Chapter 9

Thursday, January 30, 1936

Gilbeyshire

 

They were on the road for an hour and a half the next morning before the chauffeur finally turned the car up a narrow country lane that curved through an orchard of apple trees. They ended up by the grassy banks of a burbling stream, beneath some leafless willows. The air was crisp, but everyone had on warm clothes and didn’t mind plopping down on heavy woolen blankets by the water.

Bao and Evvie, who had been riding up front with the chauffeur, joined them—though, of course, unable to eat anything.

Johnny was impressed by the picnic that Dame Honoria’s cook had laid out for them. The best restaurant in Zenith would have a hard time topping it. First, there was potato and leek soup, which had been kept warm in a big vacuum flask. Then came what Johnny thought was a piece of pie—but inside the crust was a mixture of pork, carrots, celery, and onions, all held together by some kind of jelly. Bread and cheese. Some grapes and fresh slices of apple. Then came the sweets: brownies, éclairs, and a gingerbread cake with a dollop of lemon curd on top of it. Another vacuum flask contained hot cocoa, which Johnny and Nina drank. Mel, Uncle Louie, and Dame Honoria opted for hot tea.

Half an hour later, stuffed to the gills, Johnny asked if there was time to amble downstream and talk to the man who was fishing there. Dame Honoria said that was fine, just don’t take too long. The man, in tweed jacket and waders, turned out to be a brigadier general who was on leave from the Royal Army after being wounded in an action in one of the desert realms. He was quite happy to let Johnny take some photos of his fly-fishing technique.

“It’s Brigadier John Stafferton, spelled S-t-a-f-f-e-r-t-o-n,” the lanky man with hawkish features said when Johnny asked for his name. “As I explained, currently on leave, recovering from wounds. Though I may be reactivated soon.”

Johnny wasn’t sure what to say. “Is that good or bad?”

“Oh, good. Very good. Life’s been rather boring these past months, without a brigade of my own.”

“Where’s your assignment?”

“Sorry. Can’t say, young man. Top secret, don’t you know. And by the by, who is the officer standing behind you? I should enjoy an introduction.”

Johnny hadn’t realized that Colonel MacFarlane had walked up behind him. Obviously the brigadier had etheric vision. Johnny introduced the two and they hit it off immediately. The brigadier, it turned out, had made a study of the First Border War and was particularly interested in the Battle of Digsby’s Run, where the colonel had died. He invited Johnny and the dead cavalryman back to visit anytime.

After the picnic, they drove another half hour, ending up at a grand country estate. The place even had uniformed guards stationed here and there. After telling the others to stay in the limousine, Dame Honoria got out and made immediately for the sprawling pile of limestone that was clearly the estate’s main house. A trim, middle-aged man in a crisp dark suit came down the front steps, striding straight for Dame Honoria. They talked for a moment, then came over to the long, black automobile.

“All right then,” Dame Honoria said. “Come along this way.”

Johnny was surprised that they didn’t go into the big house, but instead proceeded through some stables and past a large barn. Whoever lived here had a lot of horses and a lot of laborers, all looking quite busy.

Finally, they came to an old greenhouse, with many of its windows purposely soaped over to diffuse the sunlight. The man in the dark suit knocked at the door, and a muffled “Yes, come in” emerged from inside. Their guide opened the door and gestured for them to enter. They all filed in, followed by the colonel, Bao, and Evvie.

Johnny was dying of curiosity. Who was it they were dropping in on? Dame Honoria had been perfectly mum.

Inside was a place of dazzling beauty, packed every which way with tables full of gorgeous orchids. Hundreds and hundreds of them in all the colors of the rainbow. Johnny had never seen anything like it, even at the Zenith Botanical Garden. It was warm and humid, and smelled of damp, rich earth.

There was a small, slender gardener working at one of the tables, his back turned to the new arrivals. Except for a fringe of brownish hair, he was bald, and his ears stuck out a bit. He had on a blue, knee-length workman’s coat. Putting down the water-misting bottle he had been using on an orchid, he turned around. “Yes, Oates?”

Almost instantly, Johnny knew where he had seen that face.

On every royal banknote that he had in his wallet.

On every coin that jingled in his pocket.

It was King Robert!

“Your Majesty,” the man in the dark suit said, with a slight bow. “Dame Honoria Gorton Rathbone and her friends.”

“Your Majesty,” Dame Honoria echoed, making a small, arthritic curtsy.

“Hello, Honoria,” the king said. “So good to see you.”

