‘Just across the park,’ Craddock said. ‘We work closely together now that we’re united under the auspices of the Directorate, especially when it comes to recruiting.’
‘You have your recruiters on the lookout?’ Aubrey said.
‘We have a list of names,’ Craddock said. He placed the paperweight in a small silver saucer. It shone like a beacon. ‘If they appear at a recruiting office, we’re notified. When you and Doyle showed up, I said we’d take you both in and then get Doyle here to Lattimer Hall.’
‘And what if these names don’t volunteer?’ Aubrey asked.
‘They will. Given time.’
‘So you don’t think the war will be over by Christmas?’
‘Do you?’
Aubrey remembered the war build-up he’d seen in Holmland. ‘I doubt it.’
‘The war will be a horror beyond most people’s imagining. When this becomes apparent, it will deter some from volunteering – but others will understand how important it is.’ Commander Craddock pushed the paperweight with a finger. It rolled around the saucer. ‘And if they don’t, we’ll have to convince them.’
Aubrey hoped that wasn’t as ominous as it sounded. Craddock had made a professional career out of sounding threatening.
George stood. ‘Be careful, old man,’ he muttered to Aubrey, but he brightened when he joined Tate, the Department operative. She looked at him coolly from under her cap with large dark eyes. ‘Are we in any hurry?’ he asked her. ‘I know a little café, just around the corner...’
His voice cut off as the door shut, and Aubrey smiled. George would never die wondering.
‘Things have changed, Fitzwilliam,’ Craddock continued. ‘With the declaration of war, I need every talented individual I can get hold of. I want to bring you on board, not as an irregular, but as a full operative of the Department.’
‘I see.’
‘I’m organising a special intelligence and espionage corps. I want you to be part of it.’
Aubrey sat upright. ‘But aren’t I a little young?’
Craddock smiled grimly. ‘You’re eighteen. Many of our army volunteers are younger than that. Besides, how old do you have to be to die for your country?’
Aubrey swallowed. ‘I’d prefer to live for my country. I could get more done that way.’
‘So do I, but I want you to understand what’s at stake here.’ Craddock took a large, leather-bound ledger from a desk drawer. He opened it. ‘I’m going to need all sorts of people, young and old. We’ll be recruiting women, too, plenty of them.’
‘For active service?’
‘Of course. We’re not going to overlook talent, wherever we find it. The regular army can shilly-shally on such matters, but we can’t afford to. I anticipate that members of these special units will have to work in different places, blending in unobtrusively.’
‘Overseas?’
‘Wherever they’re needed. Behind enemy lines, in Gallia, in the Goltans.’
When Aubrey had committed himself to being a soldier, he’d accepted that he would be sent to the front. He’d worked up his courage to encompass this eventuality, and now his expectations were thrown out of the window. This was not what he’d been planning – but it was altogether more exciting.
‘I’m not sure what my parents will think.’
Craddock paused. ‘That, of course, is up to you. But I had imagined that you’d sorted it out before going to enlist.’
Aubrey opened and closed his mouth. ‘What do I have to do?’ he said finally.
Craddock opened another desk drawer. ‘Sign here, and here.’
With a feeling that his life would never be the same, he took the pen that Craddock offered and signed.
‘Now the oath.’
As Aubrey repeated the words after Craddock, promising loyalty to the King and to Albion, he had a sudden sense of the vast machinery of war gobbling him up. He hoped that he was gristly enough and tough enough for it to spit him out in one piece.
‘Now.’ Craddock handed him a copy of his enlistment papers. ‘Go home.’
‘Go home?’
‘Every recruit gets forty-eight hours before he has to report.’ Craddock smiled icily. ‘Consider it your first task as part of the military. If you survive talking to your parents, we’ll see you in two days.’
Seven
It wasn’t cowardice that made him slip in a side entrance of Maidstone, Aubrey assured himself. It was simply good tactics. No sense in confronting his mother before his father came home. One scene was better than two.
