by Frewin Jones
“What’s that a quote from?” Tania asked.
“King Lear, Act Three, Scene Two. A stormy heath.”
“Is there any Shakespeare you don’t know?”
Edric grinned at her. “Not much. Didn’t I mention? Shakespeare had Faerie blood in him.”
“Truly?”
He nodded. “Truly!”
“Wow!”
They came to the dogleg where George Street met Hill Street. The post office was on the corner. The sandwich bar was only a little farther down the road, just by the roundabout that led to Richmond Bridge.
The rain eased as they walked along. The dark clouds slid away, making way for a lighter layer that had an almost pearly sheen to it.
“The rain looks like harp strings,” Tania said, gazing toward the white, stone-built bridge. “Millions of harp strings strung between the earth and the sky. Do you have weather like this in Faerie? It’s always been blue skies and sunshine when I’ve been there.”
“We have all kinds of weather. We have storms like you wouldn’t believe, with thunder and lightning and rain that falls so heavily that the river can rise two or three feet in one day. And in the winter there are winds from the north that can freeze the sap in an oak tree, and snow that lies across the land like a deep white ocean. And on some nights in the depths of midwinter the cold is so intense that you can hear a sound—a whisper—that is like the stars frosting over.” He smiled. “On nights like that the best place to be is in a warm room in front of a blazing fire of yew logs.”
Tania gazed at him. Would she ever sit with him on a winter’s night and watch the yew flames crackle and dance?
He gave a wry smile. “But for now it is a rainy summer’s day in Richmond, and we have to decide where to look first.”
“We’re pretty sure that it was Titania in that chauffeur-driven Lexus,” she said. “So I suppose we could start off by looking for a black Lexus.”
“Or for the kind of firm that would pay its people enough for them to have a chauffeur-driven Lexus,” Edric added.
“I still can’t get over the idea of Titania being some high-powered business person,” she said. “What do you think she does for a living?”
“It could be just about anything,” Edric said. “Remember, she’s had a long time to pick up money-spinning skills.”
It was obvious they needed to get off the main shopping streets, to find roads where shops gave way to offices and business centers. Even though it was Saturday, so there wouldn’t be any office workers about, Tania thought they might find something to give them a clue—though she stopped short of hoping to find a plaque on a door reading “Titania, Queen of Faerie.”
After about fifteen minutes of fruitlessly tramping the back streets, Tania was just going to suggest a rethink when they passed a side street that made her pause. She stopped and looked at the name. Spenser Road. She stared down the street, not sure what it was that had made her stop.
The rain had eased to a fine drizzle and the sky was the color of porcelain, the clouds so thin in places that the pale sun could occasionally be seen, its misty disk soft and blurred like a tablet dissolving in water.
“What is it?” Edric asked.
“I’m not sure,” Tania said. On the right-hand side of the street she saw a low, red-brick wall surmounted by black railings. She led Edric to a high-arched wrought-iron gateway. Above the gateway words were picked out in wrought-iron letters: THE SPENSER ROAD FORUM. Beyond she saw a wide sunken courtyard of rain-washed gray stones. There were raised red-brick flower beds, and on three sides of the courtyard stood modern-looking office blocks of red brick with large windows that reflected the sky.
Tania lifted the latch on the iron gate and pushed it open. They walked down stone steps into the courtyard.
“No Lexus,” Edric said, looking around. “Nowhere for cars to park at all.”
Tania frowned. “I was so sure that this was the right place.”
But Edric wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at a large freestanding sign that showed the names of the companies that had offices in the courtyard complex.
He pointed at the third name down. “See that one?”
THE PLEIADES LEGAL GROUP.
“Does that mean something to you?” Tania asked.
Edric began to laugh softly.
“Edric!” Tania said, tugging at his hand. “Tell me!”
“I take it you’ve never been interested in astronomy,” he said. “Not especially,” Tania replied. “Why?”
