The UnTied Kingdom (21 page)

‘That’s amazing,’ Banks breathed.

Harker just nodded.

‘If she can play the piano like that, I bet she’s great in – uh,’ Banks broke off as Harker blinked and glanced at him.

‘Who?’

‘Eve. Who else is it gonna be, sir?’

‘Right,’ Harker said distantly. He’d never heard anything like it before. His feet took him onwards, through the kitchen and up the stairs, occasionally losing the sound, then catching it again as he opened the stair door, turned a corner of the hall, came closer to the glorious sounds, stood outside the drawing room and listened–

He closed his eyes, let the music twist and twirl around him, those golden notes coming from Eve’s fingers, and tried not to imagine what else those fingers were capable of.

‘… probably come to tell us to turn it down,’ Eve’s voice sounded, and Harker tried to pull himself together. The door opened, and Eve stood there, and the music continued, and they frowned at each other for a long minute.

‘You’re not playing,’ he said eventually, his voice coming out a little hoarse.

She shook her head, and opened the door wider to reveal Tallulah at the piano, her fingers flying.

‘I couldn’t,’ Eve said. ‘There’s no way I can play like that.’

‘You play very well!’ Tallulah protested, without even pausing in her playing. Her hands moved so fast Harker couldn’t even see them.

‘I think the best I could be allowed is “quite well”,’ Eve said. She looked at Harker, still frowning a little, and added to Tallulah, ‘Back in a sec.’

She came out into the hall, closing the door behind her, muting the music.

‘She’s amazing, huh?’

Harker nodded, wondering why he felt so disappointed. ‘Yeah. I … I didn’t know she was that good.’

‘I mean, that’s almost concert standard. And she dances too, did you know that? Ballet.’

‘I’ve a vague recollection.’

‘Yes, of course you would,’ Eve said. She bit her lip. ‘Look, I … I’m sorry about what happened at lunch. I’m crazy; it’s the only explanation I can think of.’

Harker felt his lips twitch in a smile. ‘If you think you’re crazy, doesn’t that mean you’re not?’

‘Who knows? Look, Harker. I’m trying to deal here with a lot of stuff I don’t really understand. This world, and everything in it. Do you know, that piano music is the first thing here I’ve actually recognised? Half of the time, I think I really must be mad. I’m on edge. A lot. But I shouldn’t have yelled at you, and I’m sorry.’

It took guts to apologise. Harker nodded. ‘It’s okay.’

‘Well, at least, I shouldn’t have yelled at you in front of the squad,’ she qualified, and he smiled again. Tallulah’s playing had changed, to something slower, more melancholic, and he could feel his heartbeat slowing from its frantic race.

‘Look, Charlie came to have a chat with me this afternoon,’ Eve said, and from her pained expression he knew it hadn’t been a cheerful, friendly natter.

Not that he could quite imagine Charlie
nattering
with anyone, but that was by the by.

‘She … well, she seems to think there’s something going on between you and me. Like, I’m just fighting with you because I fancy you. Which is ridiculous, right? I mean – look, no offence and all, but you’re so totally not my type.’

‘Right,’ Harker said automatically. ‘Yes.’

‘And she – well, look, she was just concerned that, I don’t know, I’d be really bad for you or something. Which is crazy, because I’m just, I’m not – I’m not interested, okay?’

‘You violently dislike me,’ Harker said, and she winced.

‘Um. Yeah. Well, not violently. Well, not all the time. Just sometimes. When you wind me up. But look, Charlie seems to think … apparently they all think there’s something going on. Which is ludicrous.’

‘Ludicrous,’ Harker agreed. Her cheeks were flushed, he noticed. ‘And anyway,’ he snapped himself out of it, ‘I’m not either. I’m not. I don’t. I mean, I have a job to do here–’

‘Right,’ Eve said, looking relieved. ‘Yes, you do. And I’m … well, I could be a spy or anything–’

‘Are you? A spy?’

‘Like I’d tell you,’ she said, and Harker’s lips twitched again. Eve gave a half-smile too.

