Temptations of Pleasure Island (8 page)

“I’m afraid it could be. Go get Sarah and Jake and Reb—we’ve got to talk about this.”

I
sure don’t know what is going on.” Josh took another bite of apple and chewed on it thoughtfully.

Sarah was swinging back and forth in a hammock. They were in one of the many gardens that surrounded the palace, and the air had a spicy smell from the flowers that grew abundantly there. Fleecy white clouds drifted lazily across a pastel blue sky above them.

A light breeze ruffled Josh’s hair. He pushed it back from his forehead and looked closely at Sarah. “Are you listening to me?”

“Mmm? Oh, I’m sorry, Josh. I guess I was nearly asleep.”

“I said I’m worried about what’s going on around here.”

“You mean about Dave and Abbey being on Soma.”

Josh took another bite of the apple and spoke with his mouth full. He mumbled, “Yeah, I’m worried about them.”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full. It’s not good manners.”

“Manners!” Josh tossed the apple core at a silky long-haired dog that was passing by and hit it squarely on the nose. The dog yelped and ran off.

“Well, that’s a fine thing! Now you’re into mistreating animals.”

“I didn’t mean to hit the silly dog!” Josh said. He got up and walked over to the hammock. “Have you talked to Abbey much lately?”

“When would I talk to her?” Sarah said sleepily. “All her time is filled with running to parties and balls and what not.” She opened her eyes and looked up at Josh. “Have you talked to Dave?”

“No. Well, I’ve tried, but he won’t listen. It’s amazing how they’ve changed over just the last few days𠅁and not for the better, either.”

Sarah got out of the hammock and smoothed her hair. “You’re right about that. There’s something about that drug that … that releases people’s inhibitions.”

“You mean it makes them do things that they wouldn’t do ordinarily.”

“That’s right. I happen to know Dave has lost money that he doesn’t have by betting on things. And I suspect Abbey’s doing the same.”

“The princess has been loaning her money. I don’t know where Dave’s been getting his.”

“It could be from Lady Maeve,” Josh said darkly. “She’s taken him under her wing. They have more confidence in her than they have in me.”

“Oh, Josh, that’s not so!”

“It is so!” He kicked at a beautifully colored flower and knocked the head off it. “I wish we had never come to this worthless Pleasure Island!” he growled.

Sarah walked over and stood beside him. Her face wore a worried frown, but she succeeded in making her voice cheerful. “It’ll work out all right, Josh.”

“I’m glad you think so. The next thing you know, that Maeve woman will be running the country.”

Lady Maeve watched a crisis erupt in the council meeting. The king and Lord Denning were almost in a shouting match.

“Your Majesty,” Lord Denning said, “the country is
falling to pieces. Our people are doing nothing but gambling and partying. It’s got to stop!”

King Leo scowled at the Master of the Council. “We’ve been over this before!” he said sourly. “We’ll hear no more of it, Denning!”

“But if you would just look at these figures, Your Majesty—” Lord Denning waved a paper “—you would see that the kingdom is bankrupt. People are hungry. And hungry people make revolutions, sire.”

“Are you crazy!” The king snorted. “A revolution here on Pleasure Island? We’ve never had anything like that!”

“We’ve never had anything like this carnival that goes on all the time either, sire.”

Their voices grew louder and louder.

Finally Lady Maeve was able to catch the king’s attention. “Your Majesty, I don’t want to interfere—”

“Oh, go ahead,” the king said grumpily. “What’s on your mind, Lady Maeve?”

“We’ve had these meetings now for several weeks, and they always end the same. In nothing. You and Lord Denning apparently cannot get along. I would therefore suggest that Lord Denning retire and be replaced by someone more in sympathy with your policies.”

Every council member gaped open-mouthed at Lady Maeve. Disbelief washed across face after face, but she knew that no one dared challenge what she had said. They all well knew that she was in the king’s favor. To challenge her was the same as to challenge the king himself.

Lord Denning was gasping like a fish out of water. “Of all the impertinence! Who do you think you are, woman? You come in here a stranger, and now you’re telling us how to run the country!”

Lady Maeve waited calmly. If every council member expected the king to rebuke her, she well knew they all were mistaken—about both him and the power that she had over him.

