by Bodie Thoene
The stars shone over the channel. She could see the mast of the Royal Flush among other boats in the harbor. Was Archie sleeping? “I am waiting, Lord. Waiting to arise. Lord? I am so broken. Broken wings. Will I ever fly again?”
The ache of loneliness, the longing to be held and caressed and loved, became a physical pain. Startled by the awakening of long dormant desire, she turned away, climbed into bed, and prayed for merciful rest.
Part Three
Chapter Fourteen
Victorian England
The lawns of Sundown seemed packed to capacity when Princess Kaiulani descended the stairs with Hannah and Annie trailing like ladies in waiting. Arranged by the Davies, the afternoon reception was called to commemorate the coronation of Hawaii’s new queen and the official announcement of Princess Kaiulani’s new position. Though Hawaii was a world away, the monarchy of Great Britain embodied kindred spirits with Queen Liliuokalani and with Kaiulani, the new heir apparent. The tea was only open to those of a certain class of society. A string quartet played Mozart beside the fountain. The hum of pleasant conversation drifted across the grounds.
Koa, second in line for the throne after Kaiulani, was elegantly dressed in a morning coat. The delicate china cup seemed strangely out of place in his square Polynesian hands. Laughing among a crowd of attendees, he paused midsentence when Kaiulani emerged from the house onto the patio.
“Ah yes,” he said, striking his fist against his chest as a sign of his adoration. “She is the Hope of Hawaii.”
All eyes turned to her. She wore a yellow gown, the royal color reserved only for Hawaiian Alii. The silk was stitched with delicate flowers resembling the gardens of Ainahau. Dark hair was coiled at the nape of her neck. She searched the crowd for familiar faces and spotted Andrew’s back. He and his father were deep in conversation with Theo.
Andrew raised his head as though he sensed her presence. Polite whispers rippled across the gathering. Kaiulani bowed slightly. “Aloha.” She passed through the partygoers. “Thank you for coming.”
She was instantly surrounded by a guard of honor made up of young men from Clive’s college.
A fresh-faced boy of about thirteen crowded in between his school chums. “Princess! I was born in Hawaii,” he chirped in a voice halfway to manhood.
She snapped open her fan and said, “Why then, you belong to me.”
The male laughter seemed to turn Andrew’s head. His eyes caught hers in the midst of the herd, and he stood, motionless, taking her in.
She hoped there would be a quiet place where they could talk. There was so much she wanted to tell him.
* * * *
The guests thinned as the sun set and cool sea air swept inland. Kaiulani’s head began to throb. She quietly retreated into Theo’s library to escape the noise of her admirers.
She sat in the burgundy leather wingback chair and closed her eyes. If only she was home now, she thought. If only the party celebrating her official acknowledgment as heir to the Hawaiian throne could have been held beneath the banyan tree at Ainahau.
She had never felt so far from home and those she loved. “I don’t belong here, do I?” she asked God quietly.
Andrew’s familiar voice answered, “Everyone is asking for you.”
She inhaled deeply and turned to see him in the doorway. He held a rectangular gift beneath his arm. The paper was yellow, like her dress.
Almost shyly he said, “For you.”
“I was hoping I could talk to you alone.”
“I saw this in a bookshop window on Haymarket.”
“So many people. All talking at once.”
“…and I said to myself, Kaiulani’s eyes. Could be her portrait. Her soul.” He extended the package to her. “Before I leave, a parting gift in honor of the Princess.”
She held his gift. “Alii yellow.”
“I have been studying your world for quite some time.”
“Mahalo,” she whispered, pulling the red ribbon and folding back the tissue paper. “Kind…Andrew.” She gasped as the portrait of a beautiful young woman, Bible in her hand, gazed up at her from the cherrywood frame.
“It’s called The Soul’s Awakening.” Andrew ducked his head, clearly pleased by her response. “By Sant. The PRB painters. I heard you were learning to paint.”
“Beautiful.” She sighed.
“You. Your soul. I mean, what I saw that night. You know.”
“I’ll hang it in my bedroom, so I can see it last thing when I go to sleep and first thing when I wake up. And I’ll think of you.” She stretched out her hand. “Will you come again soon?”
He shook his head. A curious smile fixed on his face. “I’m leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“Going away.”
She felt strangely unhappy. “Why? Where? Andrew? What are you talking about?”
He cleared his throat. “Spent the last months studying for the ministry. I’m by no means ready, but Reverend Smith—Gipsy—he’s helped me make contact with the mission school on Maui.”
She gasped. Tears filled her eyes. “Maui? You? You’re going home?”
“Lahaina. So much need. Your people. I thought, if there was anything I could do to help.”
She covered her eyes with her hand. “Oh, Andrew! If only I could come too!”
