“Don’t concern yourself, Jean, you would not understand. You’ve done very well. Here.” He gave the boy a purse. “This is for you and your brother. Take care that no one steals it from you. I’ll have more work for you very soon.”
“Thank you, monsieur.”
“That will be all. Run along now. Take care that no one sees you leave.”
9
Following the arrival of the Marquis de Sevigne in England the Scarlet Pimpernel became a national obsession. A horse named Scarlet Pimpernel won at Ascot. A milliner in Knightsbridge offered for sale hats “a la Scarlet Pimpernel” and was soon swamped with orders. Several tailors began to specialize in suits and dresses “a la Scarlet Pimpernel” which, in spite of their designation, were available in a wide choice of colors. Scarlet Pimpernels were worn in lapels across the country, pinned to hats, worn as corsages, painted upon snuff-boxes, made from silk and attached to horses’ bridles, used as a garnish for a wide variety of dishes, and embroidered upon velvet slippers, dressing gowns, jackets and handkerchiefs. It seemed that the Scarlet Pimpernel was foremost in the mind of every Englishman, especially the ersatz Sir Percy Blakeney.
Mongoose had delivered the marquis to Pere Blanchard’s hut, dropping the aristocrat off at the crest of the St. Martin’s road and directing him to follow the footpath down to the cottage. The nobleman arrived only slightly the worse for wear, suffering from dizziness and disorientation like the others before him. He had attributed the effects to the “sleeping draught” he had been given, ostensibly to prevent him from knowing how he was spirited out of Paris. However, Finn and Lucas both knew that what he had felt were not the aftereffects of a drug, but of travel from one place to another via chronoplate.
Finn had been encouraged upon learning that the marquis had been taken to the cottage, for the hut had not existed as a hiding place for them until Andrew Ffoulkes had arranged for it shortly after their arrival in France. Obviously, it meant that Mongoose knew their plans and therefore had to have assumed the guise of one of the members of the league. Yet, he had thwarted their efforts to expose him by decoying some of the men away from where they should have been. Just before they were to leave Paris, Wilberforce and Barrett had received a note signed with the red flower, instructing them to leave the city separately for the sake of greater security and telling them to rendezvous at Blanchard’s cottage off the St. Martin’s road. Finn recalled that they had gone out to purchase wine while they waited for the arrival of the marquis, which meant that one of them could easily have arranged for Jean to pick up the aristocrat and then deliver him to Pere Blanchard’s hut, since the other would be traveling alone. Rodney Moore and the Byrne brothers had been separated, as well. Ffoulkes had received a note similar to the one Barrett and Wilberforce were sent. He had found it up in his room shortly after Finn and Lucas left for Paris. It had instructed him of a change in plans, the reason being that the French had “spies everywhere” and it was best to keep altering the plans at the last minute in order to avoid exposing themselves. Ffoulkes had accepted the note without question and had followed the instructions to the letter. He had directed the Byrne brothers to remain at the cottage and he had sent Rodney Moore to watch the St. Martin’s road, where he was to wait for an old woman driving a farm wagon to pass by and then watch to see if anyone followed. The “old woman” would obviously be the Pimpernel in disguise.
“He could be Moore or Barrett or Wilberforce said Finn. “For that matter, it’s possible that he could be one of the others who stayed behind in London. There’s nothing that could have prevented him from picking the group up in Calais and following Ffoulkes or one of the others to the hut. Then he could have tailed Wilberforce and Barrett. There’s any number of ways in which he could have managed it.”
“At least we know to scratch the Byrne brothers,” Lucas said. “They were together all the time.”
“It’s really starting to get to me,” said Finn. “I feel like a fraud.”
“You are a fraud,” said Lucas, grinning.
“That isn’t what I mean. The thing is, I am-that is, Blakeney is supposed to be the Pimpernel, but I haven’t- that is, he hasn’t rescued anybody!”
“So?”
“So Blakeney’s only saving grace was that he only appeared to be an idiot, while being the Pimpernel in reality. I only appear to be the Pimpernel, while being an idiot in reality.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” said Lucas.
Finn sighed. “I don’t know. This whole thing is ridiculous. Look at us, sitting here like a couple of old men on a park bench. All we need are some bread crumbs and a flock of pigeons. We were talking about killing Mongoose because he’s wreaking havoc with this mission, but what has he really done that’s so damn terrible? He’s been doing all our work for us and taking most of the risks. I’ve got a feeling that we should be thanking him!”
“That’s exactly what he wants,” said Cobra.
They both started and turned to see the agent standing right behind them, leaning against a tree. They hadn’t even heard him approach. He was still dressed the way he had been at the party, in his dandy’s suit, cut in the incroyable style which Percy Blakeney had made so popular in London.
“Jesus!” Finn said. “Don’t do that!”
“You boys are really slipping,” Cobra said. “Mongoose must be getting to you.”
“How long have you been standing there? “ said Lucas.
“Long enough.” He held out an elegant silver case. “Cigarettes?”
“I could use one,” Finn said. “Thanks.”
He lit their cigarettes for them and took one himself. “Can’t stand those damn clay pipes, myself,” he said. “It’s like smoking chalk. Anyway, killing Mongoose would be a big mistake. For one thing, if you were lucky enough to beat me to him, I’d be right there to stop you. The only way that you could eliminate him would be to eliminate me, first. Not impossible, I’ll grant you, but it would just buy you a great deal of trouble and it seems you’ve already got more than you can handle.”
“You don’t say,” said Finn, wryly.
“I’ve been watching you two rather closely,” said the agent. “Who do you think drove the coach that took you to Paris?”
“That was you?” said Finn.
“None other. Mongoose isn’t the only expert at disguise, you know. I should add that I appreciated the generous tip. That was a tiring journey.”
“If you’re so on top of things,” said Lucas, “where were you when the marquis was taken?”
“Following you,” said Cobra. “At this point, I’m a little more concerned about what you two might do than I am about Mongoose. His death might solve your problem, but it would not solve mine. I asked you to cooperate with me on this. I need you working with me, not against me. You’ve got nothing to lose by following my instructions.”
“I wish it were that simple,” Lucas said. “It might appear that all that Mongoose has done so far has been to make us look like fools, which might very well be his sole intent, but you’re forgetting that he’s breaking all the rules, even going so far as to involve someone from this time period in this disruption.”
“You mean the boy.”
“Yes, damn it, I mean the boy! Due to his interference, that boy has already killed several people. Mongoose has to realize that he’s already altered the course of that boy’s entire life, yet he continues to use him to further his own ends. That’s a disruption in itself and there’s no telling what effect it will have. The point is that Mongoose obviously doesn’t care.”
“You’re quite right about that,” Cobra said. “Involving the boy was dangerous. The boy can’t be overlooked and I intend to take care of it.”
“Have you found him yet?” said Finn.
“No, but then I’ve been extremely careful not to look for him.”
Finn rubbed his forehead wearily. “This is beginning to give me migraines. You mind telling me why not?”
“Not at all. If my people find the boy, they might very well find Mongoose. I’m not yet ready for Mongoose to be found.”
