The Gilded Scarab (44 page)

“Fell from the roof,” I said. “Fell from the roof? That was the best story they could devise?”

“It’s as good a story as any,” said Hugh, stoically. “More toast, sir?”

Chapter 29

T
HE
G
ALLOWGLASS
came to the coffeehouse the day before the funeral, arriving as evening drew in and we were thinking about sending the customers about their business and locking up for the night. I was in the office, supposedly working on the books. I
was
working on the books, if staring blankly into space a great deal could be considered hard labor.

Alan called me back into the coffeehouse. I arrived in time to see the half dozen or so customers gulping down their coffee as one, wide eyes fixed on the Gallowglass’s entourage. Joe Brennan and three other House guards, not to mention Rosens and Matthews clumping in behind them, were intimidating enough to make even the most dedicated tourist desire to be somewhere else. I hadn’t even had time to greet my visitor before the customers sidled out, giving the guards as wide a berth as the proportions of the room allowed. As a way to clear the place, it was very effective. Perhaps I could hire the Gallowglass to appear every evening at closing time.

This was the first time I’d seen him in daylight. He and Ned were not much alike, really, but for the eyes, those changeable hazel eyes. “Captain Lancaster,” he said in greeting as the door clanged shut behind the last customer.

Rosens, the nearest, turned the sign to
Closed
. He leaned up against the door, one hand in his right-hand pocket. Resting on a gun, likely.

I gave the Gallowglass a short, polite bow. “Good day, sir.”

He smiled, glancing around at the changes I’d made. “Very impressive, Captain. It’s been a few years since I was last here. I came to discuss security matters with the Jongleur, what with Ned coming here so much. You’ve made a great many improvements.”

“Thank you, sir. May I offer refreshments?” I waved a hand at the counter. “I can provide the best coffee and cakes in Londinium.”

He professed himself delighted. He took one of the armchairs set before the fireplace while his men ranged themselves at doors and windows to repel any possible boarders. I took the other chair, my favorite. Hugh brought the coffee and cakes and retired behind the counter with Alan, out of the way.

Even with the coffeehouse empty of strangers and his guards all politely looking the other way, the Gallowglass kept his voice low and his tone confidential. “I had intended to come and see you earlier. Forgive me for being so remiss. Things have been a little fraught, however.”

“Please don’t apologize, sir. I wasn’t expecting you to come yourself.”

“I owe it to you. I had hoped to at least come in time to tell you what we’d decided as a cover story, but it has been a difficult few days. I expect you saw
The
Times
, though.”

“Fell from the roof. Yes. I saw it.”

Well, they don’t leave the management of the Imperium’s finances to idiots. He understood my tone at once. His mouth curved up, and I smiled back, because this, too, he shared with his son. It was a familiar little smile. “For something I had ten minutes to come up with, I thought it quite inspired.”

I managed a small grin. “I’m not a member of your House, sir. I don’t have to say I agree.”

He huffed out a little choke of laughter. “Oh, I think you may be an honorary member, Rafe. I may call you Rafe?”

“Of course, sir. I’m honored.” I sipped my coffee, nerved myself to take my fences at a rush. “Is Ned… is everything all right with him? And Sam?”

“Ned is as well as we might expect. He’s at Gallowglass House with the children, and my wife is spoiling all three of them. He is coping. Sam blames himself, of course. He feels he failed.”

“They hit us with neural disrupters. Not even he could withstand one of those.”

“Ned doesn’t blame him. I’ll admit I have a little more difficulty there, because I trust my son to him. But it wasn’t his fault. Or yours. We had checked and rechecked you, of course.”

“Of course you did, sir,” I said. I wasn’t as offended as I’d thought I might be. I could understand the protective urge where Ned was concerned.

“We had no reason to think that the house wasn’t as safe as when the Jongleur held it. It should have been safe. It wasn’t an external threat, not entirely. It was, essentially, a betrayal from the inside, and that’s hard to guard against. Ned’s so keen to live as normal a life as possible—”

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No. I wish we all could.” The Gallowglass sounded regretful. Well, I could understand that. “I wanted to let you know that my intelligencers cannot find any record of a Josiah Stone affiliated to any of the other Houses, either Convocation or Minor. It appears we must look elsewhere for an explanation.”

“He had a slight accent. I thought, perhaps American.”

“Yes, so did we. We’ve confirmed Stone arrived here from Pennsylvania in late 1876, took his degree at Cambridge, and started practicing law. He was a reasonably well-connected lawyer who seems to have had a very small but select list of business clients. Including Philtre Coffee—which is, in fact, an American-owned business.”

“Do you mean that one of the Houses has been particularly imaginative in hiding their tracks by working through third parties in our former colonies?”

“It’s a possibility, of course, but the very lack of information regarding Stone and House affiliations suggests something bigger.”

I stared at him. “Are you suggesting the Americans are sticking their fingers into the Imperium’s business?”

“You don’t think it’s a possibility? The Imperium is the largest empire this world has ever known, Rafe. That does leave rather less left over for the… er… Johnnies-come-lately. Frustrating for an ambitious young country keen on building its own hegemony.”

I hadn’t ever thought about it. The world was as it was, with the Imperium top dog. It wasn’t as if it were likely to change much. “I suppose that’s true.”

“It remains nothing but a possibility to investigate. And truth to tell, what really intrigues me is that Stone’s name, before he settled here and Anglicized it, was Josiah Stein.”

I observed that given that it was only a week since I’d had my nerve endings scrambled by a neural disruptor, I couldn’t see throwing me these curved balls was quite cricket.

