“A bad habit,” the Regent said solemnly. “Don’t do it in polite company. People stare at you.” He stopped smiling, his eyes suddenly cold and faraway. “Even after you changed everything, Eddie…Martha still couldn’t bring herself to call me home. Perhaps because she’d remarried, perhaps because that would have meant she’d have to admit she’d been wrong all along.”
“Hold it,” said Molly. I was thankful she was keeping up our end of the conversation; I was still finding it difficult to say anything. Molly stepped forward and fixed the Regent with a cold glare. “Martha was married to Alistair. So you must have divorced at some point.”
“Of course,” said the Regent. “Martha did it the day she kicked me out. The Matriarch was in charge of everything in those days. Weddings have always been big celebrations in the family; divorces and separations, less so. We’re Droods. We don’t like to admit we can get it wrong. What was Alistair like? I never met the man.…I’ve read all the files, of course, but it’s not the same.”
“Weak,” Molly said bluntly. “He was weak.”
“But he stood up to be counted when it mattered,” I said. “He put his life on the line to defend Martha. Later he was killed and replaced by an Immortal. I killed the Immortal.”
“I’m glad Martha found someone worthy of her,” said the Regent. “I never found anyone that could replace her. Thank you for avenging him, Eddie.”
He stood up and came out from behind his desk. I stood up, though my legs were trembling. He came forward and embraced me and I held him tightly, as though afraid someone might try to take him away from me again. We held on to each other for a long while, while Molly stood to one side, looking on coldly. The Regent and I finally let go, stepped back and looked at each other.
“Grandfather,” I said. “No wonder this place you made reminds me so much of home.”
“And look at you, Eddie. All grown up. My boys James and Jack sent me photos of you, and files later on, when they could. They had to keep that secret, of course. Martha could never know. Or perhaps she did and just told herself she didn’t. She was always a great one for compartmentalising.…Once you came here to be a field agent in London, I kept an eye on you. From a safe distance. Watched your back as much as I dared. You’ve achieved so much.…I have always been so very proud of you, Eddie.”
“Then why didn’t you come back!” I couldn’t keep all the anger out of my voice. “After I destroyed the Heart and overthrew the Matriarch…”
“I had responsibilities here,” said the Regent. I still found it easier to think of him that way. He met my gaze steadily. “I had my organisation, all my shadow agents, to consider, and…I’d built a new life here. A new family. I couldn’t just walk out on them, could I? I wasn’t even a proper Drood anymore.…Martha couldn’t take my torc from me, but she did persuade the Heart to seal me off from my armour. I haven’t been able to call on it since I left the Hall.
“I did mean to reach out to Martha, at least, but I always thought there would be time later. We always think that, until it’s too late. And to be honest, I wanted to wait and see if your changes would last. You’re not the first angry young Drood to try to reform the family by force, you know. Were you really surprised, Eddie, when they took the democracy you gave them and used it to vote you out?”
“Not really,” I said. “No…”
“I almost came back,” said the Regent. “When word reached me that Martha had been murdered. Right there, in her own bed, in her own quarters, in the Hall. I never really thought she’d agree to see me again, even after everything had changed, but I always thought that, perhaps…someday…right up till I heard she was dead. I realised then I could never go back to the Hall. No one remembered me, so my turning up would only have muddied the waters. And I didn’t want to do anything that would interfere with finding Martha’s killer. I did hear…you killed the man who murdered her, Eddie.”
“Yes,” I said. “I’ll tell you the whole story someday. Some other time. It was the least I could do for her.”
“Thank you for that,” said the Regent. “I have to ask: I did hear that you’d been killed.…”
“Not permanently,” I said. “Molly saved me.”
The Regent smiled at her. “Thank you for that, Molly Metcalf.”
She just nodded stiffly. I didn’t quite understand then that she thought she was still looking out for me. That she didn’t trust anyone else to have my best interests at heart. I looked at the Regent.
“So, you knew all about me? When I was a field agent here?”
