Chapter 11 — English Bed & Breakfast
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~ 1 ~ She found Ricardo hovering over an ancient manuscript with Lily Su. Rhoda slipped in quietly behind them, in a scholars’ room of Reginald Steuben’s Institute for Early Manuscripts, and looked down over Lily Su’s small, slender shoulder. "Oh, it’s Homer. May I, Dr. Su?" Ignoring the lady’s scowl, Rhoda ran her fingertips lightly over the page’s surface. Then she gently lifted up the ancient manuscript of the Iliad and read the page aloud.
The magic of Rhoda’s compelling voice seemed, to Lily Su, to conjure up the Vision which she beheld, of Odysseus proposing the crafty device of the Trojan Horse to his fellow Greeks. She watched Rhoda, after she had finished reading the passage, bring the book near to her nose. Rhoda smelled several different parts of it and then set it down, informing them that, ”This copy of Homer’s Iliad was made by a monk, in about the year 700 AD, from an older Greek copy which had been made at about the time of Aristotle and Alexander the Great. Ricardo, I have a Strand of the monk's Living Memory; you can fathom his mind better than I can, because you had begun to follow his profession before I rescued you.” She lay her hands on Ricardo’s head, kissing his forehead.
Lily Su had never before seen Rhoda impart a Living Memory, but Fr. Sigurd had once told her that he had received a Strand of Living Memory through Fraulein Ottilie’s hands. Lily’s own reading of the manuscript as a Thing Living was consistent with the documentation which had come with it from Russia: “…This manuscript is believed to be a copy made in Ireland between 500 and 1000 AD from an unknown Greek manuscript.”
The three people in the room were silent for a few moments. “It was copied by an English monk named Ceolfrid,” said Ricardo. “He had obtained the ancient manuscript from a Byzantine merchant in exchange for the schooling the merchant’s son in Latin. Dr. Su, it’s unfortunate that our investigative methods don’t carry any weight with modern scholars."
Rhoda drew him into a quick hug, then broke the news of her imminent departure for England. “Honey, this is what’s happening: Daddy and Isabel, along with Martha, Elise Handke and Mr. Quinn from England, have been working together investigating those two little heirloom wooden caskets belonging to Leo and Isabel. They’ve discovered that the two caskets combine to form one Device of two Arms, and the Device has a direct relationship with the Son’s House in England. Ottilie’s record of her visit to the Son’s House indicates that she learned it’s not the Haldanes in that painting in the master bedroom. The painting actually depicts the Lord and Lady Sheldrake, who were Guild heads. Ottilie doesn’t say anything about the wooden caskets that the Sheldrakes bequeathed to their descendants.”
“Miss Knox, what is all of this about?”
Rhoda smiled at Lily Su and explained: “Daddy and the others have used a review of old documents, along with reliable Goth investigative techniques like those that Ricardo and I have just now demonstrated, to determine that Leo and Isabel have a possible claim to ownership of the Son’s House in England. Their claim is based on an inheritance which each of them has received from the Sheldrake branch of their families: a small, oddly-designed sealed wooden casket. Isabel received hers from her mother, who had received it from her mother, and so on, back to the Sheldrakes. Leo inherited his from his father, who had received it from his father, and so on back to the Sheldrakes, also.”
“Miss Knox, Lisa has told me that no one knows why the Guild has a continuing interest in the Son’s House. She was unaware of the tour that my husband and I had, at the Guild’s request, taken of the Son’s House after the War. The master bedroom had been off limits then. The Guild people with whom we were touring told us about the Guild’s interest in the Son’s House.”
“Well, the War Thing knows now, Dr. Su, that there’s an original document in Thiuderieks's own hand in a secure Goth safe hidden behind that painting. Ottilie discovered the existence of the safe, but not the identity of the Goth document that it contains. Maybe the document will tell us where we can find Thiuderieks and waken him from his long slumber, or maybe it contains specific Design information for the Soma. Maybe it’s the missing First Histories. Or maybe it’s all of these things.”
“I think it’s more likely to be none of those things—something entirely different and of little interest.” Lily Su shook her head dismissively.
Rhoda smiled fondly at her. “We’ve learned more, Dr. Su. Last night a courier brought me a document which had been enclosed within the Niche of the heirloom Devices. It’s an authentic legal document from the early days of Henry VIII. Through this document, Leo and Isabel are established not as inheritors of the Son’s House, but as the inheritors of the First Histories. The document contains instructions for opening the Goth safe, in which is hidden an unidentified Goth document written by Thiuderieks. I’m sure that whatever is in the safe will be important to the War Thing.”
