The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth (Book of Dust, Volume 2) (55 page)

“Take her outside,” said Manton.

Topham began to pull, and she resisted.

“Tell people!” Alice shouted. “Tell everyone you know! Janet, tell Norman and Barry—”

Topham pulled so hard she lost her footing and fell on the floor. Ben plunged and snarled and fought at the end of the chain, his teeth snapping an inch from Manton’s throat.

“Raymond, step inside with me for a moment” were the last words Alice heard from the Master, as she saw him put his arm around the Bursar’s shoulders and draw him into the inner office. The last thing she saw was Janet’s terrified face, and then she felt the prick of a sharp needle in her shoulder, and she lost consciousness.

Quite early that afternoon, as soon as Janet, the Bursar’s secretary, could get away, she cycled hard up the Woodstock Road towards the Wolvercote turn. Her squirrel dæmon, Axel, sat in the basket on the handlebars, cold and fearful.

Janet had often been to the Trout with Alice and other friends. She knew at once what Alice’s last words meant: Norman and Barry were the two peacocks at the inn. The original Norman and Barry had drowned in the great flood, but their successors always bore the same names, because Malcolm’s mother said it saved time.

She pedaled hard through Wolvercote and along to Godstow, and turned in at the garden of the Trout, hot and breathless.

“Your hair’s all over the place,” said Axel.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake. Stop fussing.”

She smoothed it down and went into the parlor. It was a quiet time of day; there were only two drinkers in the bar, gossiping by the fire; Mrs. Polstead was polishing glasses, and smiled a welcome.

“Don’t usually see you at this time of day,” she said. “Afternoon off?”

“I need to tell you something urgent,” Janet said in her quietest voice. The drinkers by the fire took no notice.

Mrs. Polstead said, “Come into the Terrace Room,” and led the way along the corridor. The two dæmons, squirrel and badger, followed them close behind.

As soon as the door was closed, Janet said, “Alice Lonsdale. She’s been arrested.”

“What?”

Janet told her what had happened. “And she said, as they took her away, she said to me, ‘Tell Norman and Barry,’ and of course I knew she didn’t mean the peacocks, I knew she meant you and Reg. I don’t know what to do. It was awful.”

“CCD, you think?”

“Oh, yes. No doubt at all.”

“And the Master didn’t do anything to stop it?”

“He was on their side! He was helping them! But it’s all round college now, obviously, about Alice, and everyone’s furious. Like they were when he took Lyra’s rooms away, and then when she vanished. But there’s nothing you can do, is there? He hasn’t broken any laws; it’s quite within his power….But poor Alice…Good for her, though, she got in a good slap on one of those thugs….”

“I imagine she would. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of Alice. But the Bursar, though. What did he say?”

“After he came out of the office with the Master, he was—I don’t know how to put it—subdued. Not himself. Ashamed, even. It’s a horrible place now, Jordan,” Janet finished passionately.

“It wants clearing out,” said Brenda. “Why don’t you come with me?”

“Where?”

“Jericho. I’ll tell you why on the way.”

The two women cycled together, urgently, along the towpath through Port Meadow, down to the boatyard, over the footbridge, and along Walton Well Road and into Jericho.

Malcolm’s mother had known Hannah Relf almost as long as he had, and knew she’d want to know at once about this. Brenda Polstead had a shrewd idea about the secret hinterland her son shared with Dame Hannah, although she’d never asked either of them about it. She knew Hannah would know the right people to talk to, who’d be able to help, who else to warn.

They turned into Cranham Street, but stopped at once.

“That’s her house,” said Brenda.

Outside Hannah’s house stood an anbaric van, and a man was putting several boxes in the back. They watched as he came out twice, each time with an armful of cardboard boxes or files.

“That’s one of the men from this morning,” Janet whispered.

They pushed their bicycles along the pavement, towards the van. As Topham came out with a third armful of files, he turned and saw them. He glared at them, but said nothing and shut the van before going back inside.

“Come on,” said Brenda.

“What are we going to do?”

“We’re just going to call on Hannah. Perfectly normal thing to do.”

