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It began as it had before, by the lake in Barlin, only now it was June, and felt like it.  It was still morning, though, so it was neither so hot as to bring things to a standstill nor yet raining as was so typical in the afternoon.

Once again, though, it was time for Drahla’s Royal Counsellor, Terry Marlowe, to make her way from her small house towards the palace on the opposite end of the lake.  She gingerly made her way down the road, a road with the occasional puddle of water in the low spots, just as she had just three months earlier when she had her fateful rendezvous with Serelia’s prince.  This time, though, she was not headed for the Royal Pavilion, but the palace itself.  After the usual stopping and greeting people on the way, she did not enter the throne room, but went into another entrance that took her down a hallway and into King Henry’s study.  She stopped at the threshold; the King was seated at his desk, and turned around to recognise her.

“You wished to see me, Your Majesty?” she formally asked after bowing.

“I did—please come in and have a seat,” Henry replied.  She did as he asked.

“Did you meeting yesterday go well with the delegation?” she asked.

“That’s what I wanted to see you about,” Henry said.  He had a gravity to his voice that, although characteristic, did not put his Counsellor at ease.  “As you know, ever since the cease fire, the question of our form of government, and the distribution of powers amongst ourselves, has been a paramount question.  The coastal cities—Fort Albert, Drago, and Cresca—initiated the process that brought this nation into existence with the purpose of preserving and expanding the rights and privileges granted to them under the charters they first received from the King of Beran—whose descendant has become so dear to you—and which were reaffirmed by King Albert, but compromised by his son.

“At the time we declared our independence, the question of how to preserve those rights under a new order was already under discussion, one which your late husband Max Serlin was very much a part of.  Unfortunately, we had a war to fight, and had to put such matters aside.  After the cease-fire, we dillied another three years with the Serelians, which put the matter off further, although we were able to start the rebuilding process.  Now that our independence is recognised by everyone—and we have eliminated our most vehement opponent, Verecunda—these questions have once again come to the front of our agenda.

“The delegation from the coastal cities came with more than just an idea—they made several demands, and were very emphatic about them.

“First, they wanted a five member executive council, similar to the Alemaran one.  They envision one delegate from each of them, one from here in Barlin and one from the northwest.  They want to elect a provisional council sometime this month, before the hurricane season gets into full swing.

“Second, they want this council to begin work on a constitution for Drahla which would vest the main power in this council or some other form of parliament.  They also want this constitution to delineate the powers that I have as King, and would also settle the question of whether we will have a unitary government or a federal system.  Personally, I always thought your late husband’s support of the former was wise, but they are always suspicious of a strong central government, even when they think they can dominate it.

“Third—and this caused me the most grief—they demanded that the office of Royal Counsellor be abolished immediately.  They felt that this has been the equivalent of our Prime Minister. To retain this office would, in their opinion, dilute the transparency of our new government and create confusion amongst our people here and the other nations of the Island.

“I attempted to propose a title change or something, but they were adamant that the office be abolished without further reassignment or change.  So I agreed to their demand.

“And so, it is regret that I inform you that your office has been abolished and, in this capacity, your services are no longer required.”

Terry’s own countenance had grown heavier as his speech had progressed.  When he was finished, there was a silence, and then she asked, “Is that all you wished to speak with me about, Your Majesty?”

“I just wanted to say,” Henry added, “how grateful I am for your years of loyal service to me, to the royal family, and to your country, because this country would probably not exist were it not for your efforts and those of your late husband.”

Terry rose and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty,” and walked out of his study.

As she walked down the hallway leading to the outside, the full impact of what she had just been told began to sink in.  She stopped as the grief began to overwhelm her; as her tears started to come out she staggered to the wall, then slid down it and slumped to the floor as tears turned to sobbing that could be heard all over the palace.

It seemed like an eternity that she was in this state. Finally she was able to pull herself together enough to get up again and resume her exit from the building.  The sun was blinding as she emerged from the relatively dark palace; she tried to put on a more normal countenance and make the walk back around the lake to her house.  She didn’t get very far, though, when she heard a voice from her right.

