The Prisoner's Dilemma (13 page)

Hume tried to separate night from day.

‘I'd say this was the third day he's been dead to the world, although the sickness has been in him for longer.'

‘Well, he must have more air. And I'll need cold linen to wrap him in – drench it in seawater, would you?' the doctor continued, looking at Annie. He reached into his bag and brought out a cloth roll of scalpels. He withdrew one. ‘And I shall bleed him of course. We have to get this pressure down. But I fear it may be too late for him. Or, perhaps worse, too late for his brain, should he survive.'

* * * 

Zweig lay hidden in the dunes, intently studying the observatory through the Domenico Salva. He was still appalled that he'd been discovered when Dunbeath had spotted him a few days earlier. Nonetheless, he still couldn't understood why no-one had come out to confront him, particularly as he'd guessed that the earl must have seen that he was using his telescope. This concerned him and he had constantly moved his position ever since, redoubling his watch on the castle's drive.

He'd seen Sophie often in the observatory since then but there'd been no further sign of Lord Dunbeath. All of this baffled him. Sophie was evidently using the big telescope, that much was clear, but why? Why had she suddenly been entrusted with it? And why wasn't she trying to spot him in the dunes? Was Dunbeath watching out from another angle? Zweig had thought this likely and had circled the castle many times, looking for signs, movements in windows or a sudden darkness in one of the many arrow slits in the stone. He'd seen none. Perhaps Dunbeath had left during one of the past three nights? Again, unlikely. And who was the man that had arrived with the housekeeper? Zweig
frowned and brought the telescope up to his eye again.

* * * 

Sophie put her quill down and rubbed her forehead. Between taking readings of the Transit and nursing Dunbeath she had worked virtually without sleep for three days and she stretched as she looked out of the observatory's open window. It was now dawn and another beautiful day was breaking. She gazed out to sea and thought yet again that the light was so beautiful on this coast that she could sit in its glow forever. Then she gave a slight shake of her head and walked to the stone staircase to find if there was any change in the earl.

She reached the bottom of the Grey Tower and walked to Dunbeath's bedroom. As she came in she saw Hume and the doctor asleep in chairs. They woke at the sound of her footsteps and the doctor quickly left his seat and walked briskly over to Dunbeath's side and felt for a pulse. He looked elatedly back at Hume, smiling broadly when he saw that the earl was sleeping soundly for the first time in days.

‘Mr Hume, I think the fever must have broken. I believe he will live yet.'

As he said this Dunbeath opened his eyes and saw the little group standing by him. He seemed quite different – calmer and milder – and he gave an exhausted, almost childlike smile and closed his eyes again.

But an instant later his manner changed and he jerked himself upright into a sitting position. Now in a blind panic he demanded to know what he was doing in bed and then asked in an angry shout how long he'd been sleeping. With a deranged effort he leapt out of bed when he was told by the doctor that he'd been ill for four days.

The sudden attempt to stand was too much for his weakened frame and he was quickly pulled back to the bed by anxious
hands. But he thrashed back at them and grimaced with rage.

‘How could you let me rest?' he screamed. ‘You all knew full well I had to record the Transit! Four days! I have missed it. Missed the Transit! And with it goes everything I've worked towards.'

Hume leant forward over the bed.

‘My dear Dunbeath. You must calm yourself. All is not lost. Miss Kant has taken the observations. She has been a worthy pupil to you.'

But Dunbeath was too distraught to understand what he meant and pushed back at him, his weakened arms making little progress against Hume's weight.

‘What? What are you saying Hume? What impertinence is this? Who is Miss Kant? What, this girl? Let go of me, I say.'

Hume's fabled good humour and tolerance were at stretching point.

‘Lord Dunbeath,' he said sternly, ‘I take exception to this. We have nursed you these past days and nights and you will hear Miss Kant out. My dear, please come here and speak to his lordship.'

