‘I’m not sure what my parents will think.’
Craddock paused. ‘That, of course, is up to you. But I had imagined that you’d sorted it out before going to enlist.’
Aubrey opened and closed his mouth. ‘What do I have to do?’ he said finally.
Craddock opened another desk drawer. ‘Sign here, and here.’
With a feeling that his life would never be the same, he took the pen that Craddock offered and signed.
‘Now the oath.’
As Aubrey repeated the words after Craddock, promising loyalty to the King and to Albion, he had a sudden sense of the vast machinery of war gobbling him up. He hoped that he was gristly enough and tough enough for it to spit him out in one piece.
‘Now.’ Craddock handed him a copy of his enlistment papers. ‘Go home.’
‘Go home?’
‘Every recruit gets forty-eight hours before he has to report.’ Craddock smiled icily. ‘Consider it your first task as part of the military. If you survive talking to your parents, we’ll see you in two days.’
Seven
It wasn’t cowardice that made him slip in a side entrance of Maidstone, Aubrey assured himself. It was simply good tactics. No sense in confronting his mother before his father came home. One scene was better than two.
He stood just inside the door, his back to the wall of the box room. Appetising aromas came from the kitchen, reminding Aubrey that he’d missed lunch. For a moment he considered nipping in and cadging something from cook, but he chose not to press his luck.
He knew the discussion with his parents would be a battle, but he hoped it wouldn’t be a major battle. A skirmish would be preferable, with only light wounds on both sides, but he had his doubts. His parents had plans for him and he was sure that signing up for a clandestine espionage unit wasn’t one of them.
Scholar Tan’s advice came to him: Make choices before your foe makes them for you.
He ticked off the usual decisions facing a battle commander. Site? Well, no choice there. He supposed he could try to catch both his parents on neutral ground, but with the uproar over the declaration of war, he’d be lucky to see his father at all. Timing? Again, that was out of his hands. When his father managed to get home, that would have to do. Weather? Troop numbers? Logistical supply chain? Not terribly relevant. But there was one thing he could look for, one thing that any commander would be grateful for.
Allies.
He stood outside Lady Maria’s door and adjusted his jacket and tie. He pushed his hair back and wished that he’d already had a service haircut; his grandmother would have liked it.
He lifted each foot in turn, rubbing his boots on the back of his trousers, hoping that this would make them shiny enough for her. Finally, he knocked on the door, waited for her invitation, and entered.
Lady Maria looked up, and closed the notebook she’d been writing in. ‘Ah, Aubrey. I thought I’d be seeing you again.’
‘Grandmother.’ He kissed her on the proffered cheek, then busied himself with drawing up a chair. ‘I need to have a word with you. Another word.’
Lady Maria glanced at the letter in her lap. Very deliberately, she folded it and slipped it into the open drawer of the table by her side. ‘Go ahead.’
‘I have something to tell Mother and Father, and I thought I’d talk to you first.’
‘And what is this weighty matter that needs such groundwork?’
‘I’ve joined up.’
‘Good. When?’
Aubrey hesitated. He’d been expecting surprise. Instead, his grandmother had simply taken his bombshell for granted. ‘This morning. Just after I saw you.’
‘Which regiment?’
‘Ah. That’s a little tricky.’
‘Don’t tell me you joined the navy. Ghastly folk, sailors.’
‘No, not the navy. A special section.’
‘Military intelligence, then,’ Lady Maria said dismissively. ‘We can’t have that.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Secret service will do you no good in the long run because it stays secret. The army is the place for you. After you lead your troops successfully and win medals, your future will be assured.’
Aubrey glanced out of the window. Two of the gardeners were trundling out a lawn roller. He’d once heard someone ask Lady Maria how to get a lawn as good as the one at Maidstone. She’d sniffed and explained that it was straightforward: simply sow grass seed, then cut and roll for three hundred years.
‘I hadn’t thought of it like that,’ he said, which was true.
‘Of course not. Now, let me talk to some friends and I’m sure I can make arrangements. The Cliffstone Guards, of course. I’m sure they will be needing some good junior officers.’
Aubrey rubbed his forehead. So he had an ally in the joining up business, but it was like seeing your ally appear on your left flank then, without warning, go galloping off without looking at the battle plan at all. He was sure she could arrange a commission. Her network of friends, acquaintances and people who simply owed her favours had been built up over decades.
It wasn’t what he wanted.
‘Grandmother, I think I might need to explain myself a little better.’
It took some time, and a welcome pot of tea, before Aubrey reached a level of understanding with his grandmother. At first she was insistent, taking her customary stance of knowing best, but Aubrey didn’t give up. He stood firm. He’d never been successful with his grandmother before, and it was like moving a monolith an inch at a time, but he wondered if it wasn’t a sign of his growing up that he didn’t back down.
Finally, Lady Maria fixed him with a look that Aubrey, with some hesitation, decided held a measure of respect. ‘I’ve never seen you like this, Aubrey.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been like this.’ Aubrey was both exhausted and proud of himself. Lady Maria was like a force of nature as far as getting her own way was concerned, and yet he’d stood his ground.
‘Hmm. I’d tell you that you’re reminding me of your father at that age, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear that sort of thing.’
Aubrey rubbed his forehead. ‘How did you feel when he joined up, Grandmother?’
‘It was altogether different. He went into the family regiment. The Guards.’
‘I understand that. But weren’t you afraid?’
‘Of course. But he was doing a good thing.’
‘And so will I.’
Lady Maria was silent for a time. ‘How can I help you?’
Aubrey sat back with relief. ‘I don’t want you to argue my case for me.’
‘Of course not. That would be rather contradictory, since you’re making a point about your self-determination.’ Lady Maria was nothing if not shrewd.
‘You’ve done what you can, Grandmother. Just talking to you has helped.’
‘A rehearsal, you mean.’ She tapped a finger on the arm of her chair.
‘If you’re able, a word or two after I’ve spoken with them may be useful. They may need someone to talk to.’
‘I’m sure I can contrive a chat with them,’ Lady Maria said. ‘And I’m sure the times when your father took it into his head to go his own way will come up.’
Aubrey’s ears pricked up. ‘Such as?’
‘Another time, dear.’ She paused. ‘Is that him now?’
Aubrey swivelled. A motorcar had just drawn up out the front of Maidstone. For someone so old, his grandmother had very fine hearing. He jumped to his feet and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’