‘It needs it.’
With really bad timing, Dad chose this moment to butt in. ‘Looking backward instead of forward is one reason the Marins split from the Company,’ he said. ‘Of course, we realised this two hundred years ago…’
‘Believe that if you wish, Leon,’ Gatehouse said. ‘It’s much more comforting than accepting that recalcitrant hotheads who wouldn’t follow orders simply took their toys and stormed off.’
Rani tapped her spoon against her glass again, then she pointed it at Dad and Gatehouse in turn. ‘Enough.’
Dad and Commander Gatehouse shared a look that was so complex that I started to feel queasy. Antagonism was there, certainly, and irritation, but also something that could only come when people have known each other well, and for a long time.
Rani went on. ‘Commander, I’d like to put a proposal in front of you.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Gatehouse pointed at Dad. ‘In fact, I have to thank you, Leon, for reminding me how different we are and how this whole meeting was a mistake.’
Dad went to speak, but Rani silenced him. ‘And that’s the sort of closed-minded attitude that’s going to bring us all to ruin.’ Gatehouse was half out of her seat and on the way out of the restaurant. ‘Eh?’
‘Look.’ Rani pointed at the window. ‘The world out there is what we have to deal with. Shops, trains, cars and people in a city full of ghosts. The Company of the Righteous can’t faff around and ignore it, not if it wants to have any chance of success. And it can’t pass up the opportunity to work with those who may come to the fray with a different background.’
Slowly, Gatehouse sat down again. ‘In my way, I’ve been trying my best to bring about change. It is difficult.’
‘And who was it who told me – many, many times – that the worthwhile is almost always difficult?’
‘The higher orders of the Company are more impossible than difficult, but I take your point.’ Gatehouse smiled a cold smile. ‘We have some young people, too, who speak like you and Anton. They aren’t happy either.’
‘Hey, I’m full of smiles,’ I said. ‘Small family business, flexible, able to change quickly.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ Dad said.
‘You’re changing,’ I pointed out. ‘A few years ago, Bec wouldn’t have got a look-in at our operation, let alone got her hands on our records.’
Rani turned to Gatehouse. ‘Bec is digitising the Marin family archives. Soon searching, cross-matching and identifying trends and movements in ghost sightings will be much more efficient.’
Gatehouse’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Impressive. That’s the sort of approach some of our disaffected young people have been talking about. You think it could be useful, Leon?’
‘It already has been,’ Dad said. Whether he actually meant it or if he was scoring a point off Commander Gatehouse, it didn’t really matter. Win.
‘That’s the sort of thing I’m proposing,’ Rani said. ‘I could be a pilot project, a Company officer charged with helping to modernise the organisation.’
‘God knows we need it,’ Gatehouse said. ‘The Trespassers aren’t afraid to use modernity to further their ends.’
‘To help achieve this modernisation,’ Rani added, ‘I want to be appointed as a liaison officer with another ghost-hunting organisation.’
‘You wouldn’t have a particular organisation in mind, would you?’
‘The Marins.’
Dad got in first. ‘You want to work with us?’
‘Whatever happened in the past,’ Rani said, ‘it’s now time to unite.’
Gatehouse spread her hands on the table and examined them. ‘To heal the rift?’
‘That may be difficult,’ Dad said, ‘since what prompted the split in the first place hasn’t been addressed.’
Gatehouse glared, but Rani stepped in. ‘Working together is a first step in that direction.’
Gatehouse settled. ‘That sounds reasonable. Are you reasonable, Leon?’
Dad was backed into a corner, but he made one last effort to assert himself. ‘Why is Rani coming to us? Why not Anton go to you?’
‘I think that the Company of the Righteous can spare me,’ Rani pointed out. ‘Without Anton, the Marin family business might suffer.’
Dad harrumphed at that. ‘You’re right, of course. Makes sense.’ He sighed. ‘We’d be happy to take you on, Rani. More than happy.’
‘I’m hoping that she can learn the Marin family approach to ghosts,’ Gatehouse said meaningfully. ‘If she can get to the bottom of this, it might be important to everything that we do.’
‘We’ll do our best,’ I said.
‘One more thing,’ Gatehouse said. ‘Rani will need somewhere to live.’
‘Don’t I have somewhere to live already?’ Rani said, bewildered.
‘Not for long. Your parents are being recalled.’
‘What? Why?’
‘They’re needed elsewhere in the organisation,’ Gatehouse said.
Rani looked stricken. ‘Do they know this?’
‘They’re already packing.’
‘They haven’t said anything to me.’
‘They will. Before they leave.’
‘You can come and live with me, Rani, if you like,’ Bec said. ‘I’ve been looking for a place of my own, but having a flatmate could be fun.’
Rani brightened a little. ‘Are you sure? That’d be brilliant.’
‘Sorted, then,’ Bec said, grinning.
I clapped my hands together. ‘Let’s celebrate. Hands up if you want coffee. Now who wants tea?’ I waved to the waiter. ‘Tea for five, please.’
Bec stared at me. ‘You’re having tea, Anton? By choice?’
I sat back in my chair and smiled. ‘People change.’
CHAPTER 28
Oh, and I went to the cosplay convention with Rani and Bec, as promised. Bec and Rani were sensational. I repeat, sensational. Very, very photoworthy.
Me? I went as a Captain Jack Sparrow/the Doctor mashup.
And I smashed it.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is a departure for me as, instead of being set in the past or in an imaginary land, it’s contemporary and local. That’s why I’d like to acknowledge the support that Melbourne has given me. Creature comforts and the necessities of life for a writer have been provided by Coffee Mio, for my freshly roasted coffee beans, the very stylish Lords of the North barber shop for my taking care of my hair, Officeworks for those important items of stationery, Bunnings because Bunnings, the Westgarth Theatre for important diversions at time of need, and the Melbourne Football Club, which, over the years, has demonstrated the pain and the triumph that is at the heart of great stories.
And huge kudos to Craig Phillips for his sensational cover illustration and Ruth Grüner for her superb designing. The whole team from Allen & Unwin deserve all the thanks all the time – Jodie Webster and Kate Whitfield made this a better book, and who can ask for anything more?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Pryor is one of Australia’s premier science fiction and fantasy authors. He has more than a million words in print, having published more than thirty-five books and over fifty short stories. Michael has been shortlisted seven times for the Aurealis Awards and seven of his books have been CBCA Notable Books. For more on Michael and his books, go to www.michaelpryor.com.au.
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