The Promise

by Jane Peart

  Jana lowered her head so no one could see the tears that sprang spontaneously into her eyes.

  The joyous service concluded with Communion and then a final hymn. The choir filed out, and the congregation followed them outside into the lovely morning, greeting each other with traditional hugs and kisses, saying, “Ka la i ala hou ai ka Haku.”

  To her astonishment, Jana saw Bayard standing in the churchyard. Dressed in a spotless white linen suit, ruffled shirt, and Panama hat, he came toward her.

  “Good morning and happy Easter,” he said, bowing slightly. His gaze moved over her admiringly. “That is one of the prettiest bonnets I’ve yet seen, and the lady wearing it is quite charming as well.”

  “What in the world are you doing here?” she asked.

  Bayard placed one hand on his heart, with an injured look. “Don’t tell me you suspected I was one of those Christmas and Easter Christians?” he demanded. Then, with an ironic smile, he added, “Which, unfortunately, I am. If I reform, will you forgive me?”

  “You don’t need to ask my forgiveness. I shouldn’t have—” She broke off, embarrassed that he had surmised the truth. She had been surprised—in fact, astonished—to see him at church.

  “Not at all. You’re right.”

  “Whether you’re a churchgoer or not is none of my business.”

  “I’d like you to make it your business,” Bayard said in a low voice. “I can’t imagine anything more pleasant than being reformed by you.”

  Jana blushed and was glad to be rescued when her parents and Nathan joined them. Bayard greeted them all graciously. To Jana’s surprise, her mother said, “We’re having an Easter breakfast party and an old-fashioned Easter egg hunt for the children, Bayard. You’d be more than welcome if you cared to join the fun.”

  “I’d be delighted,” he accepted at once.

  As they fell into step behind her parents, Jana could not resist saying, “I didn’t know you went in for such things.”

  “Maybe there’s a lot you don’t know about me, Jana. If you’d give me a chance, I’d reveal some hidden qualities you may not even suspect.” His tone was light but his eyes were serious.

  “I’m intrigued,” Jana murmured, but she was not sure she wanted a chance to get to know Bayard Preston better. It was like looking down a road that had danger signs all along the way, with a sharp curve in the distance so that you could not see where it ended.

  There was no more time for Jana and Bayard to be alone. Friends had already begun to gather at the Rutherfords’ for this annual event. Jana had to help her mother set out the fruit and banana nut breads, keep the adults’ coffee cups filled, and pour pineapple juice. When the children began clamoring to begin the egg hunt, Bayard shed his jacket and enthusiastically joined Mr. Rutherford in supervising. Bayard seemed to have great fun running around with the children, pointing out hiding places to some of the smaller, slower ones.

  At last all the eggs were discovered, and families with children, their baskets full of eggs and candy, began to leave.

  Bayard retrieved his coat, said his thanks and good-byes to the Rutherfords, then found Jana.

  “Will you come riding with me tomorrow?” he asked as she walked with him to the gate. “Remember what I said earlier? There’s no telling how much I might improve if we spend enough time together.”

  “Oh Bayard, I’m not sure…“

  “There’s no school, so you have no excuse. I’ll come for you at nine. You can ride Palani. She’s a gentle, copper-colored mare with a sensitive mouth. You’ll love her. I guarantee it.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  True to his word, Bayard came by for Jana at nine the following morning, and they rode up to the ranch in a small, open buggy. At the Preston stables, one of the grooms brought out the horse Bayard had promised her, a lovely little mare with delicate legs, shining coat, and blond mane. Bayard patted her nose, murmuring something, then turned to Jana, smiling. “See, isn’t she a beauty? You’ll find her a dream to ride.”

  He checked the saddle. Then as the groom stood at Palani’s head, Bayard helped Jana to mount. As he had promised, Palani was sweet tempered, with an easy mouth. As soon as Jana picked up the reins, she felt an instant response from the horse.

  “Where’s yours?” she asked.

