The History Keepers Circus Maximus (7 page)

‘Hear, hear,’ Charlie added.

‘And maybe this
is
the wrong mission for Jake – in truth, I do think it is too far back for him – but it is still
incredibly
brave of him to volunteer.’

‘Hear, hear.’ Alan and Rose now joined Charlie in their agreement.

‘And let’s not forget, Mr Cole . . .’ said Nathan, drawing to his conclusion. ‘You yourself brought Jake into this dangerous world of ours, and I believe you owe him a little more guidance.’

It was clear from the silence that now descended that everyone agreed with Nathan. Even Jupitus looked remorseful. He sat down and sighed deeply.

Jake looked over at Nathan with a warm smile. Nathan winked back.

Galliana took charge again. ‘Jake, Nathan Wylder is right: you have shown great courage. However, I must also agree that this assignment is not right for you.’ Jake reddened as she looked at him before turning to the others. ‘Agents Cole, Wylder and Chieverley – Signor Gondolfino will take you up for your fittings in the costumiery.’

‘There’s the rub.’ Nathan turned to his neighbour. ‘Roman fashion – it’s a minefield.’

‘Usually this would go without saying,’ Galliana concluded, ‘but I must ask you to treat your atomium consignment with the utmost care. We have only enough stock for a handful of journeys. You set sail at seven tonight.’ And she stood to indicate that the meeting was over.

Just as everyone was bustling out, Oceane Noire
swanned in, the vast panniers of her dress sticking out on either side, her hair in a towering beehive. ‘
Qu’est-ce que s’est passé?
What’s happened? Have I missed anything?’ she asked the tide of chattering people coming the other way.

Rose, upset by recent matters, couldn’t resist a dig at her old adversary. ‘Yes, Jupitus is off to a beautiful island in the Tyrrhenian Sea – without you!’

She smiled curtly and exited as Oceane’s expression turned to vinegar.

Jake went back to his room and threw himself down on his bed. Felson nestled in close, propped his head on the boy’s knee and licked his hand.

When Jake was allocated this room after his return from Cologne, he had been told it was the one his brother had used whenever he visited Point Zero. Jake had searched through the drawers and cupboards for any sign of Philip. Of course, after three years, all his things had been removed or sent back to London, but Jake did find one item: wedged under the drawer of the little desk below the window was a photograph of the whole family at Christmas time – Jake, Philip, their mum and dad
all smiling happily in the Djones kitchen in Greenwich.

Jake had not shown the photograph to his parents for fear of reviving sad memories, and kept it under his mattress. Now he pulled it out and examined it once again.

Philip was taller and broader than his brother. He was only fourteen in the photo, but already looked handsome and confident, with an adventurer’s spark in his eye. He had his arm protectively round Jake, while Jake looked proudly up at him.

There was a soft knock on the door. ‘It’s Mum,’ Miriam announced quietly. ‘Can I come in?’

Jake slipped the photograph under the blanket as the door creaked open and she came in.

‘How are you feeling, darling?’

Jake smiled and nodded. His mum came and sat on the bed. ‘You’re not too upset about Jupitus Cole, are you?’

Jake shrugged. ‘He’s entitled to an opinion.’

‘Well, he’s got a lot of those,’ agreed Miriam. ‘Dad and I never paid too much attention.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Listen, darling, I have some more bad news – we’re going to have to go back to London.’

‘What?’ Jake felt his stomach flip again.

‘We can stay a couple more days, then we need to pack up – the three of us and Rose too. Captain Macintyre has agreed to take us on the
Escape
.’

‘Wh-why?’ Jake stammered.

‘Why? Because you need to get back to school, to your friends. We need to get back to work. People are waiting for their bathrooms. Dolores Devises’ overflow pipes were supposed to be fitted three weeks ago.’

Jake’s face was thunderous. ‘When I first met Jupitus Cole, he said that school was pointless, that
the world was the place to learn
.’

‘Well, you see, just another of his opinions—’

‘And your bathroom shop’s a disaster. Only your friends order things there – out of pity – and most of them have to get it all fixed again after you’ve installed it.’ Jake bit his tongue, immediately feeling awful, but unable to take back the words.

Miriam sighed. She reached out and took his hand. ‘I know all this seems very exciting to you. And it
is
exciting, it’s a roller coaster, but it’s also dangerous – so very, very dangerous. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.’