“Is ownership of the First Histories of value?”
“Oh, yes! Ownership bestows the gift of understanding its Green passages.”
“Or, Miss Knox, it bestows upon the over-confident the opportunity to misunderstand them.”
“Certainly the Circle of the Foe would misunderstand the First Histories, if they should find them before we do.” Rhoda smiled again at Dr. Su. Turning to Ricardo, who had been enjoying the lively conversation, she smiled questioningly at him. Recently, Ricardo had learned from Rhoda that a Device of two or more independent Arms carries an offset space of Earth’s Province in which things may be hidden. Rhoda had said, “Clever, isn’t it, honey? Only Keen Makers of past War Things have known how to fabricate such Devices.”
Ricardo asked her, “Have you learned who fabricated the Arms of Leo’s and Isabel’s heirloom Device?”
“Yes. Lady Sheldrake—the one in the painting—is the Keen Maker who fabricated the Device. Lord Sheldrake was the Head of a clandestine War Thing. This information was unearthed by Mr. Quinn and Betsy Alder, Reyna’s First Scribe (who is Evelyn’s grandmother). After a lot more digging, they discovered that the Ban of Swords has never been reinstated to end the Sheldrakes’ War Thing. The English Guild’s failure to elect a Head Family is related to this fact, although the very existence of the Sheldrakes’ War Thing was lost to history, like so many other things that happened in England in those unhappy days.”
“Sweetheart, will you please tell us now why it is that you’re on your way to England?”
“Of course, Ricardo. I must put into Miss Wilberforce’s hands the newly-discovered legal document by which Isabel and Leo may have a claim on the Son’s House. She can communicate their claim to the Son’s House Foundation members, one of whom is Mr. Quinn (who, of course, cannot speak of his role in discovering the document). Time is crucial, because the Foundation is planning to hold a public hearing very soon, which is expected to declare Aden Haldane the official ‘Son’. Revelation of this newfound document will surely enliven the hearing.”
“But, Miss Knox,” objected Lily Su, “you have just said that the legal document which you have discovered is a title to the First Histories, not to the Son’s House.”
“Ah, but a good lawyer can concoct a legal theory that implies ownership of the property, as well. And, Dr. Su, there is Aztec gold involved, on which my family and Ricardo’s family may have a remote claim—but we’re certainly not going to raise that issue at the hearing.”
Lily Su drummed her fingers on the table next to the ancient manuscript of Homer’s Iliad. “Gold always has many claimants.”
“Dr. Su, no one speaks seriously of gold in relation to the Son’s House, but there’s a rumor about it. People understand a fight over gold far better than they do a life and death struggle over an old manuscript’s meaning.”
“I am relieved to hear that you are not seeking to acquire the gold, but if this is a task for Miss Wilberforce (a wonderful lady whom I met on that tour) why can you not have your lawyers contact her about this matter, rather than go yourself? …Well, of course she is growing advanced in years, as am I. …Do you think, Miss Knox, that she needs your personal direction in this matter?”
Rhoda reached for Lily Su’s hands. Holding them in her own she looked into the older woman’s eyes. “Lily Su, I am Miss Wilberforce.”
Lily stared incredulously at Rhoda.
“It’s true,” said Ricardo. “Ottilie Krüger was the original Miss Wilberforce. Haven’t you read the account in the modern Histories, of Ottilie Krüger’s War Thing?” In truth, Lily had not read it, simply because Lisa and Lingyun had encouraged her to do so.
“I see. …Are you flying yourself to England, Miss Knox?”
"Of course," Rhoda answered brightly. "Any two places are only a flash of Greased Lightning apart. And, Ricardo, I think the Son’s House Foundation may soon request your services to verify the authenticity of the Goth document which is soon to be recovered from the safe in the Son’s House.”
After Rhoda had hurried away, Lily Su asked, "Ricardo, how does Miss Knox’s aircraft operate?"
“Dr. Su, it’s propelled like a sailboat—by tacking the movements of the Commons’ Airs. Of course, the Greased Lightning’s pilot has to tack in a high-dimensional breeze.”
“Is that tacking technique a secret of the art which Lingyun and Lisa are learning from you?”