  “Come along, I’ll show you,” Bayard said. He took the tooled leather saddle and tack that the groom handed him. With long strides, he went past the corral and into the pasture. Jana, on horseback, followed at a walk.

  At the pasture, Bayard whistled through his fingers, and a horse that had been grazing on the hilltop lifted its head, ears pricked up, and whinnied. Then, with a toss of its head, silver mane flying, the mixed gray horse galloped across the field. Approaching Bayard, he slowed to a kind of prancing trot, circled Bayard a couple of times, then stopped, one hoof pawing the ground.

  Bayard ran his hand along the horse’s back, stroking it gently, then leaned for a moment against its arched neck. Slowly he slipped the bridle over the horse’s bowed head, adjusted the bit, then saddled him. Swinging lightly into the saddle, he came over to where Jana was halted on her mare, watching. Grinning, he said, “A paniolo at heart.” He leaned forward in his saddle toward her. “If I’d been in the New Year’s rodeo, would you have accepted my talisman?”

  Taken aback, she countered, “Why didn’t you ride that day?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I was inhibited by my guests. Those haoles, strangers to our land and our customs, think we’re wild enough. I didn’t want to give them any more ammunition.” He whirled his horse around, shouting over his shoulder, “Come on, let’s go!”

  He galloped off. Jana loosened her reins, and Palani followed in an easy canter. It was a glorious morning and an exhilarating ride. Bayard always kept a few lengths ahead of Jana, but she didn’t care. She was not in competition with him, as Edith might have been. She was enjoying the rocking motion of Palani’s gait, and the feeling of freedom engendered by the wind in her face, tugging her hat back, blowing her loosened hair. She had missed riding as she and Edith had often done, traveling over these hills together. Jana suddenly realized how much she missed Edith as well.

  However, there wasn’t time to indulge in nostalgia about the old days of comradeship, for Bayard had reached the top of the cliff and had halted there. As she came alongside and reined, she saw what Bayard was looking at: the rolling green hillside and, in the distance, the ocean, stripes of varied blue stretching out to a cloudless horizon. For a few minutes neither spoke as they absorbed the breathtaking view. Finally he said quietly, “Shall we go home now? Next time we’ll ride down to the valley.”

  Next time? Jana thought. Bayard was assuming there would be a next time. She watched him turn his horse and start back toward the ranch. Following him at a slower pace, Jana recalled vividly her last ride down the precipitous, almost perpendicular path to the legendary Valley of the Kings. Gradually she caught up to him, and with both horses slowed to an easy canter, they rode back to the ranch.

  At the stables, Bayard quickly dismounted, came around to Jana’s side, held up his arms to help her down from her saddle. She stood for a minute smoothing Palani’s mane, rubbing her nose, murmuring affectionate thanks for the lovely ride. Watching her, Bayard said, “She could be yours, you know. You two are kindred spirits.”

  Startled, Jana looked at him. She was not quite sure what he meant, but she did not dare ask. Bayard continued to confuse and bewilder her.

  One of the grooms led the horses away to be rubbed down and fed, and Bayard and Jana walked up to the house.

  “One day we should ride to the volcano side of the island. Would you like that?” he said.

  “I don’t know about that,” she answered slowly. Hawaii still had two active volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Kilauea. Jana had been into the volcano country on the other side of the island. She had found it oppressive and forbidding, and when you got close, the smell of sulfur fumes was heavy. She knew all about t
he ancient beliefs regarding Pele, the goddess of fire, who was supposed to dwell within the volcano. In the olden days, native people tried to appease her with all sorts of gifts so that her anger would not erupt and send fiery molten lava flowing over their land, their homes, their crops.

  “Well, you will go riding with me again, won’t you?” Bayard asked.

  “Yes, of course. And thank you for allowing me to ride Palani. She was wonderful.”

  They had reached the house, but before going inside, Bayard stopped and reached for Jana’s hand, held it, and said, “I meant what I said back there. She could be yours.”

  Jana looked at him, puzzled. Before she had time to answer, Meipala came out onto the veranda.

  “Mr. Bayard, there’s a gentleman here to see you. A Mr. Pollard from the bank. He says he has a message from the Colonel.”

