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Writtenby
WRITTEN BY
KyokoAkitsu
Birthday:February25th-pisces
The three biggest eventsthat happenedwhile writinl
this book: Beck}amcut bis hair. His Royal Hrghres
PrinceAlexandervisited Japan,and prince Willian
startedto look like his father...
KYOKO AKITSU
TOOKO MIYAGI
English tanslation b!
Trsnslatior By Desig[
ILLUSTRATED BY
TookoMilagi
Birthday:Seprember
24th-Libra
BloodT'?e: B+
I haven'thadanytimeto hit thesales,andnow winter's
almostover..Wlat,sfiong with my life?
y'tr*"
Othe! novelspublishedby
JUNE
Contents
Act I:
TheTempest........,....................9
Act II:
TheTaningofThe \hrew........47
Cold Slerp
Little Darlirg
Act III:
lvhtchAdoAboutNothing........87
Act IW
A r N o Ku sa b i -T h e sp a ce B e tw enAsYoulik/- It""135
Vol.| - St-anger
4jierword...................
179
SweetAdmiration
CagedSlave
Act I
The Tempest
he faintodorofalcoholreached
thebutler's
nosassoonashe enteredhis master'schambet He
liowned
The curtaim werepulled shut,and the flames
flickeringin the fireplaceservedas the room's only
illumination,despitethe briglt moming sunshining
outside.
Thefaint firelight fell upon the master's
canopiedbe4 which was empty.The butler noticeda
fi8urclying on the couchthat was setbeforethe fir.
A bottle ofbraDdy lay al its feet.
"Master Edward,haveyou beendrinking
agaln?'thebutler askedthe mansprawledout on the
couch-"Ifyou keepup thesehabits,it will simply
oea nratterof timebeforeyou descend
rnlotrue
arcoholism...
"I didn't callyou in hereto lectureme,old
mair."
Ayousgmansarupon thecouchandlaril]
ran-hisfingersrhroughlhegoldenhairlousledon hi"
rorehead
Thi" *u" Ed*urd,theyoungmasterof the
"*,u,".
ffis
ll)
KyokoAkitstl
A PromiseOf Romance
Thebutierignoredhis protestanddrewopen
lhecurtains.Mominglight floodedtheroom.
A hugegardenspreadoul beyondthe
window.grandenoughto requirethehardwo* of:lrl
groundskeepers
to maintainit. It wasthemiddleof
wiDternow andthelandscapc
wasbrutallypuncluate(l
by evergreensButwhilea profusionoffrowersco\crrr
i1in thespring.thegardenwasremarkably
beautitirl
andremained
so all theway throughautumnEdwardhad.lopprllwrapped
g,.\
a dr<ssing
overhis pajamas.
Theredshowingthroughtbecomrr.
ofhis eyesprovedthathewasstill drunk.Theline
olhisjaw wasperfeclandhis noscslraight.his thin
eyebrows
archedintclligentlyoverhis blLreeyes.clear
asa sparkiingsummcrlake.Theword"noble"seeme{l
1()exrstonly so thatit coulddescribe
him.
Thc youngmasternrmedto gazemeaningtirllr
at thesidetable,frowning.Thebutlerfoundhimself
tbllo,'vinghjs master'seyes.An openedenvelopcla)
atopthelable.
''Bringmthatleuer."Ed*,ardo{dered.
t2
Kjoko,Akitsu
Of Romance
A Promise
t3
ta
K|oko,4kitru
ll
=,
-(
/r\\\ 1,<.
:\
/;-l
tk
ii
t6
KtokoAkitsu
is philamhropy.
I'll choosemy partnermysell"
''MasterEdward.thatwill neverdo, thebut .r
remarked.
"Why not?" Edwarddenranded.
''The girl's family hasalreadyacceptedthc
oller. ' fhe butler confessed.
_We ll pretend
we didn't heaf back." Ed\lafi
growled.
"MasterEdward!"
Looking tired. Edward again held up a haDdr,,
cu! the old man olll He lumed his blue eyesaway anLl
did nol look at the butler again.
Unwillingto sullylhe mastcr'smoodany
furthcr.the butler remaincdsilent.
''ADyway,prepa.emy things for an tmmcdrrl.
depamrre.' Edwardfinally srid.
"Where will you be going. sir? rhe butler
lnquired.
Edwardsrriled chee.firlly."London. I'm goir,"
tofind nry fiancie.'
A PromiseOf Romance
t7
of
lvholtimehewasin highschool,andhaddreamed
gladuating
with
goingio a famousactingschoolafter
Yohei
Aida
fiiend,
bst
his
He andYoheihadmet in high school-Theclass
hadputYoheiin frontofsafsuki.
arrangement
seating
Hehadbeentheoneto teachYoheieverythingtheother
ofSalluki
boyhew abouttheaterIt wasonly because
becameinterested
in thesubjecl.But despile
thatYohei
thal Yoheihadappliedhimselfandhadgottenaheadof
Satsuki.
SatsukihadthoughthewasbetterthanYohei
atever''thing betteral school,betterat acting.
ever,'lhing.
But only Yoheihadbeenaccepted
to their
chea$school.
"I can'tbelieveI got acceptedl"
Yoheihad
annoucedgleefully.
Satsuliwouldnverforgctlhe look on Yoheis
face,theway his eyeshadshonewhenhecameoverto
tellSatsukithegoodnewsat school.
"[ wasn'tsureI d makeit," Yoheihadgushd.
.You
werea shoo,in.Heres to anothertbur!Ear\
logether!,'
ThepossibiljtythatSatsukimightnol have
gottenin badn'tseemto everenterhis mind.
"Well, I messedup," Salsukihado$nedup. He
nadralliedall themusclesin his l'ace.trvin{ ro nrusrer
a
cheeaful
smile.but it t'ailedmiserably.
Yoheihadloolcdulrcrl!dumbrbunoc.r
*What?"
"l didn'tget in. Satsukihadclarified.
Evenactinghadirs lirnils.fhoughhe hadtried
18
KyokoAkitstt
It was humiliating.
"ls il thar tunny that I didn't gct in? . Sarsuki
had shoutedal Yohei beforeslonniDgout ofthl- roon,
Even he had thought it \\'asa childish way ro
acl. Wheneverhe remcmberedthat day. Satsukis lu..
would go cdnNon with shame.
TalentdetermiDesan actor's placc in the thci, l
world.Satsukirnderstoodtbat.IIe'dthouShrhe'dd(,I
well on (he entranceexans. But the iact thal he had
larled tl)c practicalsectiondevastaiedhim. The nunrh.i
ofpeople who can supportthenrselvcsby acting is
so small. it's almosl nonexistcnt.even for thoscwh(r
gradualeliom specialtraining schools.Satsukihadn l
l-eltarrogantassumjrrgthat he was one oflhose chosci,
l'ew.His unrivallcd love for theatcrhad gilcn him a
senseofconlidencc. But lherc'sa certainspark!o go,\
actingthathadbeenlackingin him. andhe hadn'lber|
accepledby lhe bestschool.And during lhat dark lilrlf.
he d thoughthe would never be a profbssional.ithcl
Satsukihad ended0p graduaringwirhout e\.j
spcakingto Yohei again.He'd also gone to his fall_
backschool.Olcourse.he'd enrolledin thetheatcr
dcpaftnrenl.Bur it was nothing like lhc schoolhe hrl
$antcdl,) po lo. shrch hada rLpularton
ol lumint,
oul huge numbersofprofcssional aclors.AII the othcr
sludentsin his new schoolhad appliedto thar samc
A PromiseOf Romance
l9
aod
aodall hadfailedto get in.All tbeclasses
school,
in themhadanair offailure.Thentherehad
everyone
who weregnuinelysatislledwith
students
the
been
never
hoPedfor anlthingbetter
theirlot atrdhad
couldn'tstandthem,eitherStill. hehadD'lfelt
Satsuki
theexamsoveragain.tlis pridewouldnt
takng
like
allowYoheito behis senior
But Satsukihadnevrbeenhappywilh his life
atthecollegeheneverwantedlo attend.fhen oneday.
he'ddiscovred
a book.lt wasa collectionofessa!s
bya famous
theat(ractoru ho hadsrudlcd
dramxin
London.
"I'll go to London.too!'
By thetime he d Gnished
thebook,hrshcarr
w,s seton studyingin England.thebirthplaccof
theater.
Afier all, evenifhe graduated
$ith a theatcr
degree,
thatdidn'tguarantee
him ajob. It wouldbe
muchmoreusetulto leamEnglishwhile hetookall the
lheater
classes
h liked
He hadnow realizedhis dream.
Theonly realproblemwasmoney.
Not wantinqto bc a burden.hehadcut hinrsell
oFftomhis parents:
supportandffedJapan.But his
moneyhadevaporated
duringhis firstyearat the
Iatguage
schoolin England.So it wouldbe impossible
toaskthemto
hetppayhis schooll'eesnow.
Hewasnowmanaetns
to k(cDhirn\elltrd s rrh
altl-time job in pub.
a
Bui tr., u.',ill in dung"r"
ur
oroDPing
outbecau,e
hetouldnl atlurtilo Davrheru ton.
ifhedidaskhispaJenr.
tbrhetp.thr) \ ;utd probabty
^Drt
JW
tqd bim rhemonerlor a planerrcteihomc.
20
KyokoAkitt
A PromiseOfRomance
andthefactthathis motherlooked
theJapanese,
yotng for herage.he still couldn'tbelieve
remarkably
was.
Brenda
young
how
shewasnot living a very
Apparently,
in second-hand
life. dressed
out-of-fashion
comfortable
Shewouldalwaysorderonebeerandnurse
clothes.
it Feciouslybeforegoinghome.Shehadtold him
diedearlyandshehadlived alone
thatherparents
evrsince.Bul thatshouldnt havenradeher life so
wretchd.
Neverwrthouta friendlysmiletbr him.
Brenda
alwaysworriedaboulSatsuki'swell-being.
siDce
hebadcomall theway to Englandall alone.She
hadalsobeentheoneto negotialewith thepubowner
to rncludemealsin his pay.Shewasunusualamong
English
people,who wereusuallystand-olnsh
and
reluctant
to interfereiDotberpeople'sbusiness.
But Brendahadn'tbenby thepub in several
days.
He rcmembered
thatshehadbencoughing
coostantly
thelasttimehehadseenher,andhe started
2l
22
Walkingdowna squalidsidestreetin a barj ,r.
oflhe ciry in rhebirtercold,Sarsukiilnally spo$edL!
apartrnent
he$as looktngltrr.ThebuildrnB
was!cl
old.lt looledlil,e hadbL,en
burltlongbcfi,rcS .,
wasborn.Theinsidcwasdim. andsmelledofmokl
anddust.lje lackedthecourageto takethe erevar(n.
$hichlookrdlikerr nrighlc,rjldp\c
al an) momcnr
rlrmbedup rhccreirking
srarrcase
ro Brenda
. roorrr
lhe thirdfl oor lle couldnt 6nd a doorbellann!.her..
heknockedon tbedoorhesitantly.
Therewasno answer.
He knockedlouder
''Quil thatrackct!"a voiceyelledfrom insitl,
fhe doorswungopenviolcntlyanoa womrr
*,earinggarishnrakcupappeared.
causjngSatsukit|
He wasin a complctepaniciion thesnocr
ofscreamingat a sirangerHe struggledto thjnkol
somethtng
to say,
''l-l'm sorry."hemanaged
kr stutter.-Um_|
I m a friendof Brenda's..'
The!lomanlookedat Sal\ukianglrt).
__
pornledl)
Inspecling
hinrfromtopto bolrom...,\r(
\,.
Salsukinodded.
''Wc haven'tgol anylhimg
worthstealing...
lhl
womansard,speaking
roughlyin a thick.low_class
,.The
accenlthatSalsukjhadtroubleunderstanding.
door'sopen,soyoudont haveto knockall politel]lr,f
that.Justcomein."
With that,shewentbackinsidc.
A PromiseOfRomance
2l
21
Kwko Akitsu
A PromiseOf Romance
25
26
Ktoko Akitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
27
Nevillcentered
a wealthyhousingdtsrricl|ll
.
London, summonedlhere by his fiiend.
EveDhefc. r i
most striking building was the live story
aparamerl .r,
liiend owned
In ihis building. cach fioor had three
rno('penJenl
apanmrnt\.l_achdparlment
cosrmur(
thanNc\rllc $ould e\ct eam In htsent||e
lrtcrrnrL.
I
lnenJ.on lh( olh(r hand.u a, sla)lng on
the top I, .
r.nemanhadromhinedthelhreeapartmenls ,,t,
Intn
whar s rrore.h( hiidb,rughrthedlannrenr\
on lh(
nr,or\bclorrso rharhe $ouldn l he drsrurbed
b1 hr
ncighbor..l har*as *h) \crrlle(L,rrld\ec
otrptl
rllunUnalnglhe otlterlour flo,rr\lrom rhe
o t\tde I
Irrendatro ou ncdJ Ita\\i\ c eslarcandrnanor
hou.(
thc oulskirtsofLondon.He hadinherited
On oneside.thefaronte\o,rol d bomarislo(r .
alt 01.itti{.rrr
.
aotl
nrs parcnts.He had ncver had lo work fbr
on
the
other,a workint,class
anythingi ir,
kid whosenatrrcwasas
posrnonmadeeverythingavailable
Sood
as
mud.
to hirn.
whentherfii'r mer.Nevillcuouldncrer
n{ve(hearned
Nevillc. who had nothing, was very jealous (jl
lbatL.duarrl
uoulL!ue.rrhimtrndll
Kt'okoAkitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
Edwardhadbeentheoneto cultivarerne
friendship.
