Temptations of Pleasure Island (4 page)

“That could get your head chopped off in some places.”

“She likes it, though. She’s never been treated like a real girl before. Always like somebody on a pedestal.”

“Well, Reb likes the horse racing, but he’s not much for the princess’s parties.”

“I know. And it drives Princess Cosima crazy. She wants him to go to every one, and he just won’t do it. I think it’s the first time she’s ever told somebody to do something and they wouldn’t do it.”

“It’s good for her. Might give her some humility.” Then Josh said, “I’ve got to get out of this sun. I’m starting to cook.”

“I’m ready to go,” Sarah agreed.

After they went into the dressing rooms and changed back into their street clothes, Sarah said, “My bow needs some work done on it, Josh.”

“Nothing Jake can fix?”

“Oh, if I could get him to stay still long enough he could fix it. But Prince Derek told me about a family named Fletcher. They live over on the edge of town where the working people are. Derek said he’s great with any kind of weapons. I’m going over and have him take a look at it.”

“Mind if I come along?”

“Not a bit. Let’s go.”

They picked up Sarah’s bow and, a half hour later, arrived at a shop that had the name
Fletcher
over the door. The sign had an arrow stuck into it, as if to emphasize the profession of the owner.

“I guess this is the place,” Sarah said. “This part of town isn’t quite as fancy as the palace area, is it?”

Obviously they had reached the part of town where the poor people lived. The houses were small and jammed next to each other. The children who played in the street were not dressed in fine clothing as children were in other parts of Pleasure Island. A pair of them now, a boy and a girl no more than three, sat studying them as they approached. They were sitting in a mud puddle and apparently had been giving each other mud baths.

“Hey, I’d like to try that!” Josh said. “Come on, Sarah. Let’s give it a whirl!”

“Take your grubby hands off me, Josh Adams! If you want to sit in the mud, go ahead!” However, Sarah was charmed by the children. “Aren’t they cute?”

“You think every kid’s cute. They look like muddy kids to me.”

Josh and Sarah walked into the shop.

A tall man with salt-and-pepper hair was working at a bench. He got up at once and bowed. “Yes. May I serve you?”

“I am Sarah Collingwood, and this is Josh Adams.”

“My name is Jacob Fletcher.” He studied the bow in Sarah’s hand. “You, perhaps, need your weapon repaired?”

“Yes. You see, a crack has started here, and I’m afraid it’s going to spread.”

Mr. Fletcher took the bow and examined it. “This is a fine bow,” he said. “As fine as any I’ve seen. But it does need a little work.”

“Will I need to leave it and come back?” she asked.

“No. It will not take long. Please be seated.”

Instead, Josh and Sarah wandered around the shop while they waited. They picked up weapons of different kinds and commented to each other on how finely they were made. It was a small shop and was crammed with longbows and crossbows. There were daggers, swords, and shields.

Josh was impressed. “Mr. Fletcher knows his business,” he said quietly, “but he’s not rich.”

“No, he’s just a workingman. And it’s kind of a relief to see one of those. We’ve seen so many pampered rich people lately—people with lots of time to do nothing.”

Josh grinned. “That’s what you get for hanging out with the king and his family.”

At that moment a little girl came in. She was perhaps six years old. She had dark hair and very dark eyes, and she smiled at them. “Hello,” she said.

“Well, hello. What’s your name?” Sarah smiled back.

“My name is Lalita.”

“This is my daughter,” Jacob Fletcher said proudly.

“Papa, Mama says for you to come to eat.”

“You tell Mama I’m working right now.”

“Oh, don’t let us interrupt your lunch,” Sarah said quickly. “We can wait.”

“Mama said to bring your customers in. That she has enough for everyone.”

“My dear, I’m not sure they would like to eat in a humble place like this. You’re welcome, of course,” he said, turning back to Josh and Sarah.

“We’d be glad to share a meal with you, Mr. Fletcher,” Sarah said at once.