  Bayard frowned, then said to Jana, “This shouldn’t take long. Probably more papers to sign. I have Father’s power of attorney. You can sit out here on the porch. Meipala will bring you something cool to drink.” He excused himself and went into the house.

  A few minutes later Meipala brought Jana a glass of cool guava juice. As she handed her the tall glass, Meipala asked, “You hear from Edith?”

  Jana shook her head. “Not much. She’s not much of a letter writer. From what Bayard says, she’s having a really good time.”

  “Too good, if you ask me,” Meipala sniffed. “Did he tell you she bringing party of girls with her when she come home?”

  “He mentioned something about it.”

  Then Meipala asked Jana about her family and her own studies.

  “Akela and I will graduate in June. But we miss Kiki—we always thought we three would finish school together.”

  “You should have. Don’t know what got into the Colonel to send her so far away.” Meipala shook her head sorrowfully. “I thought she would miss the island more than she seems to.”

  Just then Bayard came out onto the porch, accompanied by Mr. Pollard, so they had no more time to discuss Edith. Mr. Pollard recognized Jana, whom he had met at the Kamuela Hotel when she was there with Bayard, and greeted her cordially. Then he said to Bayard, “Well, I suppose that’s all for now. If you want to go over this further or discuss it later, I’m always available.”

  “Fine, sir.” Bayard’s voice seemed unusually crisp.

  He walked Mr. Pollard to his buggy and saw him off. When he came back to join Jana, Bayard seemed preoccupied. She hoped the banker had not brought worrying news. However, his good humor returned at Meipala’s suggestion that she have their lunch served out there on the veranda. She poured him a glass of guava juice, then left them.

  Jana leaned back against the striped linen pillows of the white wicker rocking chair. She felt pleasantly tired from their ride and completely relaxed and comfortable. What a heavenly day, she thought. And how delicious it felt to just lazily rock and stare out at the lush gardens and the distant blue ribbon of the ocean. She didn’t even feel the least bit guilty. At home, nobody ever sat around just doing nothing! This was pure luxury.

  And to think that this was how the Prestons and their friends spent their days. They took this kind of leisurely life for granted. Doing whatever occurred to them—no chores, no duties, no time frame, people to wait on them…

  Her dreamy thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of one of the uniformed Chinese house servants. He carried a large tray from which he set a low, round table with their lunch: a delicious assortment of fruit, small, hot shrimp-filled pastries, salad, a loaf of banana nut bread, and a pitcher of iced tea.

  “I could soon be spoiled here,” Jana remarked half jokingly as she helped herself to the appetizing array of food.

  “And why not? It’s good to see things appreciated and enjoyed. Isn’t that what all this is for? To be enjoyed?”

  “I don’t know whether my father would agree with you, Bayard!” she laughed.

  “Does he frown on people enjoying themselves?”

  “Oh no, not that. But he does believe there is more purpose to life than just enjoying oneself. You know: life is real, life is earnest.”

  “That’s a throwback to the early missionary days. They disapproved of almost everything about Hawaiian life and tried to change it.” Bayard paused. “However, it worked in the reverse. The Hawaiians converted them to an easier way of life, a more relaxed style of living. That’s what makes this island so special.” He halted abruptly. “It seems we had this sort of conversation once before, and we ended up—how was it?”

  “I think I just misunderstood, Bayard. I thought—well, that you were somehow ashamed of loving Hawaii.”

  “No, it wasn’t that. It’s just that I can’t be completely Hawaiian…I’m sort of torn in two. Maybe when I come back here to live for good, take over the running of the ranch…Maybe then it will seem more—” He broke off. “I guess I’m talking a lot of rubbish.”

  “Not at all. Kiki and I argue about which one of us is more Hawaiian than the other. At least, we used to…“ Jana’s voice trailed off uncertainly. She wasn’t sure what Kiki thought anymore.

  “Of course, her mother was Hawaiian.”

  “Yes, but I was born in Honolulu—she was born in San Francisco.”

