Word of Honour

'Not all Holmlanders support the Chancellor and his government,' Manfred said. 'The Circle is a secret group of those against him. Powerful people. Influential people. Come, meet them, you will see for yourself that there is a chance to topple the Chancellor and stop this madness.'

It was appealing. Aubrey had never been to Holmland and he was all in favour of forestalling a war.

'I don't think so,' Craddock said before Aubrey could respond. 'The Prime Minister's son on a clandestine mission to talk to chief opponents of the Chancellor's government? The relations between our two countries is much too delicate for that.'

'I beg you to reconsider, Craddock,' Manfred said. 'It could be important.'

'Perhaps. We will monitor the situation.'

Manfred bowed. 'I hope we can facilitate this. It may be vital.' He adjusted his gloves. 'One more thing, Craddock. Count Brandt needs twenty thousand pounds. He has a chance to sow serious dissent in Fisherberg and we can't miss it.'

Aubrey had trouble believing what he heard. Twenty thousand pounds?

'It shouldn't be a problem,' Craddock said and Aubrey's astonishment was redoubled. Twenty thousand pounds, just like that? 'See me at Darnleigh House tomorrow.'

Manfred left. Aubrey felt as if he were a shop assistant and he'd been handed another sale item to fit into an already crowded window display. He stood, hesitated, glanced at Caroline, then hesitated again. She nodded, very slightly, and he knew they were partners in intrigue.

'Yes?' Craddock said. 'Is there something else?'

'No, no. Just trying to make sense of everything.'

Craddock laughed a little. It was a quiet, almost noiseless, laugh, mostly in the intake of breath. Aubrey couldn't imagine the man putting his heart into a laugh. 'If you can make sense of everything, let me know. It's a grand aim.'

Aubrey paused, then decided that giving Craddock something might deflect the man's natural suspicions. 'Bloch mentioned that Dr Tremaine is advising the Chancellor now.'

'Bloch mentioned this, did he?' Craddock nodded. 'Of course, it's something we've known for a while, but it's useful to hear it from another source. Well done.'

He nodded to Caroline, then left, and Aubrey felt guilty at not telling him everything, but also irritated that Craddock hadn't shared his information about Dr Tremaine with him.

'Can I walk you home?' he said to Caroline.

'Why didn't you tell him what Bloch said about Dr Tremaine's plot?'

'I was just wondering that myself.' Aubrey shrugged. 'I thought we could investigate a bit more, first. Clear things up.'

'Good. That's what I thought too.'

'We're holding a live grenade here,' Aubrey said. 'This information could be vital.'

'I know. Let's not drop it.'

ONCE THEY WERE AWAY FROM THE VICINITY OF THE attack, Aubrey saw that the streets were themselves again. In the north, toward the river, was the great brewery of Rawlinson and Sons. A soupy, yeasty smell hung over the whole neighbourhood. Various industrial yards were strung out, silent in the darkness. A derelict pumping station stood forlornly outlined against the night sky.

Aubrey thought of catching the underground, but the stations were few and far between south of the river. Instead he and Caroline walked, side by side, silently for a time, making their way towards Earlchester Bridge.

'You want to catch Dr Tremaine by yourself, don't you?' Caroline said. They were passing an old cable car terminus. Aubrey wondered if they would ever rebuild it.

'I'm not the only one, I'm sure. But I'd like to be the successful one.'

'I don't suppose I could interest you in something else? Something perhaps more immediate?'

'Ah. You've been withholding information from Craddock, too?'

'I made myself useful while you were busy. I talked to people.'

'Information gathering. Commander Tallis would be pleased.' He looked sharply at her. 'You didn't tell Craddock what you found because you're going to tell Tallis, is that it?'

'I haven't told anyone yet. I'm about to tell you. Then we'll see what we'll do.'

'Excellent.'

'I wasn't just gossiping. We had injured among the Holmlanders who hadn't left the area. I helped your Dr Wells, from the Broad Street Clinic, tend to them, and assisted those who seemed to know what they were doing. A number of the Holmlanders were doctors, you know, and one was a surgeon.'

Aubrey nodded. 'I thought they seemed well-educated.'

'I did notice one young woman who wasn't doing anything. She was on the edges of the crowd, observing, it seemed.'

'Holmlander?'

'Oh yes. A Holmlander suffragist – apparently a very difficult thing to be. After some prompting, she was quite scornful of Brandt's people.'

'Brandt's people aren't her people?'

'What she told me supports Manfred's story. Brandt's group is only one of several Holmland ex-patriate communities in Trinovant. Not all of them are friendly toward each other.'

'Why should they be?'

'It's not just unfriendliness. My suffragist friend was downright suspicious of Brandt's group. Too aristocratic, she said. Couldn't understand what they were doing here.'

'Things move quickly in politics. People fall out of favour. Alliances shift.'

'But my informant was adamant that Count Brandt is great friends with the Elektor's younger brother. They hunted together, and my young friend worked in the kitchens and as a serving maid. She said they were thick as thieves.'

'So why did Brandt leave the country?' Aubrey wondered. Then he remembered something. 'And last night . . . he was on his way to see Spinetti, you said.'

'What does that mean?'

'It could mean the Holmlanders simply enjoy his singing. Or it could mean something much more sinister, if Spinetti is Dr Tremaine.'

'But how does this explain the attack today?'

Aubrey shrugged. 'It doesn't. But once I apprehend Dr Tremaine, then his web will be revealed.'

'I see. As easy as that?'

Aubrey stopped. They'd reached the bridge. Traffic clattered across it, while a steam barge chuffed its way underneath, smoke easing its way from under the vaults. 'Apprehending Dr Tremaine easy? I don't think so.'

'Then why are you so determined to do it? And do it alone?'

Because the greatest magician of our time might have the answer to my condition.

'Does it have something to do with your condition?' Caroline said suddenly.

Aubrey was glad no-one appeared and poked him with a feather, for he would have toppled like a sawn-off tree. 'What?' he said weakly.

She looked at him solemnly, as if she were enquiring about a cold. She held her bag in both hands. 'Your condition. Your soul. Your self-inflicted half-life. What is your current state?'

'You know?' He gathered himself and immediately headed off a protest. 'Of course you know. You're not stupid.'