Word of Honour

'And the Rashid Stone, don't forget,' Aubrey said.

'So Dr Tremaine planned to get all this gold out of here, through the tunnels and down to the docks? Incredible.' George shook his head. 'What an outcry that would make.'

'Outcry?' Aubrey said. 'It certainly would. Scandal, uproar, outrage. Messy, but not crippling.'

'Not crippling?' Caroline said. 'All this gold vanishing?'

'Probably not. The empire could cope. It might even unite the country, especially since it could be seen as a direct insult to the King, his not being able to complete one of our traditions.'Aubrey picked up one of the sovereigns.

He'd been expecting the weight of it, but it still took him by surprise. It was unexpectedly warm, too, quite unlike holding a similar silver or copper coin.

He hefted the coin and then replaced it in the chest.

'I wonder,' he said, then he paused.

'That's quite dramatic enough a pause,' Caroline said, tapping her foot. 'Finish your sentence.'

He swept a hand over the stacks of gold. 'I wonder if this is gold at all.'

Silence.

'If it's not gold,' George said eventually, 'it's a very convincing substitute.'

'Exactly. Surely you've heard of fairy gold?'

'Fairy gold?' Caroline said. 'It's a fairy story.'

'It's an example of life imitating art,' Aubrey said, slipping into his instructional mode. 'The Holmlanders, especially, have been fascinated by magic stories for children, handed down over the generations. Some of their researchers have been studying these stories to see if there are any truths to be found. A few years ago, Professor Esselbach in Vessenheim managed to establish a spell that – for all intents and purposes – mimicked that of fairy gold.'

'What?' George said. 'Something that looks like gold, but vanishes in the bearer's pocket?'

'Esselbach drew on the Law of Similarity and the Law of Permanence. His gold looked like gold, felt like gold, but after a pre-determined period of time, it evaporated and left nothing behind.'

'Nice party trick,' George said.

'With some practical applications I can think of,' Caroline said.

'Imagine what would happen to the economy of Albion,' Aubrey said, 'if fairy gold was distributed throughout the land. Especially after the King had laid his hands on it.'

George's eyes widened. 'I wouldn't like to be the shopkeeper who opened his till to find his sovereigns gone.'

'It's more than that,' Caroline said slowly. 'Once suspicions are roused about the genuineness of the currency, it could cause financial instability. A run on the banks, at the very least, I'd say.'

'Lovely mischief-making for an enemy power,' Aubrey said. 'It would slow down our economy dreadfully. Much more than a simple theft of bullion.'

George slapped his pry bar in his palm. 'And it'd put a brake on our armament program. Especially our shipbuilding.'

'And if Dr Tremaine could somehow get the real gold into the hold of the Imperator, it would be a double win for Holmland.' Aubrey chewed his lip. With Dr Tremaine's penchant for plots within plots, he wouldn't be surprised if some of the gold went missing on its way to the docks. Dr Tremaine had never been known for frugal living.

'And is it fairy gold?' George asked. 'How can you tell?'

'That's the point,' Aubrey said. 'You can't.' He scooped up some sovereigns and poured them from hand to hand. 'Without magic.'

Caroline crossed her arms. 'Go to it, then.'

Aubrey dropped all the sovereigns but one. He held it close, examining its inscription, the portrait of the King, the slightly grainy sheen of gold. He flipped it and it spun, catching the gaslight. Deftly, he caught it in his palm and covered it with his other hand.

He closed his eyes and extended his magical awareness.

There, he thought. A faint, tell-tale quality that spoke of a magical rather than a natural origin. It was like a hint of a scent, a tickling greenish smell with the distinctive, veiled signature of the enemy.

He opened his eyes. 'It's not real. And it was conjured up by Dr Tremaine.'

Caroline glanced at the gold with some disappointment. ' Oh.'

'What is it?'

'What would be worse than fairy gold crippling our economy?'

'Worse?' George said. 'Dashed hard to think of anything worse, old girl.'

Caroline shot George a look. 'Old girl?'

'Sorry,' he said. 'Don't know what got into me.

Caroline, I meant to say.'

'Thank you. Where was I?'

'Worse than a crippled economy,' Aubrey said.

'Thank you, Aubrey.'

'I hang on your every word.'

She shot him a look as well, but continued. 'The bank always waits for the King's ceremony before undertaking certain customary transactions. It's tradition.'

'It does? How do you know this?'

'Norman Hood. The chief governor was a friend of my father's. He made sure Sir Norman gave me a number of lessons in the functions of the bank.'

'So you're talking about annual transactions? Annual transactions that would require moving around a lot of gold?' Aubrey's heart sank as he anticipated Caroline's next words.

'Settling international debt, in particular. Traditionally, Albion has waited until after the King's blessing before shipping gold off to any nation we owe money to.'

Suddenly, Aubrey realised, a potentially enormous problem had just become even larger.

'I see why you're upset,' George said. 'It'd be a nice way to offend any potential allies, wouldn't it? Offering stacks of gold to settle a debt only to find out some time later that it melted away.'

Aubrey knew that every nation on the globe was scrambling to cement friendships in this precarious world. With every indication that a war was imminent, allies were vital. If Albion was seen as untrustworthy or – even worse – duplicitous, it could find itself alone in a hostile international landscape.

He raked back his hair with both hands. 'Well, it looks as if we've managed to prevent this, at any rate. Should we go upstairs and raise the alarm?'

Caroline gave him a look of approval and he vowed to do his best to earn more of them.

He was about to offer her his arm when George cleared his throat. 'Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I've just been thinking about these magic suppressor thingies.'

'Thingies?' Deep inside, a misgiving or two woke, as if they'd heard their name being called.

'Well, they must have been working when they were first installed. You saw the units in the main banking chamber in action, didn't you?'

'They worked perfectly.' Aubrey winced. His misgivings were now rampaging around inside his stomach. 'And the governors would have insisted on testing these units, especially after the failed break-in.' He bounced over to the nearest suppressor, frowning, and ran his fingers over it, peering at its flat black surface. 'So if anyone was going to do anything magical in here – such as replacing the Old Man of Albion and creating a mountain of fairy gold – these suppressors must be able to be shut off at a distance. Radio, perhaps?'