Harding wanted to die there when he became seriously ill. The doctor on the island is one of the best you will ever meet, a doctor who continues to learn and is so smart that, when we brought him with us to New York about Harding’s cancer, he dazzled every doctor he met. He saved Harding’s life one piercing, heart-stopping night, and when Harding decided to die on Mustique, it was primarily so that he could be in Michael Bunbury’s care to the end.

Michael’s wife is the designer, Lotty Bunbury. You can find her on the Internet (click here) and you will see her in my pictures. She designs elegant and sensuous island clothes and saris. Her shop used to be Johanna Alexander’s shop, the place to meet and the place I spent a lot of time drinking coffee and talking great woman talk with lovely Johanna. There aren’t a lot of shops in Mustique, but Lotty’s and the shop at the Cotton House Hotel Spa are all you need — just as the Cotton House Hotel is all you need for hip barefoot lunches and dressing up for dinner and Basil’s is all you need for barbecues, live music and shaking whatever you want to shake. Most Mustiquians entertain each other or just hang out under their own starry sky with their own cool breeze.

Harding did die in Mustique and it was, as he expected, a good way of moving on. The palace on the hill became too large for me and, to my children’s dismay, I decided to sell it and find a smaller solution. I wasn’t sure how to go about selling such an extended property, but I was told to dig a hole and bury a small model of St. Joseph upside down facing away from the house and to say a prayer, and the house would sell quickly. I dug the hole, invited a group of very close and imaginative friends, gave them each a stiff drink, followed instructions, and we all said a prayer and buried St. Joseph so he could do his job. He was a carpenter, you know.

The house sold within the month. Now I am looking for a way to keep my children happy in Mustique. Recently, my children and I took photographs of Mustique so that you can see it through our eyes. I hope you enjoy them.

Click here to see Mary’s photos of Mustique.