Well, he was hardly Harlequin’s friend but he wasn’t go to argue the point with them. This was all getting too strange, thought Cobb, The Man From Another World, was what Esme had called him when they had first met. Things were getting spooky.
‘So how do you know that’s me?’
‘This is what Dee says about ‘The Manne Fromme Another Worlde’. Esme picked up the book, found the right page and quoted from it, ‘“Although he shalle be a strangere fromme another worlde, ye shalle knowe himme by his countenance, for he shalle be as familiare to ye as your own kin”. And as far as I’m concerned, that means you, Rufus.’
‘So you’re saying that my fri- er, Harlequin is The Fallen Angel? And that I’m The Manne Fromme Another Worlde? This is too crazy, it can’t be true.’
Esme flicked through the book until she found the page that she wanted. She held it out to him. There, quite clearly, was a colour drawing of Harlequin! It wasn’t his face obviously but it perfectly captured the red and white diamond outfit with the ruffs at neck and wrists, the white knee length socks and the black shoes with the buckles on.
‘Is that him?’ she asked bluntly to prove her point.
‘Yes.’
‘And have you come from another world to rescue him?’
‘Er … yes.’
‘And do you look exactly like my dead husband?’
Cobb nodded and just sat there, stunned. Esme filled a glass with Potato Drink and put it into his hand.
It took a moment for Cobb to find his voice. ‘What happens next?’
‘Well, the friend is also captured by the authorities and imprisoned, together with the Fallen Angel.’
‘They don’t have much luck these people do they?’ said Cobb. ‘What happens to them after that?’
‘Well, then the public rise up against the Black Guard and the Dons. Over time, all throughout Angleland, the Lillibetans overthrow the local garrisons and then the rest of the country follow them. A full-scale revolution breaks out. It takes time but eventually the Dons pack up and leave Angleland forever. Without their support, the Black Guard crumbles and is defeated.’
‘But why?’ asked Cobb. ‘What exactly triggers all this off?’
‘Well, that’s not really important right now,’ she reassured him. ‘All that matters is that Angleland becomes free. Why don’t you have another drink?’
‘What … happens? I want to know,’ he insisted.
‘Well … according to Dr. Dee, the Questioning decides that The Fallen Angel and his friend are to be executed in Castle Greystone. But before that can happen there is a huge explosion and the whole castle blows up. All the Dons and the Black Guard who are there to witness the execution, are all killed.’
‘Including me and Harlequin?’
There was a long pause before she answered. ‘Including you and Harlequin,’ she admitted. ‘Some say it is because God is angry at the way the Castilians treat his Angel, so he sends down fire to destroy them. Some say that it is Harlequin who blows up the castle, sacrificing himself so that the Anglish can be free.
‘Anyway, you both become martyrs and inspire the uprising, which will liberate us all.’
‘Super … can’t wait,’ replied Cobb, glumly. ‘And you believe all this, do you?’
Esme waggled the book in his face, ‘Dr. Dee hasn’t been wrong yet,’ she said emphatically.
‘So you’re saying that Harlequin and I have to die in Castle Greystone for your prophecy to come true and for Angleland to be free?’
She reached over and took his hand. ‘Yes, I’m afraid that’s what the book says. I’m so sorry Rufus.’
He took her hand away gently and poured himself another drink. ‘Well … I guess we’ll just have to die then.’
Castle Greystone
‘No Rufus, you don’t have to sacrifice your life for our cause, it’s not fair, there must be another way,’ insisted Esme.
‘But if that’s what the prophecy says then that’s what must happen,’ Cobb replied, coolly.
‘Damn the prophecy, I don’t want you to die!’ she exclaimed.
‘Easy, easy, don’t get all upset. It’s not what you think.’
‘But how can you take it all so calmly?’