He stood just inside the door, his back to the wall of the box room. Appetising aromas came from the kitchen, reminding Aubrey that he’d missed lunch. For a moment he considered nipping in and cadging something from cook, but he chose not to press his luck.
He knew the discussion with his parents would be a battle, but he hoped it wouldn’t be a major battle. A skirmish would be preferable, with only light wounds on both sides, but he had his doubts. His parents had plans for him and he was sure that signing up for a clandestine espionage unit wasn’t one of them.
Scholar Tan’s advice came to him: Make choices before your foe makes them for you.
He ticked off the usual decisions facing a battle commander. Site? Well, no choice there. He supposed he could try to catch both his parents on neutral ground, but with the uproar over the declaration of war, he’d be lucky to see his father at all. Timing? Again, that was out of his hands. When his father managed to get home, that would have to do. Weather? Troop numbers? Logistical supply chain? Not terribly relevant. But there was one thing he could look for, one thing that any commander would be grateful for.
Allies.
He stood outside Lady Maria’s door and adjusted his jacket and tie. He pushed his hair back and wished that he’d already had a service haircut; his grandmother would have liked it.
He lifted each foot in turn, rubbing his boots on the back of his trousers, hoping that this would make them shiny enough for her. Finally, he knocked on the door, waited for her invitation, and entered.
Lady Maria looked up, and closed the notebook she’d been writing in. ‘Ah, Aubrey. I thought I’d be seeing you again.’
‘Grandmother.’ He kissed her on the proffered cheek, then busied himself with drawing up a chair. ‘I need to have a word with you. Another word.’
Lady Maria glanced at the letter in her lap. Very deliberately, she folded it and slipped it into the open drawer of the table by her side. ‘Go ahead.’
‘I have something to tell Mother and Father, and I thought I’d talk to you first.’
‘And what is this weighty matter that needs such groundwork?’
‘I’ve joined up.’
‘Good. When?’
Aubrey hesitated. He’d been expecting surprise. Instead, his grandmother had simply taken his bombshell for granted. ‘This morning. Just after I saw you.’
‘Which regiment?’
‘Ah. That’s a little tricky.’
‘Don’t tell me you joined the navy. Ghastly folk, sailors.’
‘No, not the navy. A special section.’
‘Military intelligence, then,’ Lady Maria said dismissively. ‘We can’t have that.’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Secret service will do you no good in the long run because it stays secret. The army is the place for you. After you lead your troops successfully and win medals, your future will be assured.’
Aubrey glanced out of the window. Two of the gardeners were trundling out a lawn roller. He’d once heard someone ask Lady Maria how to get a lawn as good as the one at Maidstone. She’d sniffed and explained that it was straightforward: simply sow grass seed, then cut and roll for three hundred years.
‘I hadn’t thought of it like that,’ he said, which was true.
&nb
sp; ‘Of course not. Now, let me talk to some friends and I’m sure I can make arrangements. The Cliffstone Guards, of course. I’m sure they will be needing some good junior officers.’
Aubrey rubbed his forehead. So he had an ally in the joining up business, but it was like seeing your ally appear on your left flank then, without warning, go galloping off without looking at the battle plan at all. He was sure she could arrange a commission. Her network of friends, acquaintances and people who simply owed her favours had been built up over decades.
It wasn’t what he wanted.
‘Grandmother, I think I might need to explain myself a little better.’
It took some time, and a welcome pot of tea, before Aubrey reached a level of understanding with his grandmother. At first she was insistent, taking her customary stance of knowing best, but Aubrey didn’t give up. He stood firm. He’d never been successful with his grandmother before, and it was like moving a monolith an inch at a time, but he wondered if it wasn’t a sign of his growing up that he didn’t back down.
Finally, Lady Maria fixed him with a look that Aubrey, with some hesitation, decided held a measure of respect. ‘I’ve never seen you like this, Aubrey.’