“Your Excellency,” the voice asked.  She turned to see it was the aide to the Serelian ambassador.

“Yes?”

The aide came up to her, holding out a letter.  “This came in the diplomatic pouch,” he said.  “It’s from Her Highness.”

“Thank you very much,” Terry replied, taking the letter.  She continued back, finally arriving to walk up the steps and, opening the door, entered her screened in front porch.  She sat down, still not really over the shock of her own sudden dismissal, and opened the letter to read it.  She knew the aide was right; it was in that beautiful handwriting that could only come from one person:

Dearest Terry,

Thanks so much for your letter, and taking the time to answer all of these Bible questions which I had.  You are so patient and knowledgeable—you will never know how much it means to me to be able to turn to you for answers.

My pregnancy is going well.  The doctor is pleased with my progress.  It is my family tradition for the women to suffer through a lot of sickness while pregnant—evidently bearing the children of Beran is a big job—but in my case the thing that bothers me the most is my size.  I feel like a whale!  Sometimes at night, when I can’t sleep, I go out on the beach or the Sea Garden and look up at the stars and feel God’s presence and strength reaching down into my innermost being and to my little one, and I know that strength is borne on your prayers for me.  The prayer you led me through on the yacht coming back from Verecunda has changed everything.  I know that I too can hold the hands of Jesus Christ and trust Him for everything.  He has been there through all of this.

George spends a lot of time with his father on matters of state.  I think they’ve finally realised that they need each other; that too came out of our trip.  They’ve asked me to work on applications for royal charters and their amendments—I’ve tried to get started but the King has had other plans for me.  Summer Court is starting this Saturday so that will put it off even more and make the stack higher.  I wish I could get some help in sorting things out but it will have to wait for now.

I am still struggling with the Bible.  What I see is real but I can’t figure everything out.  Some of the notes you put in there are good—I guess you miss them now for your sermons—but there is so much to understand.  I’ve had a session or two with the Canon but he’s no help at all—all he goes on about is textual criticism and why it can’t be the way it’s written even when I sometimes feel that living in Serelia is like walking through its pages.

I wish you could be here with me to help me with this.  I know your schedule is busy—we’ve heard all kinds of rumours about your politics there, to say nothing about romances—and I know you’re supposed to teach at your Bible school again this year, but I would love you to come for a couple of weeks at least to help me.  I know it’s asking a lot but please—please—try to find time to get away for this.

Well I must go now.  I cherish our friendship.  May God be with you and give my love especially to Dennis and Andrea.

Love,

Darlene

Terry was about to enter another tearful session when she heard a voice from the street.  “Can I come in?”  She looked up to see Prince William standing in from of her house.

“Come on in,” Terry responded, rising to meet him.  He came in, slowing the screen door’s closing as he entered, and sat down in the chair on the other side of the porch.  They sat and looked at each other in silence for a moment.

“Father told Dennis and me about you after we heard you crying,” William said.  “We were in shock.”

“He hadn’t told you?”

“He had a private audience yesterday with this delegation from the coasts that lasted about three hours.  He wouldn’t tell us anything about it.  I guess he know we would be angry about it.  They must have worked him over pretty bad.  As far as I’m concerned, he’s given away the kingdom.”

“It had to happen sooner or later,” Terry sighed.  “I tried to put it off as long as I could—growing up in Verecunda soured me on democracy.  I guess that’s why I ended up in their crosshairs.”

“They’re just trying to weaken us,” William replied.  “They knew your high standing with the King.  They felt you stood in their way.  That’s why they went for you.  Of course, you could run for this new council, either here or in the northwest, where Max’s family would help you…”

“I’m not interested in running for anything.  All I’ve ever wanted to do is serve my Kings, both the one here and the one in heaven.”

“Well they can’t stop you from serving the latter,” William observed.  Terry stopped and looked at the prince in astonishment.

“I’ve never heard you talk like that before.”