He answered quietly, moving a step closer to her. “Your steps are ordered by the Lord, Kaiulani. He knew you before you were born and made you who you are. For such a time as this, I think. A strong voice for your people.”
“I have no voice at all.”
“You will.”
She reached out to him, clasping his wrist and holding her cheek against his arm as he knelt beside her. “Take me with you, Andrew! Let me pack my bags and go away with you. Back to Hawaii Nei. Not as a princess, but just to live among my own people. Oh, Andrew!”
He traced the line of her jaw with his finger. “There is too much ahead for you to run away. Too much. They call you Hawaii’s Hope, you know.”
Silent tears fell onto the glass of the picture. “My soul is awake, Andrew. I pray and ask the Lord what He wants from me. But I am just a girl.”
“The Lord says to you, Kaiulani, what is it? Jeremiah chapter one, I think. ‘Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee… . Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak… . Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.’ ” 21
“When are you going?”
“Three days.”
“Will you write me?”
“Every week.”
“I have no one at home who tells me the truth about what is happening.”
He kissed her hand and then her cheek. His mouth moved close to hers. “I will. My lips will speak love to your people. My eyes will see them for your eyes. My ears will hear their words. But my heart? My heart will be here with you.”
“You are mine. Aloha nui loa.”
He kissed her gently. His warm mouth lingered over hers. A moment longer he waited. And then he rose and left her alone without a word.
* * * *
It was the season of good-byes.
Annie’s trunk was packed for her trip home to Hawaii. The steamship Teutonic was at berth in Liverpool. At the summons of the new queen of Hawaii, Annie Cleghorn was retracing the route by which they had come from Hawaii. Clive, on his way to work in his father’s Hawaiian branch, would accompany her to Honolulu. From New York they would cross the continent by rail and sail home from San Francisco. Annie planned to arrive in Honolulu in time for the official coronation celebration of Queen Liliuokalani. Already letters from home left the ominous impression that the new queen’s opponents gave the monarchy little reason to celebrate.
Prince Koa had already sailed
home from Portsmith and was prepared to take up whatever government post Queen Liliuokalani chose for him in Honolulu.
Of the Hawaiian royal party, only Kaiulani and her beloved friend Hannah were to remain behind in England.
Annie opened the armoire, displaying her English wardrobe to Hannah and Kaiulani. “I’ll have no need of winter clothes in Honolulu. Try them on. If you can alter them, well, then. If not, give them to charity.”
Kaiulani and Hannah sat on the bed and gazed forlornly at the plain dresses as though visualizing their world without Annie. Kaiulani also pictured her sister at home in the banyan tree and running along white sand beaches.
Arms crossed, Annie studied the interior of the steamer trunk and voiced Kaiulani’s thoughts: “My coat for the crossing. Four blouses. Two traveling skirts. A gown for the coronation and, in a month, I’ll be at Ainahau wearing a muumuu.”
Memories of home, peacocks, and her horse, Fairy, filled Kaiulani’s mind. She covered her face as silent tears began to stream down her cheeks. Hannah rubbed her back and shook her head from side-to-side.
Unspoken questions remained unanswered. Why had Kaiulani not been called home? Wouldn’t the presence of Kaiulani have given some comfort to her aunt as she faced the opposition? Kaiulani and Liliuokalani were the only remaining family members in the royal line of Kaiulani’s mother.
Annie was unaware of her half sister’s tears as she cheerfully packed small souvenirs of Great Britain into the drawers of her luggage for friends and family. “And from Kaiulani, a new burled walnut pipe for Papa Archie—”
Kaiulani finally spoke. “And bring him my love, Annie. Tell him. Tell him my heart is breaking!”
Annie’s face blanched as she turned around and rushed to comfort Kaiulani. The trio of women had been inseparable since they had left the Islands. The thought that one of them was being recalled from exile while two remained was almost unbearable.
Annie pulled Kaiulani against her. “Oh, Kaiulani! Sweet little sister! How can I go now? I’ve been so thoughtless! Thoughtless! Thinking only of myself.”
“Why can’t I come too?” Kaiulani sobbed. “Why do they leave me here?”
Hannah and Annie exchanged knowing looks. Though Kaiulani did not have a Pinkerton guard, she had not returned to school, nor would she. Letters between Archie Cleghorn and Theo Davies included dire warnings about Kaiulani’s safety. She no longer rode Blenheim alone or left the grounds unless Theo or Clive was along.
Annie soothed, “When things in the government are settled. Then Papa will bring you home. You’ll see. When it’s safe again, you’ll be called home.”
There was little comfort in Annie’s prediction. Kaiulani longed to be caressed by the warm trade winds of Ainahau. Her face held the memory of Hawaiian dawns as she turned toward the cold sun rising above England.