Clearblueeyesbelowshininggoldenhrf
hehadtruly beenlike anangel.
Nevilleremembered
beingterrilledal harrrr
respond1()his pert'ect
Queen'sEnglishpronuncrari,,r
His lowcr-class
accenthadcomeout strongerthan.\!i
tsutEdwardhadr't laughedat him like th.
o(herstudents.
He hadbeenthepicture_perfect
ho|,,
sfudent.
And hehadloathedhis surroundings.
whrr
lovcdhim tooeasily.
yours,"Edward growled
'
you otlt
Nevillegdnnedloothily."Suresnapped
ofyourboredomoul thercin thecountrt.didn t it?"
"lt
"Tha[ks,yes,"Edwardsaidsarcastically.
said'
asYou'd
wassllexactly
'DoD't you thinl it's timeyou gaveup andgot
Edward?"Nvilleasked.concernevidntin
rnanied,
Nevillegreetedthedoormanat theenarane!
.i
rcdelhe elevatorto Ihetopfloor.Tbiswaspracttcirl!
hrssecondhone. Openjngthedoorwith his sparel,\
Ncrrllehaded
intorhcs tingroom.expecring
tu
nts Inend
Edwardwas sprawledindiflerently on the ! ri
His silk shifl was unbuttoned,revealingtbe barc sliI
ofhis chest.Whenhe sawNevilleout ofthc comel
of hrseye.he raisedthe* rncglassrn his rrghthan.r
apathsticallJ
"You're pretty late,aren.t you?..he greclc(l
was gelhng tircd ofwaiting."
Nevillecouldtell Edwardwas in a baonr(!\,
"So what else is ner,a"
Sincegradurting,it had beenmorc exceprr r
to seeEdwardln a good mood than otherwise.
"l didn t think you d get to London rnls
qulckl],." Neville explaind.
"11's all because of that ietler of
29
his shoulders
dismjssively.
His friendshrugged
hisfacsulky."Don't be ridiculous.who wouldI
marqnNoneof
lhegirl. in theriFhllhrnilies
intcr(.1
me.I'mdoingenoughjust livi,rgout thelite tlat s been
seloutfor me-"
"That'sa prettyconslr[ctiveopinionfor you."
Nevilleremarked.
"Constructive'1"
A conlusedexpression
clouded
Edward's
facefor a nroment.but thenhebeganto laugh
sotly,'Neville,I just badthemostwondertulidea."
"Letmcsa) somelhing
tirst. Ne!ill(
.
rnEnupted.
"l reallydo think it s besrifyou gel
mariedlikeyour father'swill says."
IfEdwardcontinuedthisidle lifestyle.it would
ultu&telydestrovhis bodvanrlhis soirir.lihs wcrc
loqany,hecouli lead
a healthierliie. Thatwasn,ny
le hadto many.But the
truthwas.thesel,l'ordsdrdnl
expaess
Nville'struc feelings_
'Ne!er mindlhal. l-duardsaiddismt\srr(l).
..,
JLr$
listen.
I M.l//sermarned.
Bul ,t.ll bea iham.l.ll
maqysom.nn..
nrr inhentdncc
onceand ror dll.
aqlten kiss e;l
my-.wrd. goodbve...
"Do you thinkthatwouldwork'l'Neville askcd
l0
dubiously.
"Most womenareprettygreedy.Do yorl
thinkyou canfind a womanwho'lljusr give up bcn!
LadyArgylevoluntarily?"
"l knowofsucha woman,"Edwaroassurrtr
him,"About two yearsago,I becameacquarnreo
\\ ltr
very nicewoman.Her horriblesituationin life nn,\il
nle to give hermy family'sheirloomring."
"You don'tmeanlhe bluediamond?"Ne\ r iL
askedincredulously.
I{e hadrareiybeensurprised
by anyrnrng
Edwardhaddonein all thtimetharhe'dknownhnl
butnow hewasat a loss.Therewereonly a handlirri
suchlreasures
in theworld.He couldnt conrpreneI
srmplygivingthering to a s[anger
"Shesaidshewouldnt sellit," Edward
drawled,"thoughits pricewouldhavesuppo(edhfL
for thereslofher lil'e.Sheonly saidshewantedt(' ,ii
me agarn.lsn t thatanunselfish
woman?I.m surcsni
wouldbewillingro help."
''Maybshedidn t knowhow muchrncrrrrr
wasworth?"Nevilleguessed.
"Who cares?"Edwardsaid. 'l m goingro h|l
her lfshe still hasrhering,she'llbemy hke bridr,
"And whatifshedidseltit aflerall?,'Nc\i f
asked.
''l'll buy it backandfind anotherwomaD.
Edwad answered.
Nevillepushed
on. 'Do youthinkyoucanI rrd
anolheronc thateasy?"
"Whatwouldbeso mucheas;cris ifyou $.r'c
a woman.Neville.' Ed$ardjoked.
A PromiseOfRomance
ll
a2
K|okoAkitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
ll
ii1ii1
l
A PromiscOf llomancc
15
36
Kyoko Akit:u
A PromiseOf Romance
37
*n""'::;::f,"i:*"urhedriverrhcbusin(ss.
, , S;k"*::T,l'lf,::;];l;!*::"n*:,,
]N
A PromiseOl Romance
t9
4t)
K\oka.lkiLvt
A Promisc(lf Rnmance
was cont-used
slippodthering onto a 6nger' Satsuki
"This ring is lhe heirloonl ofnly tamil)."
lgnoringSatsuki'sreaction.Ed\lard told hin the same
$oryNeville had given him eaflrer. When we give this
ringaway,it's on,y to our intendedbrides.By the Nay.
arcyou Chineselt"
"l'm Japanese."Satsukrans\\'efed.
"Did you conreto Londonto sighlsec.)'
Edwardasked.
"No. I'ol studyinghere..ll a lhcnlerschool.'
Satsuliexplaincd.
'Theater?"Edrard echocd.dclightcd.'Rcall!.'
Andyour namel"
"lmamuraSatsuki.'
Satsukideliberalely
ga,Le
hrslull ratre rn the
JapaDese
order Most Brilish peoplc\reren t usedto
Japanese
namesaDdcouldn t renreDberthem verv $ell
alieronlyhearrng
rlrcmon((. llL r\ a.n l Born! lo ht'
n'ceaid spell his nameout tbr this arrLrgant
man.
"Is lmamurasalsuki
vouutifst narrel Fd$ard
4ked.
Satsukirelenteda liltlc. No otc in LondoDhrd
everpronounced
his nanreso \rcll.
"Imamurais nlv t;mil\ name.Satsukri\ nry
.n]stnam."
. WhalLr
"Satsuki."tsdwardrnunnurcd.
wonderfully
erorri ncrrreAn(l \!1....,r.\ !o:r.ru\..\i
uo!'t
Youthrnk so. Net rllc
He sho\ed ni' .r!r ol r(l(.,:r',!\.rr5ukr)hrr(l
dlNeville
^,.drdwic
"h.,"_
rlxcuscnre. Satsukiultered.
1)
Kt,L)ko
Akit.ttl
A PromiseOl Romancc
4l
a+
K|oku Aki^u
A PromiseOf Romance
'15
ab
Kyoko Akitstl
Act II
TheTamingOf TheShrew
an
K\oko,lkn\
tl
Lld*ardnodded..\tah...
Srtsukitricddcsncrrtchto rccallrhen.rr irj,il
A Promise Ol Romancc
'ls
50
Krokolk t\t
A PromiseOfRonlancc
trD,,r\I.\hi(h
..
Satsukiskred.
Ftiuard s bluec1cs.trkegti cringctas\.n. .
ll\ed in his dcepl,\car\edlace.Hc nr,l.crlsrlan,.:.
r li,
didn-lseclnhunrrD.
SatsukiLrndcfstood
,r liIlc bcttcr\\.h\ flLr .,ll
hitLirallcdrhc nlana tod.
''l ll be righl hack. Fil\ a|(jsllidsu(ldc|\ l.
clrsrpp!'ared.
Icn\irg Satsukiin thc siltiDgr(mnr
Salsukilookedaround.The roonru,asp,ur1.
lrl Iof rlssrze.andso thc \r'holeplac,r$as drnr.t r.r;rc,l
5l
5l
Of Ronrrncc
A Prorrise
tr\!1.
Tf ( f ( .
5l
n. , t l n! qr , .
rl
,.
'.'
+
t"
)
/
56
K|oko ,tkits
OfRornance
A Promise
57
'
m strcallylikehim Ma)
Picke.iig'"
to betrulv enjoyinghimsell.
Heseemed
AudreyHepburn.thepixic ofthe sllve.scrcen.
in lhemovie"My FairLad) anditbecanreonc
sarrsd
olhrmostfamousfi1ms.Shcplaycda llorer selleriD
Gardenwho becanca relirredladyunderlhc
Covent
J rirrg-rn.
of Prol'e\.or
lligein5.
$idance
"Well,if wc rc rc enactingthemo\ ic. ho\r
about
a littlewager.Protessofl'Ne\illc said.gclting
canied
away,too. 'Elizahadsi\ nionlhsto beconte
a
lady,
buthowlongdo you hrrc, M.rt-l'
"Six nronthsrsa u,alkiDlhc
Edwardshrugged.
Fo*-Wehavethreemonthsto breakup theold nlans
scheme
beforetheengagetnent
parr),.'
"You'retellingnrethat May lvill bc starrding
,
byyoursidearthecngalc r(nl
lit ) il Il) d( Part
noblinKnighl\birJer
in lhrc(rn.'nrh\l \c\rttcd,t(J
ulqedulously.
'.whalexacrlydo I havek) do.t..sarsuki
.
burted
ln_'
-lr58
Ki oko tkits
A PromiseOl_Romance
1t .\r .
Th!'nc)itDroming.Satsuki\ras{okri) | i. ').
call lionr Ldward.The contracrhadbecndfr\\ rrI 1 .rril
the man$antcdSalsuklto conteas soonas hc r,,Lr{L
lhe hlondsoundcdunusLrtlly
e\citcd.
Thc cbck saidit $as only 8:0i)aln Srl'LrIl
\-
g1*;i"J;"'iiil
dont thirrk
abot'I
th' tro'Ihr'
6lt
K|ako.,lkitslt
''It certainlvscemslhatwar:..SatsLrkr
,,:rrr,1
''Ifyou \,,rant
out. now s the ttntclo ,.r. , , .,
Ineantnglul
s ilc crosscdNcrille.sihc..
''YoLrlried lo stop ntc bctbre.too...S.|,
r, ,l
''Whyl''
.llccauscyou.r!
Ihe ntanshruggcd.
!, !i,
bcconrea plairlhingli)r rherich.'
''Bur I ncednoncv...Sarsukisaid.. I lr ,,1
\en \cJl rrnredliJrnre.'
''then theres norhingI cxn do. .Nc\
''Nothing
i'ou cando aboulrllal.) l .j:.. Ll
tuskrdas he fcipp!'ared.
''I rvasrskinc l\lat ifhe \as rcadr r,rr, ,,
\evrJlcstoodup .lndbroughto\er a burdlc (,r ,. .,.r.
Uonri trbl!-.*This is \,ourco|rtracl..
''l1s preflvthick. SnlsLrki
cotnnrerrlrl
llc hadbelrnrhc olle(r ask Ibr clarri..r .,,.,,
no$ thattheJob\\'asbeconingrcal.he $r\ !.1
! ,
lIllle intinridated.
''Ii s.tustlin.fcrssurancc.
We didn.rucr
.r.rur, .J\\ef ,,, rrJkc l. \J\,lr. ..rd .fr..:; ,
SatsukipickedUpa farl ot rt xnd lootf, rr
o\ cr. hul rouldn t t)rakcheadsor tailsol_it
Nc\ rllc sa\r SrtsLrki
s dislrcssand.\|t., r.,
'''Ilrclirstpartis lhc prclirccIr.s
ehock_llll(\i , ri
lcfnrs.but don tbe lo()sclfcd.Thc restol il (1f.,i,,c.
th!'tobduticsandpav.Thc,nnsl irnporla,)t
r)l .
the.iobduties I,irsrot al theduticsrs thil \orr
acl irsl.dsa lstirncec. ).Je\trslhar],ou.lll|tr..r,
A PromiscOfRomance
ol
rECE !h--r,
-IF
(Jf Romance
A Pronrisc
61
''ln themiddleoflhe honeyDtoon.N!r
(
wr''rton. _!..ou
ll havea fightandgcl a di\orr( , ,L
thatwill be thc cndofyour rolc.yoLrtwo \,,r \L , rr r
tirs. Evcn tl vou seeeachotherin the strct,t.
r,r: .,
likc slrangers.
This is so lhat Fdwards malr,":. I I
clrscovercd
to be a shamaft"-rthe pltn s b(,cr.,. ,:11
''lD tho l lu\( ltin dt ttr( a
i I
t\) li,
6l
And_a10.000potrndh,nru'un''rl
endofse contratl
ol the Plan
complehon
sucassfiil
thrcc
monthsuniil the engagentent
Therwere
Thatworked out to quite a largeamounl bv thc
pady.