“Of course,” said the Regent. “Why do you think James and Jack worked so hard to get you posted here?”
“All those years,” I said. “You were so close, but you never once reached out to me! Never told me the truth! Why not, Grandfather? How could you leave me on my own for so long?”
“I had my reasons,” the Regent said steadily. “I couldn’t contact you. Martha would have named you rogue, just for knowing about me.”
“She did that, anyway, eventually,” I said.
“I know. Martha never was the kind to let sentiment get in the way of what she believed needed doing. The job, the never-ending duties and responsibilities, they just ground all the softer emotions out of her. I saw it happening even while I was still there, but there was nothing I could do. I could protect her from everyone but herself. It was never safe, for either of us, for me to reach out to you. If any of our enemies had discovered the true nature of our relationship, you can be sure they would have found some way to use it against us. I did what I could to watch over you from the shadows. But now…you and I are the only family we have left. Apart from the other rogues, of course. Is the Hall really completely destroyed, Eddie? Nothing left but ruins?”
I was about to tell him the truth, when Molly stopped me with a sharp look. She didn’t trust the Regent. I could tell.
“Eddie,” she said, “I’m glad you’ve found your grandfather after all this time. Really, I am. But some secrets should stay secrets. Until we’re sure of…the situation.”
I just scowled at her, resentful that she couldn’t share my happiness. But the Regent was already nodding his head solemnly.
“Spoken like a true agent, Molly. Your secrets can wait, whatever they are.” He turned back to me. “Tell me what it is you need right now, Eddie. Why have you come here, to the Regent of Shadows, to the Department of the Uncanny?”
Despite myself, I forced my emotions down and put on my professional persona. I wanted to believe in the Regent, but I have better reasons than most to know that most rogues…are rogues. There was still one thing I couldn’t let go.…
“Do you know the truth about what happened to my parents?” I said bluntly.
“To my daughter, Emily, and her husband, Charles? Of course I know. I made it my business to find out, and to hell with whoever got in my way. And I promise I will tell you the whole story one day, but not until the current crisis is over. You can’t afford to be…distracted.”
“Tell me!” I said, putting all my anger and authority into my voice. “Tell me right now!”
“I can’t,” he said steadily, meeting my harsh gaze with unwavering eyes. “I’m sorry, Eddie. You’ll understand in time.”
“Typical Drood,” said Molly. “Never give away anything that matters, except on your own terms. Do you know what happened to my parents? Jake and Dana Metcalf? Supposedly killed by the Droods for fighting alongside the White Horse Faction.”
“I remember that,” said the Regent.
Molly and I waited until it became clear he had nothing to more to say on the subject. The wild upsurge of emotions I’d felt on discovering who he was were beginning to die down. He might be my grandfather, but he was also the Regent of Shadows, and his duties and responsibilities were bound to be different from mine.
“My parents’ deaths are supposed to be linked to those of Emily and Charles,” said Molly, studying the Regent closely. “Because they saw so
mething they shouldn’t have. Because they knew too much…”
“There’s nothing I can tell you about that,” the Regent said carefully. “Not right now. It’s…complicated.”
“But you do know what happened to them?” insisted Molly, glaring fiercely at the Regent.
“Of course I know,” he said. “I was there. Are you any happier for knowing that, Molly? Knowing that I can’t tell you any more for the moment?”
I looked at the Regent in a new way, seeing for the first time the cold, hard professional who’d survived leaving the Droods and his wife to found his own secret army. The Regent of Shadows. You don’t get to be head of a secret organisation like that unless you’ve got true Drood grit in you.
“When this is all over,” I said to him, and something in my voice snapped his head right round to look at me, “then we are going to talk about this. And I will not walk away until you’ve told Molly and me everything you know about how our parents died.”
The Regent surprised me then by smiling approvingly at me. “That’s the way, Eddie! It’s good to see you’re everything the files say you are.”
He sat down behind his desk again. Molly and I sat down facing him. I needed something else we could talk about or I was going to end up shouting at him.
