It had been a shock when Sir Darius had taken Aubrey aside just before the first gathering in the Gallery of Glass and explained how impressed he was with Aubrey’s conduct and achievements. It was the term ‘heroic’ and the firmness of the handshake that left Aubrey lost for words.
‘I’m glad,’ Lady Rose said. ‘I insisted that he did, but I wasn’t sure he’d work up enough courage.’
‘Courage?’
‘Everybody has their areas of diffidence, Aubrey. He’s never been confident where you’re concerned.’
Aubrey took this as well as he’d take a blow to the head. He snatched at the first thing that came to mind. ‘I’m proud of him, too.’
‘And so you should be.’ She patted him absently on the shoulder. ‘And I’m proud of both of you.’
For a time, Aubrey stood in a daze next to his mother, thinking about how endlessly surprising people were, until Lady Rose tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Caroline Hepworth is a fine young woman.’
Aubrey straightened. ‘I’ve come to that conclusion.’
Lady Rose smiled at him and picked a speck of lint from his epaulette. ‘You’ve changed, Aubrey.’
‘For the better, I hope.’
‘Decidedly.’ She stood back and inspected him. ‘Splendid. Now, go and enjoy the rest of the day.’
Musing, Aubrey left the terrace, wandered around the corner of the sprawling mansion and reached the gardens, his glorious solitude made all the more certain when he reached the hedge maze.
The hedge maze wasn’t a serious challenge, as Aubrey had found out on the first day at Belville, but its ten- feet-high walls guaranteed that dozens of people could be within its confines without seeing each other, which made it a useful place to gain some respite from court intrigue. The builders of the maze had anticipated this, and had placed benches in niches to allow wanderers a place to sit and contemplate whatever needed contemplating.
The sun was well on its way toward setting when Aubrey chose one of these benches, leaned back, hands behind his head, and enjoyed the inaction. It felt good to be away from the drone of international diplomacy. Being even a minor public figure – fully rehabilitated in the eyes of the public since the Acting Head of the Holmland Intelligence Services, a Mr Hugo von Stralick, had confirmed that the damning photos of Aubrey had been taken under duress – meant that solitude was a rare thing. Since his welcoming back as a true son of Albion, rumours had circulated about his role in the events that had brought an end to the war. People sought him out. Most simply wanted to hear his story, but others were looking for a more commercial insight. None of them should have taken the trouble; Aubrey never spoke of his doings to anyone other than his parents and his close comrades.
He closed his eyes, breathed in the rich cypress smell of the maze walls, and did his best to empty his mind of everything.
Naturally, it was only a few minutes before he began to fidget. He opened his eyes and admired the way the light of setting sun caught the few clouds in the sky. Then he examined the bench and became fascinated by the patches of lichen growing on the stone. He wondered how old the bench was and whether he could find the records of the purchase of the garden furniture somewhere in the palace, but before he could make a note about this he was distracted by the clever topiary that had carved out the arched recess in the hedge opposite for a bust of a classical emperor – then he became intrigued by the technique of hedge cutting that allowed such a neat alcove to be made.
When George Doyle came into view – hands jammed in pockets, beaming at the sky – Aubrey had scrawled two pages of notes and ideas that had spiralled off into some thoughts about the Law of Harmony before sidestepping into a possible new application exploring the power of collective human consciousness in magic making, something that Commander Craddock, Lanka Ravi and Professor Bromhead had been working on ever since the magical theoreticians had been released from hospital.
‘Still working, old man?’ George took a small cake from his pocket, one of the shell-shaped, almond-flavoured delicacies he’d come to favour while at the conference. He took a bite, then blinked. ‘I was going to say something then, but now I’ve completely forgotten.’
‘It can’t be important, then. Where’s Sophie?’
George waved a hand. ‘She should be along any minute.’
George sat next to Aubrey and finished his cake. He dusted his hands of crumbs. ‘Well, what’s next, old man, after all this winds up? Back to Greythorn?’
Nearby, two birds joined in a brief song that dwindled to a series of chuckles. Aubrey waited for them to start again. When they didn’t, he decided they’d settled for the night. ‘Next term. I want to finish my degree, of course. And you?’
‘I’m not one to leave something incomplete. I’ll be there.’
‘Good.’ Aubrey hesitated for a moment and then went on. ‘And after that?’
‘That’s a very good question.’ George groped in his pocket and looked disappointed at not finding another cake. His actions made Aubrey’s hand go to his own pocket. ‘I could always go farming,’ George continued. ‘Father would like that.’
‘Would you?’
‘It has its attractions, the country life and all that.’ George glanced at Aubrey. ‘You know, old man, I understand now why my old dad doesn’t talk much about the war. Do you feel like blabbing on about it?’
‘Not in the slightest.’
‘Writing, though,’ George said. ‘That’s different. I wouldn’t mind having a bash at a novel.’
‘A novel?’
‘About the war. I think I could knock a few silly ideas out of a few heads that way.’
‘I’m sure you could.’ Aubrey took off his cap and scratched his head. He turned the cap over in his hands and stared at it. ‘What about Sophie?’
‘Sophie? The light of my life?’ George looked at Aubrey, his face solemn. ‘You understand, old man, that everything I’ve said about the future is dependent on my working out some way to keep her with me.’
‘I never thought any differently. This will involve talking to her, I take it?’
‘And listening, old man, don’t forget listening.’
‘Excellent. Here’s your chance.’
Aubrey stood. George blinked, looked around, saw Sophie and Caroline approaching along the long green corridor. He punched Aubrey on the shoulder, gently. ‘See you in the palace, old friend?’
Aubrey reached out and gripped his friend’s hand. ‘Of course you will, old friend.’
They shook. George grinned and ran to meet Sophie. He swung her off her feet and, arm in arm, they vanished into the maze.
Caroline laughed and came to Aubrey’s side. She was trim in her full Directorate field uniform – black jacket over long black skirt, black cap, gloves – which set off her green eyes beautifully. ‘What on earth have you two been talking about?’
‘What most people have been talking about since the armistice – the future.’
Caroline looked toward where Sophie and George had disappeared. ‘Ah.’
Aubrey had tested both his courage and his nerve many times over the last few months but, even so, he wasn’t sure they were prepared for what he was about to say. ‘Perhaps we should, as well.’
Caroline smiled. Aubrey judged it a tiny smile, one that could have been called shy, if shy wasn’t such an inappropriate word to describe Caroline Hepworth.
She took his arm and steered him in the opposite direction from the one Sophie and George had taken. ‘Planning for the future is a perfectly sensible thing to do,’ she said after they’d ambled along in silence for a few minutes, past two stone busts and a sundial. ‘I have a university degree to resume, for instance. I need to decide what aspects of scientific classification I’m going to pursue.’
Aubrey found that as well as linking arms, they were delightfully clasping hands. It was an entirely appropriate state of affairs, to his way of thinking. ‘I’d come to the same conclusion. Not about classification – about magical studies.’
‘We have a few years ahead of us, then.’
They reached one of the exits to the maze. The stairs opened out onto the long, western slope of the gardens. From their position, they could see the exquisite arrangement of fountains, paths and ponds that led to the forest in the distance. They stood for a moment, enjoying the formality.
‘And after you’ve taken your degree?’ Aubrey asked eventually.