“It’s not like the palace,” he warned. “Just very plain food.”

“Sounds good to me,” Josh said. “I’d give anything for just a plain bowl of soup and a piece of bread, Mr. Fletcher.”

“Well, you can have that, I’m sure. And you may call me Jacob. Come along into our living quarters.”

They followed Jacob into the kitchen, where they met his wife and their son, Mark. Mrs. Fletcher was a strong looking, plainly dressed woman with brown hair and brown eyes. She sat them down to a good but simple meal.

Josh was impressed by the looks of Mark Fletcher. He had a rather spectacular build. He was only nineteen, his mother informed them, but he was a champion wrestler.

“He has beaten everyone,” Jacob said, gazing proudly at his son.

“I may not beat the next one though, Father.” Mark was well over six feet and powerfully built. He wore a light cotton shirt and a pair of simple brown pants.

Josh thought his eyes would surely bug out looking at the young wrestler. The muscles of Mark’s arms were enormous. When he had a chance, he whispered to Sarah, “He looks strong as an ox.”

“But he’s nicer looking than an ox! The whole family’s nice,” she whispered back.

“Do you get paid for wrestling in the arena, Mark?” Josh asked.

“He will not take money,” Mr. Fletcher said rather proudly. “The professionals have tried to hire him, but he refuses.”

“Why is that, Mark?” Sarah asked curiously.

The young man smiled rather shyly. He had a nice smile and warm brown eyes. “I think that takes the fun out of it. I’d rather wrestle just because I want to.”

“Some very wealthy men have tried to sponsor Mark. They know they could make much money by betting on him,” Mrs. Fletcher said. “But we think it is better that he doesn’t. We think all this gambling is very bad.”

Josh and Sarah exchanged glances. Josh remarked, “I’m surprised that you feel that way. It looks to us like everyone bets on Pleasure Island. Of course, we haven’t been here long. Only a couple of weeks.”

“You are right, though,” Jacob Fletcher said. “Almost everyone does gamble. But not quite all. Not I, myself. Most of our neighbors do. And those who can least afford it gamble the most, it seems.”

“That’s true.” Mrs. Fletcher ladled more soup into her husband’s bowl. “I don’t know when it all started. When I was a girl, there were games and contests—but not so much betting on them.”

“I think the king gets a part of all the bets that are made,” Mark said. He frowned. “I enjoy wrestling just for the sport, but I have a friend who has gone absolutely crazy about it. Wrestling is all he can talk about. You can’t carry on a conversation with him about anything else.”

“I’ve known people like that.” Sarah sighed. “Not about wrestling particularly. But people get interested in a hobby or a sport or something else, and—as you say—they are impossible to talk to about anything else.”

“It is a bad thing,” Jacob said. “Several of our friends have trouble with their youngsters. They don’t want to work. They want to do nothing but play.”

“Pleasure Island,” Josh murmured. “That’s what they call the place, and I guess that’s what it is.”

Jacob Fletcher scowled. “It is no pleasure for those whose children have gone mad about having fun. It is no pleasure to those men who lose all they have and are thrown out of work.”

“I saw a man like that the first day we were here,” Sarah said. “He had borrowed money on his house and lost it when whatever he gambled on lost. What will happen to him?”

“He will work in the mines,” Jacob said shortly.

“The mines? What are the mines?” Josh said.

“It is a place for people who have lost everything. They work from daylight to dark for practically nothing.”

“They’re more like slaves than anything else,” Mark added. There was sorrow in his eyes. “Several of our friends and neighbors have wound up there. We tried to talk to them about how dangerous their gambling habit was, but they wouldn’t listen.”

They finished the simple meal, and then Jacob finished repairing Sarah’s bow. He named a price, and Sarah paid him. But she protested, “That’s not enough, Jacob. And you even entertained us for lunch!”

“It is enough. Honest pay for honest work.”

“I’ll hope we’ll see you again,” Josh said as they prepared to leave.

