The Pimpernel Plot tw-3

by Simon Hawke

  “Yes, it does seem ideal,” Finn said. “You’ve done well, Andrew. It sounds like exactly what we need.”

  Ffoulkes smiled, obviously pleased. “What have you learned of the Marquis de Sevigne?”

  Finn gave him the information Fitzroy had provided. “He is at present hiding in the apartments of Armand St. Just.”

  “An inspired hiding place!” said Ffoulkes. “Who would think of seeking a wanted aristocrat in the home of one of the members of the Committee of Public Safety?”

  “Nevertheless, he must be moved quite soon,” said Finn. “St. Just must be very careful. We have to keep any contact with him to a minimum, for his own protection. So long as the marquis is there, St. Just is in great danger.”

  Ffoulkes nodded, grimly. “Indeed. He must be moved at once. Where will he be taken? To our hideout near the West Barricade?”

  “That’s right,” said Lucas. “He will be taken there tomorrow night, but we cannot risk keeping him there for very long. We must move swiftly.”

  “Tomorrow night,” said Finn. “Shortly before daybreak.” “You plan to take him out when the gates are closed?” said Ffoulkes. “How will you get past the guards?”

  “Leave that to me,” said Finn. “Recent escapes have been conducted in broad daylight. They will be much more vigilant now during the normal hours of traffic in and out of Paris. We must alter our tactics and keep them off balance.”

  “Very well,” said Ffoulkes. “What’s to be my part?”

  “Two of our men, Wilberforce and Barrett, have already left for Paris,” Lucas said. “They will be at the apartment to meet the marquis when he arrives. They will then await further instructions.”

  “For the time being, remain here,” said Finn. “Don’t go out after Thursday. Expect to hear from us anytime after then. Send Rodney Moore and the Byrne brothers to Pere Blanchard’s hut. The marquis will be brought there. Make sure that Blanchard realizes that he will be implicated if he betrays us. Lucas and I shall meet you here. When we arrive and you know that it is safe, you will go to Pere Blanchard’s hut and signal the Day Dream, which will be lying off Cap Gris Nez. Tony will send a boat for you. Lucas and I shall arrange for separate passage back to Dover. The others return on board the Day Dream. Wilberforce and Barrett will be on their own and they understand the risks. Any questions?”

  “You are leaving for Paris immediately, then?”

  Finn nodded.

  “That still does not leave you much time.”

  “Time enough,” said Finn. “The important thing to remember is not to make our friend Brogard suspicious. Don’t forget, we’re dissolute young Englishmen with time and money on our hands, out to replenish our cellars with French grape. Ask a lot of questions around town to that effect between now and Thursday. Who is selling? What are they selling? Who is liable to offer the best price? And if you should run into any good bargains, feel free to buy me several cases.”

  Ffoulkes laughed and they parted company. As they posted to Paris in great haste, Finn’s depression over Marguerite vanished completely, giving way to professional concern.

  “What do you want to bet that Mongoose tries it again this time?” said Finn.

  “If he does, it’ll mean one of two things,” said Lucas.

  “Since he can’t fool Fitzroy into keeping him briefed anymore, he’ll have to have some sort of pipeline into the TIA team for information.”

  “Possible, I suppose, but highly unlikely,” Finn said.

  “I agree. The other alternative is that he’s been watching us very, very closely because there’s just no other way he’d know what we were planning.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Finn said. “It’s occurred to me that he might have infiltrated us. For all we know, he could be one of the boys in the league, since we have no idea what he looks like now. Come to think of it, we never knew what he really looked like, did we? He’s changed his appearance so many damn times, I wonder if he knows what he really looks like anymore. I’ve cut down the odds as much as I could when I planned this operation. No one knew in advance what they’d have to do.”

  “That still leaves room for error,” Lucas said.