‘What you don’t know, what none of you know, is that I can leave this world anytime I want to. So unless someone shoots me from behind and I don’t see it coming then I’m safe. I just exert my will and I go back to my own Universe. And if I am touching someone I can take them with me. So all I have to do is get close enough to touch Harlequin and “whoosh” we go home. No one gets killed. I’m practically invulnerable.’
Esme looked at him and then round at the rest of the Lillibetans.
‘That’s wonderful!’ she exclaimed. ‘And here I was, worrying about you having a run in with Tendenning.’
‘Not a problem, unless he catches me unawares. But the thing is, I can’t hop back and forwards all the time. If I go home it will take me some time to get back again so I don’t want to have to do it until I’m ready to take Harlequin out of here, once and for all.’
‘So you could enter the castle and then leave, jump, whatever you call it before the castle explodes?’
‘Yes.’
‘But you need to be seen to be in the castle just before it explodes. It is important that you are seen to be there. According to Dee it is the anger of the people at yours and Harlequin’s death, even amongst the non Lillibetans, that sparks off the uprising.’
‘So as long as enough people see us there to believe in the prophecy, then I can get the hell out of there before the place goes skywards?’
‘That’s the idea.’
‘Then I think we have a plan,’ said Cobb. ‘But there’s one thing that’s puzzling me, how do we know the castle will blow up when required?’
‘Well … sometime prophecies need a little help to come true,’ said Esme.’ Do you remember that contact of Quist’s I told you about, inside the castle? Well, he has access to the tunnels that run under the castle. They were sealed off years ago as being structurally unsound. He has been secretly opening them up, allowing us inside and then closing them up again, when we’ve finished.’
‘And what have you been doing in those tunnels?’
‘For years now we’ve been filling them with barrels of gunpowder, a bit at a time. When the contact sees you being led out to execution, he will fire them up and … BOOM!’ she said, gleefully. ‘But what about you, how are you going to get into Castle Greystone?’
‘What’s the best way of getting into a prison? Commit a crime!’ said Cobb.
‘Yes but if you just commit an ordinary crime you will go to the ordinary prison. To get into Castle Greystone you need to do something to offend the Church or the Black Guard.’
The group was silent for a moment then both Cobb and Esme blurted out at the same time … ‘Tendenning!’
***
Cobb and Esme went to the Lodge the next day and spoke to the gunsmith from Brimidgham, who was a trusted member of the Lillibetans. Cobb spent the afternoon explaining the principles behind bullets and the rifling in the barrel to increase accuracy. He also showed him how to strip the gun down for cleaning and then reassemble it.
Finally he handed over the revolver and all his rounds to the gunsmith, who could barely contain his excitement at getting his hands on the invention of the century, decades before it was due to be developed.
‘You have the gratitude of all the oppressed peoples of Angleland. When I make this gun, I will call it the “Cobb” in your honour.’
Cobb was flattered but refrained from expressing his opinion that this wouldn’t be the answer to their prayers. A lot of Lillibetans were still going to die in the fighting, even with their superior weaponry. Still, he had given them the most important weapon … hope.
He joined Esme who was sitting at the bar. On the wall behind it someone had nailed a plaque up saying:
PLEASE DON’T ASK FOR CREDIT AS A
PUNCH IN THE MOUTH OFTEN OFFENDS
Dear, oh dear, thought Cobb. These jokes just get worse.
As they sat there drinking, the outer door opened and somebody came in to the Lodge. Cobb couldn’t make out who it was at first but as he approached the bar, Cobb’s hackles began to rise as he recognised him. The man approached Esme and wished her good day.
‘Cobb, I’d like you to meet Marcus Quist,’ she said.
Cobb stood up and shook his hand. He looked him up and down. This Marcus Quist was leaner than the one he had known but that was probably explained by the lack of good living that the Anglish people had to suffer. Also he wore his hair loose whereas his had always worn it slicked back with hair oil. But apart from that it he was the same man, the same expression, the slightly suspicious look down the nose at you.