‘All because of what happened in Stockholm?’

‘No! We decided this before you even went there. We wanted to tell you last night, but it didn’t seem the right time. Jake, you can’t stay here. None of us can.’

He looked steadfastly down at his hands, his face crimson. ‘It’s not fair – you had
your
chance, you travelled all round history, you went everywhere . . .’

Miriam saw something sticking out from under the blanket. She picked up the photograph. The moment she set eyes on it, her face froze with both joy and unbearable pain. She stared down at her elder son, who was arm in arm with Jake, smiling so happily. It was a while before she said anything.

‘Look at the state of that Christmas tree,’ she murmured finally, deliberately making light of the situation. ‘Your dad’s tinsel obsession is verging on the criminal.’

At length she gave the photo back to Jake and wiped the tears from her eyes. She kissed him on the cheek and stood up. ‘I’m sorry, darling, we have to leave by Friday,’ she said, then left the room and closed the door behind her.

5 T
HE
H
IPPOCAMPUS

AS THE SUN
was setting over the mount, a bell rang to announce the departure of the agents. Jake was in the stables, where he had spent most of the afternoon with Oceane’s elephant – now christened Dora – and the other circus animals. In return for apple treats, Dora had shown Jake some of her tricks – in particular, balancing a ball on her trunk and standing on her hind legs. They had developed an immediate rapport.

Before that, Jake had spent most of the day alone, shunning company. He felt desperately sad, as if he didn’t belong there any more. Earlier that morning, after their fitting in the costumiery, Charlie and Nathan had come to find him, asking whether he wanted to join them for sword practice in the armoury. Jake had told them that he wasn’t
really up to it – he had to take Felson for a walk anyway.

As the bell tolled, he wondered if he even had the courage to go down and say goodbye to the others. ‘You have no choice in the matter,’ he finally told himself, and set off along the path that led to the quayside.

As he came down the steps, he saw that a small group of people had already gathered there. Some were carrying lanterns and there was an atmosphere of excitement. The ship they were looking at was very simple – quite different from the rest of the keepers’ fleet. Her hull was fashioned from light, sun-bleached timbers; her prow was steep, like that of a Viking longship, and she had two square sails in cream and blue stripes. One was very large and attached to the mainmast (along with the triangular topsail); the other was much smaller and hung over the prow. A neat, square timber structure stood at the stern.

As Jake stared at her, a peculiar feeling came over him: his mind was filled with curious images – brilliant sunlight shining down on a palm-fringed bay, stacks of old amphorae, a cloud of sweet incense wafting on the warm wind. ‘Incense?’ he said to himself. ‘When have I ever smelled incense?’
The ship seemed familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere in a dream.

‘There he is,’ Rose exclaimed, holding out her arms to him. ‘We were about to come and find you.’ She was standing with Miriam, Alan, Galliana and Signor Gondolfino – who was wrapped in an elegant cape against the chilly evening air. Oceane Noire stood haughtily apart from the rest, her lion cub at her side in its new diamond collar.

‘All right, darling?’ Miriam asked Jake hopefully.

He nodded and continued to study the ship. Her name was inscribed in faded letters on the stern. ‘
Hippocampus
?’ he said softly to himself. She still seemed familiar to him. ‘What
is
a hippocampus?’ he asked his dad.

‘Interesting fact.’ Alan clapped his hands. ‘
Hippocampus
is Latin for seahorse, but
also
the name of the part of the brain to do with memory.’

Jake started to work his way along to the prow; as he did so, vivid images came into his head – scales carved in wood and shining rubies. No sooner had this vision formed than he saw the figurehead curving up from the front of the ship – a creature with a long scaly neck and glinting red eyes. It was uncanny: he had imagined it precisely.

‘Why do I recognize this ship?’ he asked his parents.

Out of sight, behind his back, Miriam clutched her husband’s hand. ‘What’s that, darling?’ she trilled.

‘This ship wasn’t here when I came to Point Zero the first time – Galliana said it was in the workshop in Calais – so why does it seem familiar?’

Three faces – Rose’s, Alan’s and Miriam’s – had frozen in perplexed smiles. ‘I know!’ Miriam said finally. ‘The maritime museum in Greenwich – remember we went last year? They’ve got a model of one just like this.’