“Well, the truth is, Dr. Su, that I’m learning with them. The building and operation of this Descendant of the Greased Lightening requires only a small part of the art which was used in fabricating the Greased Lightning. This Descendant will just nip into the Commons for its motive power. It will travel like an ordinary jet aircraft, but it uses practically no fuel.”
“Dr. Chavez, I must ask you. …Is Lingyun your First Apprentice?”
“Would you wish him to be, Dr. Su?”
“No. Although he may wish it, I do not. It is because I wish a long life for him, Ricardo. Lingyun and Lisa are the only young people remaining in the Su family.”
“Don’t you wish the same for Lisa?”
“No. She has encountered the Foe, and I understand what it is that such an encounter can mean, Ricardo.”
“You’re a pessimist, Lily Su. I think Lisa’ life will be long, too. And it’s Hans Beckerath who is my First Apprentice. He’s the one who shares in the risks that I take. Lingyun and Lisa work on this Device as ordinary Guild apprentices under the mentorship of Rhoda and me. We're calling the Device the ‘Dragonfly’ in honor of the old Sarxx aircraft of that name.”
Lily Su’s eyes lit up.
Ricardo grinned. “I’ve heard, Grandma Su, that once, in your youth, you surprised the crew of a British aircraft carrier by landing a Dragonfly on it, and a photograph of the scantly-clad pilot and her aircraft found its way to the Times, to the embarrassment of the Royal Navy.”
“It’s true. I strewed a basketful of flowers across the deck and took off before they had caught their breaths. Oh, Ricardo, that was an exciting day! I thought that by painting those red stars on the Dragonfly’s wings and fuselage, I had added a fine prophetic touch.”
~ 2 ~ “What's Dr. Kerrigan doing here, Mort?” Esmeralda Montgomery and Mortimer Kane were walking to Kane’s office in the upper level of the Turret. Het had appeared at the far end of the corridor.
"He's my science advisor, EZ.” A secretary interrupted them by calling to Kane from just outside her office. He followed her inside, leaving Esmeralda alone in the corridor.
Esmeralda’s eye had been on Het since the day of their first meeting at New City University. Her rejuvenation had renewed her desire for real sexual adventures; she had become dissatisfied with causing misery such as Ralph Bolt’s.
Het smiled as he drew near. ”Esmeralda Montgomery, you look younger and better every time I see you." He winked and continued on his way.
Mortimer returned to her from the secretary’s office. ”EZ, I want you to travel to England and sit in for me for a few days at the Son's House hearing. The hearing will install Aden as the official heir to the place, now that Homer Haldane has died. Once we’re in possession of the House, we can search thoroughly for that document I’m looking for. Of course it may not be there, but in any case, I feel certain that you'll find ways to amuse yourself there."
"I'll need to find a substitute dean for the student body while I'm away, Mort. Do you have any suggestions?”
"Ask Esther Rosen. I know you’ll either love her or hate her when you meet.”
"I've seen her around What does she do here?"
"She's Dr. Kerrigan's handler and protector, and she’s a first-class political animal."
"Do you trust her?"
"As her boss, yes. She's sensitive to lines of power—unlike you."
"I'll talk with her. Steuben has been encouraging me to cultivate a replacement so I can move on to the position of Provost. …Mort, I never travel alone; I'll need to take a traveling companion with me to England."
"Katrina will handle whatever travel arrangements you desire. Call Aden and let him know you’re coming in my place. Katrina can put a call through to him."
After making arrangements through Katrina, Esmeralda exited jauntily from Mortimer Kane's office. Bypassing the elevator, she skipped lightly down the turret's spiral staircase, delighting in her body’s youthful vigor. Caught up in the thrill of watching her nimbly speeding feet, Esmeralda collided with a woman who was hurrying up the stairs. Esmeralda was thrown sideways, and she would have fallen from the rail-less stairs to the floor below, if the ascending woman had not quickly grasped her wrist and pulled her upright. The two women found themselves nose-to-nose.
"Oh! Dean Montgomery, I am so sorry! I was enjoying the beautiful view of the mountains and failed to look up the stairs! Are you all right?" Yohanna took Esmeralda's head lightly between her hands. Looking into her face, she said, "My, you do look fresh and bright. I feared that it was your head which had made that loud 'thump'. This staircase is narrow."
"It was only my purse.”