“The Pleiades is a star-cluster that’s visible in the Northern Hemisphere,” Edric explained. “It lies between the constellations of Taurus and Aries.”
“Yes?” Tania was becoming impatient now. “And?”
“And it’s also known as the Seven Sisters,” Edric said.
A thrill like a buzz of electricity tingled through Tania’s body. Seven sisters—and Titania had seven daughters.
“It can’t be a coincidence,” she said breathlessly, her fingers gripping Edric’s hand. “Which way?”
Edric pointed across the courtyard. “They’re in unit five, over there.”
Water splashed underfoot as they ran to the steel-and-glass door.
They stepped side-by-side into a lofty reception area. There was a high-fronted curved desk in front of them and a seating area to one side. On the wall behind the desk, a huge tapestry hung behind glass.
Tania stopped in her tracks, staring up at the tapestry. It looked extremely old and its colors were faded, but the image was still perfectly clear. It depicted a vast tree with wide-spreading branches filled with a sea of green leaves, and in hollow spaces among the leaves, as though they were perching there and peering out, were the faces of a whole host of animals.
There were lion and tiger and monkey faces in the tree, but there were also bears and horses and elephants and gazelles, otters and dogs and cats, goats and pigs and crocodiles. And among this collection of familiar animals Tania saw the heads of far more fantastic beasts: unicorns and griffins and basilisks—and at the very top of the tree, a dragon with open jaws and a long, curling forked tongue.
Faerie beasts!
She was still standing there when a blond head appeared over the high edge of the desk. “Hello there. Welcome to the Pleiades Legal Group. How may I help you?”
Tania and Edric approached the desk.
The receptionist was sitting at a lower desk behind the high front. She was smartly dressed, with fashionable rimless glasses and shining blond hair.
“I know this is going to sound stupid,” Tania said, leaning over the counter. “But is there a woman working here who looks like me?”
“Soaking wet, you mean?” asked the receptionist brightly, then she smiled. “No, sorry, I was just kidding.”
“Her hair is a really vivid red when it isn’t wet,” Edric said. “Long flaming red curls.”
The receptionist looked closely into Tania’s face. “Oh!” she said, her eyes widening. “Yes! I didn’t…well…with the wet…But yes, if your hair wasn’t wet, you’d look a lot like Ms. Mariner.” The eyes grew even wider. “It’s quite amazing, actually.”
“Who is Ms. Mariner?” Edric asked.
“She’s our managing director.”
Tania was vaguely aware of someone descending a flight of stairs that angled down behind the reception area. “Carol?” a man called. “Are these my twelve o’clock?”
“No, Mr. Mervyn,” the receptionist replied. “They’re asking about Ms. Mariner.”
There was a brisk rap of shoes and a middle-aged man in a blue suit appeared beside the reception desk. He studied Tania and Edric, his gaze lingering first on their wet hair and then down to the slowly spreading pool of water that was gathering at their feet.
“I’m George Mervyn,” he said. “Senior partner, corporate law. Can I be of assistance?”
“My name is Tania Palmer. It’s really important that I speak to Ms. Mariner, please.”
“I’m afraid Lilith Mariner isn’t in the office today,” Mr. Mervyn said.
“When will she be back?” Edric asked.
“Not for several days. She’s on business in Beijing. Could I inquire as to the purpose of your visit?”
“It’s a personal matter,” Tania said. “It’s very important that I make contact with her. Do you have a phone number I could use?”
Mr. Mervyn raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid it’s not our policy to hand out telephone numbers to people,” he said. “If you’d care to leave your details with Carol here—your names and a contact telephone number—then I’m sure she’ll arrange for them to be passed to Ms. Mariner when she returns.”
“Please, listen to me,” Tania said. “You don’t have to give us her number, but just call her and tell her that Tania Palmer needs to speak to her. She will understand, and she will want to speak to me, trust me. She will.”
“Ms. Mariner is an extremely busy person,” Mr. Mervyn said. “I would need some very compelling reason to disturb her.”