“That’s one of things I came by to tell you about,” William said seriously.  “I met with Pastor Calloway early this morning.  He led me in the sinner’s prayer and I gave my life to Christ.”

“Praise God,” Terry breathed in astonishment.  “I knew something was going on.”

“You know, I used to think that Christians were a bunch of wimps.  The war didn’t change my mind either.  After the trip, and meeting Cathy, and hearing about the change in her life, and hearing this entire rumbling that exploded yesterday, I realised what you and Dennis and Andrea knew all along—that I wasn’t going to make it without God.  Sorry I took so long.”

“Just as long as you made it,” Terry said.

“But that’s not all.  One reason we didn’t discuss Father’s meeting last night is because I presented Cathy to the family.  She’s going to become my wife.  I told her not to tell you until I had a chance to explain everything.”

“Congratulations.  We’ve been talking about that too.  She’s had a lot of transitions to make.  I’ve tried to make them easier for her.”

“You’ve been a big help—especially in keeping it quiet.  But now you have a wedding to perform—in addition to a baptism, I suppose.”

“I’m honoured on both counts.  How are the children taking this?”

“Since she’s from Verecunda, and has lived the life she has, they’re not sure if they’re getting a new parent or a big sister.  They think she’s cool, although she doesn’t let them get ahead of her.”

“Our youth pastor has noted that,” Terry observed.  “He wants her to take a bigger role with the youth group.”

“But really, they need a mother, especially Prissy, as they enter their teen years.  Losing their mom during the war has been hard on them.”

“Will Cathy continue at the Central Bank?”

“That was the one positive thing my father managed to beat out of this delegation,” William said.  “She’s to become the Managing Director of the Bank.  That was before our engagement was official.”

“They’ll live to regret that—perhaps it’s God’s will to trade her for me.  She’s forgotten more about finance than anyone in that delegation ever knew, and besides she’s had to deal with all of those snotty Verecundan bureaucrats…I guess the “New Beran Initiative” is in limbo, at least here.”

“A ‘New Beran’ is the last thing our friends on the coast want,” William noted.  “My brother was afraid of that when he entered in to it with Princes George and Peter and the girls.  But you have to hand it to them—it’s a great idea.”

“Speaking of Peter and Julia, have you heard anything lately about those lovebirds?  I’ve been so busy catching up on the King’s ‘busywork’ and discipling Cathy that I’ve even neglected foreign affairs.”

“I got to spend some time earlier this week with the Aloxan ambassador to Alemara,” William answered.  “I finally got the full story on all these rumours we’ve been hearing here.

“While they were on their honeymoon, their realities started to sink in to the royal family about them, and some of them raised a stink about it, especially those who are pagan or secular.  This infuriated King Leslie and Queen Arlene, who consider it Peter’s sovereign right to bring home the wife of his choice, subject to their approval.  Leslie realised, however, that he was kicking against the goads on this one, particularly since he had enough troubles in Verecunda and Uranus.  So he arranged for Peter and Julia to be waylaid at Snapper Beach, and arranged for them to stay in Uranus to help Prince Marc by acting as the High Commissioners for Land Restoration—they’ve opted for the same programme as the Collinans.  His outgoing personality, combined with her reputation for fairness and the fact that she is Uranan, have made them a hit.  In the middle of it all, Peter has become a Christian—Julia’s brother baptised him a couple of weeks ago.

“They’ve done a lot to turn the Aloxan occupation there around, so much so that they’re scheduling a referendum in North Verecunda and around the airport to see if they’d rather be in Uranus.  That means that, if they end up cutting Verecunda loose, they’ll have the place surrounded.”

“So I assume they’re still having problems in Verecunda.” Terry said.

“Many.  Prince Desmond has survived three assassination attempts.  The CPL is active and causing him no end of trouble.  He’s had a couple of the old cabinet members shot—your cousin Patty would have been one of them if she weren’t related to you.  Now Verecunda’s creditors are coming to his door wanting their money, while at the same time many of the people whose property was nationalised want it back.  Until he figures out how to balance all of this, he can’t start a land restoration programme.”