‘Ah,’ said Quist, ‘so you are the one we have been waiting for two hundred years? You took your time getting here.’
Cobb’s inclination was to respond sarcastically but he reigned himself in, any ‘beef’ that he may have had with a man named Quist … it wasn’t this Quist, so he shouldn’t take out his aggravation on this man. So he bit his lip and just replied, ‘Sorry, didn’t know I was expected or I’d have been here sooner.’
‘Why don’t you tell Cobb about your mysterious contact inside Castle Greystone,’ Esme asked Quist.
‘Well, there’s not a lot to tell, as we don’t know much,’ he replied. ‘Someone on the inside contacted us by leaving a letter on the floor in a corridor, which was found by one of my men. It was a busy corridor so it must have been dropped only a moment or two before it was found. So whoever did it must have known that the next person down that corridor was one of my men. That means whoever it was knows all about me and my network inside the castle. That in itself was worrying.
‘But whoever it was certainly knew his stuff. He gave us the location of some loose masonry that we could use to hide things behind, to exchange information with him and such priceless information it was, it has been invaluable. Telling us when prisoners are being moved around so we can release them, warning us when Lodges are to be raided, that sort of thing.’
‘So you’ve no idea who it is and you’ve never tried to find out?’ asked Cobb.
‘No. That was the deal. Total anonymity in exchange for all the help he could give the Lillibetans. He even used that name, so he knew who he was dealing with all right. But if we ever tried to find out who he was, then that would be the end of it. So we’ve never tried. But from the language that is used and the quality of the information they give us, it must be somebody high up in the system, a Don or a ranking Black Guard.
‘I can tell you one thing though, he’s not Anglish, you can tell by the way he uses language, too precise. Native-born speakers occasionally make mistakes, use contractions and suchlike, not him. Always exact, as if it was out of a grammar book.’
‘I guess somebody on that side saw the wrong that was going on around here and his conscience made him do something about it,’ said Cobb.
‘Well, whatever the reason, it’s certainly helped us no end. Anyway, I must be going now; I just stopped in to pick up a case of Potato Drink. I’ve got some thirsty customers over in Cofatree waiting for it. Good day to you both.’
Quist picked up the case that the barman had placed on the bar and they all wished him well as he left.
The Lodge was about half full. As most of the local members were farmers, they all seemed to do most of their farm work in the mornings, which left the afternoons fairly free to play.
Esme poured him a drink and they sat there idly chatting as he looked over her shoulder and half watched the game that some of the members were playing behind her. It seemed to be a variation on Hopscotch. The contestants played on a numbered grid chalked on the floor, hopping across the grid from one leg to another or from two legs to one leg and vice versa.
He sat there watching them skipping, right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg … and a door opened up in his mind. Bingo!!!!
That buried memory about the Limping Man that he had locked away in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind suddenly came bursting through the door, a bottle in one hand and firing a six-gun with the other, shouting … Yee Haaaaa!!!!
Of course! He realised now what it was that had been bugging him about that last visit to Captain James. He knew that he had seen or heard something that wasn’t quite right but he had not been able to figure out what it was. Now he knew what had been bothering him.
Captain James had a wooden leg replacing his missing right leg. When Cobb had burst into his room and found him dressing, he had covered up his disability with the bedroom chair. He had then leant his stump on the chair, or so it appeared from where Cobb was standing. But he had actually leant his left leg on the chair! Cobb could see it quite clearly in his mind; he had been standing on his right leg! The supposedly missing one.
Well … that was a turn up for the books. It must be some sort of insurance scam or something like that. If he ever got back from here alive then he would go and sort it out but right now he had more important things to worry about. Like staying alive, outwitting the Black Guard, rescuing Harlequin and changing a world’s politics by starting a revolution, you know … the usual stuff.
