He allowed a pause, as if to give me room to protest her innocence. But I didn’t do so, even though I believed as firmly as ever that she had never confessed.
‘…but it may be possible to arrange some kind of communication, so you may be satisfied that she is safe and well. Would that do?’
‘It would be something.’
‘Good. Then leave the matter in my hands, and we’ll arrange it. Now, was there anything else?’
‘I can’t think of anything at the moment.’
‘Then shall we take a walk around my garden? Of course, I use the term “walk” in a figurative sense in my case.’
A hoarse chuckle. He put the bowl of nougat back on the tray.
Extepan and I rose. The tlatoani’s hand was on the control panel. The chair abruptly jerked forward, then began to move at quite a moderate speed towards the path which wound through the sunflower beds. The flowers shone brighter now that the darkness had deepened, and it was easy to understand why even an emperor would be proud of them.
Extepan grasped my hand briefly and squeezed it, as if to congratulate me on passing a test. We hurried off after the diminutive figure in the weaving white chair.
Four
The next day was sweltering, and I spent much of the morning dozing. In the afternoon I visited the steam baths at the palace, sitting in a humid cubicle filled with the scents of resinous wood. That evening, dancers from Chiapas performed a mime for us, all feathers and swirling mantles, their story symbolizing the acceptance of Christianity as the official religion of the empire by the tlatoani Tezozomoc in the seventeenth century.
I sat with Richard and Xochinenen, who were flying on to Honolulu the following day. Richard was thrilled at the prospect of going surfing, his latest passion. In a quiet moment I whispered in Nahuatl to Xochinenen, ‘Will you be returning to London after Hawaii?’
‘Of course,’ she replied. ‘Richard wants our son to be born in England. He’s certain it’s going to be a boy.’
I think I must have had some foreboding that a lengthy separation was imminent.
‘You will look after him, won’t you?’
She knew immediately I was referring to Richard rather than the child. He was clapping his hands to the music which accompanied the mime, completely engrossed in the performance.
‘You mustn’t worry,’ she said, putting a hand on my wrist. ‘I would never do anything to hurt him. Do you know he’s been teaching me how to speak English correctly?’ She paused, licking her scarlet lips. ‘“How now brown cow.”’ Her accent was thick, the Os ostentatiously rounded. ‘“The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”’
She giggled. I couldn’t help smiling.
Later the following morning Chicomeztli came to my apartment to tell me that a message from Victoria had arrived. I was drinking coffee with Bevan, and we waited while Chicomeztli went to the keyboard of the console. Though the telephone and domestic television channels on the unit were operational, there was a security lock on its other functions. Evidently Victoria’s message was being transmitted on a private channel.
Presently the screen lit up, showing a still image of Victoria. She sat at a table in a wood-panelled room, dressed in a plain cream kimono-like blouse. She looked healthy enough but rather drawn: lines bracketed her mouth and radiated from her eyes.
‘The message was recorded earlier this morning,’ Chicomeztli informed me.
‘I’d like to watch it alone, if you don’t mind,’ I said.
‘Of course.’
He promptly withdrew. But when Bevan made to leave, I put a hand on his arm and said, ‘Stay.’
I went to the console and pressed the PLAY button. For several moments Victoria’s fixed expression did not alter. Then abruptly she came alive.
‘Catherine,’ she began, staring straight out of the screen. ‘It’s good to be able to talk to you after such a long time. I’m sorry I can’t speak to you face-to-face, but they wouldn’t allow it. I’m well, as you can see – as well as can be expected, anyway, under the circumstances. How are you? They tell me you’re visiting Tenochtitlan. I wish I was there with you. Beijing’s pretty enough, but I mustn’t leave the palace and it gets very cold here in winter. I miss you terribly.
‘How’s Richard? I’m told he’ll soon be a father – that was quite a surprise. As you can tell, I’m not completely isolated from the outside world, they do let me have some news from time to time. But it’s not the same as being there with you all. I’ve made a few friends here, but not many people speak English and I’m perfectly hopeless at learning Mandarin. I miss so many things – I can’t begin to tell you.
‘How are Archimedes and Adamant? Have you mastered Adamant yet? There’s no opportunity to ride here, but I swim most days. They have a heated pool outside.’ She paused, nibbling her lower lip. ‘I’m sorry this is so hasty and rambling. I haven’t really got any news to report – not much happens here, and if it did I probably wouldn’t be allowed to tell you about it.’ An empty laugh. ‘I hope you’re still battling on… you always were a fighter, not like me.’
She paused again, looking off-screen, looking pained. ‘This is difficult for me. Can I go now?’ There was a pause, a muffled voice in the background, a foreign voice speaking English. Then Victoria turned back to the camera. ‘I’m sorry, Kate. I don’t know what to say. Do take care of yourself, won’t you? I think of you often.’
I saw her rising from her chair. Then the image blanked.
I did not move for some time but simply stared at the flickering lines on the screen.
It was Bevan who rose and pressed the STOP button.
‘What do you think?’ I said to him.
‘Very interesting,’ he replied.
‘She sounded as if she had been told what to say.’
‘I reckon that’s a fair bet.’
Bevan went out on to the balcony to smoke a cigarette. I followed him.
‘What is it?’ I said.
He broke a match between his fingers. ‘Maybe we can do some checking.’
‘Checking?’
‘Might be possible to get into the networks here.’
‘What?’
A sly grin. ‘Watched him, didn’t I? He used the network code.’
‘You can remember it?’
‘Piece of cake.’ He tapped his gleaming forehead. ‘All in here, it is.’
I put my face in front of his. ‘What are you saying? That we might be able to find out more about Victoria?’
‘Worth a try. We could root around in the system, see what we can come up with. Who knows, we might even be lucky enough to find her phone number.’
Though I knew he was half-joking, I was excited by the idea.
‘We could use the terminal here?’
He nodded. ‘Like we did in London. Sniff about at night.’
I was smiling. ‘Just like old times.’
‘Want to give it a go, then?’
‘Yes,’ I said emphatically. ‘But first I’m going to see Extepan.’
I was not surprised when my request to send a return message to Victoria was turned down. Extepan was apologetic but firm.
‘There’s nothing I can do,’ he told me. ‘As an exile, she isn’t permitted any unofficial communication from outside. Her message to you was a special favour from the tlatoani, but he made it clear to me that this was the extent of his concession.’
I had expected as much. Not for the first time, I demanded to know how long Victoria was to be kept in exile.
‘At the moment it’s indefinite. You must remember she confessed to serious charges. As far as we are concerned, she’s an enemy of the state. But circumstances may change.’