“Thank Heaven. Then the cracking noise was not the breaking of your skull. Is it your mirror which cracked?"
Esmeralda reached into her purse and drew out her mirror. "It is. I'm all cracked!"
"It is my fault. Please, take mine."
Esmeralda found that the mirror, its slender case made of finely carved ivory, was a triptych. The decorative side-mirrors opened easily in her hands, and in the larger middle mirror she saw her face to its best advantage. Startled by her reflections in the side mirrors, she immediately touched her hand to the back of her head It was as if she were standing behind herself!
"It is a witchdoctor's mirror, Dean Montgomery. It does things like that, but you will become accustomed to it."
"But I can’t take this," Esmeralda protested mildly. "My own mirror is only cheap plastic."
"Think nothing of it. Give me your broken mirror, and it will be a fair trade." Yohanna had dropped the broken mirror into her purse before Esmeralda could begin to object.. “Your new mirror will work best for only you,” Yohanna advised her.
Esmeralda looked again at her reflection, then folded up the mirror and slipped it into her own purse. To the head of the campus Union of African Students, she said, "Thank you, Miss Okubo. Please call me Esmeralda."
"Thank you, Esmeralda. Please call me Yohanna. Allow me to walk with you down the stairs to ascertain that your balance has been restored.” As they descended arm-in-arm, Yohanna said, "I have developed the habit of running up and down these stairs for my daily exercise. Having seen no one else using them, I run fast and look out of each window as I pass it, making the view seem to rotate and slowly recede while I feel motionless, as though I were running on a treadmill. I like the effect, which I can achieve only by setting a fast pace. I did not expect to run into anyone."
"Don't you perspire?"
“Oh, my boyfriend likes the way I glow with a sheen of sweat.” Yohanna smiled.
"I've never taken the stairs before. And I’ve never thought that I might literally run into a witchdoctor."
“Well, now you have done it.” Yohanna smiled. Lightly she said, “You need not be a witchdoctor to use that mirror.”
“Yohanna, do you work part-time in the Keep for Dr. Kane?” Esmeralda had seen others who appeared to be Africans, in the Keep and at Arch Company.
"No, I do not. I simply use these stairs for exercise. Perhaps you have seen me before in the Keep because my girlfriend's fiancé is Dr. Ricardo Chavez, who serves as head of Dr. Steuben’s Institute. Have you met him?"
They had arrived at ground level. Yohanna released Esmeralda’s arm.
"Your girlfriend is Rhoda Knox?" A flash of memory came to Esmeralda: Fr. Aden’s temptation by Miss Knox and Miss Okubo. Why had I not thought of that until now?
“Yes—the pilot. Running into me on the stairs may not be fun, Esmeralda, but flying with Rhoda can be more frightening than calling up the dead! …Well, I was afraid that something such as an unfortunate spell might have rubbed off on you when we collided, but I sense that all such things have returned to me now."
Esmeralda regained, at that moment, the feeling of being truly herself. Magic mirror? Witchdoctor? What does all of this mean? Esmeralda remembered her first meeting with Yohanna, on which she had thought of her as a lioness. Later she had torn up Miss Okubo’s card and had immediately forgotten about her—until now. Can it be that witchdoctors are able to play with others’ memories?
"Yohanna dear, who else has gone flying with Miss Knox?" They had arrived at the door to the campus grounds.
"Well, Esmeralda, you must know of Dr. Kerrigan, the biologist. His mother has flown with Rhoda in her fancy plane which she calls the Greased Lightning. Het and several others of the biologists have been passengers on her other aircraft. That one is a ‘puddle jumper’ which truly jumps.” Yohanna smiled, laying her hand on Esmeralda’s shoulder. “I can ask her to give you a ride in the Greased Lightning, if you would like that.”
"Thank you, Yohanna. I'd very much appreciate it."
~ ~ ~
For the first time since she had come to the campus, the Dean of Students entered the Natural Sciences building. She was looking for the biology department. It felt like foreign soil. Thinner pickings here. A bell rang and she watched students exiting classrooms. Wandering down the hall, she surveyed the social scene. What is the difference between these creatures and my dear liberal arts students? Then she spotted two familiar students. They were two of her favorites, and they were talking together as they emerged from a classroom. "Toni and Parker, whatever are you doing here?"
Toni grinned at her. ”Getting some easy upper division credit from Dr. Bombast.”