“I think my cousins Ken and Jack—Ernie’s sons—are leading the pack on that one.  Andy Dell wants me to come down and help sort that mess out, but up until now I haven’t been able to come.  Now Darlene wants me to come to Serelia and disciple her.”

“I was going to ask what you were going to do with yourself now that you’re not Royal Counsellor anymore, but I guess that’s the least of your problems.”

Introduction

At The Inlet is the immediate sequel to Paludavia, “the swamp road,” which takes place on the semi-tropical Island.  It is a sequel to that adventure only in the broadest sense of the word.  In the previous work, we saw royalty and their ministers drawn into a life or death struggle for the survival of not only their way of life but also the way of life of the entire Island.  The result of this was the war that changed everything, and not only those nations that were directly involved.

With the war over, those who were the direct participants in this adventure (which they blithely referred to as “the trip”) had other matters to deal with, matters of home and family, matters of romance, and the matter of their relationships with God.  Although the Island’s (and in particular Serelia’s) very specific situation always puts things in its own mould, we turn from wars and conquests of nations to the interaction of individuals, a realm we all must live with from day to day.

For those who have not read Paludavia, which is prologue to this work, we present a brief summary of that adventure, and how it connects with the present narrative.

Synopsis of Paludavia

The story begins on 28 February.  After a long and agonising conflict, the Serelian Kingdom acknowledged the inevitable and gave its southern half independence as the Drahlan Kingdom.  To formalise the process after a three-year cease-fire, they sent Crown Prince George, last surviving son of Serelian King Adam, to the Drahlan capital of Barlin for the formal ceremony of independence.  George had suspicions about the recent activities of Serelian ally Verecunda, and he arranged a meeting with Drahla’s head of government and Royal Counsellor, Terry Marlowe, who years ago had fled the left-wing regime in Verecunda and who was also a Pentecostal minister.  He presented his suspicions about the place.  Terry responded that she would consult Drahlan King Henry, which she did, along with Crown Prince William and Prince Dennis.  After a tense session, Henry decided to send Terry and William to Serelia to pursue the matter further.

They went to Serelia via Drago and Fort Albert, Drahla’s most prosperous cities, which were chafing under both the tax load and the lack of representative government.  When they reached Serelia in the afternoon of 3 March, they had a formal audience with King Adam and attended a reception in their honour.  While there Terry was confronted by her brother, Richard Marlowe, a Verecundan Special Envoy, who drug up Terry’s past in font of everyone, including her date rape at her prep school prom, her problems with drugs and prostitution, and her flight into the eastern part of the Island after her encounter with Jesus Christ.

After this they met with King Adam, who proposed that Terry, George and George’s wife Darlene travel on the Serelian royal yacht to Verecunda and places in between to attempt to determine just what the Verecundans were doing.  The next day Terry and William attended church at the Cathedral in Serelia, which was a part of Serelia’s Anglican state church.  William returned to Barlin and Terry spent the afternoon with Canon Desmond Lewis of the Cathedral and his family, where she described her dramatic conversion experience and fielded a large number of questions about her activity as a Pentecostal minister.

Terry, George and Darlene left Serelia the next day (6 March) on the royal yacht. They travelled until they reached the Avalon Retreat, located on a small island off of Alemara.  Started by a Catholic priest named James Avalon and other refugees from Verecunda twenty years before, it was Terry’s home from the time it was started until she left as a lay missionary in Cresca.  Her mission had ended in disaster for Avalon, as she left the Catholic Church and became a Pentecostal minister while in Cresca.  This made her welcome less than wholehearted on Avalon’s part; however, she was able to visit those in the retreat while George got a summary of the grim record of religious persecution on the part of the Verecundan government, including their requirements that all religious groups adhere to their Six Statements, a manifesto that required humanistic or New Age beliefs to be adopted.

