Regent gave every indication of being a decent, genial, charming sort, but I was determined not to be taken in by appearances. There had to be some good reason why my family would never talk about the man. And then the Regent took a sip of his tea, grimaced at the heat, poured some of his tea into his saucer and sipped the cooled tea from the saucer.
I sat very still as a sudden chill seized my heart and my soul.
The Regent looked at me over his tilted saucer and smiled easily at me. I m glad you ve come to see me at last, Eddie. It s been such a long time since I last saw you.
Molly looked quickly from the Regent to me, saw I wasn t going to say anything, and looked back at the Regent. You know Eddie?
Of course. Though it has been many years
We ve met before, I said. It was a statement of fact, not a question. It was hard to speak. My lips, my face were numb with something like shock.
Of course we have, Eddie, said the Regent. His voice was calm and kind. I am your grandfather Arthur. Martha Drood s first husband.
Molly was up on her feet in a moment, putting herself bodily between me and the Regent.
Cut the crap! Eddie s grandfather is dead! Everyone knows that! I don t know what you re up to here, but I won t let you hurt him. I ll kill you first!
And then she stopped, because the Regent was smiling proudly at her. I really am who I say I am, Molly Metcalf. And I would die before I let any harm come to my grandson here. I have to say, Eddie, I m glad to see you have such a protective girlfriend.
I rose slowly to my feet to face the Regent. Molly stepped reluctantly back to hover at my side, scowling unhappily, so the Regent and I could stand face-to-face.
They told me you were dead, I said. Everyone in the family said you were dead, killed in the Kiev Conspiracy back in 1957.
Well, they would, said the Regent. There is a reason why the family doesn t talk about me. I went rogue, Eddie, because I stood up and said I no longer believed in how the family did things. I wanted to make the Droods over, into a better and more ethical organisation. More involved in protecting people than ruling them. I really thought Martha would stand by me, right up to the moment when she didn t. We d been so close, after all, for so many years ran so many missions together, back when we were both Drood field agents. But once she was made Matriarch, we both had no choice but to return to the Hall and our duties. I did my best to take on the burden of day-to-day decision making, keeping the pressure off her shoulders so she could concentrate on the things that mattered. Dictating policy, directing the family, guarding Humanity from all the things that threaten it. And the work just ground us down and drove us apart. We never seemed to have time for each other after that.
We did talk about my growing doubts over how the family operated; it s hard to overlook all the dirty business the family gets up to when you re running things but her answer was always, What else is there? We have a duty, she said, to stick to what we know works. When the time came when I just couldn t stand it any longer, because we d lost our only daughter and her husband in the field over stupid mistakes that should never have happened then I called an emergency meeting of the council and I stood up in front of all of them and said, No more! And Martha looked me right in the eye and ordered me to either sit down and shut up or get out. It was either complete and unswerving loyalty to her and the family or nothing. Her way or the highway I think I like to think that she was actually shocked when I said I d leave. That the Droods had become something I was ashamed to be a part of.
Martha never thought I d really leave, because that would mean turning my back on her as well as the family. But I no longer recognised her. She wasn t the woman I d loved and married anymore. She had to fight to be allowed to marry me, you know; had to go head-to-head with the previous Matriarch. Because she and I were second cousins. The family s always had a horror of inbreeding.
So, I left, or was driven out, depending on how you look at it. A rogue Drood. I became the Regent of Shadows, to put my beliefs into practice. An organisation of shadow agents, more concerned with amassing useful information than meddling in people s lives. I adopted an impressive-sounding title because I didn t want anyone to know I d been a Drood, and because titles make people take you more seriously. To begin with, I made a point of recruiting people like myself, thrown out of other secret organisations for being wild cards, and I had a surprisingly high success rate with my choices.
I discovered later that Martha wanted the rest of the family told I was dead rather than admit to the shame that her own husband would rather leave the Droods than admit she was right. She always was very single-minded. I went along. It wasn t like I had any intention of ever going back, you see. It never even occurred to me that the leopards could change their golden spots. A lack of vision on my part, or perhaps my pride was hurt. When I learned how much you d changed the Droods, Eddie, how much you achieved and how quickly, I couldn t believe it.
Only the higher-ups in the family knew the truth about me, and they set out to rewrite Drood family history. I was written out, declared dead in 1957 don t ask me why that date in particular and all my triumphs and victories were given over to others. Not that I gave a damn
How could they just forget you? said Molly.
The Heart, I said. The Matriarch had the Heart rework people s memories through their torcs. Right?
All the lower orders, yes, said the Regent.
Martha let the higher-ups remember. As an object lesson.
And that s why Martha always said, We don t talk about him! said Molly.
Because if they did, they might start remembering, now the Heart is gone, said the Regent.
I remembered, I said. Perhaps because the Heart s gone and the Hall s gone but I remembered meeting you that one time, when I was small. Watching you drink tea from your saucer
A bad habit, the Regent said solemnly. Don t do it in polite company. People stare at you. He stopped smiling, his eyes suddenly cold and faraway. Even after you changed everything, Eddie Martha still couldn t bring herself to call me home. Perhaps because she d remarried, perhaps because that would have meant she d have to admit she d been wrong all along.
Hold it, said Molly. I was thankful she was keeping up our end of the conversation; I was still finding it difficult to say anything. Molly stepped forward and fixed the Regent with a cold glare. Martha was married to Alistair. So you must have divorced at some point.
Of course, said the Regent. Martha did it the day she kicked me out. The Matriarch was in charge of everything in those days. Weddings have always been big celebrations in the family; divorces and separations, less so. We re Droods. We don t like to admit we can get it wrong. What was Alistair like? I never met the man. I ve read all the files, of course, but it s not the same.
Weak, Molly said bluntly. He was weak.
But he stood up to be counted when it mattered, I said. He put his life on the line to defend Martha. Later he was killed and replaced by an Immortal. I killed the Immortal.
I m glad Martha found someone worthy of her, said the Regent. I never found anyone that could replace her. Thank you for avenging him, Eddie.
He stood up and came out from behind his desk. I stood up, though my legs were trembling. He came forward and embraced me and I held him tightly, as though afraid someone might try to take him away from me again. We held on to each other for a long while, while Molly stood to one side, looking on coldly. The Regent and I finally let go, stepped back and looked at each other.
Grandfather, I said. No wonder this place you made reminds me so much of home.
And look at you, Eddie. All grown up. My boys James and Jack sent me photos of you, and files later on, when they could. They had to keep that secret, of course. Martha could never know. Or perhaps she did and just told herself she didn t. She was always a great one for compartmentalising. Once you came here to be a field agent in London, I kept an eye on you. From a safe distance. Watched your back as much as I dared. You ve achieved so much. I have always been so very proud of you, Eddie.
Then why didn t you come back! I couldn t keep all the anger out of my voice. After I destroyed the Heart and overthrew the Matriarch
I had responsibilities here, said the Regent. I still found it easier to think of him that way. He met my gaze steadily. I had my organisation, all my shadow agents, to consider, and I d built a new life here. A new family. I couldn t just walk out on them, could I? I wasn t even a proper Drood anymore. Martha couldn t take my torc from
