The Black Crow Conspiracy (10 page)

Balfour turned to Monty again.

“There is to be a reception at the German Embassy this evening – an Anglo-Germanic Commemoration to celebrate the achievements of both our great nations. The great and the good from London to Berlin will be in attendance – industrialists, writers, artists and scientists – and the guest of honour will be Kaiser Wilhelm himself. I will be attending as a representative of His Majesty’s Government, but I would also like to extend an invitation to you, Mr Flinch, as one of this nation’s greatest novelists.”

“I would be delighted,” Monty replied with a grin, the prospect of fine wine and canapés a
welcome change from the slop he had been served at New Scotland Yard.

“And of course you will accompany your uncle, Miss Tredwell,” Balfour said, turning now to Penelope. “I would like you both to act as the eyes and ears of our search for the King and the rest of the royal family. Anything you see or hear that raises your suspicions or could give a clue as to where the King has been taken, you must inform me immediately. We are facing a ruthless foe and must match their cunning with our own guile. There may well be dangers, but the very fate of our nation rests upon your success.”

Monty paled as the convivial evening he had imagined was replaced in his mind by more dangerous entertainments, but Penny held her head high as she met the First Lord of the Treasury’s gaze.

“My uncle and I will be proud to serve our country,” she replied, her features set in a resolute expression. “We will find King Edward the Seventh and make sure he is back on his throne in time for the coronation.”

XVI

Beneath an ornately painted ceiling showing a menagerie of beasts, Penelope stood alone in the midst of the reception, watching the dizzying whirl of guests as they thronged the ballroom. The grand space was almost overcrowded, every member of London society eager to partake of the Kaiser’s hospitality, especially as the sad news of the King’s illness had brought preparations for the coronation festivities to a premature end. Long lines of gaudily coloured flags were hung from the white and gold galleries; magnificent chandeliers with their tinted crystals illuminated festoons of flowers.

Uniformed waiters weaved their way through the crowd, the trays balanced on their hands filled with canapés of herring flakes, Bavarian blue cheese and spicy sausage. Looking around the ballroom, Penny saw faces familiar to her from the pages of
The Times
: artists and authors, politicians and musicians, industrialists and
engineers. A smattering of military uniforms could be seen amidst the tailcoats and evening gowns, the top brass of Great Britain and Germany eyeing each other suspiciously over the canapés. The great and the good, Balfour had said, but glancing round the room the only women that Penelope could see were the wives and daughters of German diplomats, laughing coquettishly at the gallant remarks of their distinguished guests.

Beneath one of the grand chandeliers, Penelope could see that Monty had cornered one of the waiters; his wine glass was half-drained as he sampled the various German delicacies. From the ruddy sheen of his cheeks, it appeared that he had devoted more of the evening to supping the Kaiser’s Riesling than to searching for clues of the King. Penny felt a hand on her shoulder followed by the rasp of a German accent.

“Ah, Madame Curie,” the voice proclaimed. “We meet again.”

Turning in surprise, Penelope found herself gazing up into the face of Professor Röntgen, the scientist fixing her with a penetrating stare.

“I’m afraid you must have mistaken me for somebody else,” Penny replied, a slight tremor in her words. She turned to move away from the professor, her heart thudding in her chest at her discovery. Röntgen caught hold of her arm, his powerful grip keeping Penny in her place.

“Do not insult my powers of observation,”
the man hissed. “I recognised you from the moment I set eyes on you this evening. You are the busybody who sneaked into the Society yesterday, impersonating Madame Curie when the arrival of her train was delayed. Why are you meddling in my business and asking questions of matters beyond your imagining?”

He squeezed her arm, Penelope’s faint cry of pain masked by the noise of the chattering guests.

“Who are you?” he hissed.

Penny winced, the scientist’s tightening grip becoming more painful still. She could feel his fingernails pressing into her skin as if he was trying to dissect her with his bare hands. With a growing sense of fear, she stared up into his eyes; the fire that burned there was a pale imitation of the luminescence she had seen on the faces of the radiant boys.

“What do you know of my experiments?”

Penelope struggled, but Röntgen’s grip was too tight. There was no way she could free herself without causing a scene. Her saviour came, though, from an unexpected source.

A sudden fanfare of trumpets turned the gaze of every guest to the front of the grand ballroom.

