“Were you alone?”
His eyes looked puzzled. “Other men were nearby, also looking for the horse. But yes, I think you could say I was alone.”
“You never saw the green sunset with. . .Maylea.”
He seemed to study her for a moment before he answered. “No. She had seen it a few times in her life, but we didn’t try to see it together.”
She would really like to do something or see something that was his and hers alone, that he hadn’t done with Maylea. “I think,” she said, “that’s what would take my breath away.”
Mak liked to give his paniolos and all the workers he could time off around Christmas and New Year, which meant more work for him. He didn’t want Jane to spend her holiday teaching at the ranch. He thought it a good time for him to spend time with his little girl, and they even trotted along, he on Big Brown and she on Cinnamon outside the corral and on the range.
He and his daughter were bonding in a new and delightful way. They could talk about horses and ranches, and he realized she loved the ranch. He even talked to her about Maylea, and she smiled at his stories.
A week after Christmas, the invitation came from the king. The Royal Prerace Party would be held the third week in January. He and his mother were invited.
“Mak,” his mother said, excitement coloring her voice, “even if you don’t want to go, Matilda and I could.”
Guilt washed over him like a tidal wave. He’d believed his mother over the past few years when she’d said she felt fine about not going, that she didn’t want to leave Leia alone. And there had been the matter of the king purchasing that horse.
“Yes, Mother. Let’s invite Matilda and Jane to accompany us.”
“Oh.” She rushed over, held his shoulders, and kissed his cheek. He had pleased his mother. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.
After that, it was like living in a different world. Jane continued to teach Leia horseback riding and how to take care of her pony. The women got together and talked about fashion and hairstyles.
As Mak shrugged into his dark waistcoat, trousers, and tailcoat, he wondered if the party would take Jane’s breath away. Mak had seen the palace since the electricity had been installed, and it was still the talk of the island, but this party would be on the king’s yacht. The king had many friends on Hawaii, but many of them found it too far to make a trip to Oahu. The king enjoyed having yacht parties, anyway.
Mac’s mother stuck her head in the doorway of his bedroom as he tied the white bow tie at the neck of his winged-collar shirt. She called him handsome, but she was biased.
“You look beautiful, Mother,” he said when she walked into the room.
“Thank you. But I wonder how the queen will be dressed. Matilda said the latest style coming in Europe is dresses without bustles, if you can imagine that.” She pointed her finger at him. “But I will not give up my corset.”
“Well, I should think the bustles could go,” he said. “Maybe they should put some of that material on the neckline.”
“Oh, Mak,” she chided. “This is the style. I don’t want to look old-fashioned.”
“Now haven’t you women been trying on dresses for the past two weeks? And I’ll bet Matilda knows more about the latest style than the princess. Regardless, you don’t want to outdress the princess.”
“I don’t?” She patted her hair in an elaborate upsweep, decorated with jeweled combs. He had not seen her in formal dress since his dad had died. She had missed a lot, having lost her husband and taking care of Mak and Leia. He’d taken her for granted.
The clatter of horses’ hooves and wheels outside sent his mother hurrying into the hallway. The next thing he knew, Leia, Coco, Pilar, and Susanne were gushing over each other’s attire. Mak had contacted Susanne’s parents, and when he discovered they were going to the party, he had invited Susanne and Pilar to stay the night at his house.
Matilda was elaborately dressed in purple satin and wore jewels like a queen. “You’re particularly stunning this afternoon,” he said.
She thanked him graciously.
Jane came up to him. “And who is this handsome gentleman?” She straightened his white bow tie.
“I don’t know anymore,” he said. “This friend came along and—” He didn’t need to get morbid, or gushy. “Your eyes are so blue.” He liked the way she dressed. The look was elegant but less elaborate than the other ladies. Her hair was in an updo with little tendrils framing her forehead and the sides of her face. “I like your dress,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said, and soon they were in the surrey headed for the dock where they’d board the yacht that was waiting to take them away from civilization.
As they drew near, Matilda exclaimed, gazing at the gleaming white yacht larger than most ships, “My, that’s a far cry from the ship we came over on.”
“The king and princess try to copy Europe in every way they can,” Rose said. “They do not want to be thought backward.”
“This yacht,” Mak explained, “was built in the United States. It was sold to the king for eighty thousand dollars’ worth of sandalwood.”