!d Srtsukibega'llo ttar the huge anx)unlofmonc)
hewooldhavewhen it ras 3ll over Hc alDroslfelt Iike
hewrsassistingin a crinre He probablywouldrl l itrst
gelawayscott-freeifthey $ere caught.
"And ifsomethinggoeswrongl- hc askcd.
Nevillehadlhe answer10thatloo."in cases
ofilhessor other una\'oidablccircumsranccs.
or itthe
pltnis interruptedblr a third pnq. lhc balancceamed
sofrr will be paid to you. Ilut ilyou delrberatel)
sabotage
the plan. you \\ill pa,\ ba.k a perccnlageoflhc
noneyto Lord Argyle '
"Deliberatel)'5abotagcrfl Srlsuki cchocd.
coDilsd.
rlr""rlr
\"\
ffi.T:'"*'.'|',,1':tl'""''r',''
61
K.\'oko,lkitsu
A PronriscOf Rornancc
65
EdwardbrouLlht
llnt lL,ltond \trecl. s tl(r(
.
designer
'aqons
shops,r.N ael rtrr.rrerr-rr,,r,rt tr<
ilili::il1:
H:''il-;Edward
"'lll::,:1i;.:ll.,
pushing
inn)
starled
Satsuki
Ol Romance
A Promise
67
c) inrmcdrrlclt
ofclolhe' in lronl "i hrnr_T1
moutrlaro
flller
unolh!'r
one
choice'
oar|&dtheir
'
'"Thisbag is very populrr' we only halc onc
lefti! stock It would look perl-ecton )ou miss"
"And this coar' . '
Satsukiwas easily bored nift b l hc suftered
with s'nile lfi('r snlilc. whcn thcltheprsentations
.tn lnnlirl ofclolb(-s and closed
he
took
hadfioished,
hinslfotrin a rrtinoredchangirg room.
hadrcatcd Saisukilikc
Thesaleswomen
pcoplc look qurtevoung lo
hewasa child. JapanL-sc
Westetlers
and he lookcd likc a pre{eer to then. The}
badprobably
told the'Isel\es thal rhai was $rhy he had
n0Drasts.
He changedin() a palefrnk skirtsuit.llc
checkd
himselfin tbe nirror lo makc surc Dornrng
looked
suspicious.But hc had no rcasLrn
to t-earHrs
features
we.e
too slight to ever suggesta nrans
lelicate
ltae.Nor was he particulaflytall. CoInparedto Weslenr
vomen,he was smail.
And th.rnksto his neSligencc
lnSltitrg his hair
cut. his lresscsfell to bis shouldcrs
dndulrdebrm
h,ol qutl( girlish I.rrg<..ltarpl\,lanrr.J
elesAcoy
no.c.fr,il lrn! He undehr,.'ua\ \ ctt ir\
inyoleelse
$h) thc olorr .rrulerrr.
lr:rris,' mrrchtrrn
'6&ngbimdressa.,r !.irt in hrghsehool
t,, 'h , !tt,.n,t, t,,1.r-1. .t th,t ! .
*.rurr+ess
-'TolhitL
dSdl,
He lauehed.rl
lllrrrr(rrdt'frri\cl\ flut tr(.r'r rr
,L
*&uror
loot eri bacl r,,t lr
ne caI,( ,rrrl,,1 ll'L (lrr''!r,'! r,,,.r
{*'.
-".,rcn
,5_ 'ales'*umcnh(:rt\'d tl.trr(r\.'r' l,rnr.
n6
Kt:oka.1kit!|
IFF
A Promiseol Romanic
6a
but cveryone
It wasprobablyhjs inragrnation.
il
Inenl
to bestarlng
s@rd
Themaincd pull(dlrr' (luir oJl rorhimdrr,l
stt down He tooka deePbreothandlookecl
Satsuti
once ore,
arcund
wasrlelldressed.No onewas
Everyone
wosintthejerseyoftheir lir\ orilc soccertean like
beydidi. thepubwherehe workcd.
"w1latwill you havc.Satsuki: Edu'ardasked.
oplingthemenu"l dont reallykno$.l ll lctlou orderlir me.'
sahutis!id,comptctely
paralyzed
b-vthe priceshe sa$
lrllhehenu.
Edwardcalledthe$aitero\er andordercddrcir
medskilltully.
Thewinecamefirst.Ld\!arddidn't lik. it alier
uong
e hst,ng.
at|d\o lhc) bruuEhlJnolhcrbonlc
rlvalagoodwine,andtheshccrluxuryofso easily
opeoag
anotherboltleshockedSatsuki.
The
mealwaschilledScottishsalmonandroast
.
becf,
thefoundation
ot all Brirrslr
eoolrng.I ! (n lnougn
foodin eeneral
is.rurr.dr,eustincl
srrrukr
-Entrt
{,r"ov..ed
rhut-yo,,
r,
o.r h.rl\ou ;a\ ro; rrrenr(Jl
r|ase\quistte.
After they had eaten.lhcy wcnl lo a shop on
deSctt
Street
ani oni. nr.,r.borqhr.r eryrhrrgrrrrr,"
-_q' rall'ed
rarrrrohr"rs(lr
nl nl sel r larrd
no ltferirJeJ
t,' \rnj
,rt,,\
.r\
It;Ercrel roeo (r
s -r
l D'alsuli
oppi ng.then.
sr fl rn! 1,,rrul ) ha\( r n. rhL n\o
h;w
et*.*.
jE
_F
A PromiseOf Romancc
hd\lard-sapartnrent.
Salsuki$as feelingplJ\
r
chdngedinlo sornelhing
tancvandpul on s(r|r.irddri
lingcrie.a wig andsomcnakeup.His expcrrr I i\ Lr
cross-drcssing
in the dra a club sas rcall\ !
,!
In h.rnd).qIJ 1,.$rr li rll\ ,\r:Ii'g,'r'('
a|propnatclbf hrsage.Whcn hc *rs 6Drsh.,l.,, i'
Edtard orrccnlrre lockedarntsanduent rr,.L lLr
opefaprcccirl LheRovalOpera.AflcNards. rl .. ,.rJ
djrner at lhc Crfa Royal..r vet_-r
i
okl .est.rurr
r .r
l\.li're ir,'nc1(J i- lh- i,, .( |lrn. hr,l\(
rrllporlant
r cclrn! Plirccandhostto hisloir.r , rfi
Fdwardonccrsain ofdefedan c\l)!.ri.r: i\ rrt
rrrdSatsukialc do\c brc r\t li)r lhe lirrl r|rrf :' \ rii
Ha\ing spcntll)ccnrireda\'!rith F(l\r ,
Satsukilell hc hadnrisiudgcd
lhe n n earlr(i r,l
bloDdt{asnl thebadpersonhc had lirsl th\)LI il
andlhc man||asn l cvenall thalstrangcIlr ]r.rft,li
nltenlitelvto c|er\1hingSatsukisaidand\.rrL i,,
grcatlenclhsto jrrev(-nl
Satsukilionr getting. .1
Ifprcsscdto nanrea laull. Salsuki$(mldr!\ ' :
nraybclrdward\\'astno rich.Durinuthc slr(,ffrri
n)da).Fdwards fieedorn\\ ilh his molc\ hrLli,,i]$LLl
shockedSatsuki.
After the) tinishcddcsserl.a!\rr1.L!,'i itrl
thenrcotTcc
Fd\iardsolcnnlv t(x)kout a rin!. rlrJ
hcir'loom.
''I hirdlhc sile adJustcd
to lit \or ' ll. '\'r
Sitsukr'shandandslrppcdlhc ng ont(,tt lLiri. "hrl
SatsLrkr
slafcilin surlrise.I1fir his r ir)qflr!rr r'..rii'irrl
'l nr troposingxgrirr. tid\LUdslniicd.l1r. ,\ri l
'11
irfonr4ceto shametheprotessi"nal\
'
brcl. n.lrr! lt, !lre. hall(ngc
smrled
satsuki
{'r sohaPPY."
vou. Edwardsaid
"I'm gladil pleascs
squdingSatsuki'shand
Themansayingtheselhingsto hin rvasa
hrr&oEeblond.A woman\urld hr're!tartcddancjng
i[ Sa!g*i'splace.And nraybeil wls tlrclhllll ot the
pulscquickcneda
vinehchaddll|nk.but Satsuki-s
linlgtoo.
Whenthemealentledandlhcy sloodup.
Sahrki
ralized
thattheuiDc hadaltcctedhinr fll(,c
urahehadthought.Conbil]cdwith theunlamilial
shoas,
hebeganto slaggcrand\ras ilt no condrlx)n1r)
vraltvithout
support.IIc aDdEd\\afdIinkedannsoncc
nlorladdlell the restaurxnt.
A brightflashoflighiblindcdSatsnki
andhe
.
ll@dlte soundofa carnera
shutterlvhiffing.lle was
mtrCqtarilystunned.
"Goodevening.
LordArgylc.'a\oicegreered
AwomanaDDeared
a
outofthedrfkness.
qDra
slungarounihel'
\((rrcJ
r,'
bc
rn
\h(
'rect
H",
Yni&30..
h:rir$a\ lr(J br.k
tl$pilyota
"ooo",-..'tureJ
tt.
rlor.
nu
,rkcuo.
\hc $ar aLu urer,ru
qy caually
in slack.rnd r ircier
"Goodercnrn,r.
V. V,,,rrm Srrl .'.Jcdr.:rrr,i
,^
*Jqrwork
asevcr.i,rr. L,js.rr.rsnrilq.jlrr,. u.,
"I'm sorr1.
eLri'ouien-rnt\rcerrr,,h( In .r
tonrghl.llavc \ou hcrrdsLJ|uc
good
sl'
're\\
12
KyokoAkitsu
A Promisc OfRonancc
7l
A dclrberate
snriletwirchcdrcrossher tace JJ( fr!,,
"who was thal wonlan? S.tlsukiasked
lcll on lhe ring on Satsukis iinger. Why-.a l;r:
for a tablo'd.'
"A societypagc.iounlalisl
Satsukitriedri:rhidehis lefi haid, bu hc drJf:r.-,!
h,Lti Edwardanswered
bcendone 'TheAruylelamily rrrgl l)ocs L, . ,,!rr
Fodts or "Frildt
"Like a tepollrr li,
lhar\,ou ve tinalh piekedo c'1"Sheseenrccl
r, l.rr,,\
t .tr@dr?"Satsukialmostasked.shocked.belbre
$ hatlhe ring meant.
nolizingthat Edwardrvouldn t know lje changedhis
''Plcasedon l bc so factlcss.Fd\riIt
'
qleltion."Do things like that happc to \ou ollen l
repnmanded
sofil). l \cJust prLrposed
rodil
"Oncein a \rhile. ld\!rrd said.glancing
Ms. Most!'ntsrnilcd. Wcll congrarLi i r\
highl! suspicious
His answ!'rseeDred
atSat6uki.
Shesalorehgifl Whcl-syour nilne. dcrf )'
yoLrback to louf
wanl
lo
talie
"Sst$ki,l really did
Satsukihesitatcd
thenrcspoltdcd
\
{ielir i
spchent," he said apologcticall\- but !vrll )ou sla\
''Nla).'
wi6meal lhe holel!,,1i!:ll1.
in ( r.( r1nr I(pon(I :'
''l\'ta]l Are you Chrnese?'
w.tching?"
Ed\r'ardcul lhe rooran ofl _l nr lcnr .l\ !,r1
Satsuki
noddcd.lfthey * erc bcrngtlllowcd
trut \c !e coi sontc\i_hefe
rIrdEdward
to bc We must bc -'(r!t! i
droppedhinr ollat his apaftment.the
vou \t"antto do a reallnleniew sonietinte.I Ll.::t\\\l
Epoflerwould easily find oul Salsukis true rdentll).
aadeverytbing
:rnyqueslrons
Younrighlhave.'
would be r)\cr. An!\\'a]. ()moffow rvas
ruoday,
"l apologize.Ms Mostemsaid.birrkr)!
so he didnl needlo go ho c.
dor!n. 8ut thisis wonderfulDc\\'sl d likc lti ,\r Ll
aboutil. ii I may.l ll sendyou a copy.'
''Right. Ed\rardihre$ oul thedisrirr.r..l.Ll
Evenhlallvlhc taxi DullcdtlD ir tiont Lrla \\cllagedluxury hotel.
rcsPonse
andhaileda cabpassjDg
bv lhe rcsrrr'.Lr11
''The llolelClaridgciD Maytair. hc
As thev crossc'dtlrc nrarblefloor unoerIne
'r,l
chaldetier-lil
lo lh,jdrr\ er rhrollshr hc $ Indo$. lhts \\.r. t..
arch(dentri||r,
i I J\.UC fI eJ S:rr.ukl
q [rA
in an embracc
lhe e\pericnceoftaking a Londonla\i. \o h.rl li
"Huh? Satsukis.lucaked
ncgoliatethc dcslination
bclire gettingilr
Beforehe rcutru..J
The drirer nodded-so L,l""rJl"tp.,l
$1.: $ ,.lrint,(|L..