  “I was born here on the island,” Bayard said. “That makes us technically natives, doesn’t it? And gives us a special relationship.” He gazed at her thoughtfully. “Wouldn’t you say?”

  For some reason, Jana felt a little tingling sensation. Somehow she couldn’t pull her own gaze away from Bayard’s. Her heart fluttered erratically. Her hand holding the iced tea glass shook, and her fingers slipped on its frosty surface. She put it down quickly, afraid she might drop it. She wiped her mouth with the napkin and said, “I really think I’d better be going, Bayard. I’ve been gone all morning, and I promised Nathan I’d take him to the beach this afternoon.” She brushed the crumbs from her lap, folded her napkin and placed it beside her empty plate on the tray, and rose.

  “Must you go?” he asked, but he got to his feet also.

  “Yes, I really must.”

  Bayard was quiet as he drove Jana home in the surrey. A thoughtful air had replaced his earlier lighthearted manner. Jana wondered again whether it was something Mr. Pollard had said. Or was it something in their own conversation that was bothering him? At the gate of her house, he said, “Mahalo, Jana, for making it such a pleasant time. Remember, you promised to go riding with me again. Palani will be disappointed if you don’t.”

  “School starts again next week,” she reminded him, feeling a little twinge of regret that she wouldn’t be free to go on the kind of spontaneous expedition Bayard had suggested.

  “Ah, that’s right. You’re still a schoolgirl, aren’t you?” His eyes were teasing. “Well, we’d better make the most of this week, then, hadn’t we?”

  She watched Bayard’s buggy, the fringe on its striped canopy swinging jauntily, disappear down the road. It had been fun today. More fun than she had ever anticipated having with Edith’s older brother. She had been comfortable and at ease with him. No, not exactly that. Underneath, there had been a tiny bit of tension. As though she were on the brink of something. Something in the way Bayard looked at her, treated her, that was different from last Christmas. Something that was both exciting and a little frightening…

  That night, lying in bed and looking out her window at the shadow of the palm tree against the star-studded sky, Jana let her mind wander…What would it be like to have the kind of life the Prestons had, a life of leisure and luxury and servants and trips and never worrying about money or what other people said or thought about you? What would that really be like?

  She had never before really envied Edith Preston, had never thought much about what a contrast their families and lives were. Actually, it was Akela’s family, the ohana, that Jana had looked at longingly. Now, however, there was a certain allure in the idea of being wealthy, free from worries about the future or about getting
a scholarship. Edith had no such thoughts. She would always be taken care of. There would always be money for whatever she wanted to do, wherever she wanted to go…

  What was it Bayard had said? First about Palani—“She could be yours.” Had he just meant she had ridden the gentle horse well and the mare had responded well to her? Or had he meant more than that? Had he meant it literally?

  Then when he had looked at her and said, “We have a special bond, a special relationship, don’t we?” They were both islanders. Born here but still of white parentage. It did give one pause. It did make one think.

  Her eyelids felt heavy. It had been a long day, an interesting day, a day that in some ways seemed a turning point.

  She was getting too sleepy to think it through, but as she drifted off, it was of Bayard Preston she was thinking…

  Chapter Sixteen

  School started again, and at first Jana found it hard to settle back down to the routine of studies and homework. The interlude of impromptu outings with Bayard had set her off track. It had been an interesting time but one that was also rather disturbing. Her long-held view of Bayard had altered, and yet she still wasn’t sure she really knew or understood him.

  One afternoon a few days after classes had resumed, Jana accompanied Akela into town on an errand for Tutu. Akela was to pick up some spools of thread that Tutu had ordered. Just as they came out of the fabric store, they practically ran into Bayard, who was coming down the street. Jana was surprised to be so glad to see him.

  Bayard seemed equally surprised but pleased. “Well hello, ladies. Would you give me the pleasure of taking you somewhere for a cool drink?”

  “Mahalo, Bayard,” Akela said. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to hurry home. Tutu’s working on one of her quilts and needs these.” She held up the small bag containing the thread.