Sophie quietly walked past Hume and sat on a chair by the bed. Dunbeath stared at her in fury but as she started to speak he gradually began to focus on the lifeline she was offering. She explained the readings she'd taken of the Transit and as she did so he embarked on a rapid technical cross-examination – had she compared the findings with the projections from the lunar tables? Had she compensated for nutation? Had she weighted the results for the temperature at different observation periods?

Sophie calmly nodded and smiled in answer to each of his questions.

She then summarised the findings, the precise distance to the Sun and the conclusions she'd drawn from comparing these latest recordings with the Transit of eight years before and the records of other observations that she'd read about.

By now Dunbeath was listening spellbound, only stopping Sophie with further questions of detail – but even these were now being asked in an increasingly respectful and admiring tone. Bit by bit he relaxed. Eventually he leant back on his pillows.

‘But how have you managed this? Where can you have learnt so much, Miss Kant?'

‘Well, my brother and I were active in Königsberg, my lord. We worked together – he even introduced me to Professor von Schleimann at the university there, you may have heard of him?' Dunbeath undoubtedly had. ‘I was planning a short monograph on the eclipses of Jupiter's moons before I left on my unhappy voyage. Also I have learnt a great deal from watching you at work these past few weeks. Your instruments are far more powerful than anything I have ever used before but fortunately their actions were fairly simple to follow.'

Dunbeath was staring at her intently and from his amazed features a never-seen smile now broke out.

‘I am greatly in your debt, Miss Kant. You have saved my life's work. I confess I am much moved. Changed even. The sickness has cleared. I feel strange. It is as if I have come to the top of a hill and everything is arrayed before me. I can see so far, it is all sharp, I can see so much now.'

Sophie was sitting with an arm resting on the bed looking at him as he said this, smiling gently and leaning towards him. As he looked at her Dunbeath wondered how he had not noticed the line of her neck as it stretched upwards. He had never seen anything so beautiful.

‘All is bright,' he murmured, ‘all is in its place. I feel alive. At last.'

The doctor stayed for a further day to check on his patient's progress but once he'd satisfied himself that Dunbeath's furious impatience was the best medicine for him he decided to return to Wick. Sophie came with him to the front entrance and saw him into his trap.

‘I must thank you most sincerely, doctor. I don't believe we could have seen this through without you. You were very good to come so promptly.'

She hesitated for a moment, concerned that he should think her too inquisitive, but then decided to press on.

‘But please tell me, do you believe that his lordship will make a complete recovery?'

‘I don't see why he shouldn't, Miss Kant. I feared for signs that the fever had attacked his brain, it's not unusual you know, but I've seen no sign of it so far. However it is essential that he should rest. I know he is refusing to keep to his bed but he has had a major assault on his life and at least you should insist that he eats well to build himself back. Plenty of beef broth and the like. Well, goodbye, Miss Kant, and again, my congratulations on recording the Transit.'

Sophie waved him down the drive and then walked back to the kitchen where she found the old housekeeper at her fire. She told her about the doctor's instructions.

‘Someone must walk over to Dunbeaton for fresh vegetables and strong meat, Annie. Perhaps we could go together? I would be delighted of a stroll on a day like this and I'd very much like to see the village. I am no longer tired now that so much has been achieved and I believe a walk in this fresh wind would shake the tension of the past few days out of both of us.'

Annie agreed and they fetched their shawls and gathered at the front door. They were about to set off when a raised voice came down to Sophie from the top of the staircase. It was Lord
Dunbeath, still very pale, and shaking slightly as he began to descend, holding hard to the handrail.

‘Where are you going, Miss Kant? Do you have to leave? What is that needs your attention so much that Annie cannot do it alone?'

Sophie walked to the bottom of the stairs and gently called back to him.

‘You should still be in your bed, sir. I have my instructions from the physician.' She gave a light laugh. ‘He has placed me in charge of your recovery and he will return to scold me if I do not do as I'm bidden. You have been dangerously unwell, my lord, and you must rest. Annie and I shall be back soon but we must provision for the sake of your health, nothing but the very best.'

