When Regis returned from taking refuge on the mainland, he was not at all pleased to learn that his absence had cost him the rights to the new islands that had appeared in the wake of the tropical storm. There was little he could do about it by then, but he did send Sabrina to Will's room to deliver a sealed note, demanding to see him before sunrise the following morning.

As requested, Will appeared half an hour before dawn, slipping quietly through the back door in order to not attract notice. He went directly to his uncle's office, where Regis sat glowering impatiently. Gesturing for Will to take a seat, he exclaimed, "Well? What progress, if indeed any, have you made? Every day that I don't have that dratted woman's deeds in my hands is another day of financial losses!"

Will remained standing. "I'm fine, thank you, uncle. No, the storm wasn't as bad as we all feared. My ship did sustain some damage, Mirabelle lost her barn, Julia's pet was killed, and Denny's home was all but destroyed. But all in all, we pulled through. Thanks for your concern. I hope you were comfortable during your stay on the mainland."

"Yes, yes. My condolences et cetera. Don't attempt to censure me, boy. Now tell me, are you any closer to persuading that conniving little female to sell, or are you not?!"

Looking impassively at Regis for a long moment, Will replied coolly, "Patience." Then he turned and left.

Hidden behind a large palm in the hall by her father's office, Sabrina covered her mouth to stifle a small gasp of shock and dismay.

**************

Colette hurried through her chores that morning. The geologists had finally given the all-clear for the villagers to explore the islands—with all due caution, of course—and she had made plans with Will to do just that. Taro had immediately engaged Gannon to build docks on some of the islands, providing Kirk a place to drop off and pick up visitors. The carpenter had also built footbridges connecting her island to the others nearest to her—all of which, Taro had been pleased to inform her, fell within her boundaries. They were kicking off their exploration with her new islands, since she was excited at the prospect of room to expand.

The sun was already scorching, so after she finished with her chores, she changed into shorts, a white cotton tank, and sandals. Will knocked on her door just as she was finishing braiding her hair and pinning it up, so she quickly filled a couple of water bottles and put on her sunglasses, and off they went.

There were four new islands that fell within her property lines. The first and nearest to her main island was just a tiny thing, rocky and uneven and not really of any use for ranching. But it was central to the remaining islands, so Gannon had built four bridges: one from her main island to it, then another three to the other new islands. Because of that, Colette laughingly called it Link Island.

They crossed the bridge on the west side first. This island was small, too, but consisted mostly of level, bare rock. "It's no good for pasture or crops," she mused as she strolled back and forth, looking at the ground, "but the level rock should be good for constructing some outbuildings."

"Such as? You couldn't really build another barn here—you'd have to drive livestock back and forth over the bridge every morning and evening, since you wouldn't be able to let them graze here. Even if there was room, I don't think you'll ever have much grass growing here," Will commented, tapping the hard surface with the toe of his boot.

"No... but I could build a greenhouse. I've been thinking of doing that, anyway, so I can grow crops that are too fragile for the extreme weather we get here on occasion, as well as to extend my growing season and to start seedlings. This would be a great place to do that, I think. There's not much blocking the sun here, so it should get plenty of sunlight. I'll have to discuss it with Gannon. Getting the materials here over all those bridges might be difficult, so we'll have to see."

Grinning excitedly at him, she grabbed his hand and dragged him back across the bridge to Link Island, as he laughed at her contagious enthusiasm. Then she led him over the bridge to the north.

When they stepped out onto this island, though, she exclaimed in dismay. The majority of the island's surface was a deep crater, which was partly filled with brackish water. A depression on one side of the rim had allowed some of the water to drain out, but there still remained at least a couple feet of standing water. It was hard to tell for sure how deep it was without some sort of stick or something, and she wasn't about to reach her arm down into it.

They stood there several minutes, pondering. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Will said, "If you enlarged that low point over there, the rest of the water could drain out. Then you could build a sort of a floodgate there, bring in some soil, and then flood it with fresh water. Couldn't you? Aren't there crops that need to grow in shallow water?"

"I think rice does," she said, thinking, "but I don't know anything about growing it. It's worth looking into, though. Thanks! That's a great idea!" Then she laughed and said, "And if that doesn't work out, maybe I could still clean it up and turn it into an artificial hot spring!"

By then it was just past midday, so they returned to her house for some lunch. They were sweltering from the late summer heat and humidity, so before anything else, she poured two tall glasses of ice cold tea. They drank those down quickly, sitting on the loveseat with the breeze from her fan blowing across them. Colette had picked up TC from his box, and he squirmed around her lap, chasing a loose thread from her shorts.

"He's growing fast," Will commented, holding out a finger and wiggling it for the kitten to pounce on.

"Yep, his eyes just opened yesterday."

"They're very blue, I see. And he's gotten fluffier, too."

"They won't stay blue, or probably won't. No telling what color they'll be eventually. Julia says we won't find out for a while yet." She stood up and returned the kitten to his bed, then took their glasses out to the kitchen. She made some sandwiches from thick slices of garden-fresh tomatoes and aged cheese on homemade bread, scooped up some chilled potato salad, cut up part of a melon into chunks, and refilled their glasses with a mixture of iced tea and lemonade.

