He decided that he was on the verge of pondering the issue too deeply, a sensation like reading a simple word over and over until it begins to lose all meaning. He backed away and told himself to accept his father’s words at face value.
‘George, you’ve told me about what the Directorate had planned for Caroline and Sophie – but what about you?’
George leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head, so perfectly smug that his photograph could be used instead of a dictionary definition of the word. ‘Special Assignment, old man. Very Special Assignment.’
‘I see.’
‘Craddock and Tallis emphasised to me exactly how special this assignment is.’
‘It sounds as if you’ve fully understood the degree of specialness.’
‘I have a knack for that sort of understanding, apparently.’
‘And what is it?’
‘The assignment? I’m to make sure you don’t get shot, old man, by anyone who recognises the Traitor of Albion.’
‘I see.’
‘The Directorate has sent out the word to trusted operatives, explaining your real status, but I’ve been given credentials that will allow us access to Gallian authorities and the like, as long as you hang back and don’t make yourself conspicuous.’
It made sense. The Directorate couldn’t simply announce that Aubrey was innocent, not with the photographs still in circulation. Something more than a denial was needed.
‘I’ll do my best, George, to look shabby and uncouth. No-one will suspect that I’m me.’
‘I don’t think that will be much of a problem, not with the way you look at the moment.’
Aubrey straightened his jacket. ‘How’s that?’
‘Splendid. It’s made me overlook the dirt, the creases, the general tattiness. Now,’ said George, ‘we couldn’t help noticing, as we drove up, that most of this place has been blown up. I’m assuming you were responsible for that, old man?’
‘Sorry to disappoint you, George, but Dr Tremaine destroyed his own estate.’
Madame Zelinka frowned. ‘Why would he do that?’
Why indeed? ‘I’d say that he’s either finished all he came here to do, or something significant has happened to make him revise his plans.’
‘Rather drastic revision, that.’ George adopted a listening posture, with his elbow on the arm of the chair and his chin in his hand. ‘Now, why don’t you tell us what you’ve been up to?’
Going back to the beginning, Aubrey couldn’t avoid mentioning von Stralick’s illness, for it explained their relative inactivity, but he tried to glide over the details. His efforts weren’t enough, however, to stop Madame Zelinka from pulling von Stralick’s face close so she could examine him.
‘You need a bath,’ she said.
Von Stralick brushed off his filthy lapels. ‘An excellent idea. It would be a shame to waste the facilities here. And afterwards? A tour of the hunting trophies? I thought I saw a notably fierce iguana back there.’
Before Madame Zelinka could reply, George stood up, suddenly alert. ‘What’s that?’
Immediately, any slight semblance the group may have had to a polite drawing room gathering disappeared. Mostly, the indications were subtle – a sudden tension in postures, a cocking of the head, a half-rising to feet – but von Stralick’s hand went to his pistol before he shook his head and chuckled. ‘Some sort of night bird, Doyle. Do not alarm yourself.’
‘If that’s a night bird, I’ll eat this extremely grubby Holmland cap.’
‘He is correct.’ Madame Zelinka was rising from her chair. ‘It was Katya, signalling from the woods. Someone is coming.’
‘There,’ George said with some satisfaction. ‘Don’t let anyone tell you that George Doyle doesn’t know his way around the outdoors.’
12
As they doused lanterns and hurried along the darkened hall, Madame Zelinka explained about her troop of Enlightened Ones. A neat two dozen, many of the members were drawn from those who had helped in the delicate work around Baron von Grolman’s factory in Stalsfrieden, but a few had been drawn from Albion and elsewhere after consultation with Commander Craddock – a point that Aubrey found almost unbearably intriguing.
‘Katya is my second in command now,’ Madame Zelinka said. ‘And some Gallians have joined us expressly because we’re helping you.’
‘Gallians?’
‘They said that they are friends of Maurice. Does the name mean anything to you?’
‘A friend,’ Aubrey said, remembering the caretaker of the dilapidated Faculty of Magic at the University of Lutetia – someone else who monitored Aubrey’s progress from afar.
‘Quickly now,’ von Stralick said as he led the way towards the terrace.
George let out an oath. ‘What clod left a rake lying here? I nearly stepped on it.’
‘Never mind,’ Aubrey said. ‘Through these doors.’
They burst onto the terrace to find a shadowy figure loping toward them, her blonde hair partly covered by a knitted cap. She had a rifle slung over her back. ‘Katya!’ called Madame Zelinka. ‘What is it?’
‘Nine lorries, full of troops.’
Katya had been the most helpful of the supposedly neutral Enlightened Ones, most likely due to her unpleasant history with Holmlanders in Veltrania, her state of origin. Aubrey had no doubt that she would have been in favour of a more active role for the ancient order.
‘Where are they coming from?’ Von Stralick already had his pistol in his hand.
‘No idea. We have the four guards who fled this place bound and gagged.’
‘Four guards?’ Aubrey said. ‘Six left here, not four.’
‘Ah! Two must have made their way down to Bardenford and raised the alarm.’
The stuttering sound of small arms fire echoed from the mountains around them. It was answered by the more authoritarian chatter of a light machine gun.
‘We are trying to hold them off,’ Madame Zelinka said after listening intently, ‘but we are not equipped for a full-scale battle. We must help them.’ She took a step toward the gate, then paused and looked back.
Aubrey went to follow, but von Stralick put out his arm to block him. ‘We will take care of this, Fitzwilliam. You and Doyle should go.’
‘Where? I can’t go back to Albion, not yet.’
‘Fisherberg,’ George said. ‘Where else would Dr Tremaine go after abandoning this place?’
‘You’re not thinking of a rendezvous with Caroline and Sophie, are you?’
‘Two birds with one stone, old man. They might be grateful for some help, and we could track down Tremaine while we’re at it.’
It was an attractive suggestion, but Aubrey examined it from all sides just to make sure his personal desires weren’t influencing his decision – and he had an idea.
‘Very well, but I want to make a detour along the way. To Korsur.’
Von Stralick raised an eyebrow. Madame Zelinka looked interested. George was puzzled. ‘Korsur, old man? Because of Madame Z’s report of troop activity?’
‘Hugo and I found a telephone register in the switchboard room. Korsur was the only unimportant place to receive multiple calls.’
‘What if it’s just because someone’s mother lives there?’
‘A single anomaly can be important. If you add Madame Zelinka’s already mentioned Holmland troop build-up in the area it begins to look suspicious.’
‘Two anomalies, then.’
‘But when we have a third, then we move from “interesting” to “likely to be significant”. Hugo?’