Dunbeath's perpetually distant manner appeared to have evaporated.

‘I have recovered already Miss Kant,' he said as he walked down to her. ‘It is a new man that you see before you, and rest is the last thing I want.'

He had reached Sophie by now and stood gazing intently at her, searching her face, almost as if he was seeing her for the first time.

‘Please, don't go,' he murmured in a low voice, designed not to carry to the housekeeper, ‘don't leave me so soon. I have no doubt that Annie will be most capable of following your instructions.'

Sophie paused to cover her astonishment. The earl had clearly found an interest other than longitude. She thought for a little longer but decided that continued opposition was her only option.

‘There will be too much for one person to carry,' she smiled in reply. ‘But we shall come back very soon and …' she looked at him in a mock impersonation of a parent chiding a child and laughed gently, ‘…I shall want to find you in bed. If I do, we can discuss the Transit further. If not …well.'

She turned and gave him further hope with a little inclination of her head and then walked through the great door to where Annie was waiting for her on the drive. An impulse made her turn back and she saw that Dunbeath had remained in the hall, continuing to stare after her, charmed, baffled and yet seemingly compliant at being so crossed.

* * * 

Sophie and Annie walked with their arms linked, their spirits high to be outdoors on such a beautiful spring day, laughing and gaily talking over each other as they strolled along the beaten path through the dunes from the castle to the village. Sandy hummocks rose high on either side of them and clumps of marram grass waved gently in the onshore breeze.

Much as Sophie seemed to be listening to the old woman as she prattled on, however, she was also thinking hard. So, she now had Dunbeath's full attention, she felt – and gratitude. Or the nearest he had to such a feeling. Could she now begin to hope that he might be approached for a loan to see her back to Königsberg? She decided to choose her moment to raise it with him if the way he looked at her was still so warm when they returned from Dunbeaton.

Meanwhile, Zweig had been busy thinking too. He had seen the two women through the telescope as they'd set off from the castle and he'd tracked round to a high point on the dunes where a sharp corner in the track had eroded the sandy banks into a steep and narrow passage. He now watched them from above, waiting until they passed below him, relaxed in their laughter and casual in their stride. And then he dropped down on the path behind them, cutting them off.

They turned, startled by the sudden noise. Sophie was the first to react. She shrieked in alarm and her head flew backwards with the shock of seeing him. Then her hand went to her mouth.

The two women clung to each other, rigid with fear. But as Zweig raised his hat and bowed to them with a deep show of courtesy, Annie began to thaw. Sophie was still badly shaken but as she gathered herself, she became gradually more animated. She now forced Annie behind her as if protecting the old housekeeper from a wild beast and faced Zweig, baring her teeth and panting heavily in short, determined breaths.

The captain behaved as if he'd just chanced on them during a Sunday stroll. He smiled gently and held his head on one side, encouraging a conversation.

‘Madam, I am in your debt forever,' he said, bowing again towards Annie and murmuring to her in a voice as soft as gentle music. ‘You saved Sophie's life and in doing so you brought me back from the dead, too. I shall never forget that.'

Sophie still stared at Zweig, but her fighting spirit was fast returning. He now looked at her and spoke quietly in German.

‘Sophie. It is so good to see you. You seem well, thank God. As you can see, I too was miraculously spared.'

Sophie's wild eyes told him that she did not share in his opinion of divine intervention. Zweig seemed not to notice and he continued in his low and easy style.

‘We have been away from home for some six or seven weeks now, Sophie. Your family will be concerned for you and we should attempt to make our way back soon. I suggest that we can walk to Wick and make our way from there by coach to Edinburgh. I have contacts in the city and will be able to raise funds to pay for our journey. From Edinburgh we can pick up a ship to Königsberg. We could be home within a month or so, perhaps even less.'

By now Sophie had so gathered her wits that she immediately gave her answer – she would not be going anywhere with him.