They spent two days at the Retreat before crossing the sound on 9 March to Alemara, which with Verecunda’s problems had become the commercial centre of the Island.  George and Darlene were whisked away to a meeting with the government, leaving Terry stranded at the dock.  This was not entirely a snub, because she was met by and had a long French lunch with Pierre des Cieux, a former automotive components sales representative and general “man about the Island.”  Des Cieux told her many things about current Island affairs, but the most significant thing he revealed to her was that Darlene was in fact the kid sister of Ronald Amherst, the great Serelian general who had killed Terry’s husband Max Serlin in battle and personally shot her infant son David during the war before dying at the Battle of South Barlin.

This revelation was a shock to Terry; she went to the Alemaran guesthouse and sulked for several hours.  This pity party came to an abrupt halt that evening when a Verecundan embassy official attempted to kidnap her for bounty, an attempt that ended with Terry flushing his head down the commode prior to his arrest by Alemaran authorities.

Terry herself met with the Alemaran government the following day.  That evening the three went to an expatriate party at the Aloxan embassy, the diplomatic mission of the Island’s only predominantly black nation.  After this Terry went to sit at the dock, but was joined by Darlene. George had forced his wife to go there in order to save the mission.  The two women decided to try reconciliation, which they attempted to carry out on a shopping trip the next day while they and George attempted to secure an invitation to Vidamera and to insure they all had diplomatic immunity to go to Verecunda.

The following Monday (13 March) they went to Vidamera city to see the irresponsible Vidameran King Francis.  He was in usual form; George and Darlene found themselves on a deep sea fishing expedition while Terry went to the local Catholic church to see Pierre’s son, Monsignor Raymond des Cieux.  They had a discussion about why they ended up having to leave Verecunda.  When she stepped out of the church, she was confronted with a group of armed men who took her to their boss’ “hideout.”  Their boss turned out to be Count Michael of West Vidamera, who was supposed to be a Verecundan ally but had actually soured on his “ally” because of his father’s assassination and other problems.  They went skeet and trap shooting and he returned her to the palace for another uneventful reception.

The trio’s audience with Francis was unproductive.  As they left town, they were ambushed by bounty hunters; they were rescued by Count Michael’s men, who helped them get safe passage back to Alemara.  When they returned, they found that the Verecundan government had given in to their demands and issued letters of immunity to all three of them.

The next day (15 March) they took the yacht to Verecunda.  They were greeted in Druid style by Seamus Gallen, Verecunda’s Foreign Minister.  They were taken to the Elaron Beach Hotel, which Terry’s grandfather and uncle had built.  It was here that the import of Terry ancestry—her grandfather, Lucian Gerland, had been in his day the wealthiest man on the Island—started to sink into the royals and especially Darlene.  That evening they were given a reception by the Finance and Foreign Ministries, and it was there that Terry ran into a childhood friend, Cathy Arnold, who was an officer with the Verecundan Central Bank.

The next day they were taken to a “model school” by Patricia Langley-Cox, Terry’s cousin and the Minister of Education.  The program at the school was shattered by an invasion of left wing rioters, who forced the entire school—children, guests and all—into buses so they could leave.  They ended up at the Presidential Palace, where they wasted the afternoon in a verbal sparring match with President Lillith Connolly and her advisors.

That evening George and Darlene attended a “cultural” event, but Terry had dinner with Cathy Arnold.  It was only here that Terry learned the truth: the Verecundans had concluded an “economic development package” with the Claudian Kingdom that essentially involved the takeover of virtually every institution in the country by one Verecundan ministry or another.  Terry now knew the peril they were in; even in its weakened state, Verecunda would be able to take over a divided Island one loan at a time.

The next morning Terry and Darlene went to the beach to go over what they knew.  When they were done they realised they would have to leave.  George came back from the Serelian embassy to announce that the yacht had been seized and that he was ready to get out, but their exit was blocked by an official from the Ministry of the Environment, who attempted to arrest them.  Her arrest was foiled by Darlene, who exploded at the official with such authority that they were able to take her car right in front of her and flee, first to Point Collina and then into occupied Collina proper.

