Jani and the Greater Game (The Multiplicity Series Book 1) (46 page)
Read Jani and the Greater Game (The Multiplicity Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Eric Brown
Tags: #Steampunk
Alfie seeks help – An anxious wait –
Aboard the Pride of Edinburgh, at last –
Set fair for London – “To the success of our mission...”
“H
E’S BEEN GONE
almost two hours now, Jani-ji,” Anand said.
“I know...” Jani bit her lip. For perhaps the twentieth time in the past five minutes, she twitched the curtain aside and peered through the porthole. It was midnight and the vast airyard was floodlit; dozens of airships were moored to their docking rigs and hundreds of workers scurried back and forth under the harsh illumination.
There was no sign of Alfie Littlebody out there, or the taxi which had whisked him from the Delhi airyard two hours earlier. Jani had assumed it would take no more than an hour for Alfie to do what he had to do and return, and her thoughts turned to what might have gone wrong to delay him. They had left Nepal twelve hours ago; even if the body of Colonel Smethers had been found by now, there was no way that his death could be attributed to Littlebody – so she had no reason to worry that he had been arrested on those grounds. More likely was that he had simply lost his way, or that he had been unable to locate the person whose help Jani sought.
“Come on, come on...” she fretted.
Anand stared at her. “And if the
Pride of Edinburgh
leaves without us?” he asked.
“Then we’ll simply have to think of another plan, won’t we?” she said, exhibiting an optimism she did not wholly feel. “So far, together, we’ve done rather well, ah-cha?”
He beamed and nodded.
She stared across the busy apron to where the monstrous form of the
Pride of Edinburgh
loomed over the airyard. Its triple cigar-shaped balloons, resplendent in the red, white and blue livery of the Empire Line, filled half the night sky; beneath, six vast gondolas were braced in a docking rig the size of a football stadium. The hatch of the airship’s cargo hold yawned wide and dozens of vehicles came and went, loading the ’ship with supplies.
The
Pride of Edinburgh
was due to set sail for London at two o’clock in the morning. She glanced at her watch. They had a little under two hours to go before departure. Plenty of time, she told herself.
She turned to Anand. “And you won’t be sad to leave India?”
“Jani-ji, I have always dreamed of travelling, of seeing England and London. I have always dreamed of adventure!”
“You won’t miss your little sweetheart?”
He blushed, avoiding her eyes as he said in little more than a murmur, “I think not, Jani-ji. You see, I think our time together is over, to be honest. My feelings for Vashi are no more.” He paused, thinking, then continued, “You see, everything that has happened over the past few days has made me a different person. Do you think so, Jani-ji? I think... I think I have grown up, become a man, ah-cha?”
She smiled to herself. “I think perhaps you are right, Anand-ji.”
He beamed at her. “I will write to Mr Clockwork and tell him where he can find Mel and Max.”
Jani peered through the porthole again, across the yard to the massive wrought-iron gates. Even at midnight, the traffic on the road beyond the gates was busy. She willed a car to pull into the yard, and willed that car to be the taxi bearing Alfie Littlebody.
“Jani-ji,” Anand said in a small voice.
“Yes?”
“I regret not being able to attend your father’s funeral. I wanted to more than anything.”
She smiled. “And so did I.”
“I wanted to say goodbye, and pay my last respects.”
She reached out and stroked his cheek. “Anand, we did that on the morning he died.”
He smiled sadly. “His spirit will be willing us on our way!” he said.
She felt emotion choke her. She was about to say that her father’s spirit passed away on the morning of his death, but stopped herself.
“Perhaps you’re right,” she said.
“Jani-ji,” he murmured. “Do you think your father would have been proud of me, proud of the way I have...” He shrugged. “How I have served you, Jani-ji?”
“Anand-ji, you have been a true hero. Of course my father would be proud, and so am I.”
She turned to the porthole, and her heart jumped as a taxi cab beetled across the apron and braked outside their airship. A rear door swung open and Alfie Littlebody jumped out. He trotted to the hatch of the ’ship and gave it a smart rap.
Jani crossed to the hatch and pulled it open.
“Quickly!” Alfie said. “Into the taxi. We’ve no time to lose!”
