“And collect taxes quicker,” Melvin said.
Tobias narrowed his eyes. “Taxes pay for progress.”
“Do they also pay for your collections?” Melvin asked. “For your luxurious attire?”
“Those in positions of importance have always lived in comfort. So progress affects us first, but the benefits will trickle down over time, as they always do.”
“Is it progress to take all the food from the Farmlands and leave none for the mouse families?” Melvin asked.
“We need to feed the Royal Guard, and factory work is difficult, making them all the hungrier as well,” Tobias replied. “Would you have them starve when they are doing important work for our society?”
“I would have no one starve,” Melvin said. “The mice were left with nothing.”
“You are young and therefore you know not of what you speak.” Tobias speared a boiled turnip. “It is rebellious to question the queen. She is wise beyond her years.”
This didn’t seem like a good answer to Lola. She looked at her plate, filled with lovely lettuce leaves and radishes grown in the Farmlands. There’d been so many mice at the train station, young and old. What would they eat now that the warehouses were bare?
“What about the wombats?” Lola asked.
Tobias chewed for a moment, then reached out and patted Lola’s paw again. “Queen Myra would never hurt the wombats. I’m sure this has all been a misunderstanding. A misheard order repeated dozens of times can often cease to resemble the original at all. I shall send out a proclamation at dawn. Any wombats who wish to return to the burrows will be let go. But those who wish to stay and dig for the queen and for the future of Tassie Island will be paid well.”
This was amazing news. Her parents would be freed! “Thank you, Uncle Tobias.” Her mother had spoken the truth. Find your uncle. He’ll know what to do. Lola beamed with happiness.
But Melvin gave her a worried look. She knew what he was thinking. There was a darker question yet to be asked. She furrowed her brow. “Uncle Tobias, why is the queen letting Tassie devils leave Mount Ossa? They … they’re hunters.”
Tobias calmly took a sip of tea. “Now, now, Lola. That was in the past. We are thinking about the glorious future. Those hunters have changed their ways. And they have many skills we can use. Overseer Rake offered the train and train-track design to us in exchange for leaving the mountain. Of course, we made her sign an oath of loyalty.”
“Are you sure they won’t hunt?” Lola asked.
“Do you think I would allow them to roam the palace if I thought they might hunt? Besides, we live peacefully among the quolls and firehawks without issue; I don’t see how this is any different.” He returned his teacup to its saucer. “Do not fret, my dear niece. They have given a solemn promise. And although they are temperamental critters, the overseer and her companions have proven to be skilled managers of our growing labor force.”
“When you say labor force, do you mean rats?” Melvin asked.
“Indeed. The overseer knows how to control rats. I most certainly wouldn’t be able to control them; they are such unruly creatures.”
Melvin pushed away his plate. “That is a common misunderstanding. Rats are not aggressive or mean-spirited by nature. But they do think with their stomachs. Decent rats are being bribed into doing terrible things, like pillaging warehouses and stealing from shopkeepers. How can you—?”
In a sudden display of temper, Tobias smacked his paw on the table. “Enough!” This surprised everyone in the room, Blue most especially. He spat out a yellow fish. It skidded across the table until it came to rest beside Tobias’s plate. With a scoff of disdain, Tobias crumpled his napkin, tossed it onto the table, and then rang a silver bell, which emitted a crystal-clear note. “Rake!”
The overseer entered the room so quickly that Lola suspected she’d been listening at the door this entire time. Tobias pushed back his chair and stood. “Rake, my niece will be reunited with her parents as soon as possible. When does the next train depart for the coal mine?”
“In the morning, Your Excellency.”
“Then she shall stay the night in one of our guest rooms.”
The overseer curled her upper lip, revealing her razor-sharp teeth. “What about the swamp water rat and the penguin?”
Tobias raised his eyebrows at Melvin. “I assume you will want to join the other rats.”
Melvin dabbed the corners of his mouth with the napkin. “No. I came here to open my own business. A grooming salon.”