Janet followed as Brenda pushed her bike forthrightly up to the house and leant it on the little garden wall. Brenda’s badger dæmon, broad-snouted, heavy-shouldered, was close at her heels as she rang the doorbell. Janet waited a few feet further back.

There were voices inside, male voices, and Hannah’s too. Theirs were raised and hers wasn’t. Brenda rang the doorbell again. She looked at Janet, who looked back at this stocky woman in her fifties, in her tweed overcoat that was a little too tight, with her expression of calm determination. Janet saw Malcolm very clearly in his mother at that moment, and she had admired him greatly (and silently) for a long time.

The door opened, and Brenda turned back to face the other man, the one who was in charge.

“Yes?” he said, cold and hard.

“Well, who are you, then?” said Brenda. “We’ve come to visit my friend Hannah. Are you doing some work for her?”

“She’s busy at the moment. You’ll have to come back later.”

“No, she’ll see me now. She’s expecting me. Hannah,” she called, loud and clear. “It’s Brenda. Can I come in?”

“Brenda!” Hannah called, and her voice sounded tight and high-pitched, and then was cut off.

“What’s going on?” said Brenda to the captain.

“It’s absolutely nothing to do with you. Dame Relf is helping us with some important inquiries. I’m going to ask you to—”

“Dame Relf,”
said Brenda with powerful scorn. “Get out of the way, you ignorant bully. Hannah! We’re coming in.”

Before the man’s dæmon could do more than snarl, Brenda’s badger had the wolf’s paw in his crushing jaws and was shouldering her out of the way. The captain put his hands on Brenda’s breast and tried to push her back, but she swung her right hand and cracked him so hard on the side of the head that he stumbled and nearly fell.

“Topham!” he called.

Brenda was past him already and at the sitting room door. She saw Hannah inside, sitting upright and uncomfortable as the other man twisted her arm behind her back.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Brenda said.

Behind her she could hear a scuffle, and Janet said loudly, “Don’t you touch me!”

Hannah said, “Brenda—be careful—” Topham twisted her arm further, and Hannah grimaced.

“Let her go at once,” Brenda demanded. “Take your hands off, stand back, move right away. Go on.”

Topham’s reply was to twist even harder. Hannah couldn’t help a little gasp of pain.

Suddenly something cannoned into Brenda’s back and she fell forward into the little room, right over the chair Hannah was sitting in. Janet fell with her—Manton had flung her forward to shake her hands off his sleeves—and all three women tumbled onto the hearth, just a forearm’s length away from the fire.

Topham had lost his grip on Hannah’s arm, and under the impact of the other two he fell back against the glass cabinet that held Hannah’s collection of porcelain, crashing with it to the floor.

Brenda was the first to stand up, and in her hand was the poker from the little stand of fire irons. Janet, in imitation, had picked up the shovel. Hannah had fallen badly and didn’t seem able to move, but Brenda stepped across her and confronted the two men implacably.

“Now turn around, go outside, and leave,” she said. “You’re not getting any further with this. I don’t know who you think you are or what you think you’re doing, but by God you’re not going to get away with it.”

“Put that down,” said Manton to Brenda. “I warn you—”

He tried to seize it. She swiped him hard across the wrist, and he took a step backwards.

Topham was still struggling to get up from the broken frame and shattered glass of the cabinet. Brenda glanced at him and was pleased to see him bleeding from a cut hand.

“And
you,
” Brenda said, “how dare you manhandle an elderly woman, you cowardly thug. Go on, get out.”

“All those boxes—” said Janet.

“Yes, stealing as well. You can take them out of your van before you go.”

“I remember you,” said Manton to Janet. “You’re the secretary from Jordan College. You can say goodbye to that job.”

“And what have you done with Alice Lonsdale?” Brenda said. “Where have you taken her? What’s she supposed to have done?”

Janet was trembling with shock, but Brenda seemed to have no fear, confronting the two CCD men as if all the moral power in the situation belonged to her, which it did.

“You seem to be unaware that we have authority to carry out investigations—” Manton began, but Brenda’s voice overwhelmed his.

“No, you haven’t, you thief, you coward, you thug. No one has the authority to come into anyone’s house without a warrant—you know that, and I know that. Everyone knows it. Nor do you have the authority to arrest people without a cause. Why did you arrest Alice Lonsdale?”

