Chapter Three: I Know
Mary woke up alone, and for a moment she couldn't remember where she was. The room was dark, and the night air was cool on her bare shoulders. When she lifted her head from the pillow Mary heard low voices in the corridor outside.
"Jane?" Mary poked her head out into the dark hallway, but the exclusive day spa seemed nearly deserted. At the end of the corridor she thought she saw two figures, a young man and a young woman. The young woman almost seemed to be pleading, her hands raised in a beseeching way that signaled submission. But the young man's body language was arrogant and relaxed. He seemed to enjoy his mysterious hold over the helpless female.
"Hello Princess! Can I get you something? Are you thirsty?"
"Oh!" Mary was nearly frightened out of her wits. When the hand clamped down on her shoulder she thought it might be a murderer or a kidnapper or something. But when she whirled around she saw that it was only a boy about her age. He was slim and dark and very handsome, dressed in the uniform of a spa attendant.
"I am so sorry," he said, with a little bow. "My name is Jamal Khan, and my father is the owner if this spa and a number of others around the world. He is having me stay in London to learn the business. I was checking all the rooms before closing time. I am learning our entire business from the ground up, you see."
"Yes, I see," Mary said, giving young Jamal a polite nod. "But I am looking for my stepmother, the queen. Have you seen her?"
"I have been sent to bring you to her," Jamal Khan said, beaming. "My father and your stepmother were very good friends long before she married the king."
Mary frowned as she followed the young man up the stairs. She had gotten dressed very quickly in the dark, and felt like a total mess. Jamil Khan seemed very confident and utterly relaxed about being a servant and wearing a uniform. His father probably had great hopes for him. Mary wondered what her father's hopes were for her. And she wondered if Jane had hopes for her too.
"Well, hello Sleeping Beauty!" Queen Jane was all smiles as she greeted Mary from a corner table in a very posh sort of café on the top floor of the fancy spa. The beautiful blonde was seated with a much older Indian gentleman who looked a bit like Jamal, but fat instead of skinny and with plump soft hands and lots of rings.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess Mary," the older man said, rising from his chair and bowing as he kissed her hand. "We would be most honored if you would join us for a drink."
"Mr. Sunil Khan and his family are Muslims," Queen Jane put in. "They don't drink alcohol. It's all right, darling."
"Oh, I see." Mary blushed as she sat down at the table. Jane had caught her drinking too much in the royal park with some of the palace servants only a few days ago. The king had never found out because Jane had kept quiet and protected her.
"So tell us what you think about the day spa," Jane said, smiling. "Do you think it'll catch on? Do you think it's a good investment?"
"I enjoyed the soothing spa treatments very much," Mary said, a bit puzzled as to why Jane wanted her opinion on a business matter. "Father always says it's important to know when to relax."
"That must be why he married me," Jane said, making a silly face. "I'm always ready to relax!"
Everyone laughed, but as she sipped her drink Mary sensed that her beautiful stepmother was worried about something.
Jane was leaning back in her chair and telling funny stories about her modeling career, before she began dating King Henry. But she kept tapping her fingers against her glass, and fingering her diamond necklace, and looking over her shoulder each time a servant entered with more of the tall fruit-filled drinks. Jane was the only person drinking proper cocktails with alcohol in them, and she got quite silly. Mary knew her stepmother wanted to set a good example. Yet she seemed very nervous. She seemed to crave more drinks, as if they would make her forget her worries.
"Sunil Khan and his son are both very nice," Mary remarked, when the two of them were alone again, riding home to the palace in a long stretch limousine.
"Sunny is an old dear, and I've known him for ages. He gave me my first modeling job when I was barely older than you are now." Jane was quiet for a moment, and then she went off into giggles. "Can you imagine if any of those pictures turned up now?"
"Father would probably be upset," Mary said sensibly. "But you and Mr. Khan seem like very good friends."
"We're partners, too. Or at least we will be, if your father approves the deal." Jane yawned and lay back in her seat. "I wish everyone was like Sunny and his son. But they aren't. There are a lot of creepy characters in this world, and they can really hurt you if you don't look out!"
"I know." Mary suspected the creepy characters Jane was talking about weren't just in her past. She had a feeling that she could get her beautiful stepmother in a lot of trouble just by asking about what she'd seen in the hallway. Instead she nestled down so that her head was resting on Queen Jane's fur-clad shoulder.