Amaryllis

Chapter 12

"So, Lucas, I understand you're in the jelly-ice business," Oscar Lark said as he polished off his straw-peach pie.

"Yes, sir." Lucas eyed the last slice of straw-peach pie, which was sitting on a plate in the center of the table. He wondered if it would be rude to ask for it.

He glanced around surreptitiously. Everyone else seemed to be finished with dessert. No one appeared to be about to make a move on the one remaining slice of pie. It was practically staring Lucas in the face. It had been years since he'd had home-cooked straw-peach pie, and he could not recall ever having had any that tasted as good as this one had.

Amaryllis's aunt, the small-town doctor, smiled at him from across the table. Hannah Lark was an attractive, petite, irrepressibly cheerful woman with bird-bright blue eyes and a short bob of graying red-blond hair. There was an air of great competence about her in spite of her size. There was also an aura of power. Without even bothering to employ his own talent, Lucas could sense the invisible hum of Hannah's strong diagnostic talent. It simmered away inside her, a palpable force even without the aid of a prism's focus. There was also something about her that made him fret about his manners.

Oscar Lark sat at the opposite end of the small table. He was as big as Lucas, a rock-hard ag-talent whose years in the fields showed in the toughened planes of his face and in his large, calloused hands. It had taken Lucas only a moment to figure out why he looked vaguely familiar. Oscar could have stepped right out of a portrait of First Generation founders.

"How long have you been in jelly-ice?" Oscar probed.

"All of my life, Mr. Lark." Maybe he could get the slice of straw-peach pie later, Lucas thought. After everyone had left. Unless someone else ate it first.

"I told you that Lucas was with Lodestar Exploration, dear," Hannah said. "You've heard of Lodestar."

"Lodestar, eh?" Oscar gave Lucas a shrewd glance. "Big company. What do you do with the firm?"

"I own it, sir."

"Is that a fact?" Oscar looked skeptical. "Rather young to own a company that size. Are you sure it isn't your father who owns the firm?"

Lucas took his eyes off the pie to meet Oscar's gaze. "My parents were both killed when I was three. I built Lodestar from the ground up. The company is mine."

Oscar blinked owlishly. "I see." He cleared his throat. "What about the rest of your family? Are they all employed at Lodestar?"

A tense silence gripped the table.

"There are no other members of my family," Lucas said bluntly. "Or, at least no one close enough to count."

"No family?"

"No, sir." Lucas made up his mind. The lack of a proper family was no doubt the last nail in his coffin. He had nothing else to lose. He reached out and seized the pie pan. "But I intend to change that soon." He shoveled the last slice of straw-peach pie onto his plate.

"Lucas is registered at a marriage agency. Uncle Oscar." Amaryllis rose abruptly and started to clear the table. "He expects to go in for the final interview soon."

Oscar narrowed his eyes. "Same as you, eh, Amaryllis?"

"That's right." Amaryllis carried a stack of plates into the kitchen.

"Registration with a good agency is the only way to go," Oscar said. "A decision as important as marriage should never be made without proper guidance. Runaway marriages always end in disaster."

Lucas fell to the pie. He told himself it might be a long time, if ever, before he got a chance at another slice of homemade straw-peach pie.

"Anyone for coff-tea?" Amaryllis asked from behind the counter.

Hannah got to her feet. "I'll fix it, dear." She gave Oscar a meaningful look. "Why don't you two men go into the living room? Amaryllis and I will take care of these dishes."

"Whatever you say, dear." Oscar gave Lucas a stony stare. "You finished, Lucas?"

Lucas wolfed down the last bite and met Oscar's grim gaze. "Probably, but what the hell."

There was no avoiding the inevitable, so he got to his feet and followed Oscar into Amaryllis's tiny living room. His instincts warned him that the grilling was not yet over. He had a feeling the worst was yet to come.

Things hadn't been too bad until now. Hannah's graciousness had offset Oscar's ill-concealed scrutiny of his niece's new "friend." Lucas thought he had handled himself quite well in the circumstances. Everyone had been polite. The conversation had not flagged during the mouthwatering meal. He had even indulged himself in a harmless little fantasy in which he and Amaryllis were married and entertaining relatives for the evening.