'.,,.L't'
had
"ln. lhengot into lhe taxi himselt.
leaned
do$
r
:,.
lt pl.ciJ :r kr . . on tr. trf.
ils&d
''Ha\ca woDdertirl
e!ening. Thc lorr:.rrr'\rli' T&he.onn"*,r
rh. r,.,,r,. tr1,. \ r,r!,.i t...tr.Lr
hadheardthehotelnanrc.smiledn;eanir)gtir
L\ rslhd . lHJ rDtoh's slrghr[ .,p.r rr,',rrl,rrrJhc---.rn
pr.'r.rfl:
a
rcal
he
nro.
kiss.
thc
6rst
o]rc
erer
lrff'rwas
i.+
F
K\oAo.lkit\u
sal.U\r, JI ( 1,,hr. \(n-i. Jnd t! r,. .,
a\ra\.
'\\'hi]l e ) ou dorngl- Satsukigtru.(L
Fd*rrd. \ipirrg his nroUlhofi $ilh rhc b.rcL,,
-:\
--
1\,t,
''Wt r!'cngagcd.l](i$ardadDx)nishirtI ),
drd \oLrlirrlet thrl I lustproposcdLovou itr r ,
Ro\rll'
Salsukrhid no ans$cfro th.tr Bc Lrl\\ , .
hincic thar$ns\\hrtSatsukihadlod.||,!.. ., !l
l rr')rrrr..rJ\ rJr\ Hr '..,1hc.r ,.rhlr I
haTcJforrthc $ondcrlirltbodand$lne rharlr. .,.1
largoll.^n
wh\ hr !\asthefe
lt was nalumltin rD cnq.lsedco pl. L, -\ L
Nr\ clearl\\rorrg tl) hrvc rellscd.
I lc hunghis head. I n sor'ry"
''[)Lnr'1
look so serious. Fd$irrdgcnLir. *.t
SalsLrki
s li)fchcld.And. lakrn,lS.rlsLrki
s hi kl .r\
rcnt to lhe ch!'ck-indcsk.
'lhc desk
clerkhadonlv to secF(h\ur: . r,,
helirrcsilenll)ffodLrcing
a ke) Satsukiu rrnd. . lr,\,
Lrl
man\ otheflo\crs F.d$ardhaLlbroughl
hcrr bf,
l'. n.1i rh( -.,nJ. ,,okirr.trjj\ll) t:rt. I.
"
lnLrslhr\c lookedlikurfelLtctrntyoUnlr! l,,rr r. r'
nrghl.
ll)r rNnr sx\. as onenri"hr Inr".rl
\urlc lhc rrnnrarulatc
\p"." qr"oA ou, t'..f1,r. ,, ,,
highlrghrcd
h\ lu\uriousdcroratron\.
lthr hir,r,,
tl t..r,lrhr.r t,' l,l\..rJ ..,t\ Ir'r'. \.,r.,r1
ha\c b.cn alirid t()L'\cnstcpinrorherrnnr
lJ',r,1,,rJ,"(,1.\.,r(t,$t .N.\ tr,j, | .
[\,\.\'\.}
1$?
.t.
,,
u:
;'rli
'+>^,
-TF(lf Rontancc
A Prornrsc
'-Todaylnusihavebeentiring, hc c.rjL
;. !i
Hc noddedat thc king sizebcd.and\., ,.ri.r,,.
,j.,'\
D .,,ulLlh(lt) h I trke o hr ,
-'the
''I m som Ididn t acl bctlcr. SatsLrkr
.\ L\
dc'tected.
Ii)r sornc(Jne
\r ho Nantcdto lt a t,tr,nd.
hc haddonea rrisc'rable
job.
''Nol rt all. you drd glcat Ed*.rrrlr
ra,r
Salsuki! |and .]ndsniled kindlv Thcrcs,l
wiv 1r)go. so don t $car )orusclfoutlto$
The'man s kindDessrvrs tr)oo\r'r\ hfl r! iirJ
(rr.Ikr nrbl,,ihr.
'
'r.rr rtrr,"r;lr:,r..r. . r
badat kissing.L!cD kissinsto grccrpeopl!h( ,..1\N:
ln Japan.onl) lo!crs kisscich othcr.so l nr r. : ,cL:r,
rt.'
''lbu ll g!'t Lrscd
to il. lid$rrd sair , ,frr
Salsukislmrghtir lhe c'\c.
''\bu rltcrn '
Ed$a|d s Iipsb|ushedSatsUkr's
o\\n \.L.rLLL
closcdhis c\es instinctr\
el). [dr.ard t(X)khis ]: s : r,r
tlr.trbr.r,lrcJllr.'I , rrc( nror(r. r, )1\ ll
^\
''Justrclax. hc srid \\ rrha lirttetrrgh
Shi!erirg ioln th!'slressot-tlrekisses r,
l(Juchrdonc nnnnenlaDddtdn t toUchthc trc\r \.rrnrl
thoLrgh{
he nusl h0\e lookedconipletelvtir('l.,
Al lhatntLrnrcnr.llrcre
$as a knoll orrI -,1,'t'
xs foorlrsen ice i[f]\'cd.Thc bo]. dfcssc(llJr,r . i
tunili)rrI.\heeled a .aft $ilh \corchnndI lil]lrI . r'l
rnlothc roorn.And \rhen F.clrrarri
signcdrlrr .lr..l r''
lcll again{ith duc decorLrnr.
''1bel lhatgu) lhinksI nr
)'oLrrgirlt|1rr.l
Salsukrsaid.tn ing to co\ cr hiserlrb|nassrrrrr
i
77
'Trobably."Edwardagleed \4aybe\re
etulfried.
"Do you waDlsonrcl Ed$ardhcldou1.tshol
glass
tull ofbrown licluid.
Salsukr
acc(pl,rdlh- l.r...,rrd.\\rlh,,l
$mpp'ng
to think. dtrer back lhc c|lire thrDgrn orre
3hot.
tlis throatarrdtlre hr! r'.lc \ (ri ,,n t||( Il Jrl
Tr-l Apparently.he could gct drunk fronr a srngle
orhk
Edwardreachedour and prcsscda hand to
-labuki's
cheek.-Do you ti,el b!'$crl'
Satsukirealizcdlhal he had beenlens(rthe
c!ti& tihe. ..yeah...
"Thrn let. qerh.r.l r" DrJ(lrL'
r'q Llnirrn
makine
SarsLrkr
|0tle4
, Ilkrt D.r,IrJHr \\r. n,
0ildsome
thaince,,utdn,,k. <,.n rrr.r,. put*. r:,,..
Sa6uki
deLrd(,jr,, ,U\rLr( r r r\ :Ur.l.l.\.,1
kq.-cyes
Slill.hrshod\ .huuk.lr5' r,r ( rLlr,, r. lrr
;;;i';.il;,1fil;;, ;,,:;Jl::
:;;.,;;,
Ph""
hefelrdrcrouch
r'i!:ul
p;
7l
-F
At ?f.r ..llil.r/i
Ol Ilonancc
A Promise
'''l'hisis an af,'ectionate
kiss. Ed\\rr,
nlunnured.
Aller scleralroulds.he gar'!,.r.lr : I
lonler kiss. This is lhc lirst kissol-l*1)\(rLr,
tecnegers.
At)d thts...
Ai the sensal()n
ol Ld\lard s tl)nqur., , L\
tracrnso\er hrslrps.chillsran up anddor ., . r. .
\pinr' lle pullcdbacksudddrlv.but Ld$.rd L, ,.1
slrcn! holdol his shoulders
so hc couldnr nrL,,
hdwards longucpushcdits sal into his nrt,rr,:
slighlh'dpenin surpnsc.andrrn overhi\ lccli \r(iir
Invndeddrepefstill.Satsukr
sunendefcd
hinr.. r,,I
Mrybe il uas because
hc wasdrunk.bul. unl.! ,\rl.L!.
hc rcceptcd lhe kiss q ithout any rcsistancc
''ll!tkntr(^
tri1)ttg(1 k)k1\\tt\,
:t!i
he thoLrght
rndolenrly.
''Thefcshouidbc r lrtllcmor!'co()p.r.r irlii
',,r
lorer'skiss. Edward
murrrured.
Thcsewords.$hilethe)werecloscrf.,r!h
"Youahvayssecmhappicslu henyou-rc
eoting
Satsuki,"
laughin8.
Edwardconnncnted.
as lavjshas thissince
"I traven'thadsomethilrg
IcalletoEngland."
tryingto
Satsukisaid.red-faced.
excwhis behavior
"Jtrslwalchrrru
rou nrirk(\nr( hrpn\. Il \ hecn
avhilesince
r,",i'nr
I fetrrtrai:t d*rrd ,:r,,1h;iirirl.
sh8lr atSatsuki
u rrrrrrr.blueevcs.
Ar a losslin \rords.
histacesuddent\-" 11
InHe
wa;youDE.
lacc
a bcaurilul
hJda r|rle.rnd
80
1i.rokd.liil.iri
A promise Of Ronrance
8l
l,l$.'rdr(fl .,rc\.n\
Hc fcallyseemcdlo thinkso.
''I hadlhe maidp l thc lhingsinto i .r
!
r(x)nr.-Nc,rrllesaid.
llis lii!1rdno(idcd. Thanks.lt s x g,r ,,
-F
A Promr:cUl Rornrncc
S]
I'r
oul moialattheCafCRt')al fcl
'
forr,rrr lr'rr,l$,'rk. ){e\illc.riJ
"Than-ks
$rssticallY
'Now. no$. Ne\illc. !d\ard said. 'weren l
vou&qonewho said yotl wantedto phorcgraphlhc
'ptrsltrtion the ring l '
of
Satsukilistenedlo thcir convefsalronin a dazc
Aglorntly,a cameramalrhad been li)llo* ing lh.nr
"Even wlvn t? kit\!.1:''
He I'eltthc blood drain tionr his lhcc.
"Whatclsedid,""out.rkepicturcsol'l" hc asked.
hisvoiceshakingunerpectedll.
''Wegot picturesol ercr!lhrlg. theJoumali\1
toldbim indiffereDtly.
Satsukif-chrngcr boillfg up insrdehirr lhe!
badn\told him abou hisl
"Why didr't you tell nrcbeli)reh.rnd'l"
Salsukr
criedout,comering E<iward.
The blond nlrn couldn r sccnr1.rurderstand
Srtsuki's
anger.A strangclook crossedhis tace.
But Neville was the one to ans\\er. Ilur look.
May,you
wouldn'thale actednalurall\jl_voud known
t&rewasa camera..
Satsukicouldnl rcspoDdNe\illewrs
coopletely
n8hl. Hc haJ hrc. ,rir\,,..,(n,, L,trr,.l
&{kirg
arouid r c,rcrJ-,r t r trt h:r.tln.,r rr rl,rr r
,hcn. h( \,,rto trd\( hc(n ', (|l
3@ra was totluo
'n"
off.
He hung ilr hdad.
'qe
N e\rl l e had.r { rd,l (nl \ ,Jfl ,,1r.i \t' ri ..r,,l
,
r \torry. May The story'\i-asn l aclually
-.w
OfRomance
A Promisc
His liicnd s brors knilt.d t{)serher.-\\. L!1,
'''fhc st(rry\ras killcd. Ne\ille e\fl.|rir I I
seenrs
storlcsaboulLordArgvlc s wcddinglr, ,
linrits"
''Thc old lnnn s beenbus).' Edw.r(ll)r ..'
''No. I don t lhiDk!,ourhutlcris linrl
cnoughwith ihc tabloid\orld lo influcnccirn\rl, !
hrs.loum.rlisl
liiend countered.An\ otheflrr!.-..
''ll vou nreanothc.pcoplcoppos!{ L(i ,
|
l-\r,'.rr a.rr.. Litn.,1t(l:rlt\r, .,
'Jrrl,i:
nanre. lhc bloDdreplred Bur thisnlennsl\1,
\1.,\liflr'. \',,r\ ',:t. nr,,l'.,h1\
hl^.k(J. r,'.
' I ll sce'if I canUndout anything- \.\
,
l-drard snriled.'l harks.'
Saisukiv\'esrelievedto hcarthattherr.. r.
rboul the .'nraqcmcnt$efe beiogblockcd lJr
couldnl iDraprne
sccinghis o\rn faceiI a.lri\'r '
nlagarrnc.
firt he oughtto gct usedto the idf,l
llc $as grllinga lol of ntoncyin rcl rr
c\.rcll! that And Ldwrrd \!asusinsc\en lror! ,,,,rrjl
lbr lbodandente ainmcnt
''l1 l stdyhere.!re \on l ncedl(i \li\ .r1rr,'1r:
lik. \!e did laslnighr.figln.) Sarsukiirskcdhf' :r,rrll
Thc annurrtthc) d spclll()nclolhc:rr,' .
reste|davuas so ndieulousthath.-lill iL\,,Lrl. '\ rir
wa\teofnronc) l() renl hot!'l\uilcs,i r"'
oulriiilcous
''Thrr's ghl. L(l\llld srid a liitlc !lLrrr \
''Didn r )ou likc rhc holell.rslrrighll'
rJ5
Act III
AboutNothing
quic*lyafferSaoukioovcd
wokeup,broakhstwouldalready
by theuaid. It wasa
t!., aodchcere,brasiaoeie
baeslftarbeforE.heflt like be
hewcdtto rchooland afterbeing
fiom dne itr the mording
lh ovaoiog he weNrthometo
Di!trcr w.s usuallya Fc-cooked
i it lrar icingontbeoate,and
to cco morerEo!,yfor it, asa
didtr'tty st all, rrd it w.s
f& a vrayfor tlc rro to kill timc.
ple! fortotroEow?'Saisrthql
A Promise Ol Rornance
askcdEduL d aficrdinneron lh!' liih dr! I )L
t!cck.hc d spenilrisda)sdoinghis old rooL,r
,
lhc weekcnds.
he d do as his ne\r cnrplo\(rir.
