‘You told us that there were reports of unrest from Fisherberg, about the war,’ Aubrey said to George after they had all withdrawn to the edge of the village. The rain was still heavy as the Enlightened Ones made camp, but Aubrey hardly noticed. Pieces were falling into place.
‘That’s right, old man.’
‘The stalemate has made people unhappy with the war,’ Sophie said. ‘Caroline and I did what we could to make them more unhappy with it.’
‘I thought as much. So imagine the response in Fisherberg if this massacre had gone ahead.’
‘Opposition to the war would disappear,’ von Stralick said. ‘A helpless village destroyed by perfidious Albionites? No patriotic Holmlander would fail to respond to that.’
‘Keeping aside a few survivors would guarantee that the outrage would be known. It was well planned.’ Ghastly, horrible, but well planned – so it had all the hallmarks of a Dr Tremaine plot.
Except that his plots usually had other plots hidden inside them, Aubrey thought. So what’s the plot within the plot here?
‘This Crystal Johannes,’ Aubrey said to von Stralick. ‘A slab that size. How much would it be worth?’
‘It’s incalculable. Priceless.’
That couldn’t be it. What good would a lot of money do for Dr Tremaine now? He had all of Holmland at his beck and call.
Aubrey scowled and wiped rain from his brow. Think! he ordered himself. What would someone like Dr Tremaine want Crystal Johannes for?
As soon as he thought it, he knew it was the wrong question. Not ‘What would someone like Dr Tremaine want Crystal Johannes for?’ but ‘What would a magician like Dr Tremaine want Crystal Johannes for?’
Any answer to that was likely to be very dangerous indeed.
Caroline’s pistol was suddenly in her hand again. ‘Lorries approaching.’
Madame Zelinka gave a short laugh. ‘We do not have to worry.’
‘No?’
‘These are friends. These are the rest of my Enlightened Ones.’