Heart of Gold

He snapped out the cancellation spell and the tower dropped like a stone.

His stomach tried to claw its way up his throat. Aubrey gritted his teeth and when he saw the ground rushing up he gasped out a partial reversal. With a crash that shook the walls, their plunge stopped and all three were thrown to the floor, again. Aubrey dragged himself up and was relieved to see that he'd stopped the tower's descent just before it ploughed into the ground. He realised he couldn't leave the tower floating as it would drift off in the direction of the Heart of Gold, so he ran through a more careful reversal spell. This time the tower settled softly onto the earth, with hardly a protest.

Aubrey was first out of the tower. He dropped onto the grass a few yards from the frightened couple.

With terrifying speed, the boar whirled to confront him and Aubrey found himself wondering how it managed on such tiny feet. It snorted a challenge and shook its tusks. He stared at its mad, red eyes and a knot of fear grew in his throat and refused to be swallowed away.

Coming to the rescue had seemed like a good idea, but as he stood there, empty-handed and feeling distinctly vulnerable, he realised he should perhaps have planned his intervention rather more carefully.

The boar was almost as tall as he was, a slab of muscle and rage on the verge of charging. Great, snorting breaths rasped from its snout. He remembered reading stories of medieval boar hunts, and how he'd always been saddened by the poor hounds, gutted by the rampaging swine. Backing off, he decided he'd rather not share that fate.

A yell jerked the boar's attention away. George plummeted from the tower, bellowing a war-cry and flourishing a long spear. He landed clumsily, but straightened and poked at the boar's rump. It squealed, angrily, then swung to face him. Seeing the spear, it backed away, grunting and huffing.

'It's going to charge,' Aubrey cried as the creature tried to slip to one side of George's weapon.

George was grim but calm. He jabbed his spear. 'Don't think so, old man.'

With a whisper, Caroline landed on the grass and was immediately in a fighting pose – on one knee, butt of her spear jammed into the ground. A moment later, when she was sure the boar wasn't charging her, she stood shoulder to shoulder with George. They presented a formidable defence. Aubrey noted that, once again, she'd discarded her clumsy garments and wore the sensible – and rather fetching – black fighting outfit.

Aubrey felt a little left out as the boar swayed from one side to the other, trying to get past the weapons. He patted the pockets of his jacket and felt a hard lump. Hardly thinking, he pulled it out and threw it at the boar.

His aim was good. It struck the boar just over one eye. It squealed, clearly not hurt, but disconcerted nonetheless. It feinted a charge, then – looking almost offended – galloped off toward the woods.

Aubrey sighed, then stared at his friends. 'You saw off a vicious wild boar with a pair of curtain rods?'

George shrugged. 'Well, if I'm not mistaken, you just saw off a vicious wild boar by lobbing a brass door knob at it.'

It was Aubrey's turn to shrug. 'It was all I had.'

George slung the curtain rod over his shoulder. 'Well, give me more warning next time and I'll make sure I have a blunderbuss.'

Caroline twirled her rod around and tapped it on the ground. She was smiling. 'Improvisation is the key. Isn't that what you say, Aubrey?'

'I'm glad you chose to model yourselves on me,' he said gravely. 'A wise decision.'

The woman behind the park bench lowered her umbrella. 'Ah, it's good to see that things have thawed between you two, at last.'

'Mother,' Caroline said. 'What are you doing here?'

Ophelia Hepworth smiled at her daughter, then at the man beside her. He was small and neat, with a pointed grey beard, and even though he had clasped his hands, they were trembling. 'Obviously, my dear, Alphonse and I are trying to avoid being savaged by a wild boar. And now we have, I think he has something to tell you.'

Aubrey blinked as he recognised the document merchant. 'Monsieur Caron.'

Monsieur Caron rubbed his forehead, then studied the magic tower for a moment. 'Things have become much stranger than I'd anticipated,' he said in a faltering voice. Then he glanced at Mrs Hepworth. She nodded; he straightened and addressed Aubrey. 'I was meeting a group of Marchmainers, Mr Fitzwilliam. I was going to sell them the letters they – and you – were after.'

'And why didn't you?'

'One of them changed into that wild boar. It attacked us. They ran off. A motorcar was waiting for them.'

'They had the Heart of Gold.'

'Oh, yes. I'd know it anywhere.'

ONCE THE TOWER WAS ALOFT WITH ITS TWO NEW PASSENGERS, Aubrey stood with George at the ground-floor window and urged it onwards. Rivulets of dust trickled from above as the tower began to move faster.

Monsieur Caron stood with Mrs Hepworth and Caroline, near the staircase. His face was pale. 'Where are we going? What is happening?'

'Gallia is falling apart, Monsieur Caron,' Aubrey said, without turning from the window. 'We're doing our best to stop it. Are you?'

'Falling apart? But . . .'

'I don't think we have much time.' A sharp cracking sound came from one of the upper storeys. Monsieur Caron flinched. 'Tell us what you know, if you would.'

'Alphonse is not a bad man,' Mrs Hepworth said. 'Greed does tend to have a hold on him, however. When I heard that he had disappeared, I knew he was in trouble. I sought him out to see if I could help. He suggested a walk in the park and here we are.' She favoured Caron with a disapproving look.

'How do you know him, Mother?' Caroline asked.

'Oh, Alphonse used to be a painter. He's an old friend. Aren't you, Alphonse?'

'Yes. And I am a proud Gallian,' Monsieur Caron said. 'Whatever else, do not forget that. I will defend the republic.'

Aubrey had the distinct impression that Caron's nervousness was not simply caused by the strange surroundings. He wondered how far apart a document merchant and a blackmailer were. After all, the correspondence of the famous must contain some very interesting information.' Let me know if anything untoward appears,' Aubrey said to George.

'Shall do, old man.'

Aubrey left the window and went to the others. 'Now, Monsieur Caron. You say you are a loyal Gallian.'

'I am.' Caron's voice was firm, but his hands would not keep still. He adjusted his tie, then he stroked his beard, then he adjusted his tie again.

'And yet you were prepared to help Gallia collapse by selling crucial correspondence to the Marchmainers.'

'What? They are simply old letters. Nothing important.' The tower jerked sideways. Aubrey steadied himself by gripping the iron balustrade. Caroline and her mother both swayed with the movement, but Monsieur Caron stumbled backward a few steps before catching himself. 'This ridiculous place is what is falling apart,' he said. 'I demand that you take us back.'