  “Yes, and doubt. Still, it’s about as tight as it could be, I think. We know for sure that Ffoulkes is okay because he took delivery of Leforte from Mongoose and Dewhurst was with him the night I met Mongoose in the maze, which also eliminates Dewhurst. Besides, Briggs was with Dewhurst when Leforte was snatched. That still leaves the others. Wilberforce and Barrett have orders not to leave each other’s sight. Rodney Moore is with the Byrne brothers, so no one will be alone. At least, no one should be alone except for Andy Ffoulkes. Have I left anything out?”

  “No, that covers it. If anyone is where they shouldn’t be we’ve got ourselves a suspect. If they all alibi each other, then that scratches all of them and we can concentrate on the ones who remained behind on this trip. It’s slow, but it’s steady. It might work.”

  “It had better work,” said Finn. “Well, you going to take the first shift or shall I?”

  “You go ahead and sleep,” said Lucas. “I’ll wake you at the first change of horses.”

  They reached Paris without incident the next night and Finn paid the driver a handsome bonus, as promised, for keeping up a breakneck pace all the way. The exhausted driver took the money as though it were contaminated, coming from English hands, but it was quite a large sum and he did not complain.

  The first thing they did upon entering the city was to check in at the safehouse with Fitzroy, who had established new quarters for himself near the Place de la Revolution. Even though they had traveled with all possible speed, they were running short of time, according to their schedule. Fitzroy confirmed that Alan Wilberforce and John Barrett had taken up their station in the tiny apartment near the West Barricade.

  “The marquis should be there right now,” Fitzroy said. “You still have some time, but you cut it pretty close.”

  “That was the plan,” said Finn. “I want no problems or mistakes this time.”

  “I see,” Fitzroy said. “I trust that there will be none. I’ve obtained the disguise you asked for. We still have a little time left. While you’re getting prepared, we can go over the plan.”

  The streets were nearly empty as they neared their destination. It was very late and only a few people were about. Finn and Lucas had both changed their clothing. They appeared to be ordinary citizens and Finn had added a dark wig, whiskers, and a moustache, along with some additional facial makeup, so that he could meet with Wilberforce and Barrett and not be recognized as Percy Blakeney.

  “If Wilberforce and Barrett do their part right, it should all go smoothly,” Lucas said. “Unless one of them is Mongoose.”

  “We’ll know soon enough,” said Finn. “Just don’t turn your back on either of them. One more time. You three start shooting your pistols at…?”

  “Three on the dot,” said Lucas.

  “Good. I’ll wait until I hear the ruckus, then I’ll make my move with the marquis. As soon as the guards get drawn away, I’m going for the gate. They’ll probably leave a couple of men on the gate unless we get real lucky, but they’ll be tired after a full shift and shouldn’t pose a problem. I just hope to hell the horses are where Fitzroy said they would be.”

  “We’ve gone over it with him twice,” said Lucas. “They’ll be there. I just hope the marquis doesn’t panic on us.”

  “If he does, I’ll put him to sleep for a little while,” said Finn. “I’ll get him to Cap Gris Nez if I have to carry him.”

  They turned down a narrow side street and walked halfway down the block until they came to the house where Wilberforce and Barrett were waiting with the marquis. The room was on the second floor. The windows were covered, as per instructions.

  “Wait down here,” said Finn. “I’ll send the boys down to you. I’ll give you a five-minute head start, then I’ll follow with the marquis.”

  Finn en
tered the building and slowly climbed the steps to the second floor, being careful not to make any noise. He came to the door of the apartment where the marquis was being hidden and softly knocked three times. The door opened just a crack.

  “I come from the Pimpernel,” Finn whispered.

  He was admitted and he entered quickly. Just as quickly Barrett shut the door behind him, lowering the hammer slowly on the pistol he held in his right hand.

  “What is it?” Barrett said in a low, urgent voice. “Has anything gone wrong?”

  Finn tensed. There was no one in the room except himself the tall and slender Barrett, and the shorter, more heavily built Wilberforce. Both men were staring at him anxiously. There was no sign of the marquis.

  “What do you mean?” said Finn, disguising his voice. “Where is the marquis?”

  Barrett looked alarmed and he exchanged a quick glance with Wilberforce. “Why, he has gone with the boy, as the Pimpernel instructed,” he said.

