TW03 The Pimpernel Plot NEW (13 page)

“That would be a pity,” Finn said.

“Aye, it would. I wouldn’t even have enough material for my first act.”

By midnight, the guests had all departed. Marguerite went up to bed, exhausted. Ffoulkes and Dewhurst were the last to leave, along with old de Chalis, who quietly told Finn that if there was ever anything that he could do for him, he had but to ask. When they had gone, one of the servants came up to Finn and handed him an envelope.

“What’s this?” said Finn.

“One of the guests told me to give this to you after everyone had gone, milord,” the servant said.

Finn tensed. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know, milord. A gentleman.”

“What did he look like?”

The young man shrugged. “He looked like a gentleman, milord.”

Finn frowned. “Never mind. That will do. Go on about your duties.”

He opened up the note. It was short and to the point. It said, “The maze, at one o’clock.” It was unsigned, but Finn knew who it was from.

The house seemed strangely empty now that all the guests had left. As Finn walked back into the reception hall, the heels of his shoes made sharp echoing sounds that filled the spacious room, which only a short while ago resounded with laughter, boisterous conversation, and violin music. It was a lovely way to live, Finn thought. It might be very pleasant to spend the next several years as Sir Percy Blakeney, if it wasn’t for the fact that his lifespan could be drastically curtailed by some error he had yet to make.

There was still some time before one o’clock. Finn quickly went up to his rooms and changed out of his elegant, cream-colored suit, dressing in black riding clothes and boots, the better to blend in with the darkness. Just to be on the safe side he tucked a short dagger into his belt and took along a polished ebony sword cane with a heavy, solid silver head.

It was chilly and a mist had settled on the grounds. His boots made slight crunching sounds upon the gravel path as he walked around to the side of the house, his crackling steps a percussive counterpoint to the chirping of the crickets. He stepped off the path and onto the grass, heading for the elaborately arranged rows of perfectly trimmed hedges, eight feet high and four feet thick. There was no evidence of any other human presence about save for himself.

It occurred to him that the setting was perfectly suited for a trap. In the darkness, with the tall hedges all around him, it would be virtually impossible to see anything. Finn had good night vision, but the visibility was limited as a result of the darkness and the mist. The thought that somewhere nearby would-be a man trained at least as well as he was made him move slowly and cautiously as he entered the maze. Lucas had shown him how the placement of the urns indicated which turn to take. The benches were positioned so that the urns could only be seen from the correct paths, the view of them being otherwise blocked by the benches. Obviously, Mongoose knew this trick as well, else why choose the maze for a meeting place?

Moving with stealth, Finn made his way to the grassy square at the center of the maze. He could make out the ghostly white benches placed around the perimeter of the square, but not much else. He wished he had been issued night glasses, but the fact that he lacked such equipment did not mean that Mongoose would be equally at a disadvantage. Still, there was nothing else to do but sit down upon a bench and wait until Mongoose made his move. Finn waited nervously in the darkness, listening to the chirping of the crickets. At a little after one o’clock, he heard a faint sound of movement close by and then a familiar voice called out, softly, “Delaney?”

“I’m right here,” he said. “What’s the matter, can’t you see me?”

There was a chuckle that seemed to come from only a few yards away, but Finn could not accurately gauge the direction or the distance.

“Nice try, Delaney, but I happen to know that you weren’t issued night glasses. The only thing they gave you was a hypo ring, which just goes to show you how paranoid they’re getting.”

“Where are you?”

“Nearby,” Mongoose replied. He chuckled once more.

“Where’s Priest? I didn’t see him at the party.”

“He’s around,” Finn lied. “I didn’t see you, either. But then, the way you keep changing your appearance, I wouldn’t have recognized you anyway. What’s your face look like these days?

The last time I saw you, it had been rearranged a bit.” The brief silence told Finn that he had scored a hit with his reference to the torture that had disfigured Mongoose.

“Well, we both look a bit different these days, don’t we?” Mongoose said. Finn realized that he was moving as he spoke.

He seemed to be just outside the center of the maze now, in one of the paths between the hedgerows. Walking softly, Finn moved in the direction of his voice. “I see you’ve got de la Croix with you,” Mongoose continued. “Oh, yes, that’s right it’s Private Cross now, isn’t it? Well, it appears to be quite a reunion, all of us back together once again.”