They were eventually captured by Collinan rebels, lead by Andy Dell.  After some time of eluding capture and a late night meeting, they decided to go to Aloxa to secure help.  They left early Sunday morning (19 March) in a boat that headed up the coast past Collina town and into Aloxan waters, arriving at Beran in time for Sunday morning church at the Beran Pentecostal Church.  Terry preached and afterwards the trio had dinner at the parsonage, but they had arranged with the provincial governor to meet with Aloxan King Leslie later that afternoon.

On the way to Aloxa town, Darlene drilled Terry with many questions about Terry’s faith.  When they arrived at the Aloxan palace, they were awed at the size and beauty of the place.  Leslie received them; upon hearing about the seizure of the yacht and the deal with the Claudians, he called his advisors together and had an extended meeting to discuss what might be done.

The next day Leslie took the three back to a large mansion to the west of the palace, which he announced was the old Amherst estate, which were Darlene’s ancestors.  He also revealed a secret that very few remembered: that Darlene’s great-grandfather Theodore had married a daughter of the last King of Beran, making Darlene a direct descendant of that monarchy.  Leslie then explained his “vision” with the three “cords” of the Island: Beran, represented by George and Darlene; Verecunda and the commercial states, represented by Terry, and the black Aloxans, represented by Leslie.  He stated that the Island would only have peace and prosperity if the three cords could be put back together, which was being done in their presence.  He also announced that Aloxa was going to war against Verecunda, and already mobilising.

That evening Terry spent time with Leslie and Queen Arlene where she presented the case for Christianity to Leslie.  Early the next morning Terry’s prayer time was interrupted by Darlene, who was frantic about taking a direct invasion approach as opposed to a more indirect one some of the Aloxans were advocating.  The three eventually presented this to the Aloxans and they agreed.  George and Darlene left Aloxa town that afternoon for the main front; Terry stayed behind with the North Army Group, which would come in behind the main unit.

The invasion started on 22 March.  Terry—with backup from Christian Queen Arlene—prayed over the troops in Aloxa, after which the whole army moved out.  The main group in the south wiped out the border post and raced to Uranus town, only to find that they could not get there fast enough to get suitable field position south of town against the Verecundans.  Taking a plan from a field commander, they partially evacuated the town and lured the Verecundans into Uranus, where the Aloxans cut the Verecundan armour to pieces.  With that the infantry resistance collapsed, and the rest of the Verecundans fled south, the Aloxans in pursuit.

Army Group North came in behind but went to Jersey Heights, where they defeated the Sacred Band of the Inland Police.  From there they made a dash to the crossroads with the main road, where they captured the field command of the Verecundan army.  They were eventually able to trap and receive the surrender of the rest of the Verecundan army.  The Aloxans then went forward to capture Fort Stevenson, the airport and its environs in preparation for invading the city proper.

Established in Fort Stevenson, all of the dignitaries were in the Officers’ Club when they noticed Prince Peter, Leslie’s youngest son, with a Verecundan army officer.  With the help of Darlene’s nosiness, they found her to be Julia Stanley, a Christian whose parents had died in prison for their faith.  They also found out that Peter had decided to take Julia as his wife, as a spoil of war.  Julia spent the night with Terry, who spent time in prayer with her as Julia set out on her new life.

Peter and Julia were taken back to Aloxa early the next morning. After overcoming shortages of just about everything, the Aloxans proceeded down Central Avenue to take the city.  Their advance was delayed by another protest, which they broke up by shooting into the crowd.  They then went to the Presidential Palace, where the surrender was interrupted by Richard Marlowe.  He launched into a monologue about the reasons for Verecunda’s left-wing regime, which so angered one of Leslie’s guards that he shot Richard dead in front of everyone.  At this Terry went into hysterics and had to be taken to an office, where Darlene helped calm Terry down with herbs provided with the help of Maeve Martin, an herbalist with the Verecundan Ministry of Health.

