subject on which she could lecture her uninformed ancestors.
'There are many women's movements-' she began.
'Are you ruled by this Queen… Victoria?' Elizabeth spoke again.
'Edgar has a poor view of the Queen unfortunately' Eunice said apologetically. 'He knows her personally, you see, and we are distantly related… His position is that we are Irish first and British second, but above all we are
'And the British Empire can go hang if it thinks it can tell him what to do,' Daisy finished for her.
Elizabeth nodded approvingly.
'And what rank will Hugo hold now, in this family?'
Daisy hesitated. They needed to be careful here. It would be very easy to say the wrong thing.
'Let me explain,' Eunice said, smiling. 'There has never been a situation like this… ever. So there are still a lot of matters to be worked out. You can be assured that you are welcome here… but… well, the family has a firm structure and it is governed by some very strict rules. Edgar… the Duke is the Patriarch and will be until his death. He will decide what Hugo's position shall be.'
'And his will is never questioned?' Elizabeth asked innocently.
'By the time one becomes Patriarch,' Eunice told her, 'one will have earned the right to govern. Of course, I'm forgetting – you didn't have the Rules of Ascension in your day, did you?'
'Aunt Eunice…' Daisy said softly.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and shook her head, leaning forward slightly.
'Ah,' said Eunice. 'Then I shall enlighten you, so that you can understand our… special arrangements.'
'Aunt Eunice…'
'It's all right, Daisy dear. I have this well in hand,' Eunice assured her. She sat up straighter and readied herself for her recital. 'Now, Elizabeth, Brunhilde. With the intention of encouraging the qualities of aggression, strength and ambition, the family will sanction the act of assassination of one family member by another, under eight strict conditions – the Rules of Ascension. They are as follows:
'Number One: The Act of Aggression must be committed by the Aggressor himself and not by any agent or servant.
'Number Two: The Act must only be committed against a man over the age of sixteen who holds a superior rank in the family to the Aggressor.
'Number Three: The Act must only be committed for the purpose of advancing one's position and not out of spite, or because of insult or offence given, or to satisfy a need for revenge for an insult or injury given to a third party.
'Number Four: All efforts should be made to avoid the deaths of servants while committing the Act. Good servants are hard to find.
'Number Five: The Target of the Aggression can use any and all means to defend themselves, and is under an obligation to do so for the good of the family.
'Number Six: Retribution against the Aggressor can only be carried out after the Act has been committed. Should the Aggressor fail in his attempt, and subsequently escape to remain at large for a full day, only the Target of the Aggression and no other person will be permitted to take Retribution.
'Number Seven: No Act of Aggression or Retribution must be witnessed or reported by any member of the public. All family matters must be kept confidential.
'Number Eight: Any bodies resulting from the Act must be given a proper burial in a cemetery, crypt, catacomb or funeral pyre approved by the family'
Eunice nodded and sat back, looking pleased with herself. Daisy was covering her face with her hand. Roberto had been made to recite these rules from the age of ten. This family was insane, and she had been mad to marry into it.
'And rank in the family is decided by bloodline?' Elizabeth pressed her tutor.
'Of course,' Eunice said. 'So Roberto is the Heir, as the Duke's eldest remaining son. Then Nathaniel and after him Gideon, as Edgar's eldest remaining brother.'
'I'm curious to know then,' Elizabeth went on, 'why the Duke allowed Hugo to live?'
'Oh, heavens,' Eunice tittered, her bosom quivering with incredulous mirth. 'You've only just come back from the dead – we can't go sending you off again! It's not like your brother's a
Elizabeth gave her a demure smile.
'My brother is just happy to be alive, as are we. We are born again, through some miracle of God, and our efforts will be devoted to praising Him, living worthwhile lives with this new time He has given us, and praying for the awakening of our brother Brutus. You have nothing to fear from us.'
'Of course not, dear,' Eunice sighed, patting the woman's knee.
But Daisy listened to Elizabeth's words with a faint feeling of dread. The woman had been very deliberate in her questioning for somebody who just wanted to live a 'worthwhile life'. They all lapsed into an awkward silence, and as Brunhilde started to shove sugar lumps into her mouth, Eunice suggested they have some more tea.
With everything that had been going on, Nate had neglected his investigation into Marcus's death and he had made up his mind to get to the bottom of it all. There was something about the idea of rebels killing his brother in order to attack his funeral that just didn't ring true. The rebels had never shown that kind of cunning in the past. They tended more towards near-suicidal assaults on public buildings, goods shipments or the occasional army barracks.
The one thing that they all had in common was that they invariably failed – but they had always acted with a rough kind of honour too. There was no honour in blowing up a funeral, and it was bound to cost them much support in a country where the dead were often held in higher regard than the living. If the family really was dealing with the Fenians, then these were a new breed, and Slattery was obviously no closer to tracking down the culprits.
Nate was certain that the answers lay in the Mourne Mountains, where Marcus was supposed to have fallen. He would go and see the spot for himself – climb the same route up the cliff if needs be – and question everyone who was there.
But first he was determined to find out just why his brother had left the mysterious message about finding Babylon. If Marcus had wanted to leave a clue to the truth about his death, he could have provided something more helpful.
Marcus's rooms took up a whole floor of the tower, and since Roberto and Daisy had not asked to move into them, they had not yet been disturbed. Nate had already been up here since the funeral, but if there were any clues to find, so far they had eluded him. He paused before the door into the living room and then opened it hesitantly.
Marcus had style; everything from the carpet to the plasterwork on the ceiling was evidence of his modern but refined tastes. There were numerous artefacts from his travels too: Japanese swords and armour, Chinese fans, Russian furs and even a Mongolian saddle. There was a clutter of alien objects that Nate had always delighted in. He ran his fingers over a buffalo hide from the North American plains that hung on the wall. Marcus had bagged the animal himself – he had been a keen hunter. Nate had always been more fascinated by engimals than flesh- and-blood animals. And there was far more to be gained by capturing them alive.
He had asked Winters to join him. The manservant was being transferred to the service of one of Nate's cousins, but Nate had pulled rank so that the man could help him in his search. There was no dust anywhere; the rooms were still immaculately clean – the servants kept them that way – and yet they felt stale without his brother's presence.
He was surprised to find Marcus's climbing gear had been brought back and placed in its cupboard – it had not come back with the corpse and Warburton had told him it had been destroyed. It was slightly surreal to see all the ropes and bags of pitons hanging up, knowing Marcus had died using them. Nate examined everything carefully. It all looked intact, but he was struck by the fact that the crampons were still attached to the boots. In fact, he wondered why the ill-fated equipment had been brought back at all, seeing that everyone seemed so eager to