''I nr sor^ lirr rheshorlnoiice.lr!( | r
lakc lou up l() Dorsclt\\'rthnrr. Fd\\.L(lrr,...
SatsulirecalledrhatLd*.ardhadr(,,l ,
ablrur n estillche o\\ncdthcrc.
''All right llc trrs rcrd\ for rt. Lr,
beenlikc a rchr'u|salbut lrontno\\ on. the\ f.
-! lr(
,Li r
.,i
1,.1,,
f,r
.r
i .r,
,:f.
89
Pio nna*1,,
:
r'
trdr" I hehrrr rr.rnr,l
'rr
','r",rnr:
b8Sazeto Satsuki
'.'r
"Misslmanr',r..r.
\.4\firr(LL \rd\. llr. r.
uQeyPadget.
H" nrr r.ir croal-r"t,'rrl.-.H.
u & a g etsh is(c la ,'(.
I d s . , d . d rd s , rl, . , r, . ! ri\ , , l. r .
"\trelcom<.
nriss I rr( but-..r\ tir(\.$.,\
'r!rcnsionle.s.
In \lar\ (L.ur:r\rro lr\ sd'r'r sct( rrr
"Thankyou. satsukis:nilcddcspit!'lhetearhc
&
A PromiseOl Romance
-hcr. Edward ordercd
Certiirrh,.
str..rheburlers td. h,,$ r , r\
.
hcadngain.
..Wbr. .Salsuli
exclainred.
atlrT.l . r!r,irr
slcfpcdinsidclhe ha .
Drarbte
chcckcfboadUoorspre](t , hili,t
,
.A
,,]',.',",'
-cnuII| t\ t\3 rr(dt !h \..r I.
redr(Ja statr\a\ .o!crcd irrrcd c rpcttn! \!
..,! r
pa tlrn{sdccorated
lhe \l alJs.aDdstaluc,\ rr
irrfange.laround
lhe roonr.And on either.rr:L
hallst(Jod
\!\cral dozcllscnanls_\\.hohr(i
ri
grcerlld$rfd on his fcrum.
\.rr\!rkrr,JJr(\.f.1.(.t n.(h | .l,i,.rl
ncr,'r(In r)r\(nl||( liti
''Plc.rsc.
tirlloNnre.,lhc burlcrfc(tuf,i
SatsukiclrDrbed
lhs slairsattcrih!.L,tt .Lrl
I Ie |oliccd thatrhcfe$rs e\!,na taslelirl(lc.r]' i lhl
handrLiil.
Il secnrcdr roDgk) touchir !,,ilholl ! ,,\., Lrl
Passrn!rhrougha !:a|cry jn $hich ,,|, , r|
*as nradcentirclvof\(indou.s.SatsUkr
\\il\ r.(i
''Dinncris at 6:l[r. please
lllakc\or]r,fr
coDrforlablc
hcrcLrnlrlthen..thc butleridi(l .rn,i trfil
Srtsukicarelill),iD\pcctcdhrss|| (,u|,:,:.
Thc tirslthiDehc norrccd
.. .ri
rvrsthc cirrr,1,
ll lookedlrkea king s bcd ijon a lajn t:ltc hf ,\. .
alsoInrprcssed
h) theRreplaLc.
t3llerthitnhc $.r. i rirr
rtiturll) hildI nre h:.nrrnt,nrt \ trrye1....\rr. .\
sprcadoul on thel'loorLr,dun d,.,rnlt hun" ,rt,.*',j.'
b,! Cobelrnsthal l{)okedlike they belLrngea
rn .r I ,c'rr']
9l
feclirs.
He let therlremorics
vr'ash
o\cr him lir a hit.
.
b0l tscauseofthc
long dfivr:. hc \r'assoon last aslccp.
KtekoAkirsx
Edward'suncle,thesecondsoD,hauocen
misedas the sonof Lord Argyle, but neveratained
nobilitystatus.ThesecircumstaDces
deeplyallecled
theman.Because
hecouldn'thavea title, hebecane
obsessed
with runningtheArgylefamilycornpany
Hi!
desi.ehadbecomeeveDmore overt after the dcatbof
Edward'sfathe.
Edward'sfatherseemed
to haveanliciDatcd
thisdevelopment
by namitrgEdward'smalernalcousin
Gordonthebeneficiary
ofhis estateifthe hcirdidn,t
carry out his duties.If Edwarddidn't marr). according
to thewill, totalconholofthe companywouldpass
to Gordor.And ifthat bappned,
Edward'sunllc
Stuart,who wasin chargeofthe companyas Ed$ard\
steward,wouldbe forcedto withdrawhis conlrol.0f
course,his unclewasn'tgoingto standsilentl)bywhrle
that happenedh wasnaturalto thinktht Edward .,.pno..d
'
engagement
to theSimo[ girl, whichresu]ted
iu lhe
contractwith Satsuki.couldbetracedbackto hrs
uncle'smanipulatioDs.
And like her father,Angelica wasa r oman
rich wi$ ambition.Eightyearsago.shehadnr.rrrred
anAmeticantycoon, so Edwardhad assumedshe\tas
still with him in America.He couldn'timagi c $hy
shewouldcomeall theway to Dorsett.Ht hrd a bad
feelingaboutit all.
An oddlyembarassed
look crossedrhebLrtlf,'t
[ace.'Wereyou awarthatshebasgottendr\,,1,d0 ..
"r,,lo.I wasn't.' Edwardresponded.YouniSI
saythat this newsis a little unexDected."
A.PromiseOf Romance
hascomebackto Englan4" the
t d servdtheArgylefamilysiocehis
gddgration,so of coursehe had takencale
did!'t havea particula.ly favorable
utrcle,but the butlerowed more to his
bedid to Cordotr.
lohstcd verycareftlly,"thebutlersaid
of the appropriately-aged
noblewometr,
themostbeautifulard good-lature4
Itro6tsuitablefor you,"
to haveputyouthroughsomuch
saidsarcastically.
it oolotrgeruatter6,"thbudsrsaid."I
anyifther Youmustquicklymarry
back Miss Atrgelicaii quite
Master stuart Gimplyl.ughed the idea
him of its merit6
har Dersuaded
KyokoAktsu
and he seemsto favor the marriagoow as well..,
"So my uDcle'sthe oneblocking the gossip
reportsofmy e[gagement,"Edwardmurmucd.
"All I desircis tbat you Ilrirrrj/.Masrer
Edwar4" the butler confessed."But, I woulo ramei
someone,
allyone...odrel
thanMissAngelica.
He still clearlyrccalledhowAngeljcahad
behavedas a cbild, her temperflaring whene!ef her
desircsweredenied,th'nk* !o herspoiledupbringing.
Edwardsmiledat theold servanl.'Rela\.old
man.Therc'sno way ['m marryingAngelica.
All heremembered
ofA4gelicawasshining
blondehairandspiritedgeen eyes.Behavinghoweler
shewished.therehad beentftnesthat he had foundhet
offensive,and alsotimesthat he had envicd her.
"Another matter,MasterEdward... l hebulld
hesitated.
"Whatis i! old man?"Edwardpronrpted.
"Would you tell me againthe name()1lbe
youngwomanyou broughtwith you todayl" drebu et
finallyasked.
"Imamum.That's [-ma-mu-ra."Ed$'afd
inshuctedprecisely.
The excellentservaDtrEmemberedth. nand
andfacesofall ofhis master's
guests,bul hehid bd
unableto remember
sab*i't o*e *d *u"l"i''
t0
distressed
by the fact.It hadsouDded
too slrange
stick in his memory
'1mamura.,.Imarnum,..,"
he muttered
Satsuki'snameto himself like a prayer.
After lhe butler left the room. Edwatd
PromiseOf Romance
95
M alwaysbeenburywith work
st home.Atrd his motherhad
his father'sabroce by doing
work. No matterhow Edward
hie patentsneverlookedhis way.
bad put up wilh the situationquite
had alwaysbeenlocked away.
il wai atr imnic twist offate that both
he hardly eversaq had died
Ulanlingto feel love fiom his own
lik a modestdesire.In a normal
\rould be takedfor glanled.They
bcauseof their moneyand position,
oothing to do with thosethidgs.
ttat, but thy had broughthim
Fiward couldn't countthe number
cometo him. attractedbv his title
M.d atrd*.omen both had thei. eyes
lard lepresented.He wss tired of
that. He wasparalyzed.He didn't care
bena whim to rebelasainstthe
tvheDit cameup. He didnl actually
a[yoneor not.He hadfelt a bit guilty
but
iDtosucha pitifulposihon.
satsuki, it helpedhim to forget his
single-mindeddeterminationin
counfy to follow his dreams
insideEdward.He had long lost any
KyokaAhtsu
pu4,osein his.life. He waded to keepSatsuli
nearby
q
muci as_possible.
Onemight almostsayhe rvasfoold
by the plan he had created.
He didrl lnow why he felt that way
Of Romarce
97
Satdukiwasconfused.
Edwardheadedto the room whereSarsuli
was stayiDg.He knockedotr the doot but thcrewasno
reply.
"Sat!uki?" he whispred.
He wenl into the room and lookedarouno.
Eventually,he noticeda lump in the sheetson lhebed.
He peekedidto the sheetscautiously.
Satsukiwasasleep,
his facecompletelv
unguarded.He must havebentired out by thc drile.
His long eyelashescastshadowsacrosshi; face.His
glossyblack hair lay acrosshis chekand Ed$ard
gentlybrushedit ofr ThewhiteskinofEastAsians
alwayslookedas smoothas a porcelaindoll,s.
EdwardstlokedSatsuki'scheekwith a tlnger
He felt lot the coohessofporcelai4 but the $ amth
ofa humanbeing.He placeda tenderkisson $tsukil
lips to wakehim up.
change,!oo?" he inquired.
" wasthe aNwer "lt's mther formal,
drss?"
had broughtthe bagsthey'd packed
into th room while Satsukihad
out a deam colored-mw silk.
It was slightly opeoat the chest,but
beadediacket.that wouldr't
't lookweird?"satsukiaskedEdward.
a little uneasysincethe manhad
processio silence.
You look cute." Edwardnodd4
"Well then,my lady,may I tlke your
gingerly put bis handaroundtbe
98
KyokoAkitsu
tablewarcwasmeticulouslysetout.
OnceEdwardhadesconedSatsukrr,,hi.
-,_
P'4Lt
he rookhis own seat.
Therewere only the Fvo ofthem at ihe lable
_
But tberewerea nulbberofwaiters.includil|!
rhe
buUer.slandingbehindthemalongthewal
Themealbeganwith horsd'oeuvres
anosoup
__
like a truly sophisticated
dimer,but Satsukr$asso
nervousthat he could barelytastethe food. Makina
conversation
with bis hosrwasalsodiflicrrtrlte $is
so conscious
ofthe peoplelisteningbehindrnenrthat
it wasallhe coulddojust to nodin responsc
to rhe
coDversatton
so as to avoidslippingup.
"May,areyou neNous?..
Ed\^arda\^<J
cunously,seingSatsuti's awkwardbehavior nc
chuckledwhenSatsukinodded...Eventhouchvouie
aDaclor?"
For Satsuki,it wasstrangerthat Edwardwas
so calmaboulbeiogwarchedby so man) pc,,nl(Bdrt
wasprobablybecause
hehads.own uo berns.(nedb)
popleatrdhadbecomeirnmuieto theeazrur ,,then
Satsukitried to return Edward'sironv in kind
''You re a bnerperformerthanI
am...
"I'd nevertboughtofthat.,'Edwardhughed
happily,asif something
hadgeatly amusedhim.
"11's
a bil dimcuit.so l'll sho\ vorr.,r.'uId
lhe house."Fdwardsardlo Satsukianer.tirner.arif
searchingfor a way to pleasehis visitor.
Unableto sulk forcver,Satsukireluchntly
PromiseOf Romalce
99
bY
but hewastro longersurprised
Lnewwhat elseLord A$yle owned?
thc billiard room and enteredanother
is called the bar," Edwardwent
.'When nry motherwas alive, shewould
four to six hoursat a time, but
i troticedthat this was the first time
oedtioned his PareDts.
molher is dead?"he asked.
my fatherbothdiedin a caraccident
Edwardanswered."Thoug! it
much differenceifthey did die
was alwaysbusywith work so I
atrdmy motber.. .well, mYmolher was
with herself.'
was mortifred.He undemtoodwhat
be uloved by one'sparents.His father
late. and so wheneverhis older
in the hosDital.he would be alonein
would neverforget the desolationhe felt
time in a housecompletelydevoidof
felt the sameway Satsukihad?
I00
KyokoAkitsu
seOf Romance
l0l
cheertully."I'm gladyouthbk
amout of time hadDassedoDthe
oppressedby the splendorofthe
ofclosenesEhe hadfelt io the bar
tim to the other areasofthe house.
hch an aristoorat.He was part ofa
world from the one Satsukilived
awake,miss?"
homing," h repliedas politely as he
headmaid, Mccuyels," lhe old
hersef, smiliq brigbtly. "Master
Everyonein the housetr so eager
lady,but he has!'t said a word to
tbe cMains, allowing the light in.