But the illusion Lucas had woven for himself was about to be smashed to pieces. He could not blame Oscar Lark. If he were in the older man's boots, he would do the same thing. It was Oscar's duty to protect Amaryllis.

Oscar lowered himself into a fragile-looking chair near the miniature jelly-ice fire that blazed on the hearth. "Well, now. So, you're both registered with an agency."

"Yes, sir." Lucas sat down in the small chair on the other side of the fire.

"My niece tells me you're a strong talent."

"Yes, sir."

"She's a full-spectrum prism."

"I'm aware of that, Mr. Lark."

"Not much chance of a match between the two of you."

"No, sir."

Oscar gazed into the flames. "A man and a woman can get some strange notions when they first register with an agency. The business of getting serious about marriage makes some people a little skittish."

"Yes, sir."

"They start to wonder if the agency will really be able to find someone who's right. Someone they'll want to spend the rest of their lives with."

"It does make you think."

Oscar peered at him. "Some people even tell themselves that they can make better decisions than an agency counsel- or can."

Lucas said nothing.

"Other people figure they better have a few flings before they settle down," Oscar said. "Everyone knows that here in the city folks are more inclined to fool around both before and after marriage."

Lucas didn't see any smart response to that heavily loaded remark, so he maintained his silence.

"I don't want to see Amaryllis hurt, Trent."

Lucas met Oscar's determined eyes. "Yes, sir."

"Nor will I allow her to ruin her life the way her mother did. You know about that?"

"Amaryllis told me the story."

"Amaryllis's mother, Eugenia, was my sister." Oscar turned his attention back to the fire. "That sonofabitch who persuaded her to run off with him was from the richest family in Lower Bellevue. The Baileys. I suppose Amaryllis told you that he was married."

"Yes."

"It was one of those family-arranged marriages. No counseling, unfortunately. It was no secret that Elizabeth Bailey was more concerned with property and social stand- ing than she was with her son's happiness. Young Matt didn't know how to stand up to her. He was only twenty-one when she bullied him into the marriage. Much too young."

"Yes."

"Still, that's no excuse for what happened. Matt was married and that was the bottom line. We don't approve of affairs in Lower Bellevue, but we all know they happen on occasion. It's sort of understood that married folk who fool around are supposed to do it with other married folk, and they're supposed to be discreet. Young Bailey broke all the rules when he involved Eugenia in an affair."

Lucas nodded in solemn understanding.

Oscar shook his head. "I don't know what Eugenia and Matt Bailey told themselves to justify the pain and humiliation they caused their families, but I will always put the bulk of the blame on Bailey. My sister was just a girl. Barely eighteen years old. She hadn't had her birth control shots because there had been a recent scare about the quality of the vaccine."

"I see."

"Bailey's vaccination had been temporarily neutralized because he and his wife were attempting to have a child of their own."

"So neither one of them was protected."

Oscar's hand curled into a meaty fist. "I wanted to murder Bailey when I found out what he had done to my sister. We all did. But there wasn't a damn thing we could do. And then they were both lost at sea. Poor little Amaryllis was left to bear the burden of being a bastard. A heavy load to carry, especially in a small town."

It didn't take a prism's intuition to sense the fires of old anguish and rage that still burned within Oscar. His guilt at having failed to protect his sister only made the volatile mix especially dangerous.

"I understand," Lucas said quietly.

Oscar turned his head once more to fix Lucas with piercing eyes. "Amaryllis is not eighteen. She's a mature adult. If she wants to have a romantic fling before she gets married, that's her choice. My wife assures me that her birth control shots are current, and I assume yours are, too."

"Yeah."

Oscar nodded brusquely. "Good. Because I warn you, Trent, I won't stand by and see Amaryllis put into the same situation her mother was. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"I want Amaryllis to have a decent chance at happiness. We both know that means a proper agency marriage. It's the only way to provide some guarantee of contentment between two people. Short-term passion, no matter how powerful, is never a good substitute for long-term compatibility."

"No, sir." Lucas decided it would not be wise to assure Oscar that he had already learned his lesson about runaway marriages the hard way. Things were awkward enough as it was.

"Amaryllis is a fine young woman. Her aunt and I and the rest of the family saw to it that she was raised with a good, solid sense of responsibility."

