Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof (17 page)

‘Anything I say would not be sufficient,’ Charles replied, ‘but I believe I shall be the envy of the room.’ He offered them each an arm. ‘If you
would
invite me to your gender’s sanctum, we might have a little more privacy and some quiet.’

‘I believe that may be unlikely, but we shall go. I saw Margot Darkhead’s name in the register when I signed in.’

‘Ah.’

‘I don’t believe I am acquainted with the name,’ Kate said.

‘Miss Darkhead is an adventuress,’ Charles explained, ‘the daughter of one of the original women members. She has… rather strongly held beliefs.’

‘And little restraint in expressing them,’ Antonia added. ‘Loudly.’

The ladies’ lounge was a relatively small room with another fireplace filling the nearest narrow wall. The woodwork had been painted white with a decorative border around the ceiling, and the chairs were smaller, set in fours around small tables. Down at the far end of the room, two tables had been pulled together so that six women could gather around them, though it seemed to Kate that the focus of the group was on one of them, a tall, strongly built, auburn-haired woman in jodhpurs and a tweed riding jacket.

There was a maid beside the door, the first female staff member Kate had seen. Antonia ordered three whiskeys from her and she bobbed a curtsey before stepping out of the room to have them brought.

Selecting a table near the fireplace, they sat down. Kate noted that the leader of the little group at the far end seemed less than impressed that Charles was staying, but she decided that saying nothing was the best course.

‘What is above us?’ she asked instead.

‘A billiards room,’ Charles said, ‘and the dining room. A few rooms kept for private functions, meeting rooms for the senior members, suites for out-of-town members to stay in overnight should they require it, offices, and the attic houses a few members of staff. Lilian has her own suite upstairs as well, though she rarely comes here.’

‘It is a grand place, and most progressive to allow women entry, as I understand it.’

‘Lilian spent almost a decade persuading her father that it was a wise idea. There was significant resistance from the old guard, but you will have noticed that my grandmother is not a woman who gives up on something once her mind is set for it.’

‘I believe I had detected that trait in her, yes.’ In truth, Lilian Barstow-Hall was a stubborn woman with a knack for getting her own way. Her son was lucky that she did not want for much because she had trained him quite well and he could never say ‘no’ to her.

‘It is most fortunate for the establishment,’ Antonia said, ‘that Lilian has never yearned for a career in politics. Had she chosen such a path, we would have had our first female prime minister by now.’

The whiskey arrived as they were laughing, the maid placing their glasses before them and then backing away with a smile. ‘Now, whiskey is something of an acquired taste,’ Antonia went on. ‘Sip, do not gulp. Savour the flavour for a second before swallowing.’

‘We won’t judge if you splutter a little the first time,’ Charles added. ‘I believe I almost choked on my first taste of it.’

Kate lifted her cut-glass tumbler, more or less convinced now that her friends were trying to poison her. And then the scent hit her. Her eyes closed as her enhanced sense of smell dissected the aroma of the pale, brownish fluid. There was a rough, almost sharp edge which stung a little, but beneath it was a warm, full scent which reminded her of the hills above Rhidorroch. Her eyes closed and she took a delicate sip. At first it was just cool liquid in her mouth and then she felt it biting into her tongue and the odd, earthy flavour of it wrapped around her mouth. She swallowed and it burned at her throat and left a warm trail which faded as it went.

‘Oh,’ she said. ‘That is really quite pleasant.’

Charles shook his head. ‘I should have surmised that your reaction would
not
have involved embarrassing coughing.’

Kate took another, larger sip.

‘I believe she likes it,’ Antonia commented, smiling.

‘I have no doubt that she is almost immune to the alcohol and will have not a smidgen of a sore head in the morning either,’ Charles said, a little sourly.

‘And of course he fluffed the shot and I had to step in and shoot the beast. But that’s men for you.’ The loud remark was followed by laughter and giggles. The accent was heavy with upper-crust harshness, as though the speaker was trying her best to seem down to earth and posh at the same time. It had to be Darkhead.

‘Is she like that all the time?’ Kate asked.

‘Her essential premise is that women are superior to men,’ Antonia said.

‘Which, of course, they are,’ Charles added.