The overseer snorted. “A rat-owned business? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Well, now you have,” Melvin said. “It only takes one critter to pave the way for others.”
“You wish to pave the way for swamp water rats?” Tobias asked.
“Why not?” Melvin replied. “Rats should be allowed to follow their dreams as much the next critter.”
“I see.” Tobias tapped his foot on the carpet. “I see, I see. Rake? Can you think of a location for this new rat salon?”
Overseer Rake stepped forward. “As a matter of fact, I do know the perfect location.” She smiled ever so slightly.
“Then escort our new entrepreneur to his future business site.”
“Immediately, Your Excellency.”
It seemed that everything was working out. Lola was to be reunited with her family, the wombats were to be set free, and Melvin was going to open his business. “Uncle Tobias, can you have someone take Blue back to Penguin Bay?”
“Yes, of course, Lola. I am happy to help your friends because any friends of yours are friends of mine. Overseer Rake will escort the penguin to one of our royal ships.” He patted Lola’s head in a fatherly way. “Now I’ll give you a moment to say your goodbyes.” He and the overseer stepped into the hallway and began conversing in hushed voices.
“Goodbye?” Blue looked at Lola with his little black eyes, his beak turned down in a frown.
How Lola hated that word. “Yes,” she told him, kneeling so she could kiss his fluffy cheek. “But this is a happy goodbye because you get to go home. And we’ll see each other again. When the new train is finished, I can come visit you. And once Bogart makes more hot-air balloons, you can fly again, too.” As she hugged him, a downy feather went up her nose and made her sneeze. That’s when she realized that she’d gotten used to Blue’s fishy scent and didn’t mind it one bit.
She was trying to be upbeat, for she didn’t want to start crying. She’d come to love Blue like a baby brother.
Melvin crouched beside her. “Lola, I’m not sure we can trust your uncle,” he whispered.
“What do you mean?”
He looked over his shoulder. Tobias and Overseer Rake were still conversing in the hallway, their backs turned. “Why is the city such a mess? Why are all the shops closed? And why were they taking down the queen’s portrait? I’ve had a feeling something was wrong ever since we showed up.” Melvin didn’t wait for Lola’s response. He motioned for her to follow. They tiptoed over to the carved desk. “Look at all these papers. Queen Myra’s name is not on any of them. But your uncle’s name is here, and here, and here.” He picked up a scroll. “This proclamation makes Tobias’s birthday a royal holiday. And this one—” He gasped as he read it. “This one changes Tobias’s title from grand governor to king. Why would the queen agree to this?”
“Because … because she likes my uncle and she misses her family?” But even as she said those words, she knew how naïve they sounded. But she wanted so desperately to believe her uncle. He was family. They shared blood. They shared personality traits. “He’s going to help us. I know it. Please stop saying bad things about him.” She didn’t want to fight with Melvin, not as they were about to say their goodbyes. Her stomach had finally stopped hurting. Her worries were finally over. She was going to see her mum and dad. This was not the time to get caught up in suspicions.
“Time to go,” Overseer Rake called as she and Tobias stepped back into th
e room. She reached for Blue, but the little penguin opened his beak and snapped at the overseer’s paw.
“I’ll take him,” Melvin said. “Goodbye, Lola. I wish you the very best and hope we meet again one day.” He sounded so formal, but when he hugged her, he whispered in her ear, “I’m going to get more information. In the meantime, be careful.” He squeezed her tight. She squeezed back.
Then Melvin took Blue’s flipper and they began to follow the overseer down the hallway.
“Goodbye,” Lola said, waving sadly.
“Bye-bye, Lola!”
“Now, now, no need for tears,” her uncle told her. “Your friends will be taken care of. Let’s get you to bed. You’ve had a very long journey and you have a train ride in the morning. Your parents will be so delighted to see you.”
Lola watched her two friends walk away. Melvin turned to glance over his shoulder, a worried look on his face. Blue waved his little flipper halfheartedly. Then they were gone.