Rose nodded. “Our island is now almost bereft of sandal-wood. It was in such demand in other places and logging it provided a livelihood for islanders.”
Matilda put her hand to her ear. “I hear music.”
“The royal family are avid musicians,” Rose explained. “They write songs, and the king has his own Royal Hawaiian Band.”
“As soon as guests are aboard,” Mak added, “the band will play, and we will sing ‘Hawaii Ponoi,’ written by the king. It’s the Hawaiian national anthem. The royal family particularly likes the instrument called a braga or cavaquinho.”
The dock was inundated with guests arriving by surreys and carriages. Some came in canoes and boats.
Royal horsemen were on hand to park the vehicles. Mak could feel the excitement. One didn’t arrive late for the king’s party.
Soon, guests were gathered on the deck, talking and greeting newcomers and others they’d known for many years. A nearby band strummed the bragas.
“We’re moving out into the ocean,” Jane said, leaning toward Mak to whisper. Her eyes shone with excitement.
“You don’t have a yacht in Texas?” he teased.
She shook her head. “Not even a king.”
“Ah,” he said. “We finally have something bigger and better than Texas.”
“No, no,” she corrected him quickly. “We have oil, remember.”
“I do,” he said. “But our whales used to provide the world’s oil supply before oil was discovered in Pennsylvania.”
“Oh.” She looked around. “Hawaii has disappeared.”
“Yes,” Mak said, “and about time for—”
The glass doors opened. A royal servant, looking stiff in his formal European clothes, announced, “King David Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani.”
The guests applauded.
The queen looked like a European monarch and wore her tiara. The king was dressed in his royal regalia, including his crown. They stood at attention as a band inside began to play the national anthem and the guests sang.
Jane looked up at Mak questioningly, but he just smiled. She’d find out what was going on soon enough.
The king and queen turned and reentered the room. The servant announced each guest as they followed. The guests found places at tables while the king and queen stood somberly on a stage.
“Well,” Matilda said. “Their clothing and way of announcing guests is how they do it in Europe.”
Mak figured that meant she had visited such royalty.
“The king is quite handsome the way his beard seems like long sideburns fluffed out,” Jane added.
“And that’s a massive mustache, too,” Matilda said. “How old is he?”
“Fifty-three,” Rose said in a low tone. “He’s been ill. But he looks fine tonight.”
“The queen is beautiful,” Jane added.
Mak agreed, but she did not outshine these ladies at his table.
As soon as the guests were inside, the king’s face became all smiles, and his eyes danced. He removed his royal coat. His shirt was exquisite, but he could pass as simply a well-dressed man. “Now,” he said, “we dispense with this formality. Let the fun begin.”
Other men took off their formal coats. Some, like Mak, rolled up their sleeves and removed their ties.
“There’s food,” the king said.
At that, sliding-glass doors opened.
“My,” Matilda exclaimed. “That aroma is enough to tempt the whales.”
“I don’t think there are any,” Jane said. “They’ve all been used up to make oil for the lamps here in Hawaii.”
Mak shook his head.
“And we drink,” the king said, “including Hawaii’s famous Kona coffee.” Servants in black pants, flowered shirts, and red vests lined up inside the doors, waiting to ensure the guests were properly served their dinner.
“And be merry,” he shouted.
“He is known as the merry king,” Mak said as the lively music began and the king grabbed his queen and they began to dance.
Others joined them, while some went into the side room for food and drink.
After that dance, young men and women ran in from a side room and onto the stage.
“They may try to copy the Europeans,” Matilda said, “but that is not ballroom dancing.”
On stage, the hula dancers were swaying and moving their graceful hands while a man crooned a song. When they finished, the hula dancers came to the guests, taking several on stage. His three ladies were selected. Matilda was a riot. His mother had talents he’d been unaware of, and Jane was adorable.
When the guests returned, the dancers kept Matilda on stage to demonstrate dances from Europe and some Texas square-dance steps. Mak looked beyond the glass doors. “Looks like the sun is getting ready to set. Shall we?”
“This is a wonderful party,” Jane said as Mak led her outdoors and around to the back of the deck where the music and voices sounded faintly in the background. The sky had turned Jane into gold, and he smiled, remembering Leia saying, “Gold like Miss Matilda gives everybody.”
Miss Matilda couldn’t give this strong-willed young woman to anybody.
