An Embittered Witch, page 13
I had already introduced Hugh and Win, and he had enthusiastically taken her onboard as translator, so they were off on some other bus.
‘Any luck yet?’ Cate asked as she settled in again next to me. She had spent most of the ride so far making the rounds of the bus, her cream fur hat and coat highlighting her presence as the most elegant traveler onboard. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to her. ‘You still haven’t told me how you plan to reach her.’
We could speak openly here, for the backs of the seats were high and the air conditioning system kept up a steady stream of white noise to prevent our words from carrying.
‘No,’ I replied. I stared out the window. ‘Even if I could make contact with her, I need a good reason, something to draw her in and cause her to appear. Any thoughts?’
‘I would think that’s an easy one. She’s being blamed for the curses and needs to clear her name.’
‘But why would she bother with that? She doesn’t care about her reputation, and if she’s doing the cursing, well, it stands to reason she would want everyone to know it’s her, right?’
‘You don’t sound fully convinced that she’s the guilty party.’
I looked up. Was that a faint light of suspicion in her eyes? ‘Well, we don’t have proof, really,’
‘The proof of Win’s vision is enough for me,’ she retorted. ‘Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.’
‘No, I don’t know anything more than you do.’
‘So you’re not involved? Cromwell was pretty certain that you had a hand in it, being on the scene like that.’ She was still holding this threat over my head. ‘I need you to come up with something, and soon,’ she continued urgently. ‘Let me know. I’ll have to rearrange my schedule to be present.’
‘She won’t come if she knows you’re there!’
‘Then you’d better not tell her.’
The bus pulled to a stop. I hadn’t even realized we were getting close to our destination.
‘Ah, the Great Wall of China,’ Cate said, a smile now back on her face as she stood up and looked at the men sitting behind us. ‘Now, Mr. Wong, I’m going to require you to escort me along the Wall and tell me all the fascinating history of the Badaling section.’
That left me free to wander along the huge structure myself, and I was good with this. I needed to find Rob.
I held back as Cate and the Chinese delegates entered the Mutianyu Station for the cable cars which would take them up to the Great Wall perched on the hilltops high above our heads. After a few minutes, I spotted her fur-wrapped elegance in one of the tiny cars, so I held out my blue VIP ticket and passed through the gate alone.
It was freezing cold out there, and I was glad of my parka and toque. The station was largely open to the air and not heated. The diesel-laden air snapped at my cheeks.
A ticket taker wearing industrial ear muffs ushered me into the loading zone using hand signals. The noise inside the structure was tremendous, coming at us from all sides in the space, the rumbling of engines and winches. The small cable cars bumped and ratcheted as they entered the structure, and the doors squealed every time they opened and shut.
As I waited for the next cable car, I anxiously looked around for Rob. I hadn’t seen him since the previous day, and I could see no sign of him now. Perhaps the delegation kept him busy with legal matters, or maybe he had no interest in sight-seeing,, which meant this whole day was a bust, getting me no closer to luring Margaret in.
There was no one else waiting for a car to the North Eight Tower, which suited me fine. I never liked to share enclosed spaces with strangers.
When I got into the cable car, however, he popped up behind me, jumping into the car just as the guard slammed the door closed. The collar of his trench coat was pulled right up by his ears, as if he really was the spy I had thought he was.
It was a tiny car, basic in its design with two seats each at the front and back facing each other. The walls were mostly windows, allowing for great panoramic views from all angles.
We stood there staring at each other for a moment, and he had just opened his mouth to speak when the guard banged her fist on the door, yelling something at us, and the car jerked into gear. He was thrown against me with the motion, causing both of us to fall against the seats.
‘Dammit, I’m sorry,’ he said after we untangled our limbs and were safely sitting across from each other. I moved my legs out of the reach of his feet to avoid further damage. He was too clumsy to trust, not when we were going high up in the air in a rocking car.