  “The boy! What boy?”

  “The little street urchin,” said Wilberforce looking concerned. “Jean, I think his name was. He brought the woman’s clothing for the marquis and they went out together, posing as mother and son.”

  “What’s the matter?” Barrett said. “Something’s gone wrong, hasn’t it?”

  “No, no,” Finn said, recovering quickly, “nothing has gone wrong. I just didn’t know that the Pimpernel would use the boy, that’s all.”

  They looked relieved. “Well, Alan and I were both a bit surprised that the Pimpernel would use a child,” said Barrett, “but he did seem like a capable young chap and I must admit it was a stroke of genius, using a little boy. Who would suspect a mother and her son?”

  “Who, indeed?” said Finn. “I hadn’t known the plan. I was only told the part I was to play.”

  “The Pimpernel likes doing things that way,” said Barrett. “Less chance for the plan being discovered, what? Young Jean said we would be contacted regarding any change in plan or instructions for our departure. I expect that’s your job, eh?”

  “Right, that’s what I came for,” Finn said. “You are to stay the night. Make your way out of the city tomorrow afternoon.

  You are English gentlemen who had heard about the goings-on here and came to see how the Revolution had changed things for yourselves. You’ve had a perfectly marvelous time and now you’re on your way home to tell your friends all about it. If you’re asked about the Scarlet Pimpernel, you are to over-whelm them with questions in return. Everyone in London wants to know about the Pimpernel and who would know better than the soldiers at the gates? They should grow quite disgusted with you and pass you through without further inquiry.”

  The two men grinned at each other.

  “I say this calls for a celebration,” Barrett said. “We’ve got several bottles of claret waiting to be uncorked, old chap. Will you join us?”

  “Wish I could, but I must be on about my business,” Finn said. “You’ve done well. Good night and good fortune to you.”

  He left them and hurried back downstairs to Lucas.

  “What’s happened?” Lucas said, grabbing his arm.

  “That son of a bitch has done it again!” said Finn. “He beat us to it and took the marquis out from right under our noses!”

  “Took him? How?”

  “You’re not going to believe this,” Finn said. “It was that kid, that miserable little pickpocket-”

  “ You mean Jean? The same boy that we-”

  “That’s him. He walked right up to the door, said the Pimpernel had sent him, and they turned the marquis over to him. We couldn’t have missed him by more than twenty minutes!”

  “Fitzroy is going to have a stroke,” said Lucas. “What do we do now?”

  “What else can we do? Get back to the coast. But first we’re going to have to go to Fitzroy and tell him what happened.”

  “I’m not looking forward to this,” Lucas said, as they started walking back.

  “Neither am I,” said Finn, “but at least we’ve got something to tell him beyond the fact that we blew it. There can’t be any doubt about it now. Mongoose is one of the members of the league. If we get back to Cap Gris Nez and find out that somebody wasn’t where he should have been, that’s our man.”

  “Otherwise, it’s one of the men who remained behind in England,” Lucas said. “But then, Hastings, Browning and the others wouldn’t have known the plan.”

  “True, but they’d know about the hideout,” Finn said. “They’d also know to follow whomever we sent on ahead to Paris. There’s no other way he could have done it. One of them is Mongoose.”

  “Really?” said Fitzroy. “That’s very interesting.”

  “That’s all you have to say?” said Finn.

  “No, not quite all,” Fitzroy said. “I could say that I’m frankly surprised that it took the two of you so long to come to that conclusion. Cobra suspected it right from the start when he arrived. I could say that if you had been more thorough in preparing your men for this rescue attempt, instead of keeping them in the dark about what they were to do until the very last minute, this might not have happened. In fact, I could say a great deal more, but I’m not going to bother. Instead, I am going to assume full authority over this adjustment immediately. I have had about enough of your sorry inefficiency.”