“How did the Regent of Shadows, with his own organisation of specially trained and independent spies, end up here, running the Department of the Uncanny and part of the Establishment?”
“Not by choice,” said the Regent. “I was happy enough on my own, but Catherine Latimer approached me personally and asked me to take over Uncanny, because MI-13 had been proven not just infiltrated, but completely corrupt. Someone had to take up the slack, and Uncanny couldn’t do it on their own. I couldn’t say no. Even when you’re not a Drood any longer, duty and responsibility still weigh heavy on you.…I did make it clear that I would split us up again, as soon as MI-13 had been properly restored…but I doubt I will. There’s nothing more seductive than fire-rate resources and a decent budget. I can do more here at Uncanny than I ever could with all my shadows.…”
“Why should the Carnacki boss approach you personally?” I said.
“Oh, she and I go way back,” said the Regent. He laughed quietly at the surprise on my face. “We were all such chums together back in the day. Out in the field, fighting the forces of evil with cunning and charm, a quip on the lips and a sword blade hidden inside a furled umbrella. Like-minded souls, from many different areas. Martha and me, the Independent Agent and the Walking Woman, Catherine Latimer and Crow Lee…Oh yes, they were quite the couple back then, fresh out of Cambridge and looking for supernatural trouble to get into. Though she never talks about it anymore, she really was quite sweet on him at the time. It’s always the bad boy who makes a good girl’s heart beat that little bit faster.…And he did throw the very best parties.…Martha and I were such happy bright young things, before she was called back to assume the heavy mantle of the Matriarch.”
He looked at me kindly. “You don’t have to be on your own anymore, Eddie. Would you like to come and work with me here at Uncanny? I know the family is all gone, but you could be part of the new family I’ve made here. Everyone would make you very welcome.”
And I just couldn’t hold it back any longer. “They’re not dead! They’re still alive! The Droods are still out there, somewhere!”
“What?”
The Regent jumped to his feet, staring slack-jawed at me. And I jumped to my feet, grinning broadly. I glanced apologetically at Molly, who rolled her eyes and gave me a Go on, then, if you must look.
“The ruined Hall isn’t our Hall,” I said to the Regent. “It’s another Hall, another Drood family, from a different dimension, with a different history. Our Hall was rotated to another Earth by Alpha Red Alpha.…You do know about that? Of course you do. I’m pretty sure it was operated from outside, by remote control, taking our family by surprise. They probably never knew what hit them, until it was far too late. And now they’re trapped in that other place, unable to get home. But they’re still alive! I’m sure of it! The dead Droods in the ruined Hall were just left there to distract us, to keep us from looking for the real thing! I’m working on a way to get our family back, but I need help and resources. That’s why I came here.…”
“Showing off in front of Grandpa,” muttered Molly. “The horror, the horror…”
But I wasn’t listening, because the Regent gave a great whoop of delight and burst out from behind his desk to grab me by the arms and dance me round his office, hollering away happily. I laughed helplessly along with him, dancing just as wildly. It felt so good to have someone else to share my good news with. Molly knew, but she wasn’t a Drood. She wasn’t family, with all that meant. So she stood to one side, smiling painfully, waiting for the Regent and I to wear ourselves out. And eventually we did. The Regent dropped back into the chair behind his desk, flushed bright red, breathing hard, grinning. I slumped into the stiff-backed visitor’s chair, fighting to get my breathing back under control. Molly sat down beside me and wouldn’t look at either of us. The Regent and I grinned at each other.
“If Alpha Red Alpha got rid of our family,” he said, finally, “how in hell are we going to get them back?”
“I’m working on that,” I said.
The Regent laughed breathlessly. “Everything I’ve heard about you really is true.”
“Oh, it is,” said Molly. “Believe it.”
“Now, you said someone must have activated Alpha Red Alpha by remote control,” said the Regent. “Who do you think was behind that?”
“I’m pretty sure it was Crow Lee,” I said, and then had to break off as the Regent slammed his fist on the desktop.