And even though Lola was with her uncle, in a palace filled with servants and guards, she suddenly felt very alone.
23
THROUGH THE WINDOW
“Your Excellency.” A wallaby wearing a paint-splattered smock approached. He wearily wiped his forehead with his paw, leaving a streak of green in his fur. “Your portrait is finished.”
“That is excellent news,” Tobias said. “Hang it in the throne room and we will have the official unveiling tomorrow morning during the celebration.”
“As you say.” The painter bowed, then hopped away.
A portrait to be hung in the throne room? Lola remembered the document on her uncle’s desk. And the queen’s portrait, which had been taken off the wall. So it was true. Her uncle was going to rule Tassie Island!
“Come along, Lola, let’s get you settled in for the night.” The guard rats snapped to attention, barely even breathing until Tobias had gone past.
Lola followed her uncle up two flights of stairs. He climbed slowly, breathing heavily with his steps. He clearly spent more time sitting at his desk than climbing hills. Lola wondered if all the gold he was wearing was heavy. “This is the guest wing,” he explained when they reached the landing. The hallway was lined with doors that would fit the larger critters, but set within each door was a smaller door, perfect for smaller critters.
“Do you live here, in the palace?” Lola asked.
Tobias took a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and dabbed his nose. “When I was made ambassador to the Northern Forest and the Realms Beyond, I was given a mansion in which to live. But when Queen Myra made me grand governor, I moved into the palace.” He stopped at a door halfway down the hall. “This should do.” He opened it, revealing a lovely guest room. The bed, covered in white linens, sat in the center. The nightstand was golden, as was the chair. Tobias clapped his hands. A little mouse wearing a butler’s vest scurried out of nowhere and hurried into the room. “We have a guest.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.” The butler mouse climbed onto the bed and began to turn down the sheets and fluff the pillows.
“I suppose you’d prefer a burrow,” Tobias said with a disapproving but amused snort.
“Do you have one?” Lola asked hopefully.
Tobias Bottom held out his paw and adjusted some of his gold rings, chuckling idly. “My dear niece, take my advice, leave the burrow behind. Burrow-dwelling is uncivilized and best left to those who inhabit the Northern Forest and wish to be left alone. In Dore, one must elevate oneself to sleeping in an aboveground bedroom. And adjust to a daylight schedule.” He checked his gold pocket watch. “The hour is late and I still have much to do to prepare for my birthday. I bid you good night.” He reached for the doorknob.
“Uncle?”
“You are full of questions, aren’t you?”
“How long will it take for your message to get to the mines?”
“My message?” He looked confused.
“Yes, your message. About setting the wombats free. So they don’t have to work in the coal mine.”
“Oh, yes, of course. The message that I intend to send by messenger pelican first thing in the morning.” He looked away. “Shouldn’t take too long, mere hours at most. Pelicans are swift flyers.”
Finally, a messenger pelican. Everything was going to be fixed in the morning. Despite the sadness she felt at having said her goodbyes to Melvin and Blue, she was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing her mum and dad. Even grumpy Mister Squat. “Thank you for helping me and my friends,” she said.
“You were very wise to come to me,” he told her. “Now, enjoy your sleep.”
Tobias waddled out of the room, closing the door firmly behind him. The sound of iron skidding across iron came from the doorway as a lock slid into place, followed by heavy departing pawfalls. Lola scowled with puzzlement. She tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. Why had her uncle locked her inside? Was he trying to protect her from something? That made no sense because anyone could simply unlock the door from the outside and enter the bedroom.
Or had he locked her inside to keep her from wandering? Maybe that was a wise decision. Blue’s wandering had always gotten him into trouble, and Lola’s had as well. Wandering had led her to a stream and a mistakenly delivered secret message.
But even so, it didn’t seem right to lock a guest in a bedroom.