‘Don't pretend to me that you do not know how long we have been away!' she hissed, bending forward from the waist in emphasis. ‘Six or seven weeks, you say. You know as precisely as
I do that forty-six days have passed since we left Königsberg and there are a further fifty-four yet to go before my father's debt to you will be cancelled – and I shall be free. Yes, free from you, you madman. Back to Prussia? You can go alone if you wish. But I know you well enough by now, Alexis Zweig, and I know you will not leave without me.'

She stepped forward, her face still inflamed from the shock of their meeting.

‘So, while I stay here the debt is secure. Without me returned there would be no repayment. The hundred days will pass. So, if you want me to come, you'll have to force me!' Her eyes flashed with defiance and she seemed to be goading him to lose his temper.

Zweig smiled his sweet and confident smile. A lifetime's experience of trading and the patience needed to succeed was not about to be squandered.

‘I see that we have taken up again where we left off on that terrible night, Sophie,' he replied wistfully, ‘I greatly regret it. You must know my true feelings for you. And you are right – I shall stay with you now as I shall stay with you forever. There is no life for me without you. As to the debt, we have spoken of this before. It is already forgotten. I have no fear about such matters. I shall make good this amount ten times over.

‘So, please reconsider, Sophie,' he continued and took a step towards her, his hand held out as if to take hers, ‘we must thank these good people for their kindness, but we have no business here.'

Sophie stared fiercely back at him, her resistance clear. There was a frozen moment of silence. Then they all heard the unmistakable sound of a firearm being cocked. It came from behind, high above them, and Zweig looked quickly over his shoulder. A pistol was pointing at his head.

‘Now sir,' said Dunbeath, jumping down from the dune with the gun in his outstretched hand. While he had clearly witnessed
some of the encounter he had not been close enough to have heard what Zweig was saying. ‘Step back and return your arms to your sides. What mischief is this that you should threaten two defenceless women in this way?'

Zweig had turned completely and now faced Dunbeath. He smiled pleasantly, almost as if he had been expecting him. He bowed and began to introduce himself but Dunbeath dismissed him with a wave of his free hand. Instead, he kept the pistol pointing at Zweig's head, his arm shaking slightly with the effort.

‘Ah, my Lord Dunbeath,' said Zweig evenly. ‘A pleasure to meet you. But I have heard something already of your determination when you hold a pistol and another does not. What can I do for you?'

Dunbeath narrowed his eyes and continued to study him as if considering the weight of what Zweig has just said.

There was a long pause as they eyed each other and then Zweig murmured in a cool tone.

‘I see how it lies, my lord. I believe Miss Kant has made an impression on you. You would not involve yourself in the lives of two poor foreigners if that were not so.'

Dunbeath's head tilted back slightly in his disdain. There was a further silence while Zweig continued to smile encouragingly. Then Dunbeath stretched out his arm and spoke in a low, grating voice.

‘My business with you is just this. You have something of mine. A telescope.'

Zweig bowed again and immediately took the Domenico Salva from his inside pocket and passed it over with a courteous tilt of his head. Dunbeath leant forward and grabbed it from his outstretched hand and then brusquely told the two women to get in front of him. Together they started to return to the castle.

Zweig simply continued to smile placidly as he stood in a dignified silence. But once the three had taken a few paces he called out in a knowing tone.

‘And how do you think I came by it, my lord?'

Dunbeath chose not to answer; indeed, he showed no sign of having heard Zweig at all, and the little group walked on for a few more yards. Then Sophie turned round to look again at the captain. Now that her wits were gathered she seemed almost exhilarated by the experience. But Zweig simply continued to stand quite still, apparently peacefully accepting the situation. He gave a last graceful inclination of his head as a farewell to Sophie and slowly turned and began the walk back to Dunbeaton.

* * * 

Major Sharrocks put his telescope down. He paused for a moment, considering what he'd just witnessed. Then he gave a jerk of his head to the two troopers with him, and together they mounted and rode off.