After lunch, they returned to Link Island and headed east over the third bridge. Colette sighed with satisfaction as she surveyed the last of her new islands. A thick layer of rich, sandy soil was already covered with a fine, green mist of newly-sprouted grasses and flowers. Tall outcrops acted as natural windbreaks, sheltering the island from the strong breezes that frequently blew through the islands in the mornings and evenings.

"Now this I can definitely use!" she exclaimed in delight.

"What will you use it for?" Will asked.

She looked around the island again. "Well, I don't really want anything that's too high maintenance. I mean, that's a lot of bridges to haul much in the way of seed and fertilizer and water across. So I'm thinking maybe fruit trees. Once they're established, they won't need nearly as much tending as my field crops or animals. Mostly I'll just have to haul the produce back, but I'd have to do that no matter what I raise here. Yeah, I think an orchard will be the best use."

"What kind of fruit do you think will grow the best here?" Will asked, settling down on top of one of the lower rock formations.

"Hmmm... well, since the climate here is pretty tropical most of the year, I'd think things like bananas and mangoes? I don't really know for sure. I'll see if Taro has any information. If not, I'll have to go to the mainland and do some research."

"Still learning the ropes, eh?" he said with a smile.

"Yes, well, my upbringing really didn't include much in the way of agricultural education," she laughed.

"No, I would think not," he murmured, leaning back against the rocks. "It's a lovely day. Shall we enjoy the sun for a while longer? We might continue our game from a while back."

She climbed up next to him and lay back on the warm rock. "Mmmm. Which game was that?"

"Our question and answer game. Do you recall?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure do. You like classical music, especially baroque, ocean blue, grilled seafood, spy novels, dogs, and leopards. Right?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Perfect. Let me see if I can match you. You said your preferences include soft music such as classical or Celtic, your favorite color is red, favorite food is...." He stopped, drumming his fingers against the rock as he thought.

"Need a hint?" she asked giving him an amused look.

He shook his head. "No, it's on the tip of my tongue.... Ahh! I recall now. Oranges and lemons—citrus fruits."

"You got it," she replied, closing her eyes again as she smiled.

"And... oh yes, you like to read mysteries. And your favorite animals are horses and swans."

"Well done," she laughed. "Now what?"

"I think that since you had better recall, you should choose the next question," he grinned down at her.

"Oh, really? Fine.... Then what's your idea of a perfect date?" she asked, giving him a mischievous look.

"Anything I do with you," he replied smugly.

She bopped him lightly on his arm. "That's not a real answer!"

He laughed. "Then... let's see," he mused, closing his eyes. "A perfect date, hmmm? I think my ideal date would go something like this:

"First, I'd pick you up in my finest automobile," he said dreamily. "We'd both be dressed to the nines, of course. We'd dine at a three star restaurant, then attend the symphony—the best seats in the house, naturally. Afterwards, my driver would return us to my home, where we would enjoy coffee and dessert while discussing the music. Then back to your place, where I would kiss you goodnight by the light of the moon."

"Very romantic," she said with a smile. "I admit that I'm a little surprised you stopped at just a kiss, though, since this is your ideal date."

"Well, naturally if more was to follow, I would have no complaints," he confessed. "But neither would I demand it. Now you tell me yours."

She lay quietly for a moment, smiling as she reflected. "Well, my idea of the perfect date would be simpler, not so glittering. But... we'd meet in the morning—"

"Meet?" he interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, or you'd pick me up, or I'd pick you up. That part's not important, not to me. Anyway, we'd meet in the morning and pack a picnic lunch—something like cold chicken, a freshly baked baguette, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of chilled wine in an insulated bag. We'd pack everything into saddle bags and head out for a ride. We'd ride along the beach, no one but the two of us as far as the eye could see. When we got hungry, we'd find a nice grassy spot and let the horses graze while we settle down to enjoy our lunch. We'd talk about... oh, I don't know—whatever strikes our fancy, really. 'Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings.'

"Then after lunch, we'd go for a swim in the sea, then lie in the sun until we were dry enough to get dressed and ride back. Once we were back at my farm, we'd take care of the horses, then change into fresh clothes and go out to dinner. No place fancy—just someplace comfortable, with good food and good wine. After dinner, we'd go dancing or maybe just for a stroll in the moonlight, and then we'd go home. And then...." She stopped and smiled up at him.

"Yes? And then?" he asked eagerly, leaning closer.

"Well, I suppose that's best left to imagination," she said with another laugh.

With a sigh and a wry smile, Will lay back again. "Well, we have very different ideas of what a perfect date would be. Except for one thing, that is—probably the most important detail of all."

"What's that?"

"We each included the other in our ideal dates," he said, reaching for her hand.

"So we did," she said with some surprise.

"Well, perhaps we should try both—then we can compare notes afterwards."

"Maybe someday," she said, sitting up. "But now I believe it's getting late. We should head back."

"It's not exactly a Michelin starred restaurant," Will said as he jumped off the rock and held up his hands to help Colette down, "but will you join me for dinner at Nick's?"

"Certainly, I'd be delighted," she replied as he gently set her down. As they reached her house, she said, "And we're going to explore the two new islands in the southeastern branch of the archipelago tomorrow, right?"

"That's the plan," he replied, putting an arm around her shoulders and giving her a little squeeze.