Jani took Anand’s hand and almost dragged him from the airship, through the sultry night, and into the back of the taxi. Alfie joined them and slammed the door. Immediately the car started up and sped across the tarmac towards the
Pride of Edinburgh
.
A figure in the front seat turned, with difficulty, and smiled at Jani. “I must say, Miss Chatterjee, that if half of what Lieutenant Littlebody has told me about your exploits since our last meeting is true, then I shall have an entertaining voyage listening to you recount your numerous adventures.”
Jani laughed. “Every word Alfie told you is true,” she said, and went on, “I cannot express my gratitude to you, Lady Eddington.”
The dowager waved a dismissive hand. “I would move mountains to assist you, Miss Chatterjee. But I must say that Lieutenant Littlebody caught me just in time: I was about to hail a cab when he turned up, red-faced and breathless.”
Alfie blew, still exhausted. “My driver couldn’t find the street, and I ended up running the last hundred yards and asking everyone I met where your Ladyship was staying.”
“Well, all’s well that ends well, Lieutenant,” Lady Eddington said. “Ah, here we are. Driver, stop here if you will!”
The driver halted the cab, jumped out and rushed around to help Lady Eddington from the passenger seat. She was on crutches, and, assisted by Alfie on one side and Anand on the other, she led the way across to the steps that led up to the door of her Pullman carriage, its roof and windows repaired in the week since the crash-landing of the
Rudyard Kipling
. Jani stared at its racing green livery, scraped and battered, but obviously intact.
She looked up and down the length of the carriage, but there was no sign of any military police or port authorities who might question the right of the quartet to board the Pullman. Nevertheless, she felt greatly relived once Alfie and Anand had manhandled the dowager up the steps and into the carriage, and she was able to follow and slam the door behind her.
Lady Eddington showed them to the section of the carriage where – seemingly a lifetime ago – she and Jani had shared tea. She stomped over to the window on her crutches and drew the curtains, then turned to the trio as they sank into the cushioned seats.
“There is usually a security fellow who comes around before we embark to search each carriage,” Lady Eddington said. “But don’t go worrying your heads on that score. I will arrange things with the commanding officer.” She waved to an overhead locker. “You’ll find tea and provisions around the place; please feel free to help yourselves. I will be down to have a more detailed conflab once the
Edinburgh
is in the air. Until then, my friends...”
Jani thanked the dowager and watched as Anand and Alfie assisted her from the carriage.
The carriage shook as it was shunted along the rails towards the waiting maw of the
Pride of Edinburgh
. Jani moved the curtain aside an inch and peered out as the carriage rolled into the cargo hold.
Alfie Littlebody located a kettle and a caddy of Darjeeling, and set about making a pot of tea. Anand found a tin of shortbread biscuits, and Jani realised that she hadn’t eaten all day. Thirty minutes later, as they sat eating biscuits and sipping tea, the roar of a dozen engines announced that the
Pride of Edinburgh
was set fair for London.
Jani felt relief and exhaustion in equal measure. She looked back at the events of the past few days and wondered how she had survived half of them; and then she looked forward and wondered what travails the future might hold in store.
Alfie Littlebody was staring at her. He raised his cup. “To the success of your mission,” he said.
Anand echoed his words, and added, “Am I really flying to London, Jani-ji?”
She smiled. “To the success of
our
mission,” she said, “and yes, Anand, the wonder of London awaits us, and much more.”
ONE GIRL AGAINST AN EMPIRE
Eveline Duchen is a thief and con-artist, surviving day by day on the streets of London, where the glittering spires of progress rise on the straining backs of the poor and disenfranchised. Where the Folk, the otherworldly children of fairy tales and legends, have all but withdrawn from the smoke of the furnaces and the clamour of iron.
Caught in an act of deception by the implacable Mr Holmforth, Evvie is offered a stark choice: transportation to the colonies, or an education – and utter commitment to Her Majesty’s Service – at Miss Cairngrim’s harsh school for female spies.
But on the decadent streets of Shanghai, where the corruption of the Empire is laid bare, Holmforth is about to make a devil’s bargain, and Eveline’s choices could change the future of two worlds...
‘Tremendous, pacy fun - perky heroines, mysterious men, vivid settings, dastardly plots and a steam powered dragon. What more could a girl want?’
Francis Knight, author of
Fade to Black
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