But anyway, that was all for another day, so he put it out of his mind and spoke to Esme. ‘I think we should kick this off tomorrow. I’ll go into Brimidgham alone and mix it up with Captain Tendenning. Will your people be ready when the balloon goes up, or should I say … when the castle goes up? I imagine it will take a few days for that to happen. None of the pistols will be ready by then, you know.’
‘The pistols are part of the long-term plan. We don’t expect it to be a short fight, we’re in this for the long haul … we all knew that when we joined the Lillibetans.
‘But there’s another thing,’ she cautioned. ‘The castle supposedly blows up on the day of your execution … that may be some time away yet, for all we know. Which means you may have to sit in the cells for some time. You may even have to undergo the Questioning.’
‘Yes, I’d thought about that.’
‘Rufus, I’ve heard about the things they do to people and it isn’t nice. If it looks like they are going to put you to the Questioning, grab Harlequin and get out of there. Or if you can’t take him, save yourself. Go back to your own world. Forget about us.’
‘You’re forgetting about the prophecy. Dr. Dee has never been wrong,’ he teased. ‘Whatever I do it looks as if the castle will still blow up.’
‘Well, make sure you survive long enough to be there when its due to happen but are quick enough to get out before it does,’ she said earnestly.
‘Well, if I’m going to prison tomorrow, I’m damn well going to enjoy myself tonight,’ Cobb told her. They called everyone over to join them at the bar and everyone got down to some serious enjoying themselves.
Cobb had run out of jokes, so he gave them some philosophy …
Before you judge someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.
That way, when you judge them, you’re a mile away and you’ve got their shoes.
There are two theories about how to win an argument with a woman.
They’re both wrong.
The darkest hours come just before the dawn. So, if you plan to steal your neighbours milk and newspaper, that’s the time to do it.
While it’s all very well for fools to rush in where Angels fear to tread, or for the early bird to catch the worm … remember it is always the second mouse that gets the cheese.
Remember … the lesser of two evils is still evil.
He who laughs last, doesn’t understand the joke.
***
Cobb got up early and went down to the kitchen. Esme had his breakfast waiting for him. She seemed to have gone to town on it. Fried bacon and eggs as well as bread and jam and cheese.
‘What’s all this about?’ he asked her.
‘Well, if you’re
going to get locked up in prison today, I’m going to make sure that you’ve got plenty of food inside you. Who knows what or even when they’ll feed you in there.’
‘Fair enough,’ he agreed and sat down to tuck in to the feast.
As he ate, he took the small pouch of gold nuggets out of his pocket that Columbine had given him. ‘This is for you,’ he told her.
‘What is it?’
‘Open it and have a look.’
She did and her eyes grew wide as she peeked into the pouch. ‘There must be a small fortune in here! I can’t take this.’
‘Look, when I get arrested they will only take it off me along with everything else I have. So why should they have the gold. Use it to fund your uprising. Vive la Revolution!’
‘What?’
‘Back in my world in a land called Gaul …’ Esme looked at him blankly so he thought back to one of his first conversations in Angleland. ‘Franco … Francor?’
‘Oh I get you, go on.’
‘Well they had a revolution and that was the cry of the masses as they took to the streets … Vive la Revolution!’
‘Vive la Revolution … I like that, I might use that,’ she said, gleefully. ‘I’ll take the gold on behalf of the revolution then, thank you very much.’
‘My pleasure. I’m glad to see it go to a good cause.’
Cobb finished his breakfast and as she cleared the things away he got his coat and got ready to leave. He wanted to make a good start, as it was a long walk into Brimidgham.
Esme stood there watching him as he put his coat on. ‘You’re like my husband but not quite, he was kind and gentle. I see that in you but you have grown a harder, meaner edge.’
‘I used to be like him but then I lost you … I mean, I lost my Esme. Something like that changes a person, as you know.’
She stepped forward quickly and kissed him on the cheek. ‘You could stay if you wanted, we could be together again … kind of.’
The Londum Omnibus Volume One (The Londum Series Book 4) Page 61