“You must go and see my son wrestle. Then we shall see each other. He is indeed amazing. The best on the island.”

“Well, I’m tired of most of the things at the arena, but I would like to see that,” Sarah said.

“Good. It would please Mark if you would go. He wrestles tomorrow at two o’clock.”

Josh and Sarah started back toward the palace, and Sarah said, “They are such a nice family.”

“They are. Real friendly. And real sensible.”

“It’s good to see that there are some level-headed people around here who haven’t gone sports crazy or are gambling away everything they have.”

Back at the palace, they found the prince and the princess waiting for them. For some reason, both looked unusually serious.

“Is something wrong?” Josh asked Derek. “Someone ill?”

Derek nodded and said rather worriedly, “It’s our father. He’s not feeling well today.”

Cosima seemed troubled, too. “He has these times when he’s absolutely discouraged, and of course that depresses the rest of us.”

At that moment Queen Tamsin came in, and Derek asked, “How is he, Mother?”

“Not much better, but he says he has heard of a physician on the mainland who is supposed to be very good with troubles like this.”

“Has Father sent for him, then?” Cosima asked.

“He has. And has also offered a large sum of money to make sure that he comes at once.”

Josh felt awkward listening to this family talk. He almost said something, but then decided it was not his business. Later, however, after the queen left, he said to the prince, “Derek, I’m wondering if part of your father’s trouble might not be the pace of life around here.”

“What are you trying to say?” Derek asked, looking truly puzzled.

“Well, everybody goes so fast and furious and thinks of nothing but being entertained. That’s enough to depress anybody after a while.”

Derek nodded. “Yes, I have thought something along that line myself.”

But Cosima cried, “Don’t be ridiculous, both of you! Having fun can’t make people discouraged and unhappy!”

Josh did not answer, but he was not convinced. Later he said to Sarah, “Princess Cosima might be a bright young lady, but she doesn’t know much about people. You look in the king’s eyes, and you can see how tired he is.”

“Maybe this new doctor will help,” Sarah said hopefully. “In any case, I hope so.”

T
he massive room Lady Maeve entered was gloomy indeed. The darkness seemed to reach out and seize her, and she stood still, looking about the murky interior. So enormous was the room that the darkness blotted out the outer edges, and when she looked up she could not see the ceiling.

“Lady Maeve, come closer.”

The hollow voice echoed throughout the mammoth chamber.

As Lady Maeve moved forward, her eyes fixed on the flickering light ahead of her. She was aware of strange-shaped and huge forms on each side of her. They were alive, she knew, and fear came over her, but she masked it, as she had well learned to do.

And then she was standing before a great throne on which the Dark Lord of Nuworld sat. To his right sat a woman dressed entirely in black, who watched her with glittering eyes.

“I have come at your command, my lord,” Lady Maeve said.

“You have performed well in the past,” the Dark Lord began. His voice was smooth and somehow deadly.

Far overhead in the ceiling, lightning ran back and forth, and Maeve caught the sound of faint screams that chilled her to the bone. However, she gave no indication of this but merely bowed. “Thank you, my lord,” she said in a strong voice. She had learned to conceal
her fears, but the eyes that bored into hers were difficult for her to meet.

“I have a mission of some importance for you. If you succeed, you will be richly rewarded. If you fail—”

“I have never failed, my lord.”

Laughter issued from the mouth of the Dark Lord, and he glanced at the woman beside him, who had not taken her cold eyes off Lady Maeve since her arrival.

“No, as yet you never have, and that is why I have sent for you.”

“What would you ask of me, my lord?”

The Dark Lord suddenly stood. He loomed over Maeve, who waited before him in the semidarkness. He did not move further, but she somehow felt power emanating from him. Indeed, his power seemed to fill the entire cavernous throne room.

He appeared to be waiting for her to speak, and when she did not, he said, “Good. You are a woman of strength. Very well. Here is what you must do. As I say, rich rewards will be yours once you have succeeded.”