Lucas morosely considered all the pithy little lectures he had heard Amaryllis give on the subject of family honor and responsibility. "I'm aware of her feelings on the subject."

"My wife worried for a time that we did our job a little too well. She was afraid that Amaryllis was a bit too prim and proper. Too rigid." Oscar shot Lucas a speculative glance and then cleared his throat again. "If you know what I mean."

"Yes, sir."

"Now you've come along. I can't say I approve of you having an affair with her, but the most important thing is that she doesn't get pregnant out of wedlock the way her mother did. I will not stand by and see my niece ruined and left with an illegitimate child to raise. Do you hear me, Trent?"

"Yes, sir."

Oscar gripped the arms of his chair. He leaned forward, his expression as grimly determined as that of any stalwart founder. "Then you best make damn sure Amaryllis doesn't get pregnant because if she does, I'll haul you into court so fast, you'll never know what hit you."

Lucas raised his brows but said nothing.

"I don't care who you are or how much money you have, Trent. Keep your shots current. If you get my niece in trouble, I'll follow you all the way to the Western Islands, if necessary. And we both know I'll win in the courts. You won't be able to hide behind a wife. You'll be forced to marry my niece."

"I know that, sir." Lucas met Oscar's stony gaze. "I give you my word of honor that I won't disgrace Amaryllis or her family."

Oscar continued to eye him closely for another moment, and then he visibly relaxed. "That's all right, then. You may not have a family of your own, but I have a feeling you know what family means."

"I know exactly what family means."

Lucas wondered if the extra slice of straw-peach pie had been laced with a little straw-peach brandy. He was feeling light-headed. Forced to marry Amaryllis. For some reason Oscar's threat did not send any chills of dread down his spine.

In the next instant, however, the knowledge that the notion of a nonagency marriage would horrify Amaryllis rendered him stone-cold sober.

"Elizabeth Bailey came to the office two days ago." Hannah dried a glass and set it in a cupboard. "First time she's been to see me since Matt and Eugenia died. She always drives into the city for her medical care."

Amaryllis scrubbed industriously on a pot. "Was she ill?"

"No. She wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

Hannah reached for another wet glass. "She told me that she wants to see you."

Amaryllis looked up quickly. "Why?"

"I don't know. She just said that she needed to speak to you."

"What do you think she wants?"

Hannah smiled sadly. "I expect she's feeling the weight of the years. Something tells me she's begun to realize just how much she lost when she refused to acknowledge you."

"I don't believe that for a minute." Amaryllis hoisted the clean pot out of the sink and set it on the drain board. "Elizabeth Bailey doesn't care about me. She's got plenty of legitimate grandchildren. Matt Bailey was not an only child. His brothers and sisters have married."

"But Matt was her eldest son."

"So?"

Hannah paused in her drying. "Aunt Sophy says that Elizabeth probably feels guilty because she pushed Matt into an early marriage with the wrong woman."

"I doubt that Elizabeth Bailey knows the meaning of guilt. The only reason she might want to see me is to tell me how my mother ruined her son's life and got him killed. I can do without that kind of scene."

"It's your choice, of course, but I think you should see her, Amaryllis."

Amaryllis recalled the day of the ice cream incident. I'm not your grandmother. You have no grandmother. You're a bastard.

"I choose not to see her," Amaryllis said.

Amaryllis could hardly wait to talk to Lucas the next day. She dove for the phone before she had finished her morning coff-tea.

"I thought that last night went rather well, don't you?" she said as coolly as possible when Lucas answered.

"Great pie."

"My uncle is a wonderful cook."

Lucas paused. "Oscar made the pie?"

"Yes. He has a magic touch with pastry."

"Figures."

"If you like, I'll ask him to give you the recipe."

"Never mind," Lucas muttered. "I don't do any fancy cooking."

"Well, I wasn't talking about the food, anyway. I meant that I thought Aunt Hannah and Uncle Oscar took to you."

"Could have fooled me. I had the distinct impression that your uncle would have liked to rip my guts out."

"That's not true." Amaryllis was shocked by the bitterness in his words. "They liked you, Lucas. I know they did."

"It doesn't really matter what they thought of me, does it? After all, our relationship is temporary."