Parker asked, ”EZ, dear, we haven't seen Bridget around for a long time. Did you slit her throat and bury her body?
“Well, I might have hurt her delicate feelings, or maybe she's in Europe with her father.”
"I've met the slimeball,” Toni informed her. "She's not with him."
Parker was staring curiously at Esmeralda. ”And what are you doing here, EZ? I can tell you're on a scent. It shows. …Have you been visiting a top-notch cosmetic surgeon? I know my mom would like to have his name."
"Me? It’s diet and exercise, dear. I believe ‘Dr. Bombast’ may become my newest subject; I hear his voice behind you.”
~ 3 ~ While Het surveyed the rolling English countryside from their comfortable bed & breakfast’s second-story balcony, Esmeralda was sipping her morning coffee, watching him from the open doorway. He's much better than Kane. I was a beggar then; now I'm a chooser. Still, Mort is my Mr. Big for now. Men! Nose to the grindstone. They’d grind off their heads if there were no women to distract them.
She stepped out onto the balcony next to Het, who was cradling his hot coffee cup in his hands while soaking in the peaceful morning scene. "Het, dear, because you’ve so generously told me about Herbert Schooner's wagon, and about Makers and such, let me share with you something about Aden Haldane: He’s the reason why we're here."
“Aden Haldane? …Oh, he’s the priest who used to hang around the Student Union. He and Steuben used to talk, but I’ve only exchanged a few polite words with him.”
“That’s Aden, dear. I’ve helped him to reform his life. See that ridge over there with the manor house standing alone on it?"
"Yeah, I see it.” Het downed the last of his coffee. "Let's get dressed and go down for breakfast. I've heard it's the only meal
the English know how to cook."
"In a minute, dear. Today, Aden will become the owner of that place. I'm here as Mortimer Kane's representative. He wants Aden to inherit the house so he can find some sort of master treasure map. Het, look at this." Esmeralda set down her coffee cup and picked up a jewel-adorned gold Aztec cup, which she set into his hands.
“EZ, this thing looks Aztec or Mayan, or something like that.”
"Aztec, dear. It was used to catch the blood from a still-throbbing heart, freshly cut right out of a living sacrifice. I think they did the sacrifice to keep the sun shining. You know—the balance of nature. The sort of thing that you study."
"Humans?" Het asked.
"Of course. Sometimes thousands on a single day.” Esmeralda glowed with pleasure.
"This has got to be worth a lot of money, EZ. It looks genuine.” Het handed the cup back to Esmeralda.
"It is, and it came out of a secret chamber in that manor house over there. There's a lot more, but we we’ve been able to carry off only a few things, not having possession of the house."
"Aden will own it? Is he here, too?"
"We'll certainly see him at the hearing today. Het, this talk about blood has made me hungry, too. I'll tell you more over breakfast."
Het looked curiously at Esmeralda. ”Is Kane in on this? What's his real game?" He followed her from the balcony into their room.
"That's what you and I both want to know, isn't it? You and I, Het, are free spirits. Kane and Company are entangling spirits.”
Sitting with Het on the sofa, Esmeralda described for him the encounter which Aden Haldane had experienced with Rhoda and Yohanna in the Student Union. She followed with a description of Aden’s snaring by Bridget, which had led Esmeralda to Mortimer Kane, who had been masquerading as a priest at St. Stylites. That event had been followed by their visit to the Son's House.
Het doubted now that the acquisition of cloaking technology was the whole of Kane's agenda. He wondered if Esther had deceived him—or was she a deceived deceiver? Esmeralda’s as good in bed as Esther. Do I need to make a choice? I've got to figure this out first. Then maybe I can have both women.
Esmeralda seemed to read his mind. "Did Esther tell you that she's acting Dean of Students in my absence?"
Het had asked Esther to cover for him by teaching his classes while he made a short trip to England, seizing an opportunity to learn some “technologically interesting stuff". Esther had agreed to take his classes, without expressing the slightest curiosity about the nature of Het’s learning opportunity. "I can fit it in, Het,” was all that she had said.
Het looked suspiciously at Esmeralda, who was holding back a smile. She added, "I told Kane that, in order to take his place at this hearing, I'd have to designate an acting Dean of Students. He suggested Esther. He said she’s a political animal and I’d either hate her or love her. I introduced myself to her and sized her up, and then I made the offer."