“And you, as well, Your Majesty,” Dame Honoria replied. “Let me introduce my companions. First, Miss Melanie Graphic.”

Mel made her own curtsy. Not a very smooth one, Johnny thought. But Nina did hers like an old pro. And Uncle Louie bowed deeply from the waist, having removed his hat.

So when Dame Honoria said, “And this is John Joshua Graphic, my godson,” Johnny knew just what to do. He put his right hand on his stomach, his left hand behind his back, and bowed.

The king smiled at them all and said, “Hello. Pleased to meet you. I have read all about your adventures.”

He then invited them over to a glass-topped table surrounded by a few metal lawn chairs. He gestured that everyone should be seated.

“Tea and crumpets will arrive shortly,” he said, taking off the gardening gloves he was wearing. “Now I understand that you have some transportation problems.”

“Regrettably, the fog up north has brought traffic to a virtual standstill,” Dame Honoria said. “My friends in the Home Office and the Special Ghost Service asked me to speak to you on their behalf. They desperately need to get troops and agents on the hunt for all these poor, kidnapped children. As I discussed with your aide the other day—”

The king put up his hand. “Say no more, Honoria. I’ve already authorized the use of Old Sal for these operations.”

Johnny figured that Old Sal must be some kind of train, because it sure didn’t sound like a flying boat. But he wondered how it could get through, when other trains couldn’t.

“And since Johnny and Nina are here to gather intelligence in the affected counties,” Dame Honoria continued, “we would request that they be allowed to ride on Old Sal, as well. After all, they have proven themselves extremely capable in dealing with my errant son Percival, whom we believe is behind the troubles.”

“Rest assured, Honoria, I know all about their heroism out in Rotonesia and in Zenith,” the king said. “They saved that great city from utter destruction, did they not?”

Johnny was shocked. “But no one’s supposed to know about that.”

Dame Honoria looked slightly appalled at his outburst. But the king merely chuckled.

“We kings have ways of finding things out, Johnny,” the monarch said. “Even very secret things. It’s part of our job.”

Two servants appeared with pots of tea and plates of toasted crumpets with strawberry preserves. They set down the refreshments and took their leave.

As they all sipped their tea, it came out that the king and Dame Honoria had known each other since they were children. The king’s younger sister had gone to school with Dame Honoria and had been a fellow suffragist back in the teens.

“You know, Honoria, I remember being so jealous of your etheric vision when we were younger,” the king recalled. “And I still am. I have Oates here, who can see and hear specters. I call him my ‘ghost eyes.’ But I believe I’d almost trade my crown for a chance to see real ghosts.”

Johnny had an idea. He glanced at Mel, who nodded. They both turned to Nina, who looked giddy with excitement.

“But you can, Your Majesty!” Nina exclaimed. She pulled open the top of her shoulder bag and extracted the etheric goggles, flipping a little switch on the battery pack. “Now these won’t fit you, Your Majesty, but just hold them up to your eyes.”

Looking skeptical, the king took the peculiar eyewear and did as instructed. A grin began to spread across his face.

“Good heavens!” he declared. “Who is this fine looking military man?”

“Colonel Horace MacFarlane, Your Majesty,” said Dame Honoria. “He and his men of the First Zenith Cavalry Brigade were absolutely vital in the effort to defeat Percival last year.”

The colonel snapped to attention and made a crisp salute.

The king nodded at him. He began to peer around his orchid house. “My word. That must be Sir Winston. He was my mother’s uncle. I’m told he loves to haunt the castle.”

Johnny saw a ghost of middle age at the end of the orchid house, waving at the king. He had on hunting clothes and appeared to have been killed by a shotgun blast—hopefully accidental.

Then the king’s gaze fixed on Bao. “And this pretty girl?”

“The young lady is Bao,” Dame Honoria said. “We found each other during my captivity on Old Number One. She has been in my service ever since.”

Bao made a curtsy and started giggling.

“And the young man next to her?” the king asked.

“The gentleman is the late Lord Hurley of Evansham,” Dame Honoria said. “He and Bao are great, good friends.”

“I can see the family resemblance, Lord Hurley,” the king said. “I’m acquainted with your brother, the current Lord Hurley. And please do accept my sympathy with regard to the abduction of your nephew from St. Egbert’s School. Along with the rest of the kingdom, I’m praying for his safe, expeditious return.”

Evvie’s face turned into a mask of shock.

“I have a nephew?” he said with genuine surprise. “And he’s been kidnapped? This is terrible. Terrible.”