He leaned over, his arms against the railing. Jane stood holding on with her hands. She looked over at him. “You seemed to be having a good time. During the hula, were you thinking of Maylea?”
He straightened. “Yes and no,” he said honestly. “Of course she was in my memory. But thanks to you, I was thinking of. . .you. . .the fun. . .your having a good time. Sometimes with you, my friend, I am in the moment. Thank you for that.”
She turned toward him about to say something, but he caught hold of her arm. “The sky is magenta, without any clouds. Everything is right for the green flash.”
Jane shifted her gaze to the sun.
“No, don’t stare at the sun. That’s not good for the eyes. Look away until only the very top of the sun is about to disappear into the ocean.”
“Okay.”
He saw her shoulders and chest rise with her accelerated breathing, anticipating as she stared at him, glanced at the sun, and at him. She whispered. “It’s almost there.”
“Now,” he said. “Look at it and don’t blink.”
She squealed. “Ah! I did. I saw it.” She grabbed his arms, looked up into his face and back at the horizon. “I really did. It was only a moment. All the greens of Hawaii are different from any I have ever seen. This was even greener. And even more beautiful. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Nobody does,” he said, looking into her delighted, lovely face.
Then her lips parted. An ethereal expression bathed her face. “There’s a rainbow. Am I crazy, or is that a rainbow?”
“Of course it’s a rainbow. It always happens after the green flash. You see, a rainbow is created when a raindrop—”
“No,” she said, “Don’t explain it. Just let me bask in it.”
As she basked, their faces were so close. Neither was looking at the rainbow. He felt her warm breath tantalizing his lips. She seemed to lean forward. It must have been him. But her face lifted to his.
As if they had a mind of their own, his lips met her soft warm ones, and he felt lost in the moment until finally it was as if he were saying to himself what he had to say to Panai so often, hold on, hold back, you mustn’t give it your all, be controlled.
Where the will came from, he didn’t know, but somehow he stepped back and grasped the railing, feeling as panicked as if a tsunami was upon him.
What could he do? Run? Jump in the ocean? What was she doing? He was afraid to look. “I’m sorry. Forgive me.”
“No, it’s all right.”
“I have no right. I’ve ruined everything. I don’t know why—”
“Mak, it’s because we’re a man and a woman.”
He exhaled heavily and managed to look at her. She was facing him. “But you’re engaged,” he protested, “and I’m as together as a shipwreck.”
She gave a weak smile. “But you’re not engaged, Mak. So I’m more to blame if we’re going to place blame. After I saw the green flash and the rainbow, I just had to do something. So I closed my eyes and—”
“You closed your eyes?”
“Well, I had to blink, didn’t I?”
“Of course.” He took a deep breath. “Jane, I know you’re trying to make light of this—”
Before he could finish, her fingers touched his lips. They were soft as her voice. “Friends can kiss.” She kissed his cheek.
She was trying to make it sound so innocent. “Your fiancé might not think so.”
“Austin would understand. It was. . .a moment. Not something bad or evil.”
“No,” he said. “It was—” He shrugged.
“Human?”
He nodded. “Very human.” He paced. “I’m supposed to be the more mature, older, been married—”
“I know, Mak, that you feel guilty. Your whole life is wrapped up in guilt and anger. This was only. . .” She smiled. “A lovely moment.”
He looked down. Was that all?
“We are both single, you know.”
Yes, he was making too much of it. But single? Was he? No. He was married to his guilt and grief.
“Did you see the green sunset?” she asked.
Staring at her, his hand touched her arm. “I saw the blue-green flash in your eyes.”
“Oh, so here you are,” came Matilda’s voice as the sky darkened to a dull gray. “I just finished dancing with the king. Wheee! They’d have me dancing all night if I would. It’s social time now, but I thought I needed a little reprieve.”
“Excuse me,” Mak said. “I want to speak to some friends I haven’t seen in a while.”
❧
Jane turned and leaned against the railing. “You saw?”
“Yes, dear. I was fascinated by the idea I might see a green sunset. Too bad I didn’t bring a gentleman friend with me.”
“Matilda!”
“Sorry, dear. I’m just doing what you did. Trying to make light of it.”
“Shocked?”
“Me? Oh, honey. Not even surprised. He has become your goal, your purpose. He needs you, and you responded to that. Austin never needed you that way. Mak has touched your heart in a different way. You’re growing up.”
“Austin would never hurt me,” Jane said. “Mak. . .could.”