IEamura."
. ." The old womanhadn't utrderstood
at a complteloss.
102
KyokoAkitsu
"Everyone
callsmeMay...Satsuli
,arJ.
herhis othername.Dolwanlingto rroublc.r.jh givi[g
anicc
wom:rn.
"ShallI callyouMissMay.rhen.,.
t\<,roln|r
.
asked
"Certaidly," Satsukireplied.
Sbeseemed
relieved...MissMa) hr(dllasthas
,Deen
stout rn thesumoom_"
"Whe.e'sthesuru.oom?,'
SatsukiinqLrrred.
"lt's the room furthestto the southon thelinl
.,Onceyou.re
floor,"the-old ladyexplained.
rcacy,lust
nng your bell and I' takeyou there.,.
"Thankyou,Mrs_Mccuyers,..Satsuki
said.
"Shall
I helpyou getready?'.rhcotil woman
.
rnqurred
politly.,.MasterEdwardsaidit wnsi I
necessary
if you werefeelingwornout by thewhole
experience."
"No, thankyou," Satsukihuniedlysrid. I n
not usedto haviDgpeoplehelpme lrketh.rr.
"Allrigh!" themaidsaid...Ifyou nced
an',thing,doD'thesitaieto call me.'.
The womanbowedpolitely and lefi thcroooi.
Sahukicha[gedinto a brownkniflcdknce,
lengthdrers.He washedhis faceat the very anrique'
lookingwashstand
and,whenhewascompletely
prepared,he rang the bell for the maid.
Thebutlerappeared
instead.He rvas
expressronless
asahrays.re\ealing
ut hts
nolhtn:r
Ihoughis.
"Good moming," Satsukisaid.
Thebutlerconscientiously
retumedhir
OfRomaoce
103
104
KyokoAlciblt
It PromiseOf Romance
105
futur.Butashegrewolder,his
a ourse.Hebegaoto rebelagainst
at this time that his parcntspassedon,
more ald moreout ofcontrol
ofus who serveMastel Edwad PraY
Everyorc is quite glad to seetbat he's
down."
.." Salsukimulmurd,
leal conversationwith the man,Satsukl
He
was,indee4a goodprsotr.
these.
to deceivefine poplelike
Satsukisai4 stsiking
little disappointed,"
with Edward,on their way back
" Edward'sresponseseemedforcd
there'sa parly next month," Satsuki
manfler.
106
KyokoAkrsu
hecouldo.lima8r,(r ,ing
PromiseOf Romance
107
,^ sucn
"oltnon.r.
^..-. all
-1..1
ro
etegant
partythata cro*n prrnL,c
r,us16
6!
atteDding.
He wouldn'lhavethestighiesrrcl..ro.ho\|
h
Denave.
and]ou.recomingq lh rrc...
.''Ofcourse,
rowaro s vorcewaspitiless.
Satsukiweirt pale.. tsut don.t you ncedpefct
manne$to go to something
like that?,,
stan
inrensire
Eaintng
uhcr s.. qel
. . .. _"You'll
back.' Edwardsmiled,amused.
"Iraining for what?..Sa6uli squ( ,(u
"To nol erhbarrass
yoursetfatLhenrrrr ,.rd
to becomea ladythatno onewill beableto lindtaun
with," Edwardanswered,voice matter_of.facr.
satsuki felt faint.
Thelessons
wermorein h" r,rla ,,, ,',",ot,,
"ShallWeDance?"than.,My FairLady...WhenSarsukl
got homefiom school,waltzlessons
werewaitingfor
him. He danced,followitrgthemusicandEd$ad s
lead"You're pretrygood for u besinn.r.- Edtu"rd
said,soundingimpressed.
"We leamedit at school,"Satsuki.arJ.rumioS
red.He dancedpoorlyfor someone
who.d,rlread)
takenclasss,
Therchad beenfewer girls than boysin the
t08
KNko Akitsu
109
complete.
gasped
&spite himself.
waswearinga formal, white, Chines8 deepslit up the thigh and m slip.
de-rolatedthe silk material.Edward
it froft a top designerand sd
pric. It suitedSatsuki'sslenderbody
it idpossible to believethat he was
His black hair was sweptup, reveitlinga
ofthe napeofhis neck.Perhapshis
!o the effect. But therewas no mistaking
womaDcloakedin Asian mystique
whispered,"May, you look Iike a
smiled brightly. "Good evening,Mr.
tro." Neville wavedthe nameaway.
trlk to me so formally."
took one of Satsuki'shands.which
by long lace gloves,andplaceda kiss on
you are [uly beautiful," Edwardsaid
ll0
KyokoAkiB
passionately,
with no haceofhis formerimpalrence.
Thepassion
ofhis voiceimplied$ar.hadN.\
iJte;r
beenthere,hewouldhavesnatched
SalsdktUnInhh
arns andkissedhim.
"Thankyou." Satsukiloweredhis c) cs
ascolor
floodedhis cheeks.
"So Mar'b intelestedtoo, eh?sigh.o\eruI.ilI|rrdbl
..
..".:ill..l",.or_,"small
lne.leeltng
thathehadbeenabandoned
Srrrr.
r.sas
uncomfortable.
Up until noq it hadalwar.sbeenhim
by Edward'sside,no matierwhatcold lo;ks rhly
hadreceivedfiom e\erlooewho sa* th.r,,r, .:.iher
Edwardhimselfhadwantedhim there.Bul row.trwas
obvrousthat he wasar intmder.
At thatmoment,thedoorbellrang.
"I'll getit. It's probablyyour dri\eL..\cville.
unableto stayin theroomanothrmomcnt.Ncnl!odre
door
But hewasrendered
speechless
bv rhc
tnexpected
visitorat thedoor Insteadofthe dri.!crit
wasa blondewooan with a bearingsomeu.hL!
sinilar
to Edward's-it washis cousinAnlelica.
H hadbennegligentin nol checkjne$bo\'as
at thedoorbeforeopeningit. Ifil hadbeeni terorist
hecouldhavebeenkilled beforehe knewt{ hal$as
happening.
"Is Edwardhere?"Thewomansnlileo
seductively.
"And havewe met somewhere
bclbc?'
"Yes.at thelateLordArgyle'sfuneral.he
,_
replred.
"l remembernow.You,reEdwards school
lll
said.
that you remember"The comer
twitched.
to hershiniogblondehait,she
\r,ith a gacefut face,seductiveied
The womanbeforehim was a!
I But it was dargerousto judge this
alotre.
and call Edwardfor me, would
ordered.
, but I'm not surehe wantsto see
A0gelica'sgreneyesglardat
him asideandwent futo the sittlng
hercousin'sname."Edward!"
?' Edward,just coming out to the
lookedbewilderedby the sudden
cousin.
gapelike sucha fool,"Angelica
had no idathat you would be coming'
said.
I've beenreaiting for quiie sometime
an invitation," Angelica said.
raisedan eyebrow "Oh?"
I finally got tired of waiting andcame
Now then,let'sgo."Angelicacommanded.
where?"Edwardasked.
only Daturalthat Edwardwas confused
assertiveness.
ight'sparty,of course."Angelicasnapped.
112
said.
KyokoAktsu
"Unfortunalely.
I abeadyhavca dit(.. l d\raru
Angelica
cuthim offquickl)...Ihar.rror-,,
problem.
" Sheseemed
lo think theu orld , .r ,rocAo,n
her.
"I'm afraidt ca!'t takeyou to theparry,
_
Edwardsaid"So you'regoingto embarmss
rncl Angelica
shrieked.
"Embanass
you...?"Edwardtrajlcdoll
Nvilledidn\ lhinkAngelicapn\\(*id ,u.h
delicarefeelings,eirber
'An),1lr'ay,
it's timeto go, Edward...
Ne\ille
nudgedbis friend.It hadonly beena wastcLrrllmcrc
arguehere,
"My fatheris waittog.roo.Lel : g,) \fpciica
serzed
Edwards handandsErtedpullrn!ll|nr.{.r.
"Angelica!'.Edwardprotested.
..Wlat?
Thewomanstopped.
Edwafd.there!
a rumorthatthequeenherselfwillbemakingrrr
appeamnce
lonight.
Areyou\^illingto din) tl( lJ((of
thetamilyin frontofher?.'
Satsuki's
bodystiffenedandheclunerlr
Edward
s arm,asifbeggingforhisproteclj,,n
lerille
hadseenSatsuki'sfacgrowingsteadlly l(r. lt $as
n
clearthatAngelicawasfrighteninghim.
Edwardpeeredat Satsuki'sface.hiseve'
nrrowingwith concem.Satsukitookedup at hinr.eld
snrmngwlth worry.
s
Edwardsmiledgentlyandsqueezed
Sarsuk!
handslightlyto comfonhim.
A PromiseOfRomance
113
tbeefrorthehadput intopreparingfor
lothitrg.
that woman?"SatsukiaskedNeville
hrd sone.He couldn't restrainthe
in his voice.
Atrgelica,Edward'scousid,anda
b.coming his bride," was the explanation.
went off in his head.The two had
al,rabyondeventheir beautifulgolden
faces.
he dosn'twant to marry her.Who
sheis?" After a Dause,he murmured,
is!'t she?"
bad beenincomparable,evenbside
wouldmakea goodcouple.indeed.
's a lol goingon behindthescetres."
'"Thatwomanyou just saw aLoveawayher
Well, it's going to take a while to explain,
we go to lhe party,too?"
Edward?"Satsuki'svoicewas
Edwardwas Edward.He had run of
KyokoAkitsu
APromiseOf Romance
ll5
a bir'?"
was listeningto theirconversation
n6
KyokoAkitsu
with greatamusement.
"It's lot a big enoughdifferenceto niilncr,,.
Angeticasaidhaughtily...yoq on theotherhand.
seen
quiteyoung.I wonderifyou knowwhatil ,rcans
lobe
the wife oflord Argyle."
'No," Satsukisaidabruptly.
"Youhaveno business
beingin thenr{vte
family," Angelicaspatout.
"l'm not particularlyinterested
in berngthe
wife ofan aristocrat,"
Satsukisaidcalmly
"Everyoneprtendsto be in it lin. lo\ c rr lirst...
Angelicamocked."But theychangetheirtLuesoon
enougb.Youshouldn'tactso superior.'
"Like you?" Satsukifired back.
Angelicamoveddeftl, tippingrheconrcnts
of
herwineglassontohis dress.She'dempliedjt in the
bliDl of an eye.
"Don't you thinkyou shouldgo honrcbctore
you embarrass
younelf anymoreioday?"Angclica
laughedloudly as shemovedaway.
"Womenareterrifoing,"Nevillemurtered.
Satsuti nodded,dazed.
on
"ShelikesEdwardenoughto lhrorr'!\'ine
me in fiont ofall thesepeople?"he wondercd.
"You'reso naive,May,"Nevillesaid.''l hatt
not why shedid it. She'saftertheArgyleforrune.
"ls thatreallyall?" Satsukiprodded.
llo0r
"Yah.But you can'tgo ou; on tbeLlance
like that,"Nevillesaid,lookingat Sarsuki's
dressIt .
frushation.Thewine had stain;; a l;;; ;ed sporonth:
whitedtess."I'U go getEdward.Youstay-overthert.Mal'
APromiseOfRomance
ll7
Satsuki.
Satsfi couldn't find Neville in the sea
wassuddenlyoppressedby the thought
I 18
KyokoAkitsu
APromiseOf Romance
ll9
demurely.
beento JaDa[a few times." The man
nradehim a mre specimenamotrgall the
was oo
who barclv knew whereJaDaD
whatarcyoustudyirg?"
," Satsukiinformedhim. "And you?"
The man laugheduncomfortably."I
to take in the sights.By the way. mrss,
," Satsukisaid.
," the mansaidhaltingly.
Inow Japanese?"Satsukiaskedin
)20
Ktoko Akitsu
'.Justsimplegreelings,,,
thentan.anltssed.
tlreslrusste\
hetDJ, ,,. ,r,a,sh
l:-r:.T:mbered
:
srncecomrnglo England.
122
KyokoAkitsu
A Pronise OfRomance
t23
ofr afierwhoevercomesalols
bo{ed?"
!" Satsukiwasshockedby the E|ao's
wasseeinsfor the frst time. He
himsell "He leantme his jackel and
together"
donesomethinghcredibly wrcng? He
utrde tandinethe rcasonfor Edward's
retrm his highr:ess'sjacket," Edwardsaid
thejacket fiom Satsuki'sshoulders.
i sneezed
asthechill nishtair touched
removedhis ownjacket and put it
I shoulders.But lhat was tbe only
rfrowed.
aldvehome.Edwardstill seemeduDset
staurchly silent the entiretime.
i wasstarting to get irritated, too.
he looked at th situatioq he couldn't
"Thatwasreallythecrownprilrcel' sa$uki
murmuredafter the youngman had lefl.
l'l&
Edwardlookedflabbe.gasted.Yotr,venl
him without knowing that?"
t24
KyokaAkitsu
A PromiseOf Romance
125
brd tuisbedchangin&hegalheredhis
to Edward'smom.
hocked on lhe door
in " Edward'svoice camebackto bim
a trsce ofbenevolence.
found lhe courage!o openthe door.
was lyitrg o! his couch,gulping
iont a glass.It wassomebrown liquid,
bra y or straightwhiskey.
tEcalledthat the manhad alwaysdrutrk
alcoholwhentheyfirst met.lt wasD't
way to drink.