The king looked blankly at Lord Denning as confusion swept across his face. Then he cleared his throat. “I believe Lady Maeve has a point. Now, Denning, don’t be upset. We will find a very important job for you to do. But after all, you are getting on in years …”

Lord Denning drew himself up and said stiffly, “You need not find a position for me! I do not need your charity, Your Majesty!” He arose and stalked out of the room, his face grim with anger.

Silence reigned over the council chamber, and then Lady Maeve sent an unspoken command to the king. After gazing at her as if hypnotized, he said in a halting fashion, “You will have to forgive Lord Denning, my friends. As I say, he’s getting up in years …”

“But who will be Master of the Council?” one of the members spoke up.

“Well … I shall appoint … I shall appoint Lady Maeve to the position, temporarily at least.”

A stunned silence certainly did reign then. Not a sound was made.

Lady Maeve got to her feet at once and said, “Gentlemen, this meeting is dismissed.”

When the council members had all stumbled out of the room, Lady Maeve turned to the king. “I know you’re disturbed, sire, but you must not be.”

“He’s done good service for this country, Lady Maeve. I regret its coming to this. Lord Denning has been a friend.”

“Yes, of course he has. But for the good of the
country we must move on. Come, Your Majesty. It’s time for your Soma.”

“Yes—yes. I think I’m in need of … something.”

As the king turned and moved heavily toward the door, a cruel smile turned the corners of Lady Maeve’s mouth upward.
So. We’ve gotten that fool Denning out
of the way, and the council is under my command
.
Now all I have to do is increase the king’s dosage of
Soma, and he will not be any problem
.

“Your Majesty, you look tired. Are you not feeling well?”

Queen Tamsin turned to Sarah and said, “No, Sarah, not unwell. But I am deeply worried. About Cosima.”

Sarah was sure that this was true. Cosima had outdone herself in recent weeks. She had gotten completely out from under the authority of her father. And when her mother tried to correct her, the king would simply say, “If you would take medication along with Cosima and me, you would see how things are.”

Now the queen’s shoulders sagged. She leaned forward in her beautifully designed, silk-upholstered chair and began to weep. “I know queens should not weep,” she said, “but I can’t help it.”

Sarah went to her and tentatively put a hand on the queen’s shoulder. “I don’t know whoever told you that, Your Majesty. A queen is a woman, and there is a time when women need to weep. You’re worried about your daughter and your husband. Who would weep for them if not you?”

Queen Tamsin reached up and took Sarah’s hand. “You’re a comfort, dear. Indeed you are.”

Sarah took a seat on a low stool beside the queen.
“We’re all concerned about your husband. Two of our own number have been persuaded by Lady Maeve into taking Soma. Their behavior is so different. They’re not like themselves at all.”

“Exactly the way it is with Leo and with Cosima. They’re just not themselves.”

“Is the king still pressuring you into taking the drug, Your Majesty?”

“Constantly. Day and night. It takes all the strength I have to resist him. As for Derek, he and his father are scarcely speaking. Our family is shattered, Sarah.”

“My lady, I would not give easy words of comfort. I know only a little of what your heart must be feeling. But I would encourage you, if I could.” She waited until the queen looked up and then said, “Since we came to Nuworld—miraculously, as you have heard—we have been in many dangerous places. There have been times when we despaired of life itself. But we are still here. We are alive and well. And it is Goél who has kept us so.”

“Goél. I wish he would come and set the kingdom straight. He was here years ago, and both my husband and I knew that he was the right man to lead this world in the fight against evil. Oh, how I wish he would come!”

“He may come yet,” Sarah said eagerly. “He comes sometimes when least expected. But sometimes he lets us get in terrible shape first. I think he does it to test our loyalty and help us learn.”

The queen seemed to take heart at that. “It’s a relief to talk to you, Sarah. I can’t talk to Cosima anymore.” The worried look came back into her face. “She’s seeing a lot of your friend—the boy Jackson.”

“You mean Reb. Yes. They do go places together a lot.”

The queen seemed hesitant. “Is he—is he
reliable?”

Sarah laughed. “Oh yes! He’s very reliable. You don’t need to worry about your daughter being with him.”