‘I don’t think I’ve ever been like this.’ Aubrey was both exhausted and proud of himself. Lady Maria was like a force of nature as far as getting her own way was concerned, and yet he’d stood his ground.
‘Hmm. I’d tell you that you’re reminding me of your father at that age, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear that sort of thing.’
Aubrey rubbed his forehead. ‘How did you feel when he joined up, Grandmother?’
‘It was altogether different. He went into the family regiment. The Guards.’
‘I understand that. But weren’t you afraid?’
‘Of course. But he was doing a good thing.’
‘And so will I.’
Lady Maria was silent for a time. ‘How can I help you?’
Aubrey sat back with relief. ‘I don’t want you to argue my case for me.’
‘Of course not. That would be rather contradictory, since you’re making a point about your self-determination.’ Lady Maria was nothing if not shrewd.
‘You’ve done what you can, Grandmother. Just talking to you has helped.’
‘A rehearsal, you mean.’ She tapped a finger on the arm of her chair.
‘If you’re able, a word or two after I’ve spoken with them may be useful. They may need someone to talk to.’
‘I’m sure I can contrive a chat with them,’ Lady Maria said. ‘And I’m sure the times when your father took it into his head to go his own way will come up.’
Aubrey’s ears pricked up. ‘Such as?’
‘Another time, dear.’ She paused. ‘Is that him now?’
Aubrey swivelled. A motorcar had just drawn up out the front of Maidstone. For someone so old, his grandmother had very fine hearing. He jumped to his feet and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’
‘I’m pleased to help. An ally in time of need is worth more than gold.’
Aubrey was halfway down the stairs before he realised, with some astonishment, that his grandmother had been quoting the Scholar Tan to him.
I live with a family of first-rate surprisers.
He found his parents in Lady Rose’s drawing room, amid the ostrich feathers and papyrus tapestries. They were standing close to each other, holding both hands and talking in low voices.
‘Aubrey, good, I wanted to talk to you, too.’ His father’s face was drawn and the skin under his eyes was dull. He had monumental energy, but Aubrey could see that the times were taxing even him. ‘You’ve heard the news, I take it? Sit, sit. No need to stand around.’
Aubrey took an oriental lacquered chair he hadn’t seen before. It had a red velvet cushion. ‘War? It’s hard not to have heard.’
His mother and father took a small sofa directly opposite him. ‘Not that,’ his father said. ‘I’ve just come from the palace. His Majesty has taken a turn for the worse. After the King appeared to the crowd at the palace, he collapsed. He’s been confined to bed again.’
‘He has taken the news very poorly,’ Lady Rose said. ‘He was convinced that his cousin would never permit Holmland’s going to war.’
‘How’s Bertie holding up?’ Aubrey asked.
‘Stout fellow, Bertie,’ his father said. ‘He’s taken on even more of the royal duties.’
Aubrey was concerned for his friend. At a time like this, the nation was lucky to have Prince Albert, but it would be difficult to rally the nation and to tend to a dying father at the same time. He promised himself he’d visit Bertie when he could – but that reminded him that his immediate future was out of his hands.
He swallowed, circling around the delicate matter at hand. ‘And how is the mobilisation going?’
‘The fleet has already put to sea,’ his father said. ‘Every regiment is doing its best to ready itself. I’ve been promised that by the end of the week, we’ll be moving, but we’ll need to bring up troops from the colonies as well.’ Sir Darius touched his moustache. ‘We’re going to send an expeditionary force almost immediately – four infantry divisions and one cavalry.’
‘To the Low Countries?’
‘To north Gallia,’ Sir Darius said bleakly. ‘By the time we’re mobilised, it’s thought that the Holmlanders will have sliced through the Low Countries.’
The thought chilled Aubrey. The horror had begun. Towns, villages, farmhouses would already be trampled by the Holmland advance.
