but he didn't say it to her. She looked so happy to be here.

They were back in the camp by then, and Parker said he was going to shower before dinner, as though he were going back to a hotel room.

“You'd better hurry before the water boys go home,” she told him, and explained the system they used to bathe. He had experienced it that morning, but hadn't realized that after a certain hour you could no longer shower, once the water boys left. He thanked her for the information and the pleasant walk, and then hurried back to the tent. And as Christianna wandered back to her own tent, she thought about how easygoing and likable he had been. She didn't know for sure, but she suspected he was about Freddy's age. She was still thinking about him when she went back to her tent, and lay down for a few minutes before dinner.

She was lying on her bed, staring into space with Parker in her mind's eye, and before she knew it, she felt so peaceful she fell asleep.





Chapter 10


The team from Doctors Without Borders stayed with them for a week. The Senafe Red Cross team worked hard with them, and their combined efforts benefited the patients they were treating, particularly in the AIDS unit, with Parker's help. And every night the combination of the two groups in the dining tent made for a festive atmosphere. They had a wonderful time together. Particularly Laure and the young French doctor. By the time the visiting medical team left, there was obviously a spark between Laure and her new friend, and when she talked to Christianna about it, she was beaming.

“So?” Cricky asked her expectantly, as they followed their usual path toward the stream. They no longer sat under the trees, however. Neither of them had forgotten the snake that Yaw had spared them from.

“I like him,” Laure admitted with a shy smile, and then just as quickly looked nervous and afraid. “But what do I know? He's probably a liar and a cheat like all other men.” Christianna was sad to hear her say it, and particularly to see the wounded look in her eyes that went with it. Her fiancé had left her with an ugly gift—the gift of distrust for any man who came near her.

“Not all men are liars and cheats,” Christianna said cautiously. The two young women had become fast friends in the short time they'd known each other, and confided much to each other, mostly about their hopes and dreams and fears for the future. Christianna would have liked to share more with her, about her own particular situation, but didn't dare. Her secret was a big one, and she couldn't share it with anyone here, not even Laure, no matter how much she liked her. She was afraid that it would change everything between them, so she continued to keep what she considered her dark secret to herself, the fact that she was a princess. “Some men are actually honorable and decent, Laure. Look at the life he leads, and what he's doing for humanity. That has to say something about him, don't you think?”

“I don't know,” Laure said sadly, and then with tears in her eyes, “I'm afraid to trust him. I don't ever want to be that hurt again.”

“And then what?” Christianna said practically, in her gentle, measured tone. “You enter a convent? You never date again? You give up on life? You stay celibate forever, afraid to go out with anyone or trust any man? That's a lonely life for you, Laure. Not everyone is as rotten as the man who let you down.” Or the best friend who had gone with him. “This one may not be the right man, or it may just be too soon for you to trust again, but I'd hate to see you close that door forever. You just can't. You're too wonderful a person, and much too beautiful to let that happen.”

“That's what he says,” Laure said, drying her eyes. “I told him about what happened. He thought it was awful.”

“It was awful. It was a totally rotten thing to do to you. He was a real cad, in every sense of the word,” Christianna said vehemently, and Laure smiled at her. She loved her new friend.

“He had a right to change his mind about marrying me,” Laure said, trying to be fair. “And even to fall in love with someone else.”

“Yes, but not in the order he did it, and not with your best friend. He must have known sooner than two days before the wedding that he had grave doubts, and he had obviously been involved with her for a while. Any way you look at it, it was a rotten thing to do. But that doesn't mean that someone else will do the same thing again.” She was trying to divide the two issues so Laure could see it more clearly.

“The same thing happened to Antoine,” she said quietly. He was the young doctor in question. “They weren't engaged, but he went out with her for five years, all through medical school and after. She also went off with his best friend, and then married his brother, so he has to see her all the time. That's why he came here to Africa and joined Doctors Without Borders, so he wouldn't have to see them. He hasn't spoken to his brother since they got married, which must be sad for him.”