‘Look,’ he said, his voice very quiet and fervent as he leaned toward me. The blue of his eyes was as bright as the clear, cold sky. ‘We need to discuss this. Don’t run away again, please.’
‘We’re in an enclosed space,’ I pointed out to him. ‘Nowhere for me to run to.’
My complaisance caught him off guard.
‘Oh, right then. Well.’ He seemed at a loss as to what to say next, now that he had my attention.
‘It’s okay. We need to do this. We need to find Margaret.’ We were coming out of the covered landing place and into the crisp air. It was a sunny day, and the snow below us was blindingly bright. I raised my eyes, and there I saw the first stone tower and the Wall stretching away on both sides of it, gleaming in the sunshine. I drew in a breath at the grandeur of the sight.
‘Look at it,’ I urged him. ‘Behind you.’
Rob twisted in his seat and was also silent for a moment. The car was now silent except for the sound of wind in the wires.
The ground dropped away from us, and I turned my head to look out the back window. The village below was already tiny, the people were merely little figures going about their business in the miniature world.
‘We’re really here,’ I whispered as my eyes came back to the structure rising high above our heads. The stone wall ranged along the top of the line of hills as far as I could see, more of it emerging the higher we travelled. ‘The Great Wall of China.’
Our eyes met. His were shining as mine must have been. Up here in this airy space, away from the Kin and Cate, my spirit suddenly felt free. This was the first sunshine I’d seen for many a day, the smog and the grayness of Beijing had lifted and I was finally seeing this land in all its glory. As the car rose ever higher, I could now see the blanket of trees covering each slope under the mantle of snow. After the bustle and crowds of the city, the land stretched on for miles, seemingly uninhabited.
‘So quiet,’ I breathed. ‘So still.’
It was peaceful, at least until the car reached the next pole and rattled over the attachment, shaking us like the turbulence of an airplane passing through a storm.
We looked at each other and laughed. Foolish, really, it wasn’t that funny. Perhaps we were lightheaded with the lower levels of oxygen in the air, this high up.
Too soon we reached the top, another covered and noisy space, and we gladly escaped out to the air.
And there on the battlements of the wall, we could truly see the scope of this engineering marvel. I’d seen the photos, but the flat two-dimensions could never do this vista the justice it deserved. Off into the distance, as far as the eye could see, the stone and brick wall stretched along the mountain ridges, with guard stations built every few hundred feet. Despite the brightness of the day, mist hung between the furthest peaks until the far distance took on the appearance of an ancient painting, with each successive valley a deeper shade of mauve.
‘Amazing.’ It was such an inadequate word for sight before us.
‘It’s more than four thousand kilometers long,’ Rob remarked.
As I looked to the east, I caught sight of Win’s bright red coat amidst a group. That was not good. I needed to speak with Rob alone.
‘Let’s go this way.’ I grabbed Rob’s arm and headed west. The wind howled through the open windows of the sentry tower. Here, sheltered by the stone building, we were almost out of the constant, cutting breeze.
He shivered and huddled into his coat.
‘So,’ he said eventually. ‘Margaret.’
I nodded. ‘Yeah. We need to find her.’
‘You’re onboard with helping me, then?’ His blue eyes searched mine behind my shades.
I turned away to face the vastness before us and nodded, then tightened my hood to shore up the cracks found by the wind.
‘Why the change of heart?’
The stone wall beneath my gloves was cold and unyielding, yet worn smooth from the erosion of centuries of weather. What could I tell him?
I hated to lie to Rob, but how could I tell him that Margaret was guilty of such a heinous crime? Not only had she somehow laid curses on the greatest of the magic practitioners in the known world, but she had done so solely to payback her grudge against the Kin Britannica and to prove her own power. I still had a hard time believing it, even though I’d seen Win’s vision with my own eyes.
Margaret’s trust fund wasn’t going to be much use to her where she was going if she was ever caught.
And she had to be caught. I had to clear my name, or I’d be going right there with her. To show the Kin I wasn’t part of her scheme, I had to prove my allegiance by trapping her. Somehow.
