Hawke, Simon Time Wars 3 The Pimpernel Plot

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accidents. The closest Finn had ever come to one was when
he clocked into a forest clearing much like the one he now
found himself in. The instant before he had materialized, a
rabbit had run across the spot. As Finn clocked in, he had
stepped forward and his foot had come down upon the running
rabbit, crushing it. It gave off a pathetic squeal, a sound
strikingly similar to a baby s cry, and for a horrifying moment,
Finn had thought it was an infant. It had been necessary for
him to kill the poor animal to put it out of its misery and ever
since, he had felt jumpy at the moment of materialization.
This time, however, it had gone well and as he looked
around, he saw the Observer, disguised as a peasant, approaching
him. There was nothing to distinguish the Observer from
any other peasant of the time; but the fact that he had just
seen a man materialize out of thin air and was approaching
him purposefully, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred,
marked him for what he was. He was leading a chestnut mare
on a rein as he approached.
Major Fitzroy, he said.
Sergeant Delaney.
The Observer nodded. The coach is about two hundred
The Pimpernel Plot
yards down the road, off to the side, he said. You can t miss
it. It was stuck, but we ve taken care of that. Now pay attention,
this is where it stands. We ve removed Corderro s body.
Lady Marguerite Blakeney is all right. The pistol ball grazed
her skull, but it was only a scratch and we ve patched her up.
We applied some plastiskin to her forehead and she ll never
know that she was hit. There s a hole in the inside of the coach
where the ball went after passing through the window and
skipping off her skull, so if she has any memory of being shot,
show her where the ball went and tell her that she must have
fainted and struck her head. That will account for any pain
that she might feel later when the dope wears off. The coach
horses must have bolted when the shot went off, so it s highly
unlikely that she saw what happened to Blakeney, even if she
was still conscious at the time. Your story is that you were
knocked down by the horse, but only winded. You took the
captain s horse and chased after the coach as soon as you got
your breath back.
What about Corderro? said Delaney. What do I tell her
ifshe asks about him?
Chances are she won t, said Fitzroy. She was probably
already unconscious when he jumped onto the coach. If she
does remember anything about that, you saw him leap from
the coach and take off running into the woods as you were
riding up. That same story will serve you if there s any pursuit
from the city that catches up with you. If that happens, they
won t have any reason to detain you, but you might advance
the theory that Corderro was a disguised aristocrat. That should
spur them on to look for him and let you continue on your
way.
Got it, said Finn. We re heading for Calais?
Right. Blakeney s yacht will be there to take you across to
Dover. You ll be picking up your support team at an inn called
The Fisherman s Rest in Kent. Let s just make sure you ve got
Time Wars #3
their cover straight.
They re family servants who were looking after my property
in Rouen and they ve been sent ahead to England to make
things ready for us at the estate now that my land in France is
forfeit to the government.
Good. You ll want to be very circumspect with Lady
Blakeney, said Fitzroy. Several months ago, she denounced
the Marquis de St. Cyr for seeking support from Austria to put
down the Revolution. He was arrested, tried, and guillotined
along with his entire family.
Nice lady, said Finn.
Blakeney seems to have shared your sentiments, Fitzroy
said. He only recently found out about it and when he did he
turned off to her completely. Their relationship has been a
little strained since then, to say the least. Blakeney s been attentive
and polite to her, but evidently that s about as far as it
went. She s taken to sniping at him in public lately.
So much for Lady Blakeney not being hard to take, said
Finn.
What s that?
Nothing, really. Just thinking about something my CO said.
Just be very careful around her, said Fitzroy. Remember
that she s a Republican and not to be trusted. If she finds out
you re smuggling aristocrats out of France, there s no telling
what she might do.
Terrific, said Finn. Got any more good news for me?
I m afraid so, said Fitzroy. We don t yet have a complete [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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