Amaryllis's spirits plummeted beneath the weight of that incontestable statement. "But we're friends, Lucas. Actually, we're more than friends. I think it's important that they liked you."

"Speaking of important. I'm a little busy here, Amaryllis. Was there something you wanted?"

The Iceman was back in control, Amaryllis thought. She forced herself to remain calm and composed. She would not let him know how unhappy his chilling words had made her. "As a matter of fact, yes, there is something I wanted. We didn't get much of a chance to talk last night."

"That was because it became obvious that your aunt and uncle were not going to leave until I did," Lucas said dryly.

That was true, Amaryllis reflected. Hannah and Oscar had made it clear that they were prepared to sit in Amaryllis's living room all night, if necessary. They had accepted the affair that was going on between Amaryllis and Lucas, but that did not mean they intended to facilitate it.

"I think they've guessed that we're involved," Amaryllis said delicately.

"Yeah, you could say that. I got a long lecture from Oscar last night, and it was not about how to make a straw-peach pie."

"The thing is, Lucas, they worry about me. They can't bring themselves to actually approve of our relationship. You know how the older generation is. In their day folks were very discreet about this kind of thing. They still are in places like Lower Bellevue."

"Yeah, I know."

He was definitely getting surly now. Amaryllis made herself move on to a more neutral topic. "Lucas, I've been thinking about what Irene Dunley told me at lunch."

"Ah, yes, the case of the missing secret file."

Surly and sarcastic. Amaryllis began to get annoyed. "This is serious. The more I think about it, the more I think Irene may be right. It's perfectly possible that someone did kill Professor Landreth. And that missing file may hold the clue. Why else would anyone bother to steal it?"

"You have absolutely no proof that it was stolen. Try this scenario instead--Irene Dunley has concocted a fantasy for herself because she can't let go of Landreth."

"I think you're wrong."

"All right, let's say that a file was stolen from one of the boxes. How do you propose to convince the police of that?"

"I don't know yet." Amaryllis lowered her voice. "But I'm getting worried because Gifford's name keeps coming up in this mess."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it? Noticed that myself."

"It concerns me."

"Me, too," Lucas said, "but I suspect for different reasons. Did I mention that Osterley paid a call on me yesterday?"

Amaryllis nearly dropped the phone. "No, you didn't. What did he want?"

"Tried to sell me on the superior services of Unique Prisms. He made a pitch for my business with a strong emphasis on how very discreet his employees are. He made it plain that his prisms don't try to impose any pesky code of ethics on their clients."

"Oh, dear. I was afraid of something like this. Professor Landreth would have been incensed by Gifford's business practices. I can't help wondering if he knew what Gifford was doing."

"You think Osterley killed Landreth because the professor threatened an investigation of Unique Prisms?" Lucas sounded only mildly concerned by the possibility. "I guess an inquiry into his business operations could have been potentially embarrassing."

"No I don't think Gifford murdered him." Amaryllis's fingers tightened reflexively on the phone. First Clementine and now Lucas had suggested quite casually that Gifford could be a murderer. "Absolutely not. I can't envision Gifford as a killer."

"You envisioned him as a potential husband at one time."

Amaryllis was outraged. "That's different. My intuition isn't perfect. Nobody's is." She thought quickly. "The big unknown here is just how far over the line Unique Prisms is operating."

"You mean is Osterley merely running a less than ethical business or is he actually aiding and abetting criminal talents?"

Amaryllis swallowed uncomfortably. "That's putting it in very blunt terms."

"I'm not the subtle type. Ask anyone. The question is an interesting one, but probably purely academic."

"Why do you say that?"

"I doubt if there's any way to get an answer," Lucas said. "It would be damn tough to prove that any of Osterley's clients were committing crimes using the focus services of Unique Prisms."

"A strong detector-talent might be able to catch someone in the act."

"Don't get any ideas. I've got better things to do with my time than trail around after Osterley's clients waiting to see how they're using his services. Besides, even if I did catch one of them focusing for criminal purposes, the police would still need some hard evidence before anyone could bring charges. Something tells me Osterley's not stupid enough to allow his prisms to get into such awkward situations."

Amaryllis considered that for a moment. "I need to know more about how Unique Prisms works," she said finally.

