The Mask of Destiny (5 page)

‘Shopping?' Gerald said.

‘You've got something better to do?' Ruby asked.

Gerald looked at his mother. She and Mr Fry were going over the dinner plans. A sheaf of menus and seating charts covered the kitchen table. From the expression on Vi's face, she could have been planning the invasion of Europe.

‘Where do you want to meet?' Gerald said into the phone. ‘And can we make it really,
really
soon?'

Oxford Street was alive with shoppers. The late summer that had warmed London that year was still bringing smiles to the city's inhabitants, and they were making the most of the final days before the first chill winds of autumn blew in.

At the back of a restaurant, on a side street away from the colourful shopfronts and the crowds, Gerald, Sam and Ruby sat in a booth. A mountain of shopping bags lay at their feet. After hours of shopping and planning, they were exhausted.

The remnants of a meal of burgers, chips and milkshakes were spread across the table. Sam belched. ‘Not up to Mrs Rutherford's standards,' he said, rubbing his belly, ‘but it filled a hole.' He let out a satisfied sigh.

Ruby turned to Gerald. ‘I think it's a brilliant idea—a week camping in the Lake District sounds perfect. I'll ask our parents, but I'm sure we'll be able to come.'

Gerald nudged his foot against the pile of shopping bags under the table. ‘You better come,' he said. ‘Or I've just bought a tonne of camping gear for nothing.'

Sam groaned. ‘I can't believe we have to go back to school so soon. This holiday's flown by.'

‘Have your parents decided about school for you yet, Gerald?' Ruby asked. ‘Are you going back to Sydney?'

‘They're talking about boarding school,' Gerald said. ‘But until they make up their minds, I'm on holiday.'

In fact, life for Gerald without the spectre of Sir Mason Green hovering over him was looking pretty good. He'd already placed an order for a customised snowboard and had convinced his mother to fly his friend Ox over from Sydney for a snow holiday the following January. ‘I'm fairly sure Geraldine kept a chalet in Klosters,' Vi had said. ‘Possibly even two. I'll ask Mr Prisk—it is so hard to keep up with the details.' She had clasped Gerald's face in her hands and given his cheeks an extra tweak. ‘You are my special little man,' she'd cooed. ‘Walter says we have to take extra special care of you. He says you're the reinforced slab that I need to build my life upon.' Gerald wasn't sure he liked being referred to as a lump of concrete.

Ruby's voice broke Gerald out of his daydream. ‘Aren't you even a little bit curious, Gerald? About the last casket? About why those golden rods had such an effect on you?'

Gerald stretched his arms wide and yawned. ‘Not even slightly,' he said. ‘All of that ended the moment Mason Green dropped dead.'

‘If it was me, I'd give anything to find out,' Sam said. ‘Just think: there are two ancient artefacts out there that have some mystical power over you Gerald, and maybe a third one just waiting to be discovered. It was funny enough seeing what one of them did to you. I'd pay money to see what all three would do.'

Gerald shook his head. ‘Look, it was a fun adventure and I've got a couple of nice souvenirs back at the house. But that's it. A week ago that ruby we found in India and the drawing of where the ruby casket is probably hidden were the most important things in my life. I really wanted to beat Green to that last casket, to ruin his quest. But now?' Gerald stretched his arms even wider. ‘Now, my biggest worry is what food to pack for our camping trip.'

‘I guess so,' Ruby said. She picked up a French fry and nibbled an end. ‘It'd be nice to know what that gem unlocks though.'

‘I bet that's why Green gave himself up,' Sam said. ‘To get closer to Gerald so he could steal the ruby.'

‘The way Green's lawyer was going, he would have got off too,' Gerald said.

‘Maybe,' Sam said. ‘But when Death comes knocking, nothing's going to turn him away, no matter how much cash you've got piled up against the door.'

Ruby and Gerald both stared at Sam.

‘Bit profound for you, isn't it?' Ruby said.

Sam shrugged. ‘Green got what was coming to him. Still, it would be interesting to know what he was looking for.'

Gerald dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. ‘Whatever it is, it's been buried for a thousand years or more. It can stay that way.'

Sam's eyes flickered towards Ruby, then he gave another shrug. ‘So who's coming to this party tonight?' he asked.

‘At last count it was a couple of hundred people,' Gerald said. ‘But Mum's phoning around to try to boost the numbers. She wants it to be an “event”. And you'll finally get to meet Walter.'

‘Who is this Walter?' Ruby asked.

Gerald closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. ‘Mum's life coach,' he said. ‘She brought him back from America. They met at some party at Martha's Vineyard. He's supposed to help her achieve her full potential, or something.'

‘How does he do that?' Sam said.

‘He's putting her through some course that's meant to make her vibrant and fresh and happy.'

‘She's sitting on a fortune worth twenty billion pounds,' Sam said. ‘What's not to be happy about?'

‘Ah, but it's not her money,' Ruby said. ‘All the money was left to Gerald—his parents are just looking after it till he turns eighteen.'

‘That's another five years,' Sam said. ‘That's forever. Plenty of time for her to play at being a gazillionaire.'

‘Sam!' Ruby frowned at her brother. ‘Don't be so rude.'

‘That's okay,' said Gerald. ‘One thing I've learned from Walter is that sometimes you've got to take what comes. You can't control everything that happens to you.'

‘Really?' Ruby said. ‘So nothing is certain?'