“Of course it’s him! Has to be him! Only he’d have the brass nerve…Cheeky bugger! I was talking to him just the other week, and he never so much as hinted at what he was planning. He must have known I’d have thrown this whole organisation against him if I’d known.…”
“Would you?” said Molly. “Would you really? You’d have risked everything you’ve built up to save the family that threw you out?”
“Once a Drood, always a Drood,” said the Regent. “Right, Eddie?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I said. “You have to understand, Molly, despite everything, it’s always going to be Anything for the family. It’s bred in the bone.”
“Trust me, I had noticed,” said Molly.
“Crow Lee…” said the Regent, rubbing his hands together briskly. “I’ve been searching for some way to bring down that arrogant little shit for years. They don’t call him the Most Evil Man in the World for nothing. But as I’m sure I’m not the first to say…he’s always been too well connected for me to touch. I couldn’t even get near him because of his powerful friends in high and low places.”
Molly looked at me. “If the Droods knew what Crow Lee was, why didn’t they take him down? Connections in high places shouldn’t have been any obstacle to your family.”
“Crow Lee’s connections aren’t just with the Thrones of this World,” I said patiently. “We’re not just talking about the everyday movers and shakers of politics and big business. Though he certainly has enough of them by the balls…No, Crow Lee made compacts with Above and Below, long ago. With the Houses of Pain and the Shimmering Plains, trading them…something they wanted in return for power and protection. And, no, we don’t know what the deal involved.” I looked at the Regent hopefully, but he just shook his head briefly.
“I have heard rumours,” the Regent said slowly. “And I feel I should make it clear that I have no actual evidence…rumours that Crow Lee had some kind of hold over the Droods. Enough of a hold to keep them at bay all these years…”
“A hold?” I said. “What kind of a hold are we talking about here?”
“Like I said, all I have are rumours, most of them contradictory. But to keep Crow Lee off the Drood agenda for so long, it would have to concern some of the highest people in the fami
ly.”
“Blackmail,” Molly said succinctly.
“Could be,” said the Regent. “But if it was, I’ve never been able to find out who or what was involved. And believe me, I’ve tried. You were head of the family for a while there, Eddie. Did anyone ever say anything to you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m only just beginning to discover how much they managed to keep from me. And given all the terrible and sometimes downright appalling things my family has cheerfully admitted to down the years…what could Crow Lee know about that’s bad enough to give him a hold over us?”
“What if he lost this hold?” said Molly. “After all the changes your family’s been through of late, maybe what he knew just didn’t matter anymore. What if the ones being blackmailed were finally in a position to tell him to go to hell? That might have been enough to provoke his attack. If the Droods were finally getting ready to go after him, maybe he decided to get his preemptive strike in first.”
“Or maybe he just saw the family in a weakened state and decided to take them off the board while he had the chance,” said the Regent. “After all your recent wars, the Hungry Gods and the Loathly Ones, the Immortals and the Great Satanic Conspiracy…the family’s lost a lot of good people, Eddie. You’ve never looked so vulnerable.”
And then we all looked round sharply as the door banged open and Miss Mitchell strode in. She wasn’t carrying a tea tray this time.
“I didn’t call you, Miss Mitchell,” said the Regent. “And this really isn’t a good time.…”
“Crow Lee sends his regards,” said Miss Mitchell, the pleasant and plain middle-aged woman in the cheap dress. She raised the Luger at her side and shot the Regent three times in the chest. I cried out as the impact of the bullets threw him right out of his chair. I was up on my feet in a moment and then froze as Miss Mitchell brought up her other hand to show me the clicker she was holding.
“Crow Lee gave me this. He got it from someone in your family. Something to hold your armour in your collar, so I can kill you. And I will kill you, Edwin Drood, because that’s what Crow Lee wants. He wants your whole stupid family dead and gone. And I will do anything for Crow Lee because he loves me.”
Live and Let Drood: A Secret Histories Novel Page 22