“My lords, ladies and gentlemen, his Imperial Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm the Second.”

Dressed in a Prussian-blue uniform, the German Emperor entered the room, flanked on both sides by his guards. His steely gaze swept across the
ballroom, inspecting the guests gathered there as if they were soldiers assembled for parade inspection. Beneath the gold braid that decorated his shoulders, the Kaiser’s chest was covered in more medals than material, the most glittering of these the Order of the Black Eagle hanging from a chain around his neck. As the Kaiser stepped on to a dais that had been set in front of a huge portrait of himself, a respectful hush settled over the room.

Penelope felt Professor Röntgen loosen his grip on her arm. There was no way he could risk a disturbance in the middle of the Kaiser’s address.

The Kaiser stood there in silence, his expression stern as his left hand clutched the hilt of his sword. Forgetting for a moment the danger she was in, Penny stared in fascination at this regal figure she had only seen before in the pages of newspapers. His dark hair was slicked back in the military fashion, and the ends of his extravagantly waxed moustache stood to attention as well, its bristling spikes forming a W beneath his nose.

“My lords, ladies and gentlemen,” the Kaiser began. “It warms my heart to see you all gathered here this evening. I am proud to come back to this land that my grandmother, Queen Victoria, ruled with such great dignity: the land of Shakespeare, Dickens and Flinch. Our two nations share a great heritage: scientific endeavour, artistic expression
and, of course, our military might. We belong to the same great Teutonic race that Heaven has entrusted with the culture of the world. What other nation could match our accomplishments? Not the French,” he spat. “Nor those upstart colonists in America who you so unfortunately misplaced.”

Near the front of the audience, Penny caught a glimpse of Balfour as he listened intently to the Emperor’s address; the First Lord of the Treasury was frowning at this last remark.

“As I said,” the Kaiser continued, “we share a great heritage and a common destiny as well. Eighteen months ago as I sat by my dear grandmother’s side, she beckoned me forward to hear her dying wish. ‘Our two great nations should stand together,’ she told me. ‘Together we shall keep the peace of the world. You will make sure of that, won’t you, my dear boy?’”

The German Emperor paused for a moment, dabbing his eyes as if moved by the memory. Then, seemingly recovering himself, he clicked his fingers imperiously, beckoning for a nearby waiter to bring him a glass of wine.

“Unfortunately my Uncle Bertie cannot be here this evening as I hear he has succumbed to a digestive disorder.” In the audience, the British guests shuffled awkwardly, uncomfortable to hear their king spoken of in such a familiar way. “Whilst this may mean that the coronation is
postponed, I hope that it will not be too long before your new King rises from the throne in Westminster Abbey.”

His piercing blue eyes twinkled with a mischievous gleam as he raised his glass.

“But for now, I bid you to toast the eternal friendship that rests between us. To Germany and Great Britain – may the ties that bind us grow even stronger still.”

The assembled guests raised their glasses in reply. “To Germany and Great Britain,” they chorused.

Applause rang out as the Emperor stepped down from the dais, his aides ushering forward a cluster of handpicked guests to greet him. As an excited hubbub of conversation resumed around the room, Professor Röntgen redoubled his grip on Penelope’s wrist.

“Now, I think we should continue our conversation in a more secluded setting,” he hissed. But as the scientist turned to drag her through the throng, he found the figure of Monty blocking his path.

“There you are, Penelope!” Monty exclaimed, his wine glass now refilled. “A capital speech from the Kaiser, don’t you think? It was almost enough to make me feel fond of our neighbours across the water.” He lifted a sausage from the plate of a passing waiter and stuffed it into his
mouth. “And this bratwurst is a delight!”

Noticing for the first time Professor Röntgen’s hand on Penelope’s arm, Monty brushed his own greasy fingers down the front of his dark tailcoat and then extended his hand in greeting.

“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance, sir. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Montgomery Flinch – you may well know my stories from the pages of
The Penny Dreadful
.”

Professor Röntgen glared at Monty’s outstretched hand, the thwarted expression on his face revealing the scientist’s frustration. He had no choice but to release his grip on Penny’s arm, extending his hand to meet Monty’s in a stiff handshake.

“I am Professor Wilhelm Röntgen,” he replied. “And I am afraid that I am not familiar with this ‘Penny Dreadful’ of which you speak. I am a man of science, not a follower of the fripperies of fiction.”