Gerald cringed. Ever since his last day of school back in Sydney, the phrase ‘Nothing is certain' had been popping up all over the place.

‘Very funny,' Gerald said, as Ruby and Sam burst out laughing. ‘All I'm saying is if the fates have it in for you, there's not much you can do to change things.'

‘Rubbish,' Ruby said.

Gerald looked at her, surprised. ‘You don't think so?'

‘Think has nothing to do with it,' Ruby said. ‘I know so. And I'll show you.' Ruby stood and took Gerald's hand. She dragged him over to a round table in the middle of the restaurant.

‘What's this supposed to prove?' Gerald asked.

‘Just shut up and follow me, okay?' Ruby tugged on his hand and led him twice around the table, then back to the booth. She plopped down next to Sam with a look of accomplishment on her face.

‘So?' Gerald said. ‘What's a guided tour of the restaurant meant to show me?'

Ruby leaned forward and said in a low voice, ‘Your life is now forever changed.'

Gerald started laughing. ‘What are you talking about? How can two laps of a table change my life?'

‘Chaos,' Ruby said.

‘Chaos?'

‘It's chaos theory. If we hadn't walked round that table we might have left this restaurant by now. For the rest of your life you are going to be a minute behind where you would have been. Every interaction you have with the world from now on—the things you see, the people you meet—will be different because of that little walk. And all the people you meet: their lives will be different too, even if only just the tiniest bit. The same goes for the people they meet, and so on—like ripples spreading on a pond.'

Gerald wasn't convinced. ‘So life is just one coincidence after another? There's no grand plan?'

‘I'm the coincidence queen, Gerald,' Ruby said with a wink. ‘You can trust me.'

Sam picked at his teeth. ‘Well, it's no coincidence that this conversation is boring. We get to meet Walter tonight. Terrific. Anything actually exciting going to happen, Gerald?'

A shadow passed over Gerald's face. ‘Two things,' he said. ‘And I can't bear thinking about them.'

Chapter 4

V
i was still fussing over seating plans for the party when Gerald walked through the front door, weighed down with shopping bags.

‘I'm not sure the archbishop should be sitting next to Lady Carstairs,' Vi said to Eddie. ‘Not if the gossip magazines are to be believed.'

‘Why don't you move the bishop?' Eddie said. ‘Stick him next to Walter.' Then, under his breath, he mumbled, ‘That ought to shut him up for a bit.'

Vi bristled and straightened in her chair. ‘I will not have you white-anting Walter.' She grabbed up her handbag from under the table and pulled out a key ring. She jangled five golden keys in Eddie's face. ‘See this? I am only three away from graduating from the Drawing Room of Indifference to the Library of Absolute Insight on the fourth floor,' she said. ‘The fourth floor, Eddie! No one in Walter's course has ever got that far. He says I'm gifted.'

Eddie snorted. ‘A gift, more like.'

‘What was that?' Vi skewered her husband with a rapier stare. ‘You know what's in the Library of Absolute Insight, don't you?'

Eddie emitted a weary sigh. ‘The Chalice of Inner Stability?'

‘Exactly,' Vi said. ‘The Chalice of Inner Stability. Walter says it is essential for my core structural strength. And from there it's a mere eleven storeys until I reach the Attic of Ultimate Fulfilment.' Vi's face flushed at the thought if it. ‘I'm the best student he's ever had.'

‘For what he's getting paid,' Eddie said, ‘you're the only student he'll ever need.'

Gerald knew when to make himself scarce. He reached the lift just as his mother exploded.

From the tall window in his bedroom, Gerald gazed out at the line of chimney pots that ran the length of the rooftops opposite. He had a sweeping view of the rear lane and the chain of luxury terraced houses across from his own. Not a roof slate was out of place. Window boxes were carefully tended, blooms of red and yellow dotting the upper levels. Two houses down, a man in a dark suit and parade-gloss shoes swept leaves from a driveway out into the cobbled lane. Gerald watched as the man bent down to run a thumb across the toe of his right shoe, wiping away some smudge or speck of dirt. The man inspected the spotless driveway and retreated behind automatic gates as they swung closed, sealing off the outside world.

‘Imagine being trapped in a life like that,' Gerald thought. ‘What a drudge.' Then he looked down to discover Mr Fry, broom in hand, ejecting a pile of leaves from his driveway. The butler surveyed the result and, with a nod of satisfaction at a job well done, wandered back towards the kitchen door. He paused by the Rolls Royce parked in the drive. Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he dusted it across the silver bonnet ornament, then disappeared into the house.

Gerald shook his head. ‘Just imagine…'

He sat on the edge of his mattress and drummed his fingers on the bedside table. He had promised himself that he would stop thinking about it; stop wondering about its meaning. He knew he had to keep it out of his mind. But…

‘One more time won't hurt,' he told himself, and he opened the top drawer. From under a pile of socks he pulled out a red suede jewellery roll, secured around the middle by a leather lace.

He unrolled the pouch to reveal a ruby, the size of an egg. Gerald picked up the gem in his fingertips and held it up to the window. A pink sheen washed across his face as he gazed into the ruby's heart.

‘What secrets are you keeping?' he whispered. The stone seemed to vibrate like a deftly struck tuning fork. He twisted the gem this way and that, letting the sunlight play across its facets. ‘What are you trying to tell me?'

Gerald tossed the stone onto the bed and opened a flap on the jewellery roll. He slid his fingers inside and pulled out a folded square of paper. He was about to flatten it out when there was a knock on the door.