I wantto lalk to you about
began,uDsureof how to broachthe
scowled."lMhat is it?"
's honible moodcowedSatsuLi,but
lo retreatnow.
you shouldmarryAngelica insteadof
a sbad marriagewilh me," he blurted
mcanyou wari to quit."A datrgfious
Edward'sface.
don't want to quit," Satsukisaid."I just
offif you marry ber"
slid of the coucband stooduDsilentlv
Satsukistammered.
t26
KyokoAkits
A PromiseOf Romance
127
ale yo! doing?" His voice was highfal. Edwardcould easilymurderhim the
tiEatingyou the way you deserv,"
ith a bitter smile.
Satsuki'sclothesoff. Satsukibesatrto
arnest,but he only succeededin ripping
atrdlositrg morebuttons.Fdward
over his headwith the scmosofruined
satsuki's voice was nearlya
's beltand
s handswentto Satsuki
offhisjeans.He pulleddownthezipper
handinside Satsuki'sunderwear.
Don't touch me!" Satsukiscrcamedin
welledup in his eyes.
'6 fingerswrappedaroundSatsuki
i shuddercdat the sensationofbeins
Dersonfor the first time. He lost all
had tom Satsuki'sunderwearofr alons
aDdnow loweredhis body between
legs,spreadwide on eitherside of him.
..I toldyou...!"Satsuki
yelled.
heatgatheringin the lower part of his
his eyesinstinctively,unableto bear
His heartwas beatingquickly. His
from theincredibleshamehe felt.
12 8
KyokaAkitsu
A PromiseOf Romance
t29
.,pr..." Satsukiwhispered
betweenhusky
wasparalyzedandhe bad t ouble
's words.He didn't evenhavet[e
gently lowercdhimself onto Satsuki
over Satsuki'sslick, slightly warm
his eyestightly, Satsukiweakly tumed
His body,still sensitiveto the echoesof
ions,respondedio evenlhe gentlest
it hurt, Satsuki?"Edwardmumured.
shuthis eyestightandbit his lip
. It had beenlorture.both nentallv and
wantedto be released.
let go ofhis body.Satsukilet out the
lrer holding.
a rustlinEsoundandknew that
his clothesofr. Satsukijustbarely
8reyou going to do?" he askedin a thin
answering,Edwardheld Satsukionce
kissedhis eyelids.Thekisseswere
to provoketears,
...let mego," Satsukiappealed
lo
smiled."Whatareyou saying?Now
forreal."
130
Kyoko Akitsl)
"What did I do:" Edwardlhoughl |l.r,,.i aflcr
n
A PromiseOf Romance
131
are marks,"Edwardmurmuredas he
uki's restraints.
i staredat them as ifthey belonged
, His body felt heavyand a numb
his entirebeing.He hadbeenfreed,
want to moveeveragain.
left Satsukifor a momenl thencame
carryinga towel. He wiped off
unresistingbody tespectfully.
sorry,"Edwardsaid,forcinghimselfto
srrprisdwhenyoutoldmeyouwere
It \raschildishofme.I won'tforceyou
everagain.Let's forget the contract."
finallymoved,tuminghis headto look
8ul because
theolhermanwassittingon
bed,headdrooping.Salsukicouldn'tsee
's expression.
you going to marryAngelica?"he asked,
lspiteall his screaming,
whichhethought
voice.
question
his
lhe
cameoLrt
r easily.
:'Edwardsaidin a whisper.'No one
to be with her"
dot?" Satsukiasked.
. I desiredheronce."Edwardsaid.
She only caresabout her o\I,l1desiresand
questioned
herway of doingthings.But
I can't live like her Wealthand status
anlthing, but a burdento rne.Anyrvay,
call it a day.You can sleephere,if
you."
t32
KyokoAtiuu
A PromiseOfRornance
133
Act IV
As YouLike It
136
KyokoAhtsu
A PromiseOfRomance
137
Satsukisaidsuddenly.
lookedtroubledfor a momentyou uhappy with your life here?"Neville
like to focusod my classesfor a bit,"
ined. 'Theie's alsogoing to b a recital."
wlat areyou doing?"Neville
CherryOrchard'by Cheldov I play the
" Neville immediatelylost inter$t at the
old play.
DeoDleftom outsidethe schoolcome
asked.
ifthey sign up in advance.But not
ar interested,"Satsukiansweredwith a
hadn't beentherc,heneverwould
a thing.
'll let you go for l0 days,so work hard at
decided.
"We'll meetasainon the276
Claridge."
,ight." Satsukifelt a litde disappointed
was so easilygranted.Edward
't haveallowedit before.
t38
KyokoAkitsu
A PromiseOf Romance
139
t40
KyokaAutsu
A PromiseOf Romance
l4l
t42
KyokaAkitst
Yoheicameto Satslki'sroomcarryinga
massivebag full of instantfood.
"You'vegottensmart,Yohei,"Satsukisaid.
impresred.Wten they werein high schoo).Yoheihad
beenvery easygoing
andhehadhadto lookoutforhis
friend all the time.
"As longasyou'vegot food.you'rehappy
Yohei quickly shutbis mouth.
"How canyou saythat?"Satsukiteased
"l broughtitso you wouldtr'tchasmeofl aller
two yea6," his fiiendcoDfessed.
"Well, it's a big help,"satsukisaid.satisfied
"My foodbudgetis reallytightthismonth.'
Yoheilookedrelievid."I'm reallygladI cartc
A PromiseOfRomance
t43
of "TheChe.ryorchard."
ofteachersand studmtsfrom other
in the school'sstudioto watch the
usedthe personalityof Edward'sbutler
helo him createthe characterofthe butler
. Visitina Edward'sestatehad been
ior Satsukiafter all. He neverwould
what it waslike to be a butler without
Satsuki'scue.
he stcppedout into the spotlightshining
lomeone cade into the studio late,
144
Kloko Akitsu
After theperformance
anda follow-u1r
meeting,they were free.The semesterwasor cr.
Satsukitumeddown an invitalion lionr a lriend
to go drinking, and hurriedto the lockcr roorn.Turighl
wast-helaslnigbtbet{ouldspeDdwilh Yoltcl
As heleft theschool,he sawEdwafdsrandrng
outsidelookingdepressed.
"Long time no se,Satsuki."Thenlin \nrilod
sadly.
Fora moment,Satsukiwasn'tsureho$ to
lhe
react,but sincetbeywerein publichadopted
friendlyrole.
"[t's beena while."He smiledbackpolrtcly
"Wlat are you doing here,s ?"
He hadbeenwonderingthatsincehc d htsl
spottedEdwardin tbe theater
"My companysupports
thisschnol.'lhe'nno
"The deaninvitedmeto comcwatchthe
explained.
recital."
"l see."Satsukiwasembanassed
lhethd
thoughtEdwardhadcometo seehim perfonrr'
"I didn't meanto distractyou." Ed$drdsaro
with a patheticlook.He musthaverealizedlhalit was
his tault thatSatsukihadmissedhis lines.'MaYlfat
A PromiseOf Romance
145
as an apology?"
sorry,but a fiiend fiom Japanis visiting
" satsukisaid.
bring your fiend along," Edwardoffered.
i consideredthis. Thanksto the stateof
Yohei wasatitrgonly the most humbleof
ibey went with Edwar4 his fiiend would
much nicer thinss. It would b a rare
for Yohei,too. And Satsukihad a feeling
Edwardby hi6self, the rnanwould just
"But I wantto
right." hefinallyagreed.
clear,['m not going backto work for
nodded."Ofcourse."
afiangedto meetat the Hotel Ritz's lobby
left.
Satsukigot homeand lold Yohei about
witb Edwardat tbeHotelRiE, his fiiend
e"l.ubemnt
andexcitedas Satsukibad
With an aristocrat?Awesome!"Yohei
"I'm glad I broughta necktie."
broushta necktie?"Satsukiasked.
guidebooksaid to," wasthe xplanation.
bepreparedfor arything andbring along
't going to at first, but my mom kept
aboutit. Blt you can't go to the Hotel Rilz
wearing a tie, canyou?'
t46
KyokoAkitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
147
friend?"
," Satsuldsnapped.slappingdown
i seemedvery newousto be standingin
blond foreignerin the middle ofan exptrsive
But EdwardsDoketo him in his broken
Yoheianswered
in awkwardEoglish.and
passedin peace.
't forget our meetingtomorroq" Edward
quickly as they partedso that Yohei
uDdersrand.
He smiledwith reliefat Satsuki's
in
a thoughtyou hatdharingto cross-dress
" Yohei saidlater,asthey were strolling
Yohei'sflight wouldleaveearlythencxl 'no'nrng'
F
sotheybrcughthis bagswith themto the hollhehad
,"nt"i. n
t"n it tt o" th* headedto ihe meetingsPo!
"y
of the Thames.
148
KyokoAkitsu
commented.
"I neverthoughtthatI'd meela rcal
nobleman
whenI cameto Lo!don."
"There'sa lot goingoo trctweenrr'. '
muttered.
"He's not your patIon, is he?"Yoheicl cd
Satsukidoubtfully.He wasusuallysomewhar
din. brt
sometimes
he couldbereallyobsewant.
"Of courseno!" Satsukisaid.
"But hesaidsomething
about kissiDcand
'holding'you,didn't he?"his fiiend insisted.
"You rDusthavemisheard,"
Satsukisaid.lrying
to brushit off. "Didn't he sayhe wassurpriscd
lo see
me dressedlike this, too?"
"I doD'tudderstand
Englishat all. I guess.
Yoheiconceded.
"I don't know"
Satsuti's shouldersslumped.
"But thercwas somethingaboul himconuDueo.
"What?" Satsukiaskedwarily.
"He seemsto like you a lot, Satsuki.hislriend
said.
Satsuki hied to laugh the comment oll- 'Wllat
areyou saying?"
"Well, I...I likedyou a lot, too,so I
Yoheisaid,staomeridg.
"What?" Satsukisqueaked.
Yoheifacedhis ftiend squa.ely."t m in love
with you,satsuki.I thoughtit wasweird1bra nraoIo
fall in love with anotherman,and I sworc l'd neversay
anlthing,but t can'tgetit out ofmy mind."
Satsukididrl knowwhatto say. 'Yohei "
A PromiseOf Romance
149
150
KyokaAkilsu
A PromiseOf Romance
l5l
lips.
's body stiffenedfor a moment,thenhe
Satsukiaway.
i had['t exDectedthat reaction.UDtill
usuallybeenEdwardwho initiated the
was suretherewas a deeDerreasonfor that.
:t belp feeliq bitier Did his perfomunce not
we doingA todayor B?" he aske4
[imself.
A routinehadthemostimmediate
appeal,
meantspendingthe day at the hotel
The B routine involved going out and
affer thefumeal. B had the advatrtaseof
t52
Kyott Akitsu
Nevillecameoutto meetthemasdrcyardved
at theapartment.
"Hey there,May.Theheroinehas
arrived."
"H-hello."Satsukiwasstruckby ho$ .icalous
he felt thatNevillehadkeptdroppingby Fd$ards
apartment
wheneverthemanwanted.whilc Salsukihad
beengone.
"Come in, come in," Neville in!ited as
A PrcmiseOf Romanc
153
party?"Satsukiasked.
rrant you to stayhereio the aparhrent
It wouldn'tbevrymuchtun ifyou
ki&apped,"Edwardsaidwithoutemorioo.
Satsfi echod.
'rc smdingout iDvitations
to theparty
Edward
explained
furt}er"we don'tknow
might try and do ifthey don't like the
noddedretuctantly.In I 0 daF, be
ftom this farce.He felt more conflicted
though.Whywasthat?
it meantleavins Edwardforever
154
A PrcmiseOf Romance
KyokoAkitsu
he
155
wali atxlous,
156
KyokaAkitsu
In publicandwith Neville,Satsukiacrcd
friendly,but as soonastheywerealonelogctl)er.
his
behaviordid anabout-face
andhewouldnr sava single
wordto him. Edwardhadbegunto understano
rnc
depthof Satsuki'saDger
He hadbopedthathewouldhavean
opportutig to apologize
by havingSatsukisla\ xt rfie
apartment,but it had beenfiuitlss.
In orderto escapethe pain. he endeduf)
reachingfora bottle.Eversilc his parenrs
h d d'edit
hadbenlike this.Whenever
gol lo bcroo
something
muchfor him, hecouldonly be happywhjled nkxrg.
But sincehe'dmet Satsuli,herealizedhe prelcffed
beingwith theman!o beingdrunk.But now.rhcpain
had retumed.
. \ isltut
Suddenlythebell rang,announcing
"Must be Neville."
Edwardwasn'tthinkingvery clearlyduc
to beingdrunk.Whenhe blindlyopenedthcdoor
Angelicastoodbeforehim.
Thedoormanpostedat thebuildilrgenlmnc
checkedall his visitors.But it waswell kno*n lhal
AngelicawasEdward'scousin,so thedoornlrnhid
simplylet her in.
"Hello,Edward."Angelicasmiledbrighll!
"Wheremightyourlovelylittl fiancdcbcl'
"I wonder,"Edwardmurmured.