"That's why she didn't ask me where I was going.” Het realized too late that he should have kept that to himself, so he confessed, "Esther's teaching my classes while I'm here with you."
“Oh, dear. Have you lost some ground with her? She wouldn't trash my office, would she? Jealousy in a woman is so unbecoming."
"Did Kane tell you to tell me this little junket would be technologically interesting?"
“I just made that up to get you to come. He doesn’t know that you’re the one who’s my companion. Hearings are boring. And I wanted the right person to evaluate my recent beauty treatment."
Het sensed that most of what she had said was true. In irritation, he grabbed her chin and yanked her face toward him, peering at her as if he were examining a specimen. Esmeralda was annoyed, but she submitted meekly. Het released her and sat back. ”Esmeralda, you were older when we first met."
"That sounds like an accusation, dear—not a compliment."
"It's both. We met in my first month at the University, at the Health Center, where we got our notebooks mixed up. Remember? I was pissed off because I needed mine right then, but you had gone off for an unnamed procedure—probably an abortion, judging from what the nurse said and from what I read in your notebook. She wouldn't let me into your room to get my notebook, so I read yours to kill the time.
"You lied! You said you hadn't read it."
"Of course I lied. It was good reading.”
"Yours was gibberish: Math and technical jargon. Ugh!”
"If I hadn't read your notebook’s secrets, I wouldn't have agreed to this little trip.”
"You didn't believe me about the interesting technology?"
“Fifty-fifty. I thought it might be better if you were lying.”
“Well, is it?"
"Much better. And there might even be a germ of truth in it.”
"What germ of truth, in what, Het?”
"Your beauty treatment. Remember, I'm a biologist. Technology is not just wires and levers. Who did it? How does it work?"
"I'm not supposed to tell.”
"Okay, what do you want to know in exchange?"
"I want to know how Miss Test Pilot Rhoda Knox and Miss Witchdoctor Yohanna Okubo fit into what's going on in the Keep.”
"I'll tell you what I know, but you’ll have to tell me about your beauty treatment first.”
"I don't know how it works. It’s a medication that Kane gave me. He told me to take a drop on each full moon. I tried one and I didn't get sick, so I decided to take a drop every week. He had told me to stop taking it if I suffered a bout of confused thinking, and about two weeks ago I got seriously confused in a meeting with some of my favorite students. I had to leave in the middle of the meeting, and I had to think hard just to drive myself home, but when I woke up the next morning I felt okay."
"So that was your signal to stop? Do you have some of the stuff left? Arlo's a good organic chemist, so maybe he and I can figure out what it is."
“Sorry. She took it back when I was supposed to have completed my treatment.”
“Who’s she?"
"The strange woman who was waiting for me when I woke up that morning. She didn’t introduce herself. She said, ‘I see that you have used the special medication which I provided to Dr. Kane to rejuvenate a woman of his choice. You are under no obligation to him for your good fortune.’ She was beautiful, and she had a strong and commanding manner. I thought I was dreaming, at first. She grabbed my head and looked straight into my eyes. I'd never before experienced such physical strength in another person. I'm sure she's stronger than you. And her eyes! Het, if I have a soul, she saw it. I felt like she was reading every secret I have."
"Did she threaten to blackmail you with them?"
Het saw that he had seriously offended her. Her face burned with the look of someone who has told the plain truth and has not been believed.
"You're serious?" he asked.
"This time, yes.”
"Was that the end of the treatment?" A thrill of fear touched the base of his spine.
"Not quite. After she let go of me, she said, ‘Interesting: Four drops in a month have done you no harm—yet. I have little doubt that one more drop would have left you an imbecile.’ She gave me a small bottle and said, “Give me my vial and place a drop of this perfume on your wrist. Smell it.' At first it had a delicious man's scent. Then, I heard a thunderous crack that I felt in my bones! After that my wrist stank, so I ran to the basin and washed it with lots of soap and water."
"Who was she?"
"She said her name was Thersa.”
"Holy shit! The Countess?"
Esmeralda stared. ”Do you know her?"
"I know of her: The Countess Thersa of Greystone Castle. I’ve been hearing about her in relation to Mortimer Kane. I’ve told you about getting Herbert's Wagon Workshop in Switzerland. The old lady, Miss Wilberforce, who owns the country estate where it was stored, said she’d been keeping the wagon at the Countess Thersa’s request. Miss Wilberforce talked about Thersa like she was still alive. That seems odd to me, because I’ve heard that Alice Cunningham inherited the fortune of Countess Thersa, who was her great-aunt."