‘That’s right,’ Alan agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

Jake could usually tell when his parents were lying. This, he felt instinctively, was one of those occasions. However, there was no time to pursue the matter as the three departing agents were now coming down the steps.

‘Oh, good gracious me,’ gasped Rose. ‘Just look at those legs!’

She was referring to Jupitus, who led the group. He was wearing a tunic, belted at the waist, that came down to his knobbly knees, revealing long,
ghostly pale limbs. On his feet were sandals and slung across his back was a leather holdall. Rose couldn’t stop giggling: Jupitus looked so stiff and awkward in his informal garb.

For very different reasons, Oceane was also struggling to come to terms with the vision. She smiled as bravely as she could, and even clapped a little, but she was clearly embarrassed. If she had her way, Jupitus would never take off his trademark tailcoat and breeches, even to go to bed.

Behind him, Charlie looked much more at ease in a similar outfit, Mr Drake bouncing happily on his shoulder. Nathan brought up the rear in a typically ostentatious get-up. Over his tunic he wore a golden breastplate and a skirt of thick leather strips. On his head was a helmet – also in gold – with a feathery red plume. The sight of Nathan in such an amazing costume made Jake feel very jealous. His comrades were going off on an adventure to the ancient Roman world, a thrilling place of gladiators and charioteers; of conquerors, emperors and armies; of Roman baths and theatres; a place that Jake could only dream of – while he was headed for London, which would doubtless be damp and drizzly, and school.

‘In case you were worried,’ drawled Nathan as he
spotted Jake, ‘this is just my goodbye outfit. None of it really goes.’ Jake hadn’t been worried about his outfit at all, but Nathan carried on regardless. ‘You see, the leather lappets are actually Thracian’ – he indicated the skirt – ‘and the breastplate is pre-Empire. But what the heck?’

‘Exactly,’ Jake found himself agreeing. ‘It’s a great ensemble.’

‘So, I hear you’re leaving us?’ Nathan blurted out. ‘Charlie and I are not happy about that at all.’ He leaned closer and whispered, ‘We tried to persuade your parents otherwise, but they seem to have made up their minds.’

‘Well, you know,’ Jake mumbled, ‘I’m three weeks behind in history.’

‘Very funny . . .’ Nathan replied, then, as Charlie came to join them, ‘I wanted to give you this . . .’ He presented Jake with a sword in a scabbard. Jake’s eyes lit up: it was the same gleaming weapon, its hilt shaped like a dragon, that Jake had asked to borrow on his first keeper’s voyage to Venice, 1506. Then, Nathan had refused point blank. Now he was giving it to him to keep.

‘Are you sure?’ Jake gasped, taking it carefully and admiring the fine craftsmanship.

‘But you can only have it if you promise to come back.’

Jake nodded enthusiastically and thought he might burst into tears again.

‘And this is a little something from me and Mr Drake . . .’ Charlie handed Jake a leather pouch. He opened it to find a collection of beards and moustaches. ‘That’s my spare set – thought it might as well go to a good home.’

Jake threw his arms around Charlie to thank him, making Mr Drake squawk and puff up his feathers. He then turned to Nathan, giving him a great bear hug. ‘Find Topaz, won’t you?’ he whispered in his ear. ‘And wherever you go, keep a lookout for Philip.’

‘We’ll do our best,’ Nathan promised, resisting the urge to straighten his clothes.

With a serious look in her eye, Galliana handed Jupitus the box that contained the atomium and the Horizon Cup. ‘Be safe, be careful,’ she said, her hand still clutching the case. He nodded and she let him take it.

‘All aboard!’ Jupitus called out as he made his way towards the gangplank.

Oceane rushed after him dramatically, dragging
Josephine along with her. ‘You’ll write, won’t you? Just a little Meslith from time to time?’ Jupitus responded with a curt nod. ‘And I’ll start preparations for the wedding! I was thinking
un thème classique
, with lots of nymphs and satyrs and acres of silk tulle?’ He nodded again. ‘Good luck,
mon amour
!’ Oceane leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.

Jupitus looked coolly down at the lioness. ‘Be careful with that thing, won’t you?’ Before jumping aboard the
Hippocampus
, he turned and searched the quay for Rose. His eyes lingered on her for a minute, making her freeze in shock – then he shouted again, ‘All aboard!’