Mina thanked him. “And how was your Kaffee?”
“As good as any I’ve ever drunk.”
“You’ve had Kaffee before?” wondered Rosenkreuz.
“Oh, once or twice,” said the earl dismissively. “I forget where. I congratulate you, too, on receiving the royal warrant. You must be very proud.”
“We are very grateful.” Glancing at their empty cups, she said, “May I bring you more Kaffee, gentlemen?” Both accepted the offer, and Mina went to fetch it; when she returned with a fresh pot, Burleigh was at the table alone.
“My young friend has remembered some urgent business,” he explained in his formal English. “But this will give us a chance to become better acquainted.” He indicated the chair next to his own. “Please, sit with me.”
Mina settled into the offered seat. “Forgive me, Lord Earl,” she began, choosing her words with some care, “but it seems to me that you are very far from home.”
“As are you, my dear,” replied Burleigh.
The reply was ambiguous, so Mina probed a little deeper. “Yes, of course,” she said. “I left more than London behind when I came here. I suspect you did also.”
The dark stranger’s expression grew keen; his eyes narrowed. But he said nothing.
She took his silence for affirmation. “So, where did you come from? Or, should I say, when?”
“Whatever do you mean, dear lady?” replied Burleigh, still watching her intently.
“I mean,” said Wilhelmina, lowering her voice and leaning forward, “like myself, you have travelled in time. You’re not of this century, and neither am I.”
“What makes you say such a thing?”
“I know, all right?” she said, glancing around quickly. “Your little slipup just now-about having coffee once or twice. You forgot this is still a new thing here. And yesterday, you betrayed yourself when you asked which coffeehouse was mine.”
“Ah,” replied the earl thoughtfully. “Touche.”
“Then there are your clothes,” continued Wilhelmina, warming to her argument. “Plain, good quality, serviceable they may be-but the cloth is machine-woven. I had the same problem when I arrived. The things you’re wearing might have been made in England-but a few hundred years from now, I expect.” She fixed him a sly, knowing smile. “They may fool the locals, but they don’t fool me.”
“What sharp little eyes you have, my dear,” replied Burleigh through his teeth.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I don’t miss much.”
He took her hand as it rested on the table. “Then I am certain,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “that you will understand”-he tightened his grip, a little harder for emphasis-“when I tell you…” He squeezed again, uncomfortably harder, and maintained the pressure.
“Ow!” yipped Mina, trying to pull her hand away.
Burleigh held her fast in his grip.
“… when I tell you that you have suddenly become an unwanted intrusion into my affairs.”
“You’re hurting me!”
“I’ll do more than that, sweet thing,” he muttered.
“Let me go!”
He brought his face close to hers the way a lover might. “If you want to stay alive,” he said, his breath hot in her ear, “stay far away from me.”
He released her hand and rose from the table. “Thank you for the coffee,” he said, all smiles and good manners once more. “I will say good-bye. I don’t expect to see you again.”
He moved quickly to the door and was gone before Wilhelmina could think to call for Etzel.
She was still sitting there, rubbing her hand and staring at the door through which the treacherous earl had disappeared, when Rosenkreuz returned. “Fraulein Wilhelmina?” he asked, taking his seat at the table. “Is all well?”
She started, coming to herself once more. “No-I mean, yes.” She forced a smile. “Never better.”
“What happened to Lord Burleigh?” asked the young alchemist. “Where has he gone?”
“It seems he had to leave. No doubt he will meet you again later.”
Rosenkreuz accepted this without comment.
“But here,” said Mina, jumping up, “your Kaffee has gone cold. Don’t drink it. I’ll bring you some more.”
“Thank you, but I should be about my own business.”
“It won’t take but a moment,” said Wilhelmina, hurrying away. “There is something I wish to discuss with you.”
“Is anything the matter?” asked Etzel, catching a glimpse of her preoccupied expression as she entered the kitchen. He placed on the baking table a tray of buns fresh from the oven.
“What?” she said. “Oh, no-no. Everything is splendid. I was just thinking. Umm, those cakes smell heavenly,” she told him. As soon as the pot was filled, she returned to the table in the corner bearing a tray with a second cup and a plate of pastries, which she placed before the chief under-alchemist. “On the house,” she said, taking her seat.
The expression puzzled the young fellow, but he reached for a pastry as his cup was filled. “I am in your debt, Fraulein,” he said, the crumbs falling from his lips.
“My pleasure,” she replied. “But I need your help with something.”
“Anything.”
“Merely a little information.”
“But, of course. What would you like to know?”
“What is Lord Burleigh doing here in Prague?”
“But it is no secret,” answered Rosenkreuz readily; then after a moment’s hesitation he added, “At least I cannot think that it is a secret…”
“Well, then?”
“He has come to ask our aid in the manufacture of a device to aid his travels.”
“The device, yes,” said Mina, remembering the diagram she had seen in the earl’s hands upon entering the alchemy laboratory. “You were talking about it when I joined the two of you just now. Tell me about it.”
Rosenkreuz explained that the Earl of Sutherland was engaged in the exploration of the astral planes-the otherworldly dimensions that made up the unseen universe-and required a device to aid him. “He is a very intelligent man,” the alchemist confided, “and very brave.”
“Undoubtedly,” agreed Mina. “Another pastry? Please, go on.”
“The astral realms are thought to be-”
“The device, I mean. Tell me about that.”
“I do believe it to be the most cunning invention I have ever seen.” His hands described an oval as big as a grapefruit. “This device is to be used to identify the invisible pathways by which the earl makes his travels. These pathways are all around us, apparently-if we only knew how to recognise them.”
“I see.” Wilhelmina nodded, making up her mind. “Herr Rosenkreuz, how would you like to secure a ready supply of bitter earth for your experiments-free, at no charge whatsoever?”
“Of course. It goes without saying,” the alchemist agreed at once, “but that is in no way necessary. We can easily pay.”
“I know,” she replied, “and you are more than generous. But I want to exchange it for your help.”
“Very well,” agreed Rosenkreuz. “What is it that you wish?”
“When you have manufactured this device for Lord Burleigh,” said Mina, her tone taking on an edge Rosenkreuz had never heard in a woman’s voice before, “I want you to make one for me.”
CHAPTER 33
In Which Nature Takes Its Course
It began as a simple tickle in the throat. Xian-Li coughed once or twice, drank a little water, and carried on making herself ready for the day. She and Arthur breakfasted with some of the priests on slices of sweet melon, dates, figs in honey, and goat’s milk flavoured with almonds. While Arthur and the servants of Amun chatted over their food, Xian-Li sat quietly and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her back, letting her mind wander where it would.
“You’re not eating,” Arthur observed at one point during the meal. “Aren’t you hungry, darling?”
“Mmm?” She shook off her reverie and looked down at her untouched plate. “Oh, I was…” Her voice drifted off.
“You must eat something,” he chided. “You simply can’t meet Pharaoh on an empty stomach, you know.”
She nodded, picking up a fig. She put it down again after only a bite, and her mind flitted away once more. The next thing she knew the meal was over; the white-kilted priests were getting up, and Arthur was on his feet, ready to go.