“I’m her daughter,” Tania blurted out.
Mr Mervyn’s eyes narrowed and his jawline hardened. “That is absolute nonsense,” he said, and now his voice was ice cold. “How old are you? Seventeen? Eighteen? I’ve worked with Lilith Mariner for twenty years and it is quite impossible for her to have a teenaged daughter! Now then, whatever your intentions are, I recommend you leave these premises immediately.”
“I’m not lying to you! I—” Tania’s words were cut off short as Edric’s hand came down on her arm. He pulled her away from the reception desk and towed her across to the doors.
A moment later she found herself standing in the drizzling rain seething with frustration.
“Did he think I was just making it up?” Tania exploded.
“Yes, I think he probably did,” Edric said. “Let’s find somewhere to sit down out of the rain and cool off.” He released her arm. “Come on. I saw an internet café on the way here. We’ll go there and decide what to do next.”
They were seated at a window table in the internet café. Edric had logged on and was busy tapping at the keyboard. Tania sat perched on the high stool, her elbows on the table and a frothing mug of cappuccino warming her cold hands.
“Lilith Mariner is Titania,” she said. “She has to be.”
“Yes, I think so,” Edric agreed, looking intently at the computer screen. “The name would make sense. Oberon is known as the Sun King and Titania was the Moon Queen, and Lilith is a name that is often given to the moon. There’s a children’s rhyme: ‘By Lilith’s sombre light, I wandered through the night, till came the blessed sun, another day begun.’ I don’t remember the rest of it, but the point is that Lilith was the moon.”
“And Mariner?”
“The Queen always loved the sea,” Edric said. “Sailor—seafarer—mariner. I can see why she might choose a name like that.” He tapped the keyboard. “Aha!”
“What?”
“Take a look at this. I’ve found the Pleiades Legal Group’s website.”
Tania leaned close. The home page was dark blue with seven white stars. As Edric ran the cursor over the stars, words came and went.
ABOUT US. SITE MAP. FAQS. NEWS. LEGAL DIVISIONS. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE. POLICY AND SUPPORT.
Edric clicked on MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE.
A new page came up.
“Oh…my…lord…” Tania whispered.
The page showed photo portraits of four people. A large one at the top of the page, and three smaller pictures beneath, one of which was of George Mervyn.
But it was the top picture that held Tania’s breathless attention.
The heart-shaped face that looked out at her was of a woman who could have been in her midthirties, a beautiful woman with no lines or wrinkles or other signs of aging on her flawless white skin, and no hint of gray in the flaming red curls that tumbled onto the shoulders of her dark green jacket. Tania saw the familiar high, slanted cheekbones and the full-lipped mouth. And there, gazing serenely out at her, were those smoky green, gold-flecked eyes—the same eyes that Tania saw every day when she looked into the mirror.
Her eyes slid to a block of writing underneath the picture.
Lilith Mariner, L.L.B., L.L.M., Q.C.
Since Lilith Mariner became the MD of the Pleiades Legal Group, the company has grown from strength to strength. Her deep and abiding concern that the very best legal representation should be available for all, and her exceptional command of international law, has made her one of the most sought-after professionals in the whole of Europe. She is also widely known and respected for her pro bono work, of which the Pleiades Legal Group is justly proud.
“What’s pro bono?” Tania asked.
“I think it means she’ll represent people for nothing if they can’t afford the fees,” Edric said.
Tania reached out and touched Titania’s face with trembling fingertips. “We’ve found her,” she said dazedly. “We’ve really found her.”
“Yes, we have.”
“We have to let everyone know,” Tania said. “We have to go into Faerie right now—we have to tell them all! Edric, they’ll be so happy! Can you imagine their faces when we tell them? Can you imagine?”
XI
Despite her burning desire to pass on the wonderful news about Titania to her Faerie family, Tania wasn’t about to walk between the worlds in the middle of a busy street. Even in the persistent drizzle there were still plenty of people about, and it was a few minutes before she and Edric managed to find a secluded spot.