“Nothing to do with—”

“It’s got everything to do with me. I’ve known that woman since she was a child. There’s not a criminal bone in her body, and she’s been a first-rate servant to Jordan College too. What did you do to the Master to make him give her up?”

“That’s got nothing—”

“You can’t give me a reason because there isn’t one, you wretch, you bully, you sneaking villain. What have you done with her? Tell me!”

Janet was helping Hannah get up. The sleeve of the old woman’s cardigan was scorched, even burned: she had actually fallen on the fire for a moment, but hadn’t uttered a sound. Burning pieces of coal were beginning to scorch the hearthrug, and Janet bent to scoop them up quickly with the shovel. Meanwhile, Topham was picking a piece of glass out of his hand, and Manton was turning away from Brenda’s fierce demand.

“Come on,” he said to the sergeant.

“You’re not giving up?” said Topham.

“Waste of time. Outside now.”

“We’ll find her,” said Brenda. “We’ll have her out of your custody, you lawless vermin. The day’ll come when the bloody CCD is drummed right out of this country with your tails between your legs.”

“We en’t—” began Topham, but Manton said, “Enough, Sergeant. That’s enough. On our way.”

“Captain, we could
take her.
”

“Not worth the trouble. We know
you,
” he said, looking at Janet, “and we’ll have
you
before long,” he went on, looking at Hannah, “and we’ll find out who
you
are easy enough, and you’ll be in real trouble,” he finished, looking at Brenda.

Just the coldness in his eyes was enough to frighten Janet, but she felt defiant too, having helped in a small way. It might be worth losing her job to feel like that for a minute or two.

Hannah was brushing the last sparks from her sleeve as the men left.

“Are you burned?” Brenda said. “Let’s have a look. Roll your sleeve up.”

“Brenda, I don’t know how to thank you,” Hannah said.

Janet noticed that the old woman wasn’t trembling at all, though she could feel that she was herself. She took the little brush from the fire-iron stand and swept up what she could of the ashes and the mess, but it was hard to manage with shaking hands.

“And I’m so grateful to you too,” Hannah went on. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who you are. It was very brave of you both.”

“Janet is the Bursar’s secretary from Jordan,” said Brenda. “She was there when they came for Alice this morning, and she came to tell me as soon as she could, and I thought we’d better warn you. Did they take anything valuable?”

“Only my tax returns and household bills and that sort of thing. I’m glad to see the back of them, frankly. The valuable things are all in the safe, but I’m going to have to move them now. D’you know, I’d love a cup of tea. How about you both?”

Next morning Janet went in to work as usual, and thought the porter gave her an odd look as she went in through the lodge. The Bursar was waiting in his office, and he called her in as soon as he heard her arrive.

“Good morning,” she said carefully.

He was sitting behind his desk playing with a piece of cardboard: tapping it on the blotter, flexing it this way and that, smoothing down a crease. He didn’t look at her.

“Janet, I’m sorry, but I’ve got some unfortunate news,” he said.

He was speaking quickly. He still didn’t look at her. She felt her stomach about to sink, and held her tongue.

“I—um—it’s been made clear to me that it would be difficult to—ah—continue your employment,” he said.

“Why?”

“It seems that you unfortunately made a, umm, well, a bad impression on the two officers who came here yesterday. I must say I saw nothing of that sort myself—always valued your complete professionalism—and it may be that their attitude was a little excessive—nevertheless, these are not easy times, and…”

“Did the Master put you up to this?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Yesterday. When he called you in there after they’d taken Alice. What did he say to you?”

“Well, it was confidential, obviously, but he did stress the extreme difficulty we have in maintaining the independence of an institution like this, which is, after all, part of the national community and not separate from it. The pressures that bear on all of us…”

His voice simply trailed away, as if he had no more strength. And to do him justice, she thought, he did look about as miserable as a man could look.

“So the Master tells you to sack me, and you do it?”

“No, no, it wasn’t…It…this came from a different source. A far more, how shall I say, authoritative…”

“It used to be the Master who had authority in the college. I don’t think the old Master would have put up with being told what to do by someone else.”

“Janet, you’re not making this very easy….”