Leaving his brother Desmond with the task of controlling Verecunda, Leslie took George to the port, where they reviewed the marines there and reflected on the cost and the worth of the whole adventure.

The next day (24 March) Terry went to Point Collina to see her mother, who was in a care facility.  She found her mother unable to communicate or move as a result of a stroke; she also found her Uncle Ernie, who berated her for her “betrayal” of her family and country.  Terry went to the Point, where Pierre des Cieux tried to put the whole thing in a greater perspective.  After that Terry went to the Yacht Club with Andy Dell for lunch; while leaving, she met a frantic Cathy Arnold, who begged her to take her away from Verecunda altogether, which she agreed to.

The evening was taken up by the Golden Light ceremony for Richard Marlowe, which was done in pagan style by Seamus Gallen and the Druids.  The end of the ceremony was the lighting of the funeral boat with Richard’s body on it.  It was also visible across the bay as well at the care facility.

Having recovered the yacht, next day the three left for Alemara with Cathy Arnold.  While under way Terry laid out the plan of salvation to both Cathy and Darlene, and both became Christians as a result of this.

Cathy and Terry returned to Barlin on 27 March; Terry baptised Cathy on Easter Sunday (16 April) with a challenge to evangelise the whole Island. This is the actual end of Paludavia.  George and Darlene returned to Serelia on 29 March. Just before Easter Darlene’s first pregnancy was announced.

Transition to At The Inlet

The six weeks between the end of one work and the beginning of the next one are not very long in time but contain some important events, some of which are explained in the narrative and some of which are not.

Peter and Julia were married on 1 April; they started their honeymoon in a remote area of Serelia but after Easter joined George, Darlene and Prince Dennis and Princess Andrea of Drahla on a hunting expedition.  This had three important outcomes: it bonded the diverse royals together in general, it was an important time of discipleship for Darlene with the two other Christian princesses, and the six put forth the “New Beran Initiative,” a manifesto of cooperation between the three countries which at one time had been part of Beran’s empire.  This manifesto was accepted by all three countries, but events would overshadow this very progressive step.  Peter and Julia went on to Barlin and Drago on 25 April for the remainder of their honeymoon, where they saw the country and attended Pentecostal church in Barlin.  The two honeymooners returned to Uranus on 4 May to the mess that is described in the narrative.

The Aloxan occupation of Uranus and Verecunda got off to a rocky start.  Uranus’ situation is alluded to in the narrative.  Verecunda’s was a constant uproar, with problems posed by a resurgent CPL. Prince Desmond was also forced to deal with external problems as well; he ended up in a pattern of playing off Verecunda’s creditors against human rights activists, which stalled either group from taking action against him.

Darlene’s salvation brought important changes to her life and the life of those around her at a time when her pregnancy induced changes enough.  Her difficult relationship with Queen Annette began to improve.  Unfortunately the Church of Serelia ministers around her—especially Bishop Weston Collingswood and Canon Desmond Lewis—were either unable or unwilling to adequately deal with her questions and her need for discipleship, and so her whole Christian journey was placed in jeopardy from the very start.

Terry’s situation in Barlin was becoming difficult but for an entirely different reason.  Drahla was a “composite” state, made up partly of chartered “free” cities such as Drago and Cresca and partly old Serelian royal estates such as around Barlin and in the northwest.  The details of how to properly govern such a country were extensively delayed, first by the war of independence and then by the “limbo” of the cease-fire.  After formal independence, though, the chartered cities pushed for a more democratic system, while King Henry tried to go on with an absolute monarchy modified by the existing charters, a course that Terry, as Royal Counsellor, favoured both out of principle and as a practical matter.  By the middle of May the cities—especially Drago—had decided to “call the King’s bluff” on the issue and press for representative government.  This meeting took place on 2 June; it is the aftermath of this meeting that begins At The Inlet.

The Ten Weeks, the prequel to our fictional series The Island Chronicles, is now available.  It is set on the Island, but it is different in many ways from the Chronicles.  You can click here to find out more and to order.