Revolution (Chronicles of Charanthe #2)

  *

  Gisele must have been waiting for them to come in: she appeared the instant they stepped through the embassy doors.

  “Eleanor, a word,” she said, and though she smiled sweetly her tone left no space for argument.

  “I’ll catch you up,” Eleanor promised Daniel.

  He leaned in as if to kiss her goodbye, and whispered into her ear: “Just remember.” She didn’t need him to elaborate.

  Gisele took Eleanor’s arm and steered her into a small office, closing the door to separate them from the bustle of the embassy’s corridors.

  “What is it?” Eleanor asked.

  “I was hoping you could tell me. Something very strange is going on here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re no fish envoy, we all know that much.”

  Eleanor nodded, and wondered how she could possibly avoid the inevitable questions, if Daniel’s invention of a marriage hadn’t made for a sufficiently convincing story.

  “But you turn up here with this new husband and we’re under special orders to take care of you both, above and beyond the rest of the delegation, and then the ambassador decides to change his plans to have drinks with you... frankly, it’s more than a little confusing.”

  “I know less than you do,” Eleanor said. “Like you said, I’m not really any kind of envoy – I’ve never done this before.”

  “Well I can tell you it isn’t normal. Are you sure you know everything about this husband of yours?”

  Eleanor stared at her, deliberately widening her eyes. “What are you suggesting?”

  “There’s something not quite right.” Gisele cleared stacks of papers from a couple of chairs and sat down, motioning for Eleanor to do likewise. “Are you sure he is who he says he is?”

  “He’s my husband.” Eleanor perched on the edge of the seat, unwilling to allow herself to relax. “I think I know him.”

  Gisele laughed. “Eleanor, you’ve always been a little... impulsive. It wouldn’t entirely surprise me if you got married without thinking it through.”

  “I still don’t understand what you’re suggesting.”

  “Someone with the power to get you reassigned has friends in high places, for a start. Surely even you can see that.”

  “I know I’m very lucky.”

  “After you spat in the face of the assignment system? You needed more than luck. I don’t know who Daniel really is, but you’ll be careful, won’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good.”

  Eleanor chewed deliberately on her lower lip. “Will you let me know if you find anything out? You’ve got me worried.”

  “I’ll get to the bottom of it.” Gisele got to her feet and opened the door. “Oh, can I take a quick look at your bangle before you go?”

  Eleanor bristled at the way Gisele carefully faked a casual tone, but she knew she couldn’t refuse such an ordinary request. She held up her wrist and watched as Gisele’s eyes locked on Daniel’s identification number.

  “Thanks. You’ll tell me if you notice anything out of the ordinary, Eleanor, won’t you?”

  “I will.”

  As she walked back to her room, Eleanor wondered whether the same memory tricks she’d learnt at the academy also formed part of the standard diplomatic training. The brief moment Gisele had spent looking at her wrist was hardly long enough for an untrained eye to pick up a ten character identification number.

  Daniel was waiting for her in their bedroom.

  “And?” he asked, the moment she stepped through the door.

  “She doesn’t trust you,” Eleanor said, kicking off her boots and sitting cross-legged on the bed. “In fact, she warned me to be careful.”

  “Good advice. I trust you told her nothing?”

  “I just practised looking confused. I’m sure she believes that whatever you’re up to, it’s nothing to do with me.”

  “And what does she think I might be up to?”

  “She didn’t say, but she wanted to see my bangle – she’s memorised your number.”

  “That is no use to her, out here.” Daniel turned his own bangle around on his wrist. “She cannot check anything. It would take her too long to send word back to the Empire.”

  “I still don’t understand why you won’t let me talk to her. It’s not like we have anything to hide, and we could save her a lot of trouble.”

  “It is not our job to decide for the ambassador whether to trust his staff.”

  “But now she thinks he’s involved in this thing – whatever she thinks it is. I know Gisele. If she’s convinced we’re doing something wrong, she won’t let it go.”

  “We are doing nothing wrong.”

  “Let me tell her that.”

  “No.”

  “Fine.” Eleanor sighed and stretched out on the bed. “Do you think we can get them to bring us some dinner? We’ve got a busy day tomorrow, and I don’t really want another late night.”

  “We do not have to stay up late.”

  “I’m just not feeling sociable. Go and tell them you want to spend a quiet evening with your wife, will you? Please?”

  “All right.”

  While he was gone from the room, Eleanor changed into her nightshirt and crawled under the covers. She was dozing by the time he returned with a plate of cold meats, and sat up in bed to make herself a sandwich.

  Once they’d eaten Daniel climbed into bed beside her, but instead of reaching out for her he turned away and said, “There is space for you to sleep on the window seat.”

  “What? Why?”

  “You are dangerous to me. Too much temptation, too close.”

  “Temptation? This morning you said you didn’t even want to do it again.” She ran her hand gently along his back, feeling the bumps of his spine beneath her fingers, until he took hold of her hand to stop her.

  “I said it would not be wise.”

  “Then there shouldn’t be any temptation.”

  “Just go over there, please.”

  “You move, if it bothers you so much.”

  “Eleanor. You are a head shorter. I would not fit on that seat.”

  She gave an exaggerated sigh, but arguing was only keeping them both from sleep so she took a spare blanket and settled down on the window seat. As she lay there staring at the ceiling, Gisele’s words ran constantly through her head. They were going to need to come up with a good story to put her off the scent, if Daniel kept insisting that they couldn’t trust her with the truth.

  Eleanor shivered and pulled the blanket closer. It was hard to sleep with so many thoughts nagging at her. Listening carefully to Daniel’s breathing, she realised he wasn’t sleeping either.

  “Why can’t I come and lie with you?” she asked at last.

  “I told you, you are too dangerous to me.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I could not keep my hands off you if you were right here.”

  “You haven’t convinced me that’s a bad thing.” Speaking into the darkness felt somehow easier than having the same conversation in daylight. “Last night was fun, and the world hasn’t ended.”

  “You do not wish to throw away your life by getting pregnant, but even aside from that, there are too many risks.”

  “What risks?”

  “People in our situation should not risk falling in love. There is danger in caring too much.”

  “What makes you think there’s any chance of that?”

  She waited for an answer, but he said nothing.

  “Listen, it’s really cold over here. Just let me come back to bed – I’ll stay out of your way, I promise.”

  “Okay. Fine.”

  Eleanor didn’t hesitate: she didn’t want to give him chance to change his mind. She climbed back into the bed and, keeping her word, curled up at one side. It was still warmer than the draughty window seat.

  She’d drifted halfway into sleep when she was brought back to her senses by Daniel?
??s hand sliding across her skin. She kept her eyes closed and held her breathing steady as he ran his fingers over her hip, along her side, and up to her shoulder. She wondered whether he’d try to wake her if she kept pretending to be asleep, but instead he turned away again and a moment later he was snoring.