for living. He just wanted what everyone else had and took for granted, and he'd never known.
Now he'd found someone, or she'd found him, and he wouldn't give her up. He couldn't. She was all he had. Except for James's friendship. Medley beat softly on the arm of his chair with his fist. James had believed in him, made him his right-hand man and his friend, trusted him above all others. And now here he was, selfishly keeping a secret that could destroy James's campaign if word ever got out.
But he had to do it. James would never understand. Of all the women he could have fallen in love with, it had to be <em>her</em>; except, of course, he'd had no choice in the matter. It had just; happened. Medley had always thought that falling in love, when it finally happened, would be gentle and romantic. In fact, it was more like being mugged. Overnight, his whole life had changed.
Medley sat quietly while his mind worked frantically, turning desperately this way and that, searching for a way out of the trap he'd built for himself. There was no way out. Sooner or later he was going to have to choose between his friend and his love, and he didn't know what would happen then. He couldn't give up either of them. They were the two sides of his nature. And they were tearing him apart.
'More and more, this reminds me of the Blackstone case,' said Fisher. 'Something nasty's going to happen. We can all feel it in the air, and there's nothing we can do about it.'
'At least then we had a handful of suspects to choose among,' said Hawk. 'Now we're stuck with two: the man's wife and his best friend. And the only skeleton in the cupboard we've been able to find is that Medley <em>might</em> be seeing a Conservative girlfriend on the quiet. Hardly a burning motive for murder and betrayal, is it?'
'Don't look at me,' said Fisher. 'You're the brains in this partnership; I just take care of the rough stuff. Conspiracies make my head hurt.'
'Right.' Hawk scowled. 'There's still the butler, Villiers. Maybe he knows something. Servants always know things.'
Fisher smiled sourly. 'Whether he's prepared to talk to us about it is a different matter. If you ask me, Villiers is one of the old school;faithful unto death and beyond, if necessary. We'll be lucky to get the time of day out of him.'
Hawk looked at her. 'That's great. Think positively, why don't you?'
They both fell silent as the door swung open and Villiers came in. He bowed politely to the two Guards, shut the door firmly behind him, and then stood to attention, waiting to hear what was required of him. His poker- straight back and patient, dour expression gave him a solid dignity that was only partly undermined by the fluffy white tufts of hair that blossomed above his ears, in contrast to his resolutely bald head. He had dressed with exquisite care, and wouldn't have looked out of place in a Lord's mansion.
So what was he doing, working for a champion of the common people?
'Take a seat,' said Hawk.
Villiers shook his head slightly but definitely. 'I'd rather not, sir.'
'Why not?' said Fisher.
'It's not my place,' said Villiers, 'ma'am.' He added the last word just a little too late.
'How long have you been James Adamant's butler?' said Hawk quickly.
'Nine years, sir. Before that I was butler to his father. The Villiers family has served the Adamant family for three generations.'
'Even during the bad times, when they lost everything?'
'Every family knows disappointments from time to time.'
'How do you feel about Adamant's politics?' said Fisher.
'It's not my place to say, ma'am. My duty is to Master Adamant, and the Villiers have always known their duty.'
'How do you get on with Mrs. Adamant?' said Hawk.
'An excellent young lady, from a fine background. A strong support to Master Adamant. Her health has been a little delicate of late, but she had never allowed that to interfere with her duties to her husband and the household. Mrs. Adamant is a very determined young lady.'
'What's wrong with her health?' said Fisher.
'I really couldn't say, ma'am.'
'How do you feel about Stefan Medley?' said Hawk.
'Master Medley seems quite competent in his work, sir.'
'How about his private life?'
Villiers drew himself up slightly. 'None of my business, sir,' he said firmly. 'I do not hold with gossip, and I do not encourage it below stairs.'
'Thank you, Villiers,' said Hawk. 'That will be all.'
'Thank you, sir.' Villiers bowed formally to Hawk, nodded politely to Fisher, and left, closing the door softly behind him.
'I never met a butler yet who wouldn't be improved by a swift kick up the behind,' said Hawk.
'Right,' said Fisher. 'Snobs, the lot of them. Even if he did know anything, he wouldn't tell the likes of us. It wouldn't be proper.'
'Maybe there's nothing to tell,' said Hawk. 'Maybe there is no traitor, and this is all part of an elaborate smear job by the Conservatives to rattle Adamant and undermine his confidence.'
Fisher groaned. 'My head hurts.'
'Stick with it,' said Hawk. 'The answer's here somewhere, if we just dig deep enough. Those blood-creatures were real enough. I'm damned if I'll let Adamant die the way Blackstone did. I'll keep Adamant alive, even if I have to kill all his enemies personally.'
'Now you're talking,' said Fisher.
All the day's talk and planning hadn't prepared Hawk and Fisher for the reality of life on the campaign trail. Adamant set out while the day was still young, taking with him Medley and Dannielle, Hawk and Fisher, and a small army of followers, mercenaries, and speech-writers. Hawk felt a little insulted by the presence of the mercenaries; it seemed to imply that Adamant felt Hawk and Fisher weren't enough to ensure his safety. But once Adamant and his party ventured into the streets, the crowds quickly grew so thick and so vociferous that only the mercenaries kept him from being mobbed. Hawk and Fisher contented themselves with walking on either side of Adamant and glaring at anyone who got too close.
The morning passed in a blur of streets and crowds and speeches. Adamant went from hall to hall, from meeting place to open gatherings, delivering endless speeches, raising the crowds to fever pitch and leaving them with a burning intent to vote Reform, which would hopefully last until polling time later that evening. Adamant's followers spread coins around to anyone with enough wit to stick out an empty palm, and the free booze flowed like water. The speech-writers busied themselves with constant rewrites to suit specific areas, often thrusting hastily scrawled extra lines into Adamant's hands only moments before he was due to make his speech. Somehow he always managed to learn them in time and deliver the lines as though he'd only just thought of them. Hawk was impressed. And yet for all the carefully crafted speeches and crowd-handling, the one thing that stood out whenever Adamant spoke was his sincerity, and the crowds recognized it. He believed in his Cause, and he made the crowds believe.
Down on Eel Street they found a landlord dictating how his tenants should vote, on pain of eviction. Adamant did a half-hour speech on the evils of oppression and the virtues of the secret ballot, and Fisher punched the landlord in the mouth. Not far away, in Baker Street, Hardcastle had planted a sorcerously altered double of Adamant to make damaging claims and speeches. Unfortunately for him, he grew too enamored of the sound of his own voice and didn't get out of the area fast enough. Adamant's mercenaries took care of the double's protectors, and Hawk and Fisher caught up with him before he managed a dozen yards. Adamant made a blockbuster speech on the need to outlaw dirty tricks in politics, and Hawk and Fisher took turns ducking the double in a horse-trough until he admitted who hired him.
A bunch of rather shabbily dressed men began following Adamant and his people from location to location. They shouted impertinent questions and generally made a nuisance of themselves, but Adamant let them get away with it. Hawk and Fisher began to grow a little annoyed with them. Medley spotted the danger signs.
'They're reporters,' he said quickly. 'Please don't break them.'
'We don't hit everyone we don't like,' said Fisher.
