‘That is normal practice. It will be laundered while he is away.’
I grabbed him by the arms. ‘Tell me the truth!’
His lazy eye danced wildly as he tried to focus on my face at close range.
‘I saw him leave,’ he insisted. ‘He is to be flown directly to Wales. Emergency arrangements were made.’
I knew him well enough by now to believe that he was telling me the truth – but only as he knew it.
‘Who authorized it?’
‘Maxixca was left in charge here.’
‘Then I want to see him immediately.’
Chicomeztli did not demur. Together we rode the lift to Extepan’s suite.
It was Mia who answered the door. She took our unexpected arrival in her stride, leading us through into Extepan’s office.
Maxixca was seated at Extepan’s desk. He smiled when he saw me.
‘Ah,’ he said, rising. ‘Princess Catherine. What can I do for you?’
He spoke in Nahuatl, his smile supercilious.
‘Where’s Bevan?’ I said in English.
‘Obviously I shouldn’t have expected the usual courtesies,’ he said, again in Nahuatl. ‘Weren’t you informed? His mother is sick, and we sent him off under escort to visit her.’
‘You’re lying.’
Anger suffused his face for an instant, but he controlled it.
‘It’s the truth, I assure you. As unlikely as it may seem to you, I’ve always been prepared to show consideration where personal difficulties or family crises are concerned. See for yourself. Here are the authorization papers.’
He handed me a small sheaf of papers which I scanned briefly. According to the documents, Bevan’s mother had been taken from her home in Trefil to a hospital in Abergavenny after suffering a stroke. She was said to be in a critical condition. I was certain the documents were fakes.
‘What have you done with him?’ I demanded.
Maxixca was tolerance personified. In English he said, ‘He has been taken to visit his mother. It was an emergency, and necessary to act swiftly. You were not available to be informed. I personally arranged the flight. Given that he is your manservant, I would have expected gratitude.’
I couldn’t imagine him doing anything for any of us out of the goodness of his heart. He had obviously been expecting me to arrive.
‘I want to know,’ I said. ‘Has he been killed?’
‘Killed?’ Maxixca affected to look shocked. ‘Why should we want to kill him?’
I had to be careful what I said. In the unlikely event that he was telling the truth, I ran the risk of endangering Bevan by protesting too much. With everything uncertain, I had so little room for manoeuvre.
‘I want to speak to Extepan,’ I said.
Maxixca sat down again, studiously squaring the papers on the desk.
‘Did you hear what I said? I want to speak to Extepan.’
‘I regret that will not be possible.’
‘When is he due back?’
Now he looked smug. ‘You may have a longer wait than you imagine.’
‘What do you mean by that?’
‘He will not be returning immediately.’
I didn’t like the sound of this. ‘Where is he?’
‘He is not available. I am in charge here.’
He was plainly relishing my discomfiture, and now I began to wonder. Had Extepan already been ousted? Had there been a palace coup, initiated by Tetzahuitl, with Maxixca promoted to Extepan’s position? He still wore his field commander’s uniform, but that was not conclusive in itself. Though Extepan was a son of the emperor and Maxixca’s elder, that would not necessarily protect him: the Aztecs were swift to remove from high office anyone they considered incompetent or simply unsuitable. Was I now speaking to the new Aztec governor of my country?
I refused to give him the satisfaction of asking him directly. I turned and stalked out.
As soon as Chicomeztli and I were alone in the elevator, I said, ‘Where’s Extepan gone?’
He was wary of me. ‘I believe he is returning this evening to Tenochtitlan with the cihuacoatl.’
‘Why?’
‘That I cannot say.’
‘Cannot or won’t?’
He shook his head helplessly. ‘I was only informed one hour ago. No details were given.’
‘When is he due back?’
‘I was not told.’
We walked together down the corridor to my suite. At the door I said, ‘Maxixca’s taken over Extepan’s office.’
He nodded. ‘That is normal practice. He is Extepan’s deputy.’
‘What if he’s replaced him? On a permanent basis?’
Chicomeztli looked genuinely alarmed at the idea.
‘No, no,’ he said. ‘I would have been told.’
‘Not necessarily,’ I countered. ‘Not if it’s only just happened.’
I left him at the doorway with this unnerving possibility. But there was a further unwelcome surprise awaiting me that highly unsettling day. Late that night, I rose from bed intending to activate ALEX in the hope that he might be able to tell me what had happened to Bevan and Extepan. But when I searched for the disk in the pillowslip where I had hidden it, I found it gone.
Disaster seems to breed disaster, and the biggest of all was still to come. The following morning I went upstairs to Victoria’s suite. We had lately taken to exercising Archimedes and Adamant most mornings in Parliament Park, and I was eager to find some time alone with her so we could talk. But Chantico told me she had left for the stables an hour before.
Victoria had never been an early riser, especially after a late night out, but I thought nothing of it. Yet when I arrived at our stables, both Archimedes and Adamant were still in their stalls, unsaddled. None of the grooms had seen anything of Victoria that morning.
A profound disquiet overtook me. Immediately I returned to the complex and sought out Maxixca again.
He was inspecting a detachment of guards on the parade ground which fronted the river.
‘Where’s my sister?’ I demanded.
He turned and, without a word, motioned for me to follow him inside. Three guards accompanied us.
We passed through the terrace garden and entered an operations room. Screens flickered untended, showing multiple views of the ground-level entrances to the complex. Maxixca drew himself up to his full height.
‘I’m afraid I have some unpleasant news for you,’ he informed me in English. ‘Princess Victoria has been arrested.’
‘What?’
I could see the pleasure under his show of concern.
‘She was implicated in the plot to cause an explosion at the Lords cricket compound.’
‘That’s absurd!’
‘I assure you it is true.’
‘I don’t believe it. It’s preposterous!’
He made a gesture as if to say that my disbelief flew in the face of the facts.
‘Where’s the evidence?’ I demanded to know.
He went to a console and tapped out a code. I had the feeling that he wanted to demonstrate how firmly he was in command of every aspect of his new authority. Within seconds the machine was spewing out black-and-white facsimiles of photographs and printed documents.
The documents purported to give the dates and times of Victoria’s meetings with persons who were known to be anti-Mexica agents. The photographs showed her sitting in dim rooms or standing in shadowy corridors with other people. Sometimes she was drinking, sometimes laughing, sometimes whispering in someone’s ear. Or so it appeared.
‘What are these?’ I said.
‘Evidence,’ Maxixca replied. ‘Evidence of her guilt.’
‘They could have been taken at a party.’
‘Some were.’ He was continuing to speak English, no doubt to emphasize that he was doing everything he could to accommodate me. ‘The people in the photographs are known partisans of terrorist organizations. The names in the reports refer to known subversives. Many are already in our custody.’