‘Patently so,’ Antonia agreed with as straight a face as Kate had ever seen, ‘but we are also superior in modesty and therefore do not shout it from the rooftops.’

‘One of your
most
superior features. Intelligent men understand that women are to be most prized for allowing us to believe we run the planet.’

Antonia looked at him. ‘Lilian has been a terrible influence upon your character, Charles Barstow-Hall.’

‘But…’ Kate began. ‘Obviously I am physically superior to Charles.’

‘In every way I can conceive of,’ Charles agreed without rancour.

‘But in comparison to him, my mind is but a candle flame next to the sun. We each have our strengths as well as our weaknesses.’

Antonia nodded. ‘And Ms Darkhead’s weakness is that she does not understand that. It is far from being an uncommon trait, while wisdom and common sense are by far more rare.’

‘I believe there must be an owl among the creatures Cooper used in his experiment,’ Charles said. ‘That bird has long been associated with wisdom and I feel it is the only explanation for Kate’s wisdom at the age of six.’ Kate stared at him, eyes wide. ‘There! An owlish expression if ever I saw one.’

‘Stop teasing, Charles. Though one cannot help but speculate on the animal side of our owlish Kate. There is a big cat there, but there are traits not associated with felines. Your sense of smell is more acute, Kate, a feature more of the canine breeds.’

‘Her strength, I believe, comes from the Unobtainium in her body, so we can likely discount bears or similar large beasts. We suggested a panther initially, did we not? Perhaps a grey wolf also? That would cover all Kate’s capabilities thus far.’

‘Thus far?’ Kate said, frowning.

‘We cannot discount the possibility that further capabilities may reveal themselves.’

‘I think a cat and a wolf are quite enough. I shall be happy without further complications.’

‘And what have we here? A new face?’ Kate turned to see Darkhead sitting down beside her. She sat astride the chair, arms crossed on its back. ‘Another young waif shackled by the tyranny of the corset?’ She seemed rather jovial about it, but there was an accusative edge to her tone. Up close she was not an especially attractive woman, though by no means ugly. Her eyes were a sharp green, and she had what one might charitably describe as a distinctive nose with a pronounced bridge.

Charles was trying not to appear annoyed and not entirely succeeding. Antonia looked across at Darkhead with the bland expression Kate had discovered she generally reserved for those she held in contempt.

‘Margot Darkhead, this is Katherine Felix. She is ward to Doctor Barstow-Hall and lodging with me while she is in London. Miss Felix is far from being a waif, Margot.’

‘And I do not feel at all shackled,’ Kate added.

‘Then what do you call that means of masculine assertion around your waist, girl? Is that not a means of restraint?’

Kate looked down at her stomach and then back up, shaking her head. ‘No. Perhaps you have never been restrained, Ms Darkhead. I assure you that it feels markedly different.’

‘Miss Felix had something of an abusive father,’ Antonia said quickly, ‘from whom Doctor Barstow-Hall rescued her.’

‘All men abuse women in their own way,’ Darkhead replied without missing a beat.

Kate felt the urge to sink her teeth into the woman’s throat rise in her and pushed back on it. ‘Madam, your insinuations do you no credit and Doctor Barstow-Hall’s reticence in giving you the reply I am sure he feels you warrant says much of his character. Without him I would be chained by the neck in a dark cell, barely able to string a sentence together. I owe to him almost everything I am.’ She turned away, smiling at her companions. ‘I believe we are to dine?’

‘We are,’ Charles said, getting to his feet rather stiffly. ‘Let us retire to the dining room.’

Kate rose to her feet and looked down upon Darkhead briefly before turning once again and joining arms with Charles. The auburn-haired woman’s face had an angry flush to it which Antonia had noticed.