She wandered over to the window and leaned on the sill. A small courtyard and a fountain lay below, the city roofs beyond. The window washers and brick polishers were done for the day, but another cart of coal was being wheeled down the street. Even at this late hour, factory number one was going at full steam, the windows alight with a reddish glow. Did those poor workers ever sleep? Queen Myra was treating her subjects most unfairly. If the queen was retiring, as Tobias said, surely he would be a kinder ruler. Tomorrow.
Lola’s mouth stretched into a long yawn. Her eyelids grew heavy. The sooner she slept, the sooner she’d be reunited with her mum and dad. It still felt odd to sleep at night, but it had been another long day and she needed rest. She hefted herself onto the bed, then sank into the pillows. Queen Myra may have been doing many terrible things, but she certainly knew how to provide a lovely guest room. Lola rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Tomorrow.
Yet sleep wouldn’t come. Lola wondered how Melvin and Blue were doing. Wondered if her parents had given up hope of ever seeing her again. But most curiously, why had her uncle seemed so calm about everything she had told him? And why did he think that burrow-dwelling was so uncivilized? He had displayed his cubic dropping for all to see, so surely he was still proud of wombat traditions. Tomorrow, she thought one last time as her eyes closed.
She tossed and turned so much that she didn’t hear the sounds outside the bedroom window, the small creaks of someone climbing a ladder. But the sudden crack of the window was another matter altogether.
Lola tossed the blankets aside and bolted upright. A dark shape was climbing in through the window. When it touched down on the carpet she could just make out the unmistakable red ears and long robe of a Tassie devil.
Lola opened her mouth to scream for help, but the critter lunged at her and put a paw over her mouth. “Shhhh. It’s just me.”
“Snmmmph?” Lola pulled the paw away, careful of the deadly claws. “Snarl? What are you doing here?”
“We need to leave, quickly. You are in danger. Your life is in danger. Rake is coming to get you.”
“Get me?” Lola blinked in confusion. She slid off the bed. “But my uncle’s going to help me. He’s going to let my parents and neighbors leave the coal mine. He agrees that the wombats shouldn’t be forced to dig so he’s sending a message in the morning.”
“He’s lying to you.” Snarl darted around the bed and pressed his paws against a large dresser. Then, showing surprising strength, he began to push the dresser across the room. “Your uncle signed the proclamation that sent the wombats to the mine in the first place.”
“No, he didn’t. He
wouldn’t have done that.” Lola’s words rang hollow, even to herself.
“He did. I saw the proclamation with my own eyes.”
“Then it’s the queen’s fault,” Lola insisted, grasping for the most logical explanation desperately. “She’s retiring and she left him with too much paperwork. He didn’t realize what he’d signed. It was an accident.”
“The queen isn’t retiring. She’s missing.” Snarl began pushing the dresser until it rested in front of the door.
“Missing?”
“Yes, and your uncle has taken over.”
More pieces of the puzzle began to click into place. The critters outside the city wall had said the queen hadn’t been seen in a long time. The posters hanging from the tree were about the grand governor, not about the queen. The stationery had Tobias’s insignia, not the queen’s.
And the queen’s portrait was being replaced by Tobias’s portrait.
If Tobias had taken over, then that would mean—
The heavy thuds of running paws echoed from the hallway, accompanied by fierce growling and screeching. The thuds came to a stop outside the bedroom door. The lock slid out of place, but as the door opened, it banged against the dresser. “Open up. Orders of the grand governor!” It was the overseer’s voice.
Did her uncle want to see her again? But why would he have sent the overseer?
Snarl stood between Lola and the dresser, his arms outstretched. “Don’t let them in,” he said.
“But my uncle—!”
The pounding on her door grew louder and more forceful, the dresser shaking with each strike, shifting inch by inch. “The grand governor has sent me. Open this door, you grass-eater!”
Truth swept over Lola. Ugly, undeniable truth.
Snarl began to push the bed, but it was too heavy for him alone. Lola threw her weight into it, and together, they pushed it in front of the dresser. “That should hold them for a few. Follow me.” Snarl leaped onto the windowsill. Then he swung nimbly onto the top rung of a ladder.
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