“It must be kismet,” Finn said. “After the way you bungled your last mission, I thought they’d never let you near a field assignment again. Yet here you are. What a surprise.” Finn turned down another pathway, his eyes straining to penetrate the mist and darkness. “I heard you were busted down to desk jockey. Seems to me you were pretty lucky to get even that.”

“I wasn’t meant to be a glorified clerk, Delaney,” Mongoose said, with an edge to his voice. “Having me sitting behind a console was a sinful waste of talent and ability.”

“Your talent and ability almost got you killed last time,” said Finn, moving closer. “If it hadn’t been for us, Adrian Taylor would have vivisected you.”

“Perhaps,” said Mongoose. “Who’s to say how it might have turned out without your interference? You may have saved my life, in which case I suppose I should be grateful, but you also ruined my career. I realize that the one shouldn’t cancel out the other, but somehow it seems to. You’ll pardon me if I don’t seem properly appreciative.”

“Why don’t we cut out this kids’ game, Mongoose?” Finn said. “Come out and show yourself.”

“I’m afraid I’m not quite ready to do that just yet,” Mongoose said. “You see, we really have no basis for trust in this relationship.

I know you’ve sent Priest to see Fitzroy. I just came from there. They didn’t see me, of course, but I saw them. The funny thing is, I really was your contact. We could have worked together, had you chosen to, but Fitzroy will obviously have me checked out. To tell the truth, I expected it. He’s served his purpose, however. It really doesn’t matter. The only thing you have accomplished is adding more spice to the game.” Slowly, noiselessly, Finn slid the sword blade out of the cane.

Mongoose sounded very close now, just on the opposite side of the hedge, separated from him by about four feet of bush.

“It was really very boring in evaluations,” Mongoose said. “It was a dead end for me. There was no challenge. This way—” Finn plunged the sword deeply through the hedge, following it with the length of his entire arm. He heard Mongoose gasp.

“Very good, Delaney! But not good enough.” Finn heard the sound of running footsteps. Cursing, he pulled the sword back out of the hedge and took off at a sprint, brushing his hand against the hedge as he ran to feel for the next gap in the bushes. He reached it, plunged through, made a quick right turn and ran down the path after Mongoose, his sword held out before him. Mongoose was running for the exit and there was only one way to get out of the maze beyond which the grounds were open for several hundred yards.

Finn came to a bench, noticed the placement of the urn, and turned down the path to the left. A right turn, another left …and he came to a dead end, running right into a leafy wall blocking off the pathway. Startled, he was confused for a moment until he realized that Mongoose must have moved the urns as he entered the maze behind him. He ran back the way he came, this time taking the “wrong” turns. He came to a dead end again.

“Son of a bitch!” he swore. Mongoose had only moved some of the urns. But which ones had he moved? It took him almost a half an hour to find the exit. By that time, Mongoose was long gone. Finn stood at the entrance to the maze, breathing hard. Except for the sounds of the crickets and his own labored breathing, he couldn’t hear a thing.

Thick fog obscured the grounds. He felt the tip of the blade.

It was wet with blood.

At breakfast the following morning, one of the servants came in with a message from the head gardener, warning Sir Percy and Lady Marguerite against going walking in the maze that morning. It seemed that one of the guests had decided to play a prank the previous night and had moved a number of the urns. The gardener promised that he would have it all set straight by the afternoon.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if it was that Sheridan chap,” said Finn. “He seemed quite exuberant last night. Well, then, my dear,” he said in a casual manner, “what did you think of the cream of London society?”

“I am more concerned as to what they thought of me,” Marguerite replied, evasively. “I hope, for your sake, that I made a favorable impression last night.”

“To be sure, you simply bowled them over,” Finn said. “No doubt, you’ll be receiving a great many invitations now and I’ll be forced to follow you from ball to ball like an attendant.”

“As it happens, I’ve already been invited to a tea at Lady Bollingbrook’s,” said Marguerite. “It’s for ladies only, Percy, so you will be spared the agony of having to attend. That is, if you have no objection to my going?”