The Gallowglass merely smiled a little wider at this complaint. “I believe, Rafe, that in Pennsylvania there is a considerable population of German descent. It will be interesting to see if there is an international element that is much closer to home. Since Bismarck’s fall, the Kaiser’s ambitions have little to curb them, and the notion that it was he, and not the Houses, who attempted to use third parties to carry out his plans, is gaining some currency with me. The intelligencers are still investigating, and will be for some time, I think. In the circumstances, I have little remorse about Mr. Stone’s unfortunate plunge to the pavement of the Great Court. None at all, in fact.”

“But why would they do it?” I could only stare.

The Gallowglass took a moment to polish off one of Will’s cakes and wash it down with coffee. He toasted me with the cup and gave me an approving nod. Well, it was damn good coffee. “Destabilizing Gallowglass would go a considerable way to upsetting the balance of power in the Convocation, and at a time when we may expect some upheaval in any event. The Queen grows rather frail, you see. A combination of her death and Gallowglass in disarray would see the Imperium weakened. Seriously weakened. Perhaps enough to allow for changes at the global political level. Germany has serious ambitions to extend her empire to Africa, where we are already well established.”

“What will you do?”

“I have asked the American ambassador for his government’s assistance in unraveling Stone’s Pennsylvanian past and analyzing how Philtre may fit in. Either the Americans will help, willingly and innocently, or they will be alerted to the fact we have suspicions about the involvement of their citizens. In either event, the American connection is no longer secret. I will also speak to the German ambassador, with more or less the same motive in mind, to make sure they know we are scrutinizing international dealings. I suspect the Kaiser will receive a missive from his dear grandmother. The Queen, while frail, retains her mental faculties undimmed, and she is most unamused by this affair. As for Philtre Coffee… well, I have found that taxation is one of the most valuable weapons in my armory. The company is under investigation for tax evasion. The fines will be extensive. You may find that one of your rivals, at least, will pose less of a business threat.”

“You know, you have the reputation for being more morally upright than most of the Houses,” I said. Although to be honest, I was more admiring than condemnatory.

The Gallowglass smiled and inclined his head.

“One thing, sir. Stone said to me that his principals had been planning for some time to take on the coffeehouse when Mr. Pearse gave it up. It strikes me that their approach was a curious combination of ruthlessness and timidity. If they wanted the coffeehouse so badly… well, Mr. Pearse is an old man. An accident, a robbery gone amiss… I would have thought he would be rather easily disposed of.”

“A good point. We would, of course, have been very suspicious of any premature ending for Mr. Pearse—he’s been a good ally all these years—and we’d have looked hard at the circumstances. Perhaps they were willing to wait, to keep our suspicion at bay. The offer they made you, that you would be their figurehead… that suggests more guile than deliberate, open aggression.”

“And yet, one of their wagons almost put paid to Ned two years ago. And last week’s little adventure was distinctly lacking in guile. Last week, it was plain ruthless.”

“Yes. But I think I understand that. Two years ago, although this is not publicly known, the Queen fell and fractured a hip. In ladies of advanced years, this often ends badly. Indeed, we had some concerns at the time and, at one point, the Convocation was summoned to Windsor to witness, so we thought, the succession. Of course, our prayers were answered and Her Majesty made a good recovery.”

I nodded. “I see. Yes, that makes some sense of the timing. I confess it had puzzled me.”

“The events of last week follow hard on the heels of a report made to the Convocation on Her Majesty’s current state of health. She is an old lady of eighty, Rafe. That report is the basis for the increasing public profile of the Prince of Wales.” The Gallowglass frowned. “Stone—and his principals—appear to have had more access than is proper to records of the Queen’s consultations with her medical man. That too is under investigation.”

“If you make it known to the ambassadors what you suspect, does that remove the threat?”

“Well, it at least warns them that we know. And that they had better prepare for the consequences.”

“Mmmmph,” I said. “I hope it’s enough. I’d like to know what I’m looking out for.”

“You’ll never be far wrong to assume that most threats are House-related, but not to let that narrow your thinking.” The Gallowglass lowered his voice, his expression neutral. “Are you recovered? It must have been as difficult for you as it was for Ned. You and Meredith were passionately involved, I believe. Was it serious?”

“No,” I said. His honesty and directness deserved an equally honest answer. “Merely a brief affair.”

No, beyond the physical pleasure, I hadn’t been involved with Daniel. I hadn’t loved him or wanted more from him. I hadn’t wanted to be his one-and-only. But Heaven knew, it was what I was hoping for with the Gallowglass’s son.

I suspect he knew it. He was the Gallowglass, and his intelligencers were unrivalled. He had to know that Ned and I had been inching toward more than mere friendship. After a moment, he inclined his head. He put down his cup and rose to his feet. Of course, I jumped up too, being a well-brought up gentleman who knew how to respect his elders and betters. When they deserved it.

“I had better return to Gallowglass House,” he said. “I hope you will be at Highgate tomorrow? I think it will comfort Ned to see you.”

I nodded. “I intend to go. Daniel was infuriating and difficult… but still. I owe him that much.”

“Will you help carry the coffin?”

I shook my head. Mine had been the first shot to hit Daniel. Even without the other hits, he wouldn’t have survived. “I’m not that much of a hypocrite, sir.”

“I don’t believe you have much hypocrisy in you at all.” He took a step toward the door, his entourage straightening up and readying themselves. He paused, came close, and dropped his voice again. “My son is grieving right now, Rafe. Whatever else Daniel Meredith was, he was dear to Ned. I accepted that in Ned long ago. I don’t think Meredith deserved his regard, but I wouldn’t change my son. He has a good heart and I value that in him.”

“So do I, sir.” I met that cool, hazel gaze, the eyes so like Ned’s.

His tone had a touch of something. Compassion, perhaps. “But at the end of it, Ned is Gallowglass. Passionate friendships aside, he will always be Gallowglass.”