”Who is Alice?" Esmeralda sensed that Het, interestingly, was trying to distance himself from Alice Cunningham.
He answered a little sulkily, "She was my girlfriend in Santa Barbara.” Then he asked, "Can you guess what this fortune is?"
"Thersa's fortune that Alice inherited?"
“Yes. Alice’s wealth"
"How would I know, Het? Aztec gold?”
“No. Alice owns the Arch Company. As you must know, Mortimer Kane is the head of its board of directors. It's a completely private and very old European company."
Esmeralda thought about that. "Kane told me Esther has a sensitivity to lines of power. Does she know what’s going on in this game that you and I are in?"
"Esther says she thinks it’s cloaking technology that explains it all. Rhoda's family company, Aeronauticas, is the first to develop cloaking, beating out the Arch company, which wants to learn the secret. Aeronauticas is equipping the US Air Force with cloaking, and Arch wants to sell cloaking to the Soviets and the rest of the world. That's Esther’s story in a nutshell."
"So what is your part in it, Dr. Biology?”
"My theory can turn this witchdoctor's business into real science. But let's talk about what you’ve just said. Kane was cultivating you to be his mistress, using a cure for aging that he got from Thersa? And she said you owe him nothing? Shit, EZ, if nobody ever dies, biology is dead, because natural selection goes out the window."
"Now that would be a tragedy. What would you do for a living?"
"Don't be funny, EZ. You know what I mean. We’re being used and we don't know why, or who it is that’s using us."
"Het, dear, that’s just what I think. As I said, you and I are free spirits and Kane and Company are entangling spirits. I'll tell you something else: Kane keeps his people on a leash by giving them some other medication that they call the Elixir. It stops people from aging. They’re all junkies, waiting for the next cordial from Kane."
"Your reverse-aging treatment is different?"
"Your friend Thersa said it is, and that it makes the Elixir fatal to me now. She said I will age slowly. Guess what she answered when I asked her how she knows that"
“That she's an alchemist?" Het began massaging the back of his neck as anxiety grew in him.
"Maybe so! She said she makes the Elixir and provides Kane with it for 'his Circle of the Friend.’”
"The Friend?"
"'The Friend.’ Those were Thersa's words. She emphasized the word like she wanted me not to forget it. The Friend must be code for the boss. What do you think, Het?"
Het was silent, rubbing the back of his neck in even greater agitation. Looking at Esmeralda, he suddenly pounded his fist violently on the coffee table. "I've seen him! He's not human!"
Esmeralda pressed her hand firmly over his fist. "Tell me! Tell me about the spider in this web."
Het pressed his other hand on top of hers, continuing to clench his fist at the bottom of the pile. "We're partners. Against all sides."
"Against them all," Esmeralda confirmed.
Het stood. ”Now I’m ready for some food. Let’s go down and get some breakfast!”
“In our robes, dear? Be a good boy and help me remove mine.
An hour later, they were eating breakfast. “Look, Het! Here comes Aden. I haven't had time to tell you that I'm Aden’s fiancée—for today. He needs me to play the role so he’ll qualify to receive the property.”
Het was still absorbing that information when Aden Haldane was upon them. ”Welcome to England, Dr. Kerrigan.” Aden had reacquired his British accent. He formally extended his hand to Het, who took it lightly and released it. Het looked back and forth between Esmeralda and Aden, suspicious of a conspiracy between them. “We're partners. Against all sides.” Crap!
“Aden, dear, I’ve been telling Het about being your fiancée for the day. Het, in order to get the Son’s House, Aden needs to marry within a year. Aden, I’m sure there are willing mates for you in the local gentry who would be suited to the property. Have you been vetting them?”
“Featherstone has a few in mind.”
“Are they as hot as Bridget?”
“I doubt it. EZ, you’re looking rather well, yourself.”
“Diet and exercise, Fr. Aden. Het, 'fiancée' means that I agree to take his hand in 'holy, chaste matrimony' within a year. That won't happen, because Aden and I are completely ill-suited to each other, however rich his hoard would make me as ‘Lady Haldane’."
“EZ, the Foundation will own the hoard of gold in any case. Featherstone doubts that we can hold onto it, once its existence becomes known. Certainly the Mexican and British governments will lay claim to it.”
“So you are not rich?”
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