‘You went out today, Aubrey,’ Lady Rose said evenly.
‘Hmm,’ Sir Darius said. ‘I thought I’d asked that you stay here at Maidstone for the time being.’
This is it. He took a deep breath. ‘That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I know your time is valuable, Father, but it’s important.’
Sir Darius studied him, solemnly. ‘You’ve enlisted.’
Over the gasp of his mother, Aubrey felt as if he were a bowler who had just begun his run up and was tripped by an unseen foe. ‘You knew?’ Then his earlier irritation returned. Was nothing he did his own? ‘How many of your people are watching me? It didn’t take long for them to report.’
Lady Rose took her husband’s hand. Her knuckles were white. He glanced at her before answering. ‘I didn’t know. I simply asked myself what I would have done in your place.’
‘But you stuck me here to stop my enlisting!’
Sir Darius raised an eyebrow. ‘Did I? I thought the message was about stopping you from doing something foolish.’
We’re speaking the same language, Aubrey thought, his head spinning, but I’m not sure I understand at all. ‘Like joining up?’
Sir Darius sighed. ‘I knew that we’d have little chance of talking you out of joining up. So I thought what would be best is if George was alongside when you did. I hope he was.’
‘Oh.’ Aubrey sat back in the chair. The hard wooden back pressed into his spine, but he hardly noticed. ‘You wanted me to enlist?’
‘Well, I’m not going to say that,’ Lady Rose said. Her cheeks were pale, but her voice was calm. ‘I’d prefer to have you safe at home instead of bounding off in search of glory. But if you were happy with remaining behind, you must have undergone a radical personality change.’
Aubrey grimaced. ‘So you wanted George and me to enlist together?’
‘It seemed the best outcome,’ Sir Darius said.
‘But we haven’t. I mean, I’ve enlisted. And so has George. I think. The last I saw of him he was going to lunch with a very pretty Department operative.’
‘Aubrey,’ his mother said. ‘You’re starting to babble. Slow down. Tell us everything.’
He did.
‘I see,’ his father said when he’d finished. ‘The Magic Department.
And you say George has been snapped up by the Special Services. I can’t say I’m surprised by either outcome.’ He gave a hoarse laugh, one with little actual amusement in it. ‘I wonder if they realise what’s ahead for them.’
‘What? The Department?’
‘No. The Holmlanders.’
Eight
Following the instructions on his enlistment papers – and still shaking his head at how his parents continued to confound his expectations – Aubrey presented himself back at Darnleigh House two days later.
It’s starting to feel like home, he thought as he glanced up at the glowering building. He was quite the veteran, being at the place so much lately. Standing on the pavement in a milling crowd, he probably was – at least, compared to those around him.
It was a mixed bunch, most of them holding papers similar to Aubrey’s. Drawing attention to themselves was the only characteristic they seemed to share, which made Aubrey wonder about their future in clandestine intelligence. Most of them appeared lost or befuddled, and not a few of them showed every sign of being daunted by the reputation of the building they were standing outside.
Before he entered, Aubrey allowed himself a wistful moment. Events had conspired against him and his mission to declare himself to Caroline. He was going to have to postpone it, much as he hated to. Although Caroline had no idea of his mission, he felt as if he were letting her down, which was something he’d vowed never to do.
Inside, Aubrey had to wait in line with more bewildered recruits. The entrance hall of Darnleigh House had the remains of its Gothic origins, with a soaring vaulted ceiling and narrow windows high in the pillared walls. It tended to automatically create a hush, once foot was set inside, especially given the rumours that were whispered about goings-on in the bowels of the edifice.
Aubrey took note of how varied his fellows were, even more than the volunteers at the recruiting centre. For a start, nearly a third of them were female, young and old. The males ranged in age, too. Quite a few looked to be Aubrey’s age, but others were mature adults, and some were middle-aged and even older. Aubrey saw one greybearded man hobbling toward the front desk with the assistance of a stick.
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