Silent Honor by Danielle Steel Page B

coffee, and the three adults looked back into the living room and watched the antics of the four children. Not that Hiroko was a child anymore, or even Ken, but there was still a wonderful innocence about them.
    “She's a lovely girl.” Peter said wistfully, as Takeo nodded. He couldn't help remembering his cousin Masao's admonitions to him before she came, not to let her get romantically involved with anyone during her year at St. Andrew's College, and there was something in Peter's eyes now that suggested to Tak that he liked her. But on the other hand, Peter had a girlfriend and Takeo told himself he was being too protective. Hiroko was barely more than a child, although she was certainly very beautiful, and her sweetness and innocence were very alluring.
    “She is lovely,” Tak agreed quietly. “But she's a child,” and then he realized, as he said the words, that she was the same age Reiko had been when he met her. He was thirty and Reiko was one of his students. It wasn't inconceivable that the same thing could hap-pen to Peter. Tak and Reiko had married six months after they met, but Hiroko seemed so childlike in comparison to the girl Reiko had been that Takeo felt foolish for what he'd been thinking. But still, there was a look in Peter's eyes, whenever he looked at her—although Peter would have denied it, if Tak had asked him. What Tak had sensed remained unspoken between them. Takeo glanced at his wife and smiled. They had been happy for two decades. And then he glanced back at his young cousin, still cavorting with their children.
    Hiroko was so Japanese, in so many ways. And she was going back to Japan in a year. And although her father had modern ideas, having his daughter marry an American had never been one of them. Masao did not want her dating anyone, not even a Japanese boy, for the moment. He wanted her back in Japan long before her thoughts turned to romance, or marriage.
    “I really like Carole,” Peter said suddenly, as though trying to convince himself, but even to his own ears he didn't sound entirely sincere. He was far more impressed by Hiroko's beauty and gentleness than by his striking blond girlfriend with the modeling career. She was beautiful, but she was also shallow, and he knew it. Oddly enough, comparing the two women made him uncomfortable. And as they walked back into the living room to observe the Monopoly game again, he reminded himself of how young Hiroko was and how silly he was to be so enchanted by her. It was just that she looked so like a doll,-and he loved her discreet manners and fascinating traditions. And as he watched her, he couldn't help noticing again how gentle she was, and how pretty she looked when she laughed. She was teasing Ken, and her laughter sounded like wind chimes. And it disturbed him to realize that as the game wore on, he couldn't take his eyes from her. He hoped no one else noticed it, and took comfort in the fact that whatever he felt for her could be stopped even before it began. Peter had no intention of falling in love with a girl her age, or causing her, or her family, any problems.
    He seemed quiet that night when he finally went home. And despite all the laughter that had come before, Hiroko bowed seriously to him, and he bowed back to her. But this time, he said nothing when he left them. And as he drove back to his own house in Menlo Park, he was lost in thought. He felt as though he had been slowly carried away by tides that were so subtle he hadn't even noticed. But at least he was aware of it. He would not allow himself to be swept away by her, no matter how appealing she was. Absolutely nothing was going to happen between him and Hiroko.
    After Peter left, Hiroko asked her cousin if Peter-san had been angry. She had noticed how quiet he was, and how little he had said to them when he left.
    “Angry? No. Why?” Reiko looked surprised, but Takeo understood the question. He had noticed it too, and it concerned him. Something had been