"Damn it, Amaryllis, I just told you--"

"I want to find out just how far Gifford has gone. I need to know if what he's doing is beyond unethical. I want to find out if he's doing anything that's actually illegal."

"How do you intend to find out?" Lucas sounded grimly amused. "Go undercover? Infiltrate his operation?"

"I could do that. He offered me a job. But I think I'll start by observing one of his clients in action," Amaryllis said thoughtfully.

"You only know the name of one of his clients. Senator Sheffield."

"Precisely."

"Five hells." Lucas sounded genuinely alarmed now. "Amaryllis, what are you planning to do?"

"Take an active interest in politics. Didn't you tell me that your secretary is always throwing away invitations to political fund-raisers?"

"I get an endless stream of them. So what?"

"When's Sheffield's next fund-raising event?"

"I don't know. I'd have to check with my secretary. She has instructions to toss all of the junk mail into the trash before it gets to my desk."

"See if you can find an invitation to one of Sheffield's receptions, will you? I'd really like to observe him in the act of using his talent for an extended period of time."

"You'd need a detector for that," Lucas said.

"Luckily I know one."

"Now listen here, Amaryllis, if you think that I'm going to waste an evening eating tough turk-chick that tastes as if its been fried in jelly-ice, you can think again. Furthermore--"

"Sorry, I've got to run." Amaryllis hung up the phone before Lucas could explode in her ear.

"... And it is those values, ladies and gentlemen, the values of our founders, to which we must return." Madison Sheffield braced both hands on the podium and gazed out at the audience with the expression of a man of vision. "We must reject those who would weaken the very fiber of our moral structure. We must protect our young people from the influence of sleazy syn-sex clubs. To that end, I wish to announce that I have launched an investigation into those unsavory businesses. That is only one small example of what I plan to do. With your help, I am prepared to lead us forward into the future."

Thundering applause filled the room. Amaryllis, seated next to Lucas at a table near the front, clapped politely. She had been waiting impatiently for three days for this event. She glanced around at the faces of those sitting nearby.

"He doesn't need to focus charisma," she whispered to Lucas. "Just look at these people. He's saying exactly what they want to hear."

"I have a hunch he saves the charisma punch for the one-on-one hard sell situations." Lucas did not bother to join in the applause.

Amaryllis watched Sheffield leave the podium to join a strikingly beautiful young woman at the head table. "I'll bet that's his prism for the evening."

"She's new. That's not the one he burned out at the museum reception," Lucas said. "But there's some similarity."

"Same color hair and same bra size," Amaryllis muttered.

"Now that you mention it--"

"He's pretending that they're all agency dates. Very clever."

The announcer returned to the podum. He smiled triumphantly at the crowd as the clapping slowly subsided. When the room was again silent, he leaned toward the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming here tonight. The gubernatorial elections are less than three months away. We must not lose the momentum we have going for us. We must hold true to our course. Remember, voting the Founders' Values ticket is the only way to secure our future."

Another round of vigorous applause heralded the end of the event. People began to leave the hall. Amaryllis glanced around uneasily.

"I thought you said we would have a chance to see Sheffield in action," she said to Lucas.

"We will." Lucas rose from his chair and reached down to take her arm. "I've got an invitation to a private reception that's scheduled to follow this speech. Only those who look like good targets for hard-core arm-twisting were asked to attend. I think it's safe to assume that Sheffield will be working that room."

Amaryllis smiled with satisfaction. "Great work, Lucas. I knew I could count on you, partner."

"Stop me if I look like I'm about to reach for my checkbook."

Half an hour later Amaryllis found herself standing next to Lucas in a chamber filled with a small, select crowd of the city's more prosperous denizens. She held a glass of fizzy green wine in her hand and created a prism for Lucas with her mind.

A few seconds of seeking. Brief sense of vulnerability.

Link.

Energy poured through the prism.

Sheffield was definitely working the room. With the aid of Lucas's talent and a steady focus, it was easy to "see" the waves of energy Sheffield was directing. Every time he stopped to shake hands and chat with one of the guests, he focused.

An aura of unlimited strength, great trustworthiness, and resolute determination flowed from Sheffield in tangible energy fields. The unwitting victim of the focus responded as if by magic. He or she suddenly glowed with enthusiasm and excitement. People nearly tripped over their own feet in their hurry to write out checks to the campaign fund.