Rob was still waiting for an answer.
‘I need to speak with her,’ I said finally, and I realized I’d made up my mind. ‘I need to speak with her, without anyone else around. I have to find out…’
I had to find out the truth, even though I was pretty sure I knew it. The sun was fast disappearing behind the onrush of clouds moving south from the mountain ranges. They were heavily laden, unable to rise above the peaks.
‘Also, I need to get her permission,’ he reminded me. ‘About making changes to her trust fund.’
‘Yes.’
‘When you say, without anyone else around, I take it you mean – ‘ He flicked his head back the way we’d come.
I nodded. The wind had picked up in the short time we’d been out here, and even the stone tower offered little protection from it.
‘What’s really happening?’ Rob stepped away from me, taking the last of my shelter from the biting wind. Those clear eyes pierced me, his keen, lawyerly mind working. ‘What are you keeping from me?’
We stared at each other, both frozen to the spot, me unable to answer, him unwilling to let it go. And it began to snow, the cold hard ice pellets whipping and stinging our faces, finding their way down the back of my neck.
A shout from the beyond the tower, someone calling my name.
‘Hugh!’ I stepped out from behind the stone, removing my now useless sunglasses as I did. Turning to Rob, I quickly said, ’Can we talk about this later? Privately? Meet me down in the hotel bar this evening.’
He nodded, then followed me as we joined the rest of the delegation.
Twenty-Three
Cate’s eyes ran over Rob’s disheveled figure and just as quickly dismissed him. Instead, she placed her arm on Hugh’s and called out to me.
‘Come, it’s time to leave now.’
We all trouped back to the cable car station. Rob got lost in the crowd somewhere, and Cate maneuvered the four of us – herself, Hugh, me and Win into a single cab. She pulled me down to sit beside her, leaving the other two to sit facing the valley below.
They were excited and nattering on about the wonders of the Great Wall, both flushed with being out in the crisp air and their eyes sparkling, the snowflakes melting like sparkles on their hats.
Hugh noticed me looking at him and he stopped mid-sentence, as if reminded that he’d been neglecting me a bit during this trip. Win also shut her mouth and darted a glance at me before looking out the window to the mountain slope rushing up at us.
‘Dara, what happened to you? You missed the whole tour,’ Hugh said, leaning forward. ‘You wandered off in the opposite direction. You couldn’t have heard a word.’
I shrugged it off with a smile. ‘I was just off exploring,’ I replied. ‘Getting away from the crowds.’
He didn’t have a chance to dig deeper as Cate now spoke.
‘This evening,’ she began, and Hugh immediately turned to her.
‘You won’t mind if I borrow Win again?’ he asked. ‘She’s turned out to be very useful with the talks. So much easier to work with a personal translator, and I think she’s quite charmed old Ding Wo. He’s coming round to our side.’
Win flushed with pride. ‘Ah, you just have to know how to get round the men of my culture,’ she said.
Cate wasn’t happy about this. ‘I’d rather thought you and Dara would help me double check the maps for tomorrow’s presentation, Win.’
‘They’re all done.’ Win frowned. ‘You know I spent an hour on them early this morning. Everything is in order.’
We were nearing the station. Cate gave in, and did so gracefully. But as we made our way out of the station and back into the brisk winter, she grabbed my arm.
The pinching grip hurt a lot, even through my parka. ‘Does it bother you?’
I shook my arm free, but she gave an impatient twitch of her head when she saw my incomprehension. I followed the direction of her meaningful look.
Hugh and Win were standing in a group, all of them chattering excitedly as Hugh exercised his considerable charm on an older Asian man, perhaps this was Ding Wo, and there smiles all around as Win cutely interjected with a quick translation.
‘You mean them?’ I looked closer. My boyfriend and Win were standing closer than was strictly necessary, but that didn’t mean anything. The burgeoning friendship between them hadn’t bothered me at all. At least, it hadn’t until this moment. I felt a short stab of jealousy rise. Trust Cate to find the nasty side of any situation.
