"There is only one cure for a broken heart," and Noah wagged his head sagely.
"And that is—?"
"Another love."
"H'm."
"Among the thousand women of the court, are there not maids that please you? Women of all types grace the gardens of the city of Lehi-Nephi. Would you have a rose, a violet, a magnolia, a lily, a passion flower or a tulip? Pluck it." And he nodded toward the court of the women.
"Need I remind thee, O King, who art the prince of love, that when a man wants one woman—"
The king threw back his head and laughed until his fat sides shook.
"And who is the lady that dares withstand the bold Amulon?"
The king's face displayed the first interest it had worn that day, as he lolled on the crimson cushions that extended before his golden throne. He and his priests sat in the Hall of the Ambassadors, adjoining the great stone amphitheatre used for large assemblies. The hall where the king held his court was richly beautiful with its tiled floor, its ivory-tinted walls and the great gilded chairs of the thirty priests who constituted the king's council. All morning they had been attending to affairs of state, dealing principally with taxes, for the dissolute king maintained his magnificence with one-fifth of his people's produce.
The moment was propitious and Amulon hastened to explain. "The maid, O King, is Zara, the daughter of Gideon, who opposes my suit."