"l'd love to seeher,"his cousincrooncd
"I doulttshewantsto seeyou" Fiwrrd sdidblutdy'
"Probablynot,"Angelicaagreed B l.rt5
abouttimeyou realizedthekind ofpersonshels
A PromiseOf Romance
157
158
KyokoAkitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
159
r60
KyokoAhts
a-\
.I
t62
KyokoAkitsu
A PromiseOf Romance
163
Ald hedoesn'tbavethat."
look on the
ille smiledal theconfused
face.
ille.areyou...?"Satsutibegan.
't sayanotherword.l t'll makeme feel
Nevillesaid,smiling.
164
Kyoka Akitsl.t
Theceremony
tookplacein thegarden
Springhadcomeearlythisyear Theetocus
andthctrces
andnarcissus
werebloomingeverywhere.
had
bgaLrl)
weredyedin freshgreens.
An unimaginablc
garden.
sprungup fromthewinterfacofthe
lrhcnlhe
Theguestshadbeenquitesurprised
indoor engagemeitparty suddenlybeca'reaDoLrkloor
with thc
wedding,but everyonelookedsatisfied
ceremonyin the beautifulSarden.
Satsuki'sheartwasslowlysinkingin rhelr'e
Theguill he tell xI
ofall thesepeople'shappinss.
$as
deceivingall thepeoplewho hadcometo cclebrirtc
combinedwith his miseryat having1oleavcLd$rrd
logcthcr
in themiddleof theirfight.Thetwo entotions
completely
devastated
him.
At last.theceremony
wasover.andthi'l\\rl
joinedhandsandretumedto thehouse.Thc grosts.wenl
home,but thenew 'couple'hadto continuedeceiri'rg
thesrvants,
who still suspected
nothing.
A PromiseOfRomance
165
congraruladons,
MasterEdward."
butler saidwith teaasin his
expressionless
sule you'll take wonderfulcareof him,
Ma'am?"
Satsukifelta washofconffictitrgemotionsat
in his title. He couldn'tbearto seethiskind
thelasttimetomorrow.
't saysuchtactlssthings,old man,"
gently chiding the butler
"Quite right, sir I've preparedthe bedtoom
usedto use.Havea goodnight."The
his head.andall the otherseryantsbowed
EdwardandSalsukijoinedhandsand.smrling
; went into the room togethr
166
KyokoAkitsu
"Wlat?" Satsukiaskedsuspiciolrsly.
"You reallyarehappieslwhen)ou r( (.,rr'rf.
wasthe reply.
Satsulilookedan oyed,but didn l stopcating
"Tornor-rol,
"Oh yes,"Edwardcontinued.
we'll go to Heathrowairpo4 andsplit up ihcre.l 11
writeyourcheckout now."He tooka checkbook
from a dmwerin his desk.Apparently,
hc'd mo\('d
all theessential
thingsto thisroomearlier. \inr did
a magdficentjob."He wroteout theamounron rhc
checkandhandedit to Satsuki."Sincewe \rraftcd rl
up earlierthanexpected,Iaddedanextra2.()00founds.
lfit's not enough,sayso now."
Satsukilookedat thecheck"Whatwill you do afterwe get k) lhc .rrry.rnl'
heasked.
"l'm thinkingofgoing to Japan.' Ed$ fd
admitled."l'd like to seethecountrywhercyoug('w
up."
"Goodidea.Thecherrytresarein bloon righl
now'so it's beautifulenoughto rival youre rdcr " A
tearfell suddenlyfiom Satsuki'seye.
"Satsuki..."Edwardcameto Satsukis sidc
andcuppedhis facein his hands."You'vcexperieced
someborible thingsbecause
ofme. How car I
apologize?"
Satsukishookhis head,thencalDl) tdc lhc
checkup.
elcs
"Whatareyou doing?"Edwardshoul'_d
wide.
"l don'tneedall thismoney.I canI accellth's
A PromiseOfRomance
r67
iDtotheroomwhereEdwardwaswaitins.
Edward,sittingon thebed,smiledat him and
out for his hand.Nervousness
andfearmelted
an instantat theman'seentlesmile.
T.embling,Satsukirestedhis bodyagainst
's chest.A rain of sentlekissesbrushedSatsuki's
whisDeredmoan escaDed
him- "Mm..."
r68
Edwardmumluredbetweenki\\cs. .\irt\uki.
oPenyour mouth-"
cuessinghis inrention.
Sarsukis rhcrl tlrshed
But he panedhis lips slightly.allowinglidsr.t Insrd(,
anyway.
Edward'stonguedanedin inrlneduuh_lnd
cxpturedSatsukis own. Theirlips presscdhci\ rl\
together.changinganglesagain aDdaga l r\ rr] (jt'
noisturcran do$n Satsuki's
chin andterrs\lrin! uf
behindhis closedeyelids.
''Th-rhat's
eno gb..." he panlcdour.
All the st.enlth fled Satsukis bodt rLrxi.rllc
kisseslhatseizedeve|lhis sighs.He ran hLsh.rf11.
ovcr Edwards back.pressingintothe skrnN rl r tr rirl
strengthhc had.
''Salsuki... tdu ard iaLlcd. ut . I'i
Satsukis eyesflutteredoperr.IJe \r\\ h(l\rrld
lhc lxn
sillingin liont ofhim. gazingal hiln adLrrin!.1\
tracc of his ncn'ousnessdisappeared.
Edwardlighlly brushedSatsukis lrts r' n
thengentlylaid him on the bed.Satsukiclo\r'dhrsrlcs
and acccpledEdward s weight on t('p ofhilrr.
Edward ran his handsover c!en_ rrch ol'
SalsDki'sbody.
Satsukifell healslowlyrisingin his sLrrrIle
brt his I'p and chokedofi a cry.
:'satsuki.let nreheu,you. Ecl$rfd\\hr'l)er'd
his lips nextto Satsukis car.He nibbledSrtstrl \
carlobeSatsukis headrolledlin1plyto onc srdc
Edward lauShe{isoftl}, al the ,notron l Irs
170
KyokoAkits
lipsslid slowlydownSat$rki'sneckandcaressea
rhe
And there.he laidlhemarkof
hollowofthe collarbone.
his possession.
As his chestwasbeingcafessed
by tonqueand
involuntary
cry.
His
hand,Satsukilet out an
bodyhad
grownsensitiveandhe respoflded
immcdirtelvIle
anrs.
tridto pushEdwardawaywith powerless
andtrailed
Edwardeasilystoppedhis resistaDce
his lips furtherdownSatsuli'sbody.
wasfilled with hcatand
Satsuki'smanhood
rearedupundrEdward'stouch.Edward\rrapfcd
bothhis handsaroundit andSatsukis enlircbodv
shuddered.
"Ohl" Smilingdeviouslyat Salsukis lcsponsc.
Edwardtook Satsukiinto his mouth."Nol '
A blindingpleasuetorturedSatsukl
Heatcoursedthroughhis entirebody.A blushof
hrse!'s
tingedhis skin.He squeezed
embarrassment
shutandtdedto let thefeelingwashpaslhinr.butth'
soft,wet warmthofEdward'smouthheldhin $ith a
o!er hitn
yieldingfirrnness
thatsentwavesofsensalion
againand again.
' N o...le tm eg o ...E d..."
But Edwardignoredhis pleasTears$'ellcdtn'
mbidden,in Satsuki'seyesmd courseddownhische'ks
his
Edwatd'stongueslowlylickedhrnr.lrrcing
shape_ Edwardgavea light kissto thetip.
againhis
Satsukimewled
"t"tm...ngg..."
His bodylvasruledo'ly
senses
seizedby thecarcsses.
A PromiseOf Romalc
t71
112
Kloko AkjIsu
"Ah!" Satsukiscreamed.
Memoiesandsensations
tiom Lhelirstlime
reawakened
insidehim, andSatsukis limbscolr\ulsed
He twistedhis body and fried to pull a\\ ay.
him. He slo\rlj addcd
Edwardgentlystopped
allowingSatsukito adlLrst
onefinger,thenanother,
cach
time,to acceptmoreinsidehis body.
His bodytremblingslighlly,Salsukrcndufed
the feeling.Tearsbeganto comebackto hisc!cs.
EdwardkissedSatsuki'seyeldsto feassurc
r spot
him. "This wasthespot,right?"He pressed
insideSatsuki\rilh
hrsfingers theprn.trte.
satsukiknewit now;he hadlookcdit upafter
thefirsttime.
"No!" Satsuki'sbackarchedashc shoulcdA
pleasuegreaterthanevertookcontrolol his bod\ ll
hadonly beenonetime,but Edwardhadrenr.'nbered
's bodyperfectly."No. ..stop..." hegasped
Satsuki
He waslosinghidsell He feareddreplctLsLltt
He couldn'tholdon to his reason.
But Edwardignoredhis criesandpatiell)
attacked
thespotinsidehim.
Momentby moment,Satsuki'smanhoodexiaustedandlimp,swelledwith heatagain
to supporlhis$dring
Satsukisoughtsomething
strenglhandwrapp; hisarmstiihttyuiounal.a"ardt
body.
\alsrrk '1r'u!h
Decidinglhathe had loosened
cd
inside.Edwardc;tully removedhis nngers.A tinlescaped
Satsuli'slipsat thefeeling.
"Satsuki..."
A PromiseOfRomance
Satsukitumedhis eyestowardthe voice.
's facewascoming closer.Edwardpresseda
ontohis lips.Edward'srooguechasedand
's own. [t waschildish. but Satsukitried
His screa$disaDoeared
insideEdwfid's
A felilg of heavinesscompletelyuDlikethe
its way inside Satsuki.Tearsflowed from
senseof oressureand the oain. His mouth
ied,hecouldn'tscape
thesensation
by
Theuncontrollable
heatonly bnilt up inside
dughis nailsinto thebackthatsupported
him.
hadbroughthim thispain,only hecould
lt.
Satsukisqueezed
his eyestightlyshut.
EvenafterEdwardhadburiedhimselfentirely
Satsuki,theydidn't movefor a while.
At lasl,Edwardslowlyreleased
Satsuki'slips.
"Mmph..." Satsukigulped.
His facewas
with Dain-But evenso.hedidn't oushEdward
Edwardsaidhis nametenderly,"Satsuki,
" He kissedawaythetearsrunningdown
's face.pressing
his Iipsagainandagarnto
"Let
go."
's eyes.
Satsukinodded.Edwardslowlybegarto move.
"Ow...ah!" Satsuki'svoicewassoakedwith
gentlytouchedSatsuki'smember,now
andgrippedil lensely.Sarsukr's
bodyleaptat the
1t4
KyokoAktsu
A PromiseOfRomance
renewedstimulation,
dissolvinghis conscioLrsrcs5.
Edwarddrscovered
Satsuki'sweakspols\ rth
precision.Stimulatinghim front and backal lhc sanre
elsebeginningto colol
time,heheardsomething
Satsuii'svoice.
SatsukiwashalfuDconscious
astheflcrsulc
rippledthroughhis body.A sultrynoisccscaped
hrs
partlyopenlips."Ah, ab...N,?r..."
His backarched.Probeddeepinsidearrdirrhst
surpassing
his limit. he released
himsell
Edwaidalsounleashed
his emotionsrnlo
Satsuki.
Satsuli'seyesshotopen.He slorl) bcgnn
to closethemagain,andhe released
his holdon
consciousness.
Thenextmoming,SatsukiwasawakenedI
dawnby theloudchorusofbirds.
Edwardlay still besidehim, breathing
peacefullyin his sleep,stillcompletelynakedfl. nmsr
havebeenusedto thebirds,sincehe'd livcd hcfcso
muchlonger.
Satsuki'sbodywasstill heavywilh th.'\$cer
fatigueofthe nightbeforeandhis beart$'aslrghl
ll wasonly beginningto grow lighl oLrtside
"Ile still havehalf a day togerltet:'
Accordingto theconhacttheyhadagfeedlLl
with Neville,heandEdwardwouldpartat Hcilhro$
('f
airport andthen be completestrange;sfor the resl
theirlives.
175
\ 76
KyokoAkitsu
A PromiseOfRomance
117
178
KyokoAkiuu
thatwouldbeupsettingyou, Satsuki."
"But you sig[edthecontsact,
too,didn l ]ou.t.,
Sabukishouted.
"Ifwe breakthecontract.you pa\ a
pnalty.andifnot, we leaveeachotheral lhe.rrp.,n
atrdneverseeeachotler again!"
"Isn't it obviousthatthecontmctis overl '
Edwardsaid.
Another tear fell fiom Satsuki'seyes. \iru
neversaidanythilgaboutit, so I just assunled..
.'
"I'm sorry,"Edwardapologized.I nc\crsay
themostimportantthings."
Satsulishookhis head."It's okay.i gel rL
'No,listen to me,Satsuli.lt's inportant'
Edward'svoiceconveyed
his resolve.
Satsukiwipd awayhis tearsand lookedlrt
him. "Wlat?"
"I'm giviogup my fortune,"Edward
amounced.
Satsuki'seyeswidenedEdwardcontiDue4"I'm surethal'll shLrtrn).'
annoyingrelativesup.And in exchange,
I l|
you
Will
staywith meevenifI havenothrn SatsLrkil
'l cant,rug'n" 1o,'
Satsulllaughed.
money."
He hadthesmileofan angel,andnocr ccased
to charmEdward.
"well. will you?"Edwardprompted.
Satsukislowlynodded.
Edwardbeamed.
TheycontinuedoDtLrthc
airport,andto a lifetimespenttogether
Afterword
tt
ei
{ llowl
,e
t':l
'!t ,.lj