Relief washed across the queen’s face. “Good,” she said. “You can’t know how comforting it is to hear that from you.” Then another thought seemed to come to her, and she said, “I wonder if
you
would try to talk to Cosima. You are almost the same age. Maybe she will listen to you.”

Sarah hesitated. “I’ve tried to talk to my friend Abbey. As you probably know, Lady Maeve has persuaded both her and Dave to use Soma.”

“Yes. Cosima told me about that. She seemed very pleased.”

“Well,
we’re
not pleased. We think it’s a very bad thing indeed.”

“So do I, and so does the prince. But my husband seems totally blinded by that woman. I can’t understand it.”

“I’m sure it’s that drug, Your Majesty,” Sarah said quickly. “It’s that drug that has changed people’s behavior. If we could just get rid of that and get rid of her, I think things would be much better.”

“Oh, I wish we could!” the queen cried. “I worried when my husband was depressed, but this is so much worse.”

When Sarah left the queen’s quarters, she went to find Abbey. She found her in her room, trying on new shoes.

Four pairs were out before her, and she greeted Sarah with, “Which of these do you like the best,
Sarah? I’ve got to make a decision quickly. My dress has to match.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Abbey. They’re all lovely. I’m concerned about something else. I need to talk to you.”

Abbey looked up with apprehension. “Now, Sarah, I do hope you’re not going to give me a sermon. Josh has already been here and done that once today. He tells me that Dave and I are doing wrong by taking Soma. But Josh is the one who’s wrong, you know. And so are you—if that’s what you were going to say.”

Sarah shook her head. “You’ve got to look at what’s happening, Abbey. Not only to you and Dave but to the king and to Cosima.”

For some time she tried to persuade Abbey that what she was doing was a great mistake. But a barrier seemed to have been built around Abbey’s mind. Stubbornly she clung to her position that there was nothing wrong with taking Soma.

“It’s medication, and I’m just having fun,” she said. “So is Dave. And as for the king, you don’t know what an awful life he had before Lady Maeve came. He was so discouraged he was about to take his own life.”

“You don’t know that, Abbey.”

“Yes, I do!”

“How do you know it?”

“Because—” Abbey broke off.

“Because Lady Maeve told you so. Isn’t that right?”

A stubborn look came to Abbey’s face. Sarah had seen that look before, and she knew that further conversation was hopeless. “We’ve been through so much together, Abbey,” she said quietly. “I just hope you think it over.”

“I don’t need to think it over. I know what we’re doing is all right.”

“Would you want to tell Goél what you’re doing?” Sarah asked quietly.

She saw a flicker of doubt come to Abbey’s blue eyes, but then the girl seemed to close her mind to the thought. “I don’t have time to talk! I’ve got to get ready for the ball.”

Sarah left Abbey’s room, heavyhearted. She did not want to burden Josh, who was already feeling bad enough, so finally she simply went for a walk by herself.

She found herself making her way down to the poorer part of town, and eventually she came to the Fletcher house. She stepped into the shop and found Mark helping his father. “Hello. How are you two?”

Mark brightened. “All right, Miss Sarah. You’re looking very pretty today.”

“Why, thank you, Mark.” Sarah smiled. “It does a girl good to hear a compliment every now and then.”

She talked with Mark for some time, and finally then said, “Mr. Fletcher, you’ve hardly said a word. Is something worrying you today?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Yes, there is,” Mark said quickly. “Father is upset because I’ve agreed to become part of the king’s retinue. I’ll be wrestling for King Leo now in the arena.”

“I still say it’s a bad idea, son. You will see that nothing good can come of it.”

Sarah started to speak, but Mark shook his head in warning. Later, when they were alone, he said, “I agreed to do it only because I was afraid that woman might do something to my family.”

“You mean Lady Maeve.”

“Yes, Lady Maeve. She has the king under her thumb. He does anything she says. If she were to tell
him to have my family thrown into prison, he’d do it in a minute.”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s that blinded, Mark!”

“My father is always such a good man,” the young man said softly. Despair crossed his handsome features. “We’re going to have more trouble. I can feel it in my bones.”

Sarah left the Fletcher household and wandered the streets for a long time. She saw that the poor people seemed poorer than ever. Clothes appeared more worn, and all the citizens had a hungry look. Mark had told her that many of them had gambled away their wages, making a few rich while many went hungry.