They came to it by following a narrow alley that led them to the riverside. There was a paved slipway alongside a tall white public house. The river was flowing slowly, its gray-blue surface stippled with rain, its farther side darkened by the reflections of the trees that lined the far bank. To their left, about two hundred yards away, they could see the pale, multiarched span of Richmond Bridge, busy with traffic.
They walked arm-in-arm toward the bridge, following the riverside walkway under the bridge and coming to an area bordered by sloping lawns and overhung with trees. On a sunny day Tania felt sure that this place would be packed with people, but in the fine penetrating rain the only people they encountered were a few hooded cyclists and the occasional hardy jogger.
They paused under a spreading green oak tree. Here the rain gathered itself into huge drops that fell heavily from the branches. They waited until a solitary cyclist passed and dwindled into the distance.
Tania took hold of Edric’s hand.
She closed her eyes and pictured Faerie in her mind.
She walked forward, aware of Edric keeping pace with her.
She took the side step……and opened her eyes to find that nothing had changed. They were still in the Mortal World.
Edric was standing beside her, still holding her hand.
“That was weird,” she said. “I’ll try again.”
She closed her eyes, summoning up a very firm vision of the Faerie Palace. Gripping Edric’s hand, she took one pace forward and one to the side.
This time it hurt.
The air about her stung like electricity and a taste of rusty iron came into her mouth. Gasping from the shock, she opened her eyes.
“What happened?” Edric asked, his voice concerned.
“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not working for some reason.”
“Okay,” Edric said, drawing his hand out of hers. “Try again without me. Perhaps I’m the problem.”
Tania frowned. “You can’t be.”
“Just try it.”
She took a deep breath and filled her mind with Faerie images for the third time. Wincing a little in anticipation of another blast of sizzling air, she sidestepped.
There was no electricity this time and the taste of iron was gone from her mouth. But something wasn’t quite right.
She opened her eyes. The distant sound of traffic on Richmond Bridge had stopped abruptly—and Edric was gone from h
er side.
The sky was slate gray and the rain fell steadily around her, making the swollen river jump and sputter. A wind whipped the puddles of standing water on the path. The branches of the oak tree rustled and creaked above her.
Tania let out a gurgling laugh and ran, stamping through the puddles, her arms swinging, her booted feet rising and falling like pistons as she kicked up fountains of spray.
“Gracie!” called a shrill, pinched voice. “Gracie! You come back here this instant or I shall give you such a smack!”
Tania turned, her arms outstretched, the water dripping off her bonnet. “No!” she shouted to the thin-faced young woman who stood under the tree. “Shan’t!”
“You’ll catch your death of cold and your mama will be so angry, Gracie.”
Tania laughed again, opening her arms and spinning around, stamping and cavorting in the rain, openly defying her new nanny. Nasty Nanny Perks with her silly pointy nose and her eeky-squeaky voice and her skinny little body.
“Come out of the rain or you’ll get no supper!”
“Don’t care!”
Nanny Perks stamped her foot. “You are the naughtiest little child that ever there was!”
Was she going to cry now? It would be such fun if she did. It would serve her right for thinking she could take the place of Nanny Bobbins. Lovely, soft Nanny Bobbins with her big bolster arms and her baking smell and her lap like a Chesterfield sofa. Nanny Bobbins who looked just like those magazine pictures of Queen Victoria when she was a young woman. Poor Queen Victoria. She had died last year. Everyone had been so sad. Papa had worn a black armband for ages and ages.
Nanny Perks pulled her coat tight around her scrawny body and came marching out from under the tree with her face all screwed up and angry.
Tania turned and ran toward the river’s edge. She pranced along the brink of the swollen river, lifting her legs high like the riding horses in Richmond Park.
“Gracie! I shan’t tell you again!”
“Good!”
Her foot came down on a loose stone. It fell away under her, turning her ankle and making her cry out as a searing pain shot up her leg.