jewel?”
Jack and Angus had not anticipated this. Contrary to the professor’s story, they had never been to Vienna in their lives. Jack looked at Angus nervously and blushed — he was stumped.
“Well? Has my friend the professor not shown you the Belvedere, Schonbrunn Palace, and all the other wonderful sights? Don’t be shy. Come on what did you think of it?”
There was a pained silence, then Angus suddenly blurted out, “It was cool.”
Jack nearly fell out of his seat.
Mueller frowned, “Cool? At this time of year? I don’t think so. It is typically very warm in June…” He turned to the professor with a confused expression on his face.
“Professor? Was it cool?”
“Er, yes Mueller, in fact it was unseasonably cold the day we arrived, but, er we did not stay too long as we were so keen to visit the mountains. We are saving the sights for our return.”
Mueller eyed the boys with a puzzled expression for a moment, but then accepted the explanation and moved on.
“Oh, I see. Well, you have much to look forward to.” Distracted, he withdrew a large chain watch from his breast pocket and grunted in satisfaction.
“Professor — I think it might be that time. How about a brandy?”
The professor sighed in relief, “Most kind, Mueller.”
“Excellent! Anna — if you please?”
At the entrance to the conservatory, for the first time, Jack noticed that a young woman, a servant, had been waiting patiently. She had a dark complexion and brown eyes. She appeared not to be listening to the conversation — but staring straight ahead. Jack noticed that Angus was staring at the maid admiringly. But Angus’s trance was broken as, with Mueller’s order ringing in her ears, the maid scuttled off to fetch the brandy. Jack thought it was a bit strange to have someone else in the room who was just an ornament — except when required to serve.
The brandy arrived, and the professor had the presence of mind to excuse Jack and Angus, who gratefully grasped the opportunity. Not sure what to do, Jack stood and did an awkward little bow and thanked Mueller. He nudged Angus. Having never bowed before in his life, Angus’s attempt at the procedure was faintly comical — like he was lowering himself onto an imaginary toilet. They then left the room, trying not to appear in a hurry.
Mueller looked at them with curiosity as they departed.
“Friendly young men, Professor, your nephews… interesting, er, manners.”
The professor shrugged. “English… you know… what they’re like…”
Mueller snorted, took a gulp from his brandy goblet and busied himself with refilling his pipe. “Anyway, Professor, talking of the English, tell me about your work with the Royal Navy…”
Angus and Jack made their way up the old wooden stairs to their bedroom at the top of the chalet. The room had a low-beamed ceiling and, like the rest of the house, extensive wooden panelling. There were twin beds on either side of the room and two old pictures of local hunting scenes. Inevitably, the horns of some unfortunate animal had been pinned to one wall. Doors led out to a balcony with an elaborately carved balustrade. Beyond, shadows crept through the woodland as the sun sank below the mountains.
Angus flopped onto one of the beds. “That was a near miss.”
“You plonker. You could have said something better than that. ‘It was cool’.”
“Least I said something.”
Jack removed his jacket and lazily dropped it on to the floor before collapsing in his own bed.
“Let’s take a look, then.”
“What — the time phone?”
“See if it’s changed at all.”
Angus took out the device. He flipped it open. They inspected the miniature read-out:
Date: Tuesday 23rd June, 1914
Time: 07.47 p.m.
Location: Achensee, Austria
“Five more days until the assassination,” Jack said. “But still no yellow light.”
“We’re still stuck. No escape.”
“Does that thing ever light up?”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Angus quickly closed the time phone and slipped it back in his pocket.
“It’ll be the Prof…” Jack called to the door, “Come in!”
But it wasn’t the professor. The door opened and the boys were surprised to see Anna, the maid who they had last seen being barked at by Mueller in the conservatory.
Angus sprang from the bed as if he had received a mild electric shock.
“I prepare room for sleeping,” she announced in broken English.
Angus’s face lit up, “Sounds like an excellent idea…”
Jack rolled his eyes. Anna either didn’t understand the remark or just ignored it.
Jack said, “You really don’t have to… we can…”
“No — my duty.”
She moved into the room and stooped to pick up Jack’s coat from the floor. Embarrassed that she felt it necessary to do so, Jack also reached down for the jacket — trying to beat her to it. They both stooped simultaneously and there was a loud ‘crack’ as their heads banged together. Jack winced. Anna clutched her head. Then she giggled.
“Nice one mate,” Angus said sarcastically. “Sorry — he was born in England.”
“Are you OK?” Jack said.
Anna grimaced, “No — not OK — you are clumsy Englishman…”
Angus laughed, “You’ve got that right — you should see him play rugby.”
Jack put out his hand, “Jack Christie — very pleased to meet you.”
Anna smiled again and shook his hand gently, “I, Anna Matronovic.”
Although she wore a maid’s white smock and cap she held herself with poise and looked Jack straight in the eye with a challenging self-confidence, yet she couldn’t have been more than eighteen years old. Close up, Jack could understand why she had caught Angus’s attention. She had dark, hypnotic brown eyes and was exceptionally pretty; Jack stared longer than he probably should have. As he picked up his jacket a piece of paper slipped onto the floor. Again, Anna stooped to pick it up. As she did so, she glanced at the paper and a puzzled expression slowly crept over her face. She did not return it to Jack but studied it intently.
“What is this?” she finally asked. Her face was flushed.
Jack looked at the paper Anna was holding and suddenly realised what it was — the photo of Pendelshape and the plotters of the Black Hand. Jack had transferred it to the coat provided by the Muellers. Despite the drenching in the lake, it was still quite clear and Pendelshape and his ‘friends’ stared back at them eerily.
“It’s mine. It’s just a photograph…”
Anna’s brow furrowed.
“Where you get it?”
Jack faltered, “A friend…”
Anna looked down at the photo again. “You know the English teacher, Dr Pendelshape? He said he would send help soon. You and the professor, you sent by him to help us… yes?”
Jack and Angus couldn’t believe what Anna had just said. They looked at each other, stunned. “Hold on, what did you say… how do you know…?“
Anna ignored the interruption and carried on quietly, urgently. “I understand now. I must talk to friends. I go now. But you in danger here. Big danger. We must go soon.” She was very agitated. “I get message to friends in Vienna, Belgrade, Doboj. You say nothing. We talk later…”
And with that she left the room.
Jack fingered the edges of the photo nervously, looking back to the door that had closed behind Anna.
“She knows Pendelshape. It’s incredible,” he said.
“And what’s this stuff about Belgrade…?”