  “Now just a minute,” Lucas said, restraining Finn with a hand on his arm. “I didn’t hear you objecting to the plan when we went over it with you. As for taking charge of this adjustment, aren’t you overstepping your authority just a little? You’re within bounds to pass on directives from Plus Time, but Observers aren’t-”

  “‘I know very well what the function of an Observer is, Major Priest, I don’t need you to tell me! Yes, you’re quite correct, I am departing from normal procedure, but the two of you have left me no other choice. You’ve been outwitted twice, both times by a boy who can’t be more than twelve years old!”

  “You know very well that Mongoose had that kid-” Finn began, but Fitzroy interrupted him.

  “I am inclined to agree with agent Cobra that Mongoose does not present an overt threat to this operation. It’s clear to me that he desires nothing more than to embarrass the two of you, and he seems to be succeeding admirably. He’s doing your job for you and doing it quite well, I might add. As long as it gets done, I don’t really care who does it, so long as the Scarlet Pimpernel receives the credit.”

  “So what do you expect us to do?” Finn said, angrily. “You want us to sit on our hands while Mongoose does all the work?”

  “That’s a very tempting proposition,” said Fitzroy. “However, I will tell you precisely what I expect you to do. I expect you to continue playing your parts and to refrain from any sort of independent action. I will devise the plans for all future rescues and I will expect you to follow them to the letter, to the last detail. I will have my support staff working, with agent Cobra’s team standing by to observe each aspect of each operation, ready to act when Mongoose makes his move. The moment that the object of the rescue is safely out of danger, the agents will move in and apprehend their man. Between my own efforts in this regard and agent Cobra’s investigation, Mongoose will be taken. I will do my very best to keep your part in this as uncomplicated as possible in order to avoid confusing you. I still need a Percy Blakeney. Unfortunately, Delaney, you’re all I have to fill that role, so you will simply have to do, at least for the time being. Now I suggest the two of you make your way back to Cap Gris Nez, where Mongoose will undoubtedly deliver the Marquis de Sevigne to the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel. With any luck, perhaps the TIA agents will apprehend him there and you’ll be spared any further embarrassment. Good night, gentlemen.”

  Finn was on the verge of making a temperamental reply, but Lucas took him by the arm and firmly pulled him toward the door. Fitzroy watched them with disdain as they left, then shook his head and chuckled.

  “All right, Jean,” he said in French, “come on
out.”

  The closet door opened and the boy stepped out.

  “How did you leave the marquis?”

  “Asleep, downstairs,” the boy replied. “I pricked him with the ring, just as you said. He glanced at the ring he wore on his left hand, identical to the one Finn had been given. “How does it work?”

  “Don’t concern yourself, Jean, you would not understand. You’ve done very well. Here.” He gave the boy a purse. “This is for you and your brother. Take care that no one steals it from you. I’ll have more work for you very soon.”

  “Thank you, monsieur.”

  “That will be all. Run along now. Take care that no one sees you leave.”

  9

  Following the arrival of the Marquis de Sevigne in England the Scarlet Pimpernel became a national obsession. A horse named Scarlet Pimpernel won at Ascot. A milliner in Knightsbridge offered for sale hats “a la Scarlet Pimpernel” and was soon swamped with orders. Several tailors began to specialize in suits and dresses “a la Scarlet Pimpernel” which, in spite of their designation, were available in a wide choice of colors. Scarlet Pimpernels were worn in lapels across the country, pinned to hats, worn as corsages, painted upon snuff-boxes, made from silk and attached to horses’ bridles, used as a garnish for a wide variety of dishes, and embroidered upon velvet slippers, dressing gowns, jackets and handkerchiefs. It seemed that the Scarlet Pimpernel was foremost in the mind of every Englishman, especially the ersatz Sir Percy Blakeney.

  Mongoose had delivered the marquis to Pere Blanchard’s hut, dropping the aristocrat off at the crest of the St. Martin’s road and directing him to follow the footpath down to the cottage. The nobleman arrived only slightly the worse for wear, suffering from dizziness and disorientation like the others before him. He had attributed the effects to the “sleeping draught” he had been given, ostensibly to prevent him from knowing how he was spirited out of Paris. However, Finn and Lucas both knew that what he had felt were not the aftereffects of a drug, but of travel from one place to another via chronoplate.