He broke off the handshake with a barely courteous nod, before turning his attention to Penelope again.

“Now, if you would care to accompany me,
Penelope
, we can resolve this matter without interruption.”

Penny shook her head in reply.

“The matter is already resolved. As I have already said, Professor Röntgen, I believe that
you have mistaken me for another.” With a swish of her violet evening gown, she manoeuvred herself until she was standing by Monty’s side. “Now, if you will excuse me, I am afraid I am feeling a trifle unwell.” She took hold of Monty’s arm, angling her face upwards to meet his gaze. “Uncle, would you be kind enough to take me outside for some air?”

“Are you sure that you don’t just need some sustenance, my dear?” Monty asked, beckoning towards a passing waiter with a tray of canapés. “Perhaps a bite of this bratwurst will restore your spirits?”

Penny shook her head, waving the waiter away whilst Professor Röntgen watched her with a wolfish scowl.

“No,” she replied faintly. “It is the atmosphere here that I find oppressive.” She tightened her grip on Monty’s arm, feeling him twitch as she pressed her nails in. “I would be most grateful if you could accompany me outside for a brief respite.”

Hiding a wince behind his whiskers, Monty swiftly nodded his head.

“Of course, my dear,” he replied with as much grace as he could muster. He turned towards Röntgen again. “Delighted to make your acquaintance, professor, but for now I must bid you
Auf Wiedersehen
! My niece Penelope has a delicate constitution and such a grand occasion
as this is all rather overwhelming for one so young.”

Penny fanned her face, her features a mask of innocence as Röntgen glared back at her. With a vexed growl, the scientist turned on his heel, heading back into the crowd of distinguished guests as Monty took Penelope’s arm in his and steered her towards the door.

“Are you feeling quite yourself?” he asked as they swept a path through the swathes of Anglo-German aristocracy, their braying voices blending in a North Sea stew. “Didn’t the Prime Minister ask us to act as his eyes and ears here to help track down the King?” Monty cast a mournful glance at a passing tray of wine and spirits, the brimming glasses just out of reach. “We can hardly do that if you ask to leave before the party is over.”

Penelope glanced back over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of Professor Röntgen’s electrified coiffure joining the throng of guests surrounding the Kaiser. As the German Emperor held forth, his face fiercely earnest, she spotted Balfour there too, a worried expression lining the politician’s brow.

“Professor Röntgen recognised me,” she replied, turning back as Monty led her through the crowded ballroom. “From my visit to the Society for the Advancement of Science next door.” Penny glanced down at her bare arm,
seeing the red marks of Röntgen’s fingers there. “He said that I was meddling in matters beyond my imagining and demanded to know what I knew of his experiments.”

“Hmmph,” Monty grunted as they neared the grand doors overlooking the embassy’s private garden. “He seemed a rather arrogant fellow to me.”

Sidling past the last of the reception guests, Monty gestured for the guard standing sentry at the doors to open them to let them pass.

“My young niece is feeling a trifle unwell,” he said, slowly enunciating every word as though he was speaking to a child. “I believe that a spot of fresh air in the garden will help her to recover herself.”

Puzzled, Penelope glanced across at the guard as he turned to unbolt the doors. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw he was dressed in the same dark-blue naval uniform she had last seen hanging next to the clothes of the radiant boys. Its brass buttons glinted beneath the glow of the electric chandeliers, and as Penny’s gaze tracked upwards to the sailor’s face she feared she would see the same green glow that she had glimpsed in the shadows of St James’s Park. The old sailor peered back at her with a look of concern, his ruddy features framed by a pair of mutton-chop whiskers. This was not one of the radiant boys.

Holding the door open, he let them both pass
with a respectful nod of his head, Monty ushering them out into the garden as the sun began to set behind the trees. Penelope shaded her eyes against the slanting rays. Before her, she could see a sight more graceful than the assembled elegance of the guests inside the ballroom: lush ferns and flowering shrubs, azaleas, rhododendrons and exotic trees; the splendour of the ambassador’s walled garden taking her breath away. Instead of the empty chatter of conversation and clinking glasses, Penny could hear the sound of birdsong now; nature intruding on this square of London soil.

She shivered, goosepimples creeping across her bare arms as the evening chill descended. Noticing her discomfort, Monty turned back towards the door.