‘Right,’ she said again, taking a breath and smoothing down her shirt. ‘So I just thought … look, you just wind me up, okay? And I swear you do it on purpose.’

‘I don’t,’ Harker protested. ‘Why would I?’

‘I dunno,’ she said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. ‘S’fun sometimes.’

He ducked his head, trying to meet her eyes. ‘Does that mean you do it on purpose, too?’

‘No.’ She looked up, and her gaze hit his. It forced a smile. ‘Well, sometimes.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean, do I do it, too?’

Harker felt himself start to grin, and Eve broke eye contact, smiling.

‘Truce?’ Harker said. ‘I’ll stop pushing you if you stop pushing me?’

Eve put her head on one side. She was still smiling, although it had faded a little. ‘No,’ she said.

‘No?’

‘Someone needs to push you, Harker,’ she said, slowly, as if she was still working it out. ‘When was the last time anyone challenged you?’

Saskia
, he thought, but figured that was something he ought to keep to himself.

‘I mean … look at you. I think you’re bored. You’re always challenging other people.’ When he opened his mouth to protest, she went on, ‘Look at Sir Dennis.’

‘Sir Dennis is a pompous twat,’ Harker said.

‘True. But you pulled the same trick on him that you did on me. “I think I can bring him to mind”?’

Oh yeah … an old favourite. Harker didn’t realise he was smiling until Eve said, ‘See? You love it.’ Eve looked at her hands for a moment, then said, ‘Why should life be dull? I spent three years just existing, and I might as well have been dead. At least here there’s something to do.’

‘Are you telling me I’m your “something to do”?’ Harker asked incredulously, and for just a second something flared in Eve’s eyes that he’d very much like to have seen more of.

‘–’ she said, and Harker laughed. After a second, she laughed too, her cheeks decidedly pinker.

‘Just don’t challenge me in front of my men,’ he said. ‘I do need to have some authority over them.’

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘And I’m sorry I went ballistic earlier.’

‘I’m sorry I told you what not to sing.’

‘I’m sorry I accused you of sulking in front of your men.’

‘That’s okay.’

‘No, this is where you apologise for sulking.’

‘I was not–’ Harker began, then saw the glint in her eye and broke off. ‘All right. Very funny.’ She shrugged. He sighed. ‘Listen, I’m – we’re – going to need your help. Tonight, after dinner, I need you to describe as fully as you can what this computer will look like.’

Eve held up a finger, disappeared inside the drawing room, where Tallulah had fallen silent and probably heard every word they’d said, and came back with a notebook.

‘Here,’ she said, showing him some pictures and notes. ‘It’s a bit basic, I’m not much of an artist, but that should show you what you’re looking for.’

The sketches were labelled. Harker stared at them for a moment, then looked up at her.

‘Thank you,’ he said, and meant it. ‘That’s … exactly what we needed.’

She blushed. ‘I … well, I felt kinda bad about–’

Harker shook his head, and smiled properly. ‘Don’t.’ He lifted her chin with one finger. ‘I’ll see you at dinner?’

She nodded, and disappeared back inside the drawing room. Harker stood looking at his finger for a long moment, before he turned away and went to find Charlie.

Lady Winterton continued to attempt to make amends with Harker, mostly by inviting him, Charlie and Daz to dine with the family. Harker declined, not impolitely, citing inappropriate dress.

‘Oh, but that doesn’t matter,’ Lady Winterton assured him. ‘We’re not snobs.’

Eve compressed her lips.

‘We’re also working very long and unsociable hours,’ he said, ignoring her. ‘I doubt we’ll be able to reliably promise that we’ll be there.’

Lady Winterton professed her sorrow at this, but Eve was pretty sure she looked relieved. She grinned at Harker as the lady left the kitchen.

‘Oi,’ he said. ‘Not a word.’

She made lip-zipping gestures. He grinned back at her.

The squad spent three days ‘reconnoitring the site’. Eve was never allowed to know where ‘the site’ was, and if Harker ever seemed in danger of speaking it out loud in her presence, Charlie’s expression usually quelled him.