“Object? Begad, why should 1? You must go, of course. Otherwise, Lady What’s-her-name might take offense. When is this tea to take place?”

“This afternoon.”

“Ah, well, you see? It works out perfectly. I have certain business matters that require my attention today and I was afraid that you would be left with nothing at all to do other than staying at Richmond and wallowing in boredom. Far better for you to go to this Lady Something-or-other’s and cultivate some friendships.”

“Then I shall go,” said Marguerite, quietly. “I wouldn’t want to interfere with any of your plans.”

“Well now, if you’re having tea in London, you can’t possibly be in my way then, can you?” Finn said jauntily. “For that matter, my being absent will enable you to enjoy yourself without having to suffer my sad attempts at witty conversation. It works out well for all concerned.”

“Yes, I suppose it does,” said Marguerite, without looking at him.

The arrival of Lucas forestalled any further conversation, much to Finn’s relief. Lucas said that he had brought an urgent message from Percy’s solicitors in London and they withdrew, leaving Lady Blakeney to finish eating breakfast alone. Andre was summoned and the three friends went into one of the smaller parlors. They closed and locked the doors after themselves.

“I’m really beginning to feel terrible about the way I’m forced to treat that lady,” Finn said.

Lucas glanced at him sharply. “You start caring about her, Finn, and it’s going to get very rough on you,” he said. “Remember, she sent a whole family to the guillotine. You’re not getting involved with her, are you?”

Andre watched Finn closely, but said nothing.

“No, of course not,” Finn said. “Only …well, forget it What happened with Fitzroy?”

Lucas picked up a glass from a silver tray upon the table and poured himself some port from the decanter. He looked tired.

“I didn’t get much rest,” he said. “I signaled Fitzroy as soon as I got to Calais and he came out to meet me. He wanted to know why I didn’t go through channels and use our contact over here.” He smiled, wryly. “I told him. Fitzroy had never heard of Mongoose. Our contact in England is supposed to be an Observer named Captain Jack Carnehan. Carnehan’s description matches that of the groom who gave me that note from Mongoose, the same groom whom no one else around here seems to have seen,” he added.

“How did Major Fitzroy react?” said Andre.

“He didn’t take it very well,” said Lucas. “He had to check it out, of course. He clocked out ahead and made a routine inquiry and, not surprisingly, discovered that there is no officer in the Observer Corps named Jack Carnehan. At that point, he immediately contacted the TIA, thinking that they were involved in this mission and that he hadn’t been informed. The new director, Allendale, assured him that such was not the case and insisted that we had made a mistake. When Fitzroy told him about the ersatz Capt. Carnehan, Allendale ran a check on Mongoose. The records had him listed as inactive, on medical leave. Fitzroy insisted that Allendale check in with Darrow, as well as agent Cobra. Cobra was unavailable for some reason, but Allendale set up a secure-line conference with Darrow, just to mollify Fitzroy. Darrow told him that Mongoose had been given medical leave following his last mission in the field, but that he had returned to active duty shortly thereafter, which so far coincides with what we already know. If Mongoose had been given medical leave again, said Darrow, it happened after his resignation and he wasn’t aware of the circumstances.

“Allendale wanted to know why Mongoose had been removed from the field duty roster. Darrow was a bit stiff about that, but he did say that it was all a matter of record and he was surprised that Allendale had to ask. The reason he had to ask, as it turned out, is that Mongoose had the records altered. He managed to transfer himself out of evaluations and then place himself on medical leave, so that he would not be missed. Then—get this—he forged departure tags for himself under the name of Lieutenant Vasily Rurik. The real Lt. Rurik is on medical leave from the Observers, recovering from wounds sustained on duty during an arbitration action in the 20th century. Mongoose had access to his records when he was in evaluations. He assumed Rurik’s identity, requisitioned a chronoplate for the purpose of Observer duty in the War of the First Coalition, clocked out, and promptly disappeared.” Finn nodded. “He bypassed the tracer functions on the plate, showed up here, and reported to Fitzroy as Carnehan. Fitzroy gave him a full briefing on the mission status, naturally. The guy’s got nerve, I’ll hand him that. He showed up last night.”