Standing, Antonia leaned forward a little and spoke in a low voice. ‘Don’t mess with her, Margot. She may look like a “waif” but she could pull your head off without a thought, and if she is required to, I shall be holding her coat.’ Then she too linked arms with Charles and the three walked off towards the door.

~~~

The large group of men entering the dining room caused something of a stir. They were taken to one end where several tables had been arranged together, but Kate could still clearly hear voices speaking a language she did not know. It had some slight similarity to the Afrikaans the slavers had spoken, but seemed a little harsher.

‘Von Auttenberg,’ Charles said.

‘Pardon?’

‘Count Karl von Auttenberg, a colonel in the German Army. He’s in London on business of some kind and was invited by Colonel Crofter to give a speech on his recent time in Africa.’

‘I’m sure it was most interesting,’ Antonia said. ‘The Germans have pressed into some regions of the Dark Continent which have remained unmapped to this point.’

‘Perhaps you should have attempted to attend?’ Kate suggested.

‘If Colonel Crofter organised the gathering then I am sure that the room would have been filled to capacity before I applied.’

‘He is one of the “old guard” which I spoke of,’ Charles explained. ‘His opinions on women explorers are not a secret, and are not positive.’

‘He told me, to my face I might add, that he would not trust a map drawn by a woman for we are “constitutionally inclined to exaggeration and incapable of sufficient accuracy.” Not that the man could use a map to navigate from his front door to the back.’

Antonia was looking a little disturbed and Kate determined to lighten the mood once more. ‘Neither could I. My brain
is
constitutionally unable to make heads nor tails of maps.’

‘It is?’ Antonia blinked at her, appearing nonplussed.

‘Indeed. How did you put it, Charles?’

‘She seems to lack a capacity for interpreting abstract symbology, or connecting it with the more substantive entity it represents. So she can see the mountain, and the symbol for it on the map, but her brain refuses to connect the two. Presumably a result of some alteration made by Cooper.’

‘Strange, but we are about to have a visitor.’

Kate looked around in time to see a very tall man in a military uniform stepping up to the table. He was not an unattractive man with somewhat hard features and a strong, fit body, but his left eye was missing. A scar showed on his cheek beneath a black eyepatch; the loss of his eye had not been gentle.

‘Please,’ he said, his voice carrying barely a hint of a foreign accent, ‘do not stand.’ He executed a short, sharp bow. ‘I am Count Karl Werner von Auttenberg, and I simply wished to meet the
great
Doctor Barstow-Hall.’

Charles got to his feet anyway and offered a hand. Not a short man, he was still a good four inches shorter than von Auttenberg. ‘Count, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I introduce my companions, Mrs Antonia Wooster and Miss Katherine Felix.’

‘Indeed, you have the far more attractive table. Would that I could join you, but I must continue with these old men and tell war stories. I merely wished to congratulate you on your work, Doctor. I follow your activities with great interest. Now, I must return to my hosts. Ladies.’ He snapped off another bow and turned to march away.

Charles took the opportunity to flex his fingers and sit down. ‘Man has a grip like a vice.’

‘Mrs Morton had nothing good to say on the subject of Germans,’ Kate said, ‘but he seemed like a gentleman.’

‘Parables have much to say on the subject,’ Antonia said. ‘Never judge a book by its cover.’

‘But first impressions are lasting,’ Charles added. ‘I prefer to reserve judgement until I have more experience of the man.’

‘I expected nothing less, Charles. Your salmon is getting cold and I believe I should like another glass of wine.’

Kate glanced at her companion, detecting the slight tension in her voice even if Charles did not appear to. Antonia had reason to dislike Count von Auttenberg, but what that could be would have to wait for later.

Richmond.

‘Have you encountered Count von Auttenberg before?’ Kate asked as they retired to the drawing room for tea before bed.

‘I have not,’ Antonia replied.

‘But you have some reason to regard him stiffly.’

Antonia sighed and took a sip of her tea. ‘Rumour and innuendo, in truth. In Nairobi we heard tales of German activities in the Congo which were… less than wholesome. The Republic denies all and states that they would not condone such things were they to be provided with proof, but the rumours continue and it is Count von Auttenberg who has administrative authority in the region. He may, indeed, be quite innocent. The rumours may be untrue, remnants of the depredations of the Belgians in years past perpetuated in the hopes that Britain might step in to liberate the region.’

‘But you suspect that they are true and that he may be involved?’

‘I fear so, and I cannot bring myself to like the man because of it. I should not infect you with my pessimism, however. Maintain your objectivity as Charles has done.’

‘I shall do as you say, but I shall note these rumours and your opinion of them. I hold your opinion in high regard, as you should know.’