‘Are we to be executed?’ I asked. ‘Sacrificed?’
He gave an incredulous laugh.
‘Your fate will be decided in due course. When other matters have resolved themselves.’
I assumed he meant the war, yet somehow he seemed to imply more than this. It was then I recalled that the Aztecs had adopted the European practice of wearing black or dark colours for mourning. Except that they often wore them during a person’s dying as well as after it. Was Extepan’s position already hopeless?
I knew I could expect no answer to such a question. And Extepan was only one of my concerns.
‘What about Victoria?’ I asked. ‘What will be done with her?’
He made a dismissive gesture. ‘I’m not here to answer your questions. Take them away.’
As the guards encircled us, Alex made one last attempt to use his old powers of diplomacy to try to soften the blow.
‘Please tell the tlatoani that neither of us intended any personal insult to him or his family.’
The cihuacoatl made a sound like an amused snarl.
‘Unless you can speak with ghosts,’ he said, ‘that will prove difficult. Motecuhzoma died last night.’
We were taken down into the depths of the castle, where a catacomb of cells had been hewn from the bedrock. Before Alex and I were separated, he asked for a moment to speak with me alone. Maxixca, magnanimous in his victory, was ready to allow this.
Alex drew me aside.
‘I know I’ve acted shamelessly, Kate. And no doubt you feel betrayed by Victoria, too. But think a little more kindly of her. I asked to have her sent here to be with me.’
I frowned. ‘Are you telling me that’s why she was exiled? Because of you?’
‘I helped them, Kate. It was hopeless, our situation in Wales. They knew where we were all the time.’
‘How can you be sure of that?’
‘Because they contacted me on the radio. Offered me a deal.’
‘A deal?’
‘They knew about the disk. It was a prototype, not fully operational. But they saw they might be able to use it. I agreed to collaborate with them. The raid, my escape, it was all arranged beforehand. We made the deal over the radio.’
‘But why?’
‘Because we were never going to get out of there otherwise. We would have been exiles for the rest of our lives, or at least until they decided to kill us or pick us up. I just couldn’t bear it any more. In exchange for my freedom, I agreed to help them use the disk to feed you fake information. That was my treason.’
I stared at him. ‘What are you saying? Was it really you I was talking to all the time?’
‘The image on the screen was electronic. But it was the real me talking to you. They kept me on call twenty-four hours a day, with computer people on hand to make sure I didn’t slip up. You really put me through my paces, Kate.’ He shook his head ruefully. ‘The programme could have worked if we’d had time to perfect it. It could have been everything I said it was.’
He sounded almost wistful, and I wondered if he was expecting me to compliment him.
‘All that,’ I said bitterly, ‘just to fool the Russians?’
‘The disk was extra insurance for them. They used you to gain the Russians’ confidence, to make them believe that there really wasn’t going to be an attack. Coming from an impeccable source, they hoped it would be convincing.’
‘It seems impossibly elaborate.’
‘They love intrigue, Kate. And I don’t think it was the only trick they were trying. They would have done anything to minimize the risks beforehand. You can’t imagine the scale of such an operation, the logistics and manpower involved—’
‘I can imagine it. I was there, at the front line.’
He didn’t follow this up. ‘The disk had lots of potential in other spheres. If it hadn’t been destroyed, they would have probably let you continue to use it, but for their own ends.’
‘You’re a traitor, Alex.’
He did not try to deny it. ‘I bargained for everyone’s life, I swear to you.’
‘It didn’t save the others in the house, did it?’
‘They asked me to make sure everyone was together, so that they could pick us all up.’
‘Is that why you made up the story about the Russian ship?’
He shook his head ruefully. ‘That was a mistake. I suppose I wanted to give you a little bit of hope. I did it out of guilt. I thought we’d all be safe, Kate. The officer who fire-bombed the house was acting against orders. They had him court-martialled.’
‘So that made everything all right, did it?’
‘No, of course not. I’m just telling you what happened, and why.’
I didn’t know what to say. Even if I believed his story, it did nothing to soften my feelings towards him.
‘And Victoria?’ I said bitterly. ‘Where does she fit in to all this?’
‘I was practically under house arrest when I came here, and I was desperate for some female company. Her company.’ He swallowed. ‘And there were reasons why the Mexica wanted her out of London. So she agreed to join me. It was either that, or real exile. For what it’s worth, she didn’t do it out of any great love for me.’
My laugh was brittle. ‘Then why did she let you sleep with her? It was even happening in Wales, wasn’t it?’
He looked me in the eyes, nodded. ‘We were together so much, all living in the same house. You know what I’m like – never could resist a pretty face.’
My stony expression made it plain that his roguishness was no longer endearing to me.
‘You have to try to forgive her, Kate. Few of us have the same high standards as you.’
‘Standards? My standards are no higher than anyone else’s. I just had a more highly developed sense of duty. Had. Now I find it hard to care about anything.’
‘Because I let you down so badly.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself – it would take more than your grubby philandering to do that. It’s simply brought home to me that there was no one I could trust. No one.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Why, Alex? I still don’t see why. Was it worth it?’
He shook his head. ‘Of course not. I just exchanged one form of exile for another. When Victoria first came to Quauhnahuac, I thought we might recapture a bit of the old magic. But it never worked out that way. We both knew we were prisoners in all but name. We had too much behind us, too much guilt and dishonour, I suppose.’
Maxixca stepped forward.
‘That is all,’ he said brusquely in English.
As Alex was led away, he called back to me, ‘I swear that not a day passed when I didn’t think of you.’
With this final lie, he disappeared into the gloom.
Eight
The cell was a drab stone chamber, furnished with two bunk beds, a low table and a pair of padded floor mats. It was lit by a strip of fly-specked neon, the light switch on the wall inside the door. The air was cool but not uncomfortably cold.
I huddled on one of the bunks for the rest of the day, thinking. Did I have any more reason to believe Alex’s story than all the other lies I had swallowed over the past few years? No; and yet it smacked of the truth. I saw Alex far more clearly now, all romantic idealizations stripped away. His sophistication now seemed like simple hedonism, his geniality self-interest, his boyish humour an infantile masculinity. It was only too easy to imagine him sacrificing his principles – if he had ever possessed any in the first place – for a secure life in which he could indulge his appetites without conscience. I could never forgive him; but I understood.