‘No,’ I said. I squashed that little niggling doubt down. Perhaps the Chinese had a different definition of personal space. They were both enjoying their assigned jobs, and it actually worked out great for me. I was free to meet with Rob this evening. ‘No, Hugh and I are solid. What are you insinuating?’
‘I know men,’ she said. ‘And if I were you, I’d want to nip this in the bud.
‘Well, it’s your life,’ she continued, her voice low and dry, then she changed the subject. ‘What are your plans for this evening?’
‘I’m working on something. I have an idea about how to contact Margaret.’
‘That’s great,’ she said smoothly, a smile plastered back on her face in case anyone was watching. ‘You will keep me apprised of the situation?’
I nodded, then gave a sigh of relief as she turned to schmooze with some of the delegates.
I was off the hook. Free of Win this evening, and free to talk with Rob.
At dinner that night, the usual small feast with more dishes than a person could do justice to, Cate nudged me with her elbow without saying a word. I looked up to see her pointedly watching Hugh and Win again, while pretending not to.
He was topping off her wine glass while she giggled and scolded him. Ding Ho was looking on fondly while trying to peek down the loose folds of silk covering Win’s chest. I looked away. The whole thing was rather sickening, how the two of them were playing up to that old guy.
‘I think it was a mistake to bring Win along,’ she murmured. ‘They are getting far too cozy.’
I shook my head. ‘It’s nothing. You know how the pair of them are so focused on work,’ I said. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and deliberately forced my eyes away.
Then couldn’t help but look back again. I was right, surely? Hugh and I were practically engaged to be married for God’s sake, I’d met his parents and everything. The duke had even strongly hinted to his friends and neighbors of the promise.
Here was just another reason to hate Cate, as if I didn’t already have enough.
Hugh must have felt my burning stare. He glanced my way, started, then looked back with a smile even as he was shifting his body just a tad away from Win’s. He gave a wink which seemed to teeter just an inch from embarrassment.
I pulled my lips into a semblance of a smile back at him.
Damn Cate for pointing that out. I was pissed at her. I’d never felt jealousy for a man before.
As I played with the noodles in my bowl (I wasn’t having the best luck learning to use chopsticks) I explored this feeling. I expected it to be green and devouring, with a tinge of hate and resentment and arrows. Just like I’d felt towards Sasha, my half-sister, for so many years.
But as I probed deeper, I realized it was just surface hurt that I was feeling, almost like an insult which didn’t quite have much sting to it. In fact, it felt like probing the hole where a tooth had been, back when I was a kid and losing my baby teeth. Grief at the passing of something which was such a part of me, yes, but a little excitement at the change, and almost relief that it had finally happened. I was ready to move on to larger things, to stronger teeth.
I shook myself out of it and pushed my wine glass away. No more of that, I was starting to sound crazy even to myself. I looked up to Hugh for reassurance. We smiled weakly at each other as we met across the span of the table.
‘Margaret.’ Cate’s crisp voice cut through. ‘What’s happening on that front?’
I hedged a little, and she pushed on.
‘I’m getting missives from Edinburgh,’ she said, leaning closer to speak in a low voice. ‘Cromwell’s been in touch with his contingent, and they’re making waves. He truly believes you’re guilty with Margaret, and they’re putting pressure on Johanna to recall you back to Scotland under armed guard. The Venerable Nachtan is a national icon, and cursing him was too much of a slap in the face. The Covenanters are looking for someone to string up, and if they can’t have her, they’ll settle for you. Johanna has other things on her plate right now, and she may just cave in to their demands.’
I swallowed and reached for my water glass, but my hand was shaking too much. I had to set it down again.
‘So, Margaret,’ Cate nudged.
‘Okay,’ I told her and turned to face her, keeping my voice as low as hers. ‘There’s this guy, Rob. Do you know him?’