‘We’ve had a stroke of luck,’ he told them over dinner the first night. ‘An old friend of mine lives nearby and works in Leeds. She thinks she should be able to get us the layout of the – of the site. She was married to one of my men when I was a sergeant in the 17th. Her name is Mary White.’

Charlie’s expression changed. ‘Ah,’ she said.

Eve looked at the others to see if they knew what that meant, but they looked as nonplussed as she felt.

‘Are you sure we can trust her, sir?’ Martindale asked.

‘Yes,’ Harker said, in a tone that said the matter was closed.

Eve made copies of her diagrams and sketches for each of the squad, and explained as well as she could what each component of the computer ought to look like, where it would be and how it would be connected.

‘Make sure you bring all the wires,’ she said, watching them put their boots and coats on in preparation for leaving on the third night. They were each dressed in the more modern uniforms of the Coalitionist army, which someone – she suspected Banks – had nicked at some point. ‘And for the love of God don’t drop anything. Or get it wet. Broken pieces are more than useless. And don’t forget that things might look different from how I described them. There are different kinds of computers.’

‘World of help, you are,’ Banks said, grinning.

Christ, I forgot to tell them about laptops. And what if they’re using ancient computers, what if they’re still on Enigma machines or something?
‘Maybe I should come with you,’ she said.

‘No, I don’t think so,’ said Charlie. Eve glared at her back.

‘Stay here,’ Harker said. ‘Sleep.’

Eve blinked: was he being kind to her?

‘Then when we bring it back you can wake up and make it work in time for morning.’

‘I’m back to violently disliking you,’ she said, and he actually winked at her before he strode out.

‘Take heart,’ said Daz, when they were all gone. ‘At least you won’t be getting shot at.’

‘No, but now I’ll be sitting here worrying that they all will be.’

He grinned and followed her up to the drawing room, which had become her own haunt. The family rarely used it now that it was so often full of soldiers, and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Frederick since Harker had chased him off.

‘Now, Eve. I might almost think you cared about the squad.’

‘Well, some of them at any rate,’ said Eve, thinking about Charlie, who could get shot for all she cared.

‘Might one of those be the Major?’

Eve flopped on to the piano stool. ‘Don’t you start.’

‘What? Just because you’ve been ignoring him the last couple of days doesn’t mean we can’t all still see it.’

‘Then I think you need an eye test, Captain, because there’s nothing to see,’ said Eve, and launched into the chorus of
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
before he could say any more.

‘I still can’t believe they did this to a church,’ Tallulah muttered, looking up at the high walls and flying buttresses. The past three days had been spent infiltrating the Abbey staff, with the help of Mary White and several of her acquaintances, none of whom were fond of the Coalitionists’ rule. Tallulah and Martindale, joining the laundry staff, had easily stolen five uniforms.

The nave of the tall and beautiful church had been made into barracks for the rebel forces stationed there. Inside, all the pews had been smashed into firewood, and rows of ugly metal bunks had taken their place. The place stank, and rang to the rafters with the sort of language that Harker believed should never be uttered in a church.

‘Well, believe it, Lu,’ he muttered back. ‘They’re bastards, and I don’t care if I’m swearing on holy ground, God agrees with me. Come on.’

Their target was the guesthouse, which was where the more senior officers of the rebel army spent most of their time. It, unlike the rest of the Abbey, had its own generator, and even now a faint glow came from some of the windows. A telephone wire had also been strung across to the guesthouse roof, and Banks had, under the guise of fixing a couple of broken tiles, ascertained which part of the building it serviced.

Harker concentrated on their destination, mentally counting the yards of empty ground to cover. The number of armed soldiers who might realise they were all strangers. The chances of being shot to hell.

Then he gritted his teeth, and nodded to the squad to follow him.

He gave a smart salute to the guard on the door of the guesthouse, then as the other man saluted in return, Harker drew the knife he’d palmed and stabbed the guard in the stomach. As the guard folded, Harker caught him, stopped his mouth, and drew his knife across the man’s throat.