There was no doubt but that the lovely woman on Sheffield's arm was working as his prism. Amaryllis could feel the familiar undercurrents of Landreth's style filtered through Gifford's technique.

"Get ready," Lucas murmured as Sheffield moved across the room. "I think we're the next targets."

Amaryllis readied a polite smile as Sheffield and his companion came to a halt in front of them. She was still holding the focus for Lucas when Sheffield turned the full force of his talent on him.

The impact was stunning. The Senator's charisma was breathtaking at close quarters. In spite of the fact that she had been expecting it and knew exactly how he was doing it, Amaryllis was shaken by Sheffield's power.

No question about it, Sheffield was a born leader. Exactly the sort of man that the city-state of New Seattle needed at this time in history. He was a man of extraordinary vision.

"Nice to see you here tonight, Trent." Sheffield's eyes conveyed his extraordinary pleasure in Lucas's presence. The senator was both humble and proud to have drawn such an important businessman to this gathering. "Lodestar Exploration has done a lot for New Seattle, and I want you to know that if the people of this city-state put me in the governor's chair, companies such as Lodestar will have a strong voice in my administration."

Sheffield continued to chat. Companies such as Lodestar would flourish with Sheffield in office. Men such as Lucas Trent would receive the respect they deserved. They would be able to influence the decisions that impacted their operations. Taxes and regulations would be rolled back. Government would work to help business, not restrain it.

Amaryllis realized that Lucas, as the main target of the focus, was getting an even heftier dose of the powerful, quasi-hypnotic charm, than she was.

Without warning, the flow of Lucas's detector-talent through the prism altered slightly. Amaryllis wondered what was happening. She watched the crisp, clear patterns of light soften and diffuse into a jumbled wall of meaning- less energy.

Sheffield continued to talk about his plans for New Seattle, but his voice no longer sounded so wonderfully warm. His charm faded. Amaryllis realized that she was not quite so ready to believe everything he said. His hair, which had looked so right a moment ago, appeared too slick for her taste now. His eyes held a cool, calculating quality and his smile looked artificial.

Out on the psychic plane, Amaryllis watched Lucas's- wall of energy shimmer and pulse in a random fashion. She suddenly realized that he was using his talent to block Sheffield's energy.

Sheffield leaned closer, as if confiding in Lucas. "I want you to know that as the next governor of this city-state, I intend to form a business advisory council. I'd be honored if you would accept a position as the head of that council, Trent. You would have my full attention whenever you felt it necessary."

"I appreciate your confidence," Lucas said.

Sheffield's smile remained in place, but his gaze grew more intense. The woman with him began to look uneasy.

"I can't think of anyone better suited to the job than you, Trent."

"I'm a little busy at the moment."

Sheffield appeared to realize that he was not having his customary effect. Amaryllis saw Lucas's energy barrier shimmer beneath a renewed onslaught of focused charm. Sheffield was strong. Very, very strong.

The woman standing next to Sheffield put her fingertips to her forehead, as though she had developed a splitting headache.

Lucas fought Sheffield's psychic power by easing more energy through the prism that Amaryllis had created. She held the focus for him. The waves of hypnotic charisma receded.

A battle was being waged on the psychic plane. It was a silent skirmish between two very powerful talents. This sort of thing was supposed to be impossible. It was like some- thing out of one of Orchid Adams's novels.

Sheffield's jaw clenched visibly. He took a step closer to Lucas, The attractive woman at his side looked haunted now. Perspiration dampened the hair at her temples. Amaryllis knew she was struggling to hold Sheffield's focus.

There was a surge of energy and then, with astonishing suddenness, it was all over. The silent warfare ceased. The last remnants of Sheffield's enthralling charm vanished in a heartbeat.

Sheffield, sweat glistening on his brow, nodded abruptly to Lucas and moved off to talk to someone else. The woman with him trailed unhappily in his wake.

"He burned out his prism," Amaryllis whispered.

"No wonder he's never submitted to testing and certification. He's strong."

"Stronger than you are, do you think?"

"Maybe. Who knows?" Lucas smiled faintly. "All the power in the world won't do him any good unless he finds himself a prism who can handle his talent."