The One Who Is Two (Book 1 of White Rabbit)

He crouched down behind the brick gatepost as his steam-engine panting gradually eased. His pursuers had been overweight and under-exercised, and he had quickly outpaced them, stretching his lead to fifty, then a hundred yards and more, and eventually losing sight of them around the long curve of the hill. It seemed unlikely that they would still be keeping up the chase, but it was probably best to stay out of sight while he caught his breath. His chosen hiding place was in the entrance of a gravelled driveway which curved expansively around the front of a neo-Tudor mansion: a jigsaw puzzle of herringbone brickwork, black timbers and white painted plaster, with a profusion of intricately bricked chimneys that towered into the sky like aerial monuments. Two German built cars shimmered complacently in the sunlight, oozing affluence across the gravel.

  As he waited, a slithering clamminess crept over Loofah's skin; for though he was out of sight of the road, he knew the house had him under close surveillance, watching him with every one of the empty eyes of its uncountable windows. Best not to hang around too long, he thought, with a worried glance at the cars that even now might be silently readying themselves for attack. And so he edged forward and peered around the gatepost; apart from a single patrolling Mercedes the dark corridor of the road was empty. With a small sigh of relief, Loofah got up from his crouch and, affecting an air of casual innocence, prepared himself for the ongoing dangers of the endless hill. It was only then that he realised there was something in his left hand – he was still holding the shattered telephone receiver trailing its now lifeless cable.

  With a sudden flare of panic, he pulled back behind the gatepost, quickly hiding the evidence of his crime under his jacket. He glanced nervously towards the house – it had certainly seen the receiver and was probably even now in communication with the appropriate authorities via its own telephone system. The two cars seemed to have edged closer, tensed for a lethal pounce. For an era he stood paralysed by the panic, clutching his jacket across his chest and looking from the glowering house to the road outside and back in quick succession. Then finally someone – he knew not who – made a decision: drop the damned thing, yelled a voice inside his skull, and run. He pulled the receiver out from under his jacket and went to throw it into the laurel hedging behind the gatepost.

  'Is that you, Seeker?' said another voice, this one female and tiny, coming from a million miles away.

  Again he was paralysed into immobility, though this time by sheer surprise.

  'Seeker?' The voice was coming from the receiver's ear-piece: someone was speaking on the telephone. Vandal-proof telecommunication engineering had obviously come a long way, he thought, viewing the shattered plastic and severed wires with new respect, then held the receiver to his face.

  'Hello? Is somebody there?'

  'Hello, Seeker,' said the voice: it was a gentle caress, a splinter of golden sunshine beaming into his ear.

  'It's you, isn't it? I remember you from… from… before,' he said, struggling to hold the diaphanous image of a white-clad nymph that now drifted through his consciousness.

  'You must find She Who Is Two,' said the girl.

  'But I don't know where she is – in fact I don't know anything about her at all.'

  'You are The Seeker – if you try, you will find her.'

  First the spaniel in the woods, then the lascivious doll and the seagull peg, and now his nymph: the double woman was obviously high on many agendas.

  'I don't understand. Why must I find her?'

  'Don't worry. You will be – ' began the girl, but was interrupted.

  'This is the operator. You have another call waiting. Please hold the line while I transfer you.'

  Before Loofah could object, there was a loud click and three beeps, before another voice cut in, a voice he also recognised.

  'This is the Under Manager. You have been extremely foolish. I want you to know that your actions have caused a great deal of aggravation for a lot of very busy people, myself included. Mr Stobart himself has asked me to say how disgusted he is with your behaviour.'

  Loofah shivered with cold horror and his jaw dropped. 'What – ?' he stammered.

  'You are to proceed to the cinema immediately,' said Miss Leggett.

  'But I don't under – .'

  'We know where you are and I advise you not make any more trouble. I will not be responsible for the consequences if you disobey me again. Goodbye.' Then there was another click, followed by the buzz of the dialling tone.