“I am a prisoner here.” Kaiulani leaned heavily against Annie. “They’re kind, all of them. But Annie, tell Papa…tell him I would rather die at home than remain in exile.”
Annie brushed Kaiulani’s tears with her thumb and held them to her lips. “I taste the salt of our warm seas in your tears.” Annie sighed. “I will tell Papa. I’ll do what I can.”
“You’ll write me. Lots.”
“For the outbound steamer. Once a week.”
“No one tells me anything. Please, Annie. You must tell me all the news.”
“I will.”
“The truth. Not watered down.”
Annie kissed her forehead. “I promise.” Taking Hannah’s hand, she placed it in Kaiulani’s open palm. “Now Hannah will care for you. Swear it, Hannah.”
Hannah replied solemnly, “I swear before the Lord. My life for yours, Kaiulani.”
The trio huddled together until the thump of footsteps sounded on the stair.
Clive, dressed for the journey to the wharf, appeared at the door. “It’s time, Annie.” His faced seemed strained with the prospect of leaving Kaiulani. “Could you spare me a minute?” he asked Kaiulani. “Alone?”
Hannah and Annie left the room. Kaiulani squared her shoulders. Head held high, she drew herself erect. “Clive.”
“I hate to go.”
“You must. Prepare yourself to manage your father’s business.”
He towered over her. Taking her hand he laid it on his heart. “I know you don’t love me. But I believe you could, if you let yourself.”
“Clive. You are so…I cherish your—”
He interrupted. “Stop with that word cherish. I will save my heart only for you. I expect to take over Father’s interests in Honolulu within a very short time.”
“Then I’ll see you at home. Ainahau. When I am allowed to return.”
He pulled her to her feet and held her close against him. She tried to push him away. He held her tight around her waist. “Clive, stop!”
Lifting her chin, he searched her eyes. “Kaiulani, I—I love you.” He kissed her fiercely.
Still she resisted. “Clive, I can never love—”
“You will love me!” He kissed her again. Warmth coursed through her. Breathless, she pressed her cheek against the coarse tweed fabric of his jacket. He stroked her hair. “That’s all I wanted to know.”
“No promises,” she said. “My heart belongs to Hawaii Nei.”
“You need me.”
“I don’t,” she insisted. “I can’t.”
“You will.” His lips moved against her ear. “One last kiss, Kaiulani. I take you with me.”
“And then, Aloha.”
“Aloha nui loa.”
* * * *
1973
The Royal Flush was anchored between two finger-like peninsulas of bare lava rock, each a few hundred yards away. Above a narrow white strip of sand, just beyond where vegetation took hold, the neatly groomed pineapple fields of the Honolua Plantation stretched away to the base of the West Maui Mountains.
Sandi stood in the bow, gazing down the anchor chain through thirty-five feet of opal blue water to the smooth bottom below. The boat rocked gently in the shelter of the cove as the father and his daughters kicked away from the stern wearing masks, snorkels, and fins, borrowed from Archie’s supply. The mother seemed to have some fear of fish and repeatedly asked Archie for reassurances.
“And how big was that one?” she questioned.
“Well, that wasn’t even near here,” Archie said.
“But how big?”
“You asked me whether I’ve seen any sharks around the island. Of course I have, but I’m at this reef all the time, and I have never seen one here.”
“Still, how big?”
Archie shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t know. Four, maybe four and a half feet?”
The woman inhaled through gritted teeth.
Archie was getting frustrated. “Missus Compton, the sharks we have in Hawaii are more afraid of you than you are of them. You won’t ever see one, because they don’t want anything to do with you, I promise.”
“I know, I know,” she agreed. “Tom says the same thing. But he’s editing this book right now about a shark. He reads me parts and—”
“Your daughters don’t seem too afraid. How about you try it for ten minutes? I’ll stand up here and watch for anything suspicious.”
Finally the woman did as he suggested, though she insisted her family rejoin her at the swim ladder before she jumped in.
Sandi laughed when Archie exaggerated wiping his brow as though he’d just tilled a field by mule-power. “This tourist trade is hard work!” he said. “How about you, Sandi? Would you like to be debated into a swim?”
She smiled at his choice of words. “I’d rather not. I’ll do it the old-fashioned way.”
Archie cocked his head in question. It reminded Sandi of the RCA-logo Dog.
She explained, “I mean, I’ve decided to go for a swim.”
As she shed her sundress, revealing the modest one-piece swimsuit she wore underneath, Archie looked away quickly, as though she were undre
ssing completely, and stammered, “Um, well, you know what they say—”
A splash interrupted him as Sandi dove from the boat while his back was turned.
“—about an argument waiting to happen.” Archie shrugged and began detaching his artificial limb.
