suppertime, and opened the door with a pert expression on her face.
But it disappeared when the stranger tipped back his hat.
‘Rose. I must see your master.’
Rose dropped a hasty curtsey, and backed away towards the stairs. ‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
‘Hush. I don’t want it to be known that I’m here. I’mtrying to keep the disappearance of the mask quiet, and even the mice are spying on me at the palace.’
Rose smiled. She couldn’t be so sure he wasn’t right.
‘If you wait in the master’s study, Sire, I’ll fetch him.’
‘Nonsense. I can’t waste time, Rose, I shall have been missed already. Take me to him.’
Rose nodded, and fled up the stairs, hoping to warn Mr Fountain, but the king was used to deer-hunting and other such energetic pursuits, and he was right behind her as she flung open the workroom door.
Mr Fountain was inspecting the tiny houseplant that she and Freddie had made, which now bore several disconcerting blood-coloured roses.
‘How pretty,’ the king commented.
‘Your Majesty!’ Mr Fountain looked truly shocked, for once. ‘I had not meant you to come here, Sire! I was requesting an audience.’
‘Walls have ears,’ the king muttered, subsiding onto one of the rickety wooden chairs. ‘Everyone in the palace thinks that I am having a most important conversation with someone else about the situation in Talis. It was the only excuse that would pass muster on Christmas night, when my older daughters and their cousins are performing scenes from Shakespeare. So, you’ve found them, Aloysius. I am impressed.’
Mr Fountain sighed. ‘We were lucky, Sire. Gossameris angry, and that anger let me catch a hint of him. But it was Rose who gave us the clue we needed. Sire, we are almost certain that he has taken the mask back to Venice.’
‘It would make sense. Please—’ The king waved a hand at the other chairs. ‘Please sit, all of you. Tell me what we must do next.’
‘I shall have to go there, Sire. We think there is a certain day – a ceremony at the duke’s palace. If Gossamer can be there, with the mask, he could unlock the secrets woven into it.’ Mr Fountain closed his eyes for a second. ‘If he does that, I’m not sure I will be strong enough to stop him.’ He opened his eyes again to stare at the king. ‘Sire, this ceremony is in eight days. The first Sunday of the new year. I must go now .’
The king nodded. ‘A naval vessel, Aloysius. Whatever is necessary, you shall have it. You will have to travel by sea to Talis, and then over land, I should think.’ He frowned. ‘In fact it would be most useful to have your impressions of the mood of the country. Of course, they are all being most terribly polite now , but if Venn and this Gossamer fellow had succeeding in kidnapping Jane, and throwing London into a riot, the Talish would have been across the Channel in days.However much the emperor swears to me in flowery speeches that Venn was simply a lunatic and it wasnothing to do with him, he is still mobilising troops all over everywhere. Of course he is planning an invasion. Then, you can take the new Trans-Alpine Railway as far as the Veneto… Venice, yes. Excellent…’
His Majesty stared into the fire, tapping his fingertips together. ‘The Venetians have managed to preserve themselves as an independent state, even after the Talish occupied Genoa. An audience with the duke – if he should favour you with his confidence, Aloysius… How have they done it? How are they holding off the Talish? Is it magic? Or some strange trade bargain? It may be vital to understand.’
‘So you want him to be a diplomat, as well as saving us all from this madman, Gossamer?’ Gus spat. His whiskers were trembling, and Rose thought she had never seen him so angry. ‘Do you not realise what you’re asking him to do? He’ll be lucky if he survives, and you want him to ask about trading agreements?’
‘Sshhh, Gus. I apologise, Your Majesty. Cats are
But it disappeared when the stranger tipped back his hat.
‘Rose. I must see your master.’
Rose dropped a hasty curtsey, and backed away towards the stairs. ‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
‘Hush. I don’t want it to be known that I’m here. I’mtrying to keep the disappearance of the mask quiet, and even the mice are spying on me at the palace.’
Rose smiled. She couldn’t be so sure he wasn’t right.
‘If you wait in the master’s study, Sire, I’ll fetch him.’
‘Nonsense. I can’t waste time, Rose, I shall have been missed already. Take me to him.’
Rose nodded, and fled up the stairs, hoping to warn Mr Fountain, but the king was used to deer-hunting and other such energetic pursuits, and he was right behind her as she flung open the workroom door.
Mr Fountain was inspecting the tiny houseplant that she and Freddie had made, which now bore several disconcerting blood-coloured roses.
‘How pretty,’ the king commented.
‘Your Majesty!’ Mr Fountain looked truly shocked, for once. ‘I had not meant you to come here, Sire! I was requesting an audience.’
‘Walls have ears,’ the king muttered, subsiding onto one of the rickety wooden chairs. ‘Everyone in the palace thinks that I am having a most important conversation with someone else about the situation in Talis. It was the only excuse that would pass muster on Christmas night, when my older daughters and their cousins are performing scenes from Shakespeare. So, you’ve found them, Aloysius. I am impressed.’
Mr Fountain sighed. ‘We were lucky, Sire. Gossameris angry, and that anger let me catch a hint of him. But it was Rose who gave us the clue we needed. Sire, we are almost certain that he has taken the mask back to Venice.’
‘It would make sense. Please—’ The king waved a hand at the other chairs. ‘Please sit, all of you. Tell me what we must do next.’
‘I shall have to go there, Sire. We think there is a certain day – a ceremony at the duke’s palace. If Gossamer can be there, with the mask, he could unlock the secrets woven into it.’ Mr Fountain closed his eyes for a second. ‘If he does that, I’m not sure I will be strong enough to stop him.’ He opened his eyes again to stare at the king. ‘Sire, this ceremony is in eight days. The first Sunday of the new year. I must go now .’
The king nodded. ‘A naval vessel, Aloysius. Whatever is necessary, you shall have it. You will have to travel by sea to Talis, and then over land, I should think.’ He frowned. ‘In fact it would be most useful to have your impressions of the mood of the country. Of course, they are all being most terribly polite now , but if Venn and this Gossamer fellow had succeeding in kidnapping Jane, and throwing London into a riot, the Talish would have been across the Channel in days.However much the emperor swears to me in flowery speeches that Venn was simply a lunatic and it wasnothing to do with him, he is still mobilising troops all over everywhere. Of course he is planning an invasion. Then, you can take the new Trans-Alpine Railway as far as the Veneto… Venice, yes. Excellent…’
His Majesty stared into the fire, tapping his fingertips together. ‘The Venetians have managed to preserve themselves as an independent state, even after the Talish occupied Genoa. An audience with the duke – if he should favour you with his confidence, Aloysius… How have they done it? How are they holding off the Talish? Is it magic? Or some strange trade bargain? It may be vital to understand.’
‘So you want him to be a diplomat, as well as saving us all from this madman, Gossamer?’ Gus spat. His whiskers were trembling, and Rose thought she had never seen him so angry. ‘Do you not realise what you’re asking him to do? He’ll be lucky if he survives, and you want him to ask about trading agreements?’
‘Sshhh, Gus. I apologise, Your Majesty. Cats are
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