“Enough.” There were dozens of things she had questions about, but they could wait for later. Farran went ahead of her this time, a few steps, so he was already slipping through the door as she got there. As soon as she did the same, they felt another rumbling, the door closing, and the sound of more falling rock.
Farran looked at her. “Maybe it should remain a mystery? Later, for that.” He pressed his hand once against the stone, murmuring something that sounded like a prayer or a thanks, and then he held his hand out to hers. Going back was faster, at least.
Chapter 36
LONDON ON MONDAY MORNING
“There you are, then.” Bill had just been looking at his watch. “Cutting things tight.”
“Thanks for waiting. Made a difference.” Farran was more than a little out of breath, but it also wasn’t a good idea to explain exactly what they had with them. “How do we go about getting back up?”
That, of course, involved a rather gruelling bit of walking along the flat into a different tunnel, then climbing stairs, steep enough they had to stop three flights up. Farran felt something rumble, and he blinked.
“That’s the trains.” Frankie shrugged. “It’s no bother here, but you can feel them better. Even if there’s none down on that line now.”
Farran nodded, focusing on taking a deep breath and then another. Another two flights, another two, and they were out at the street level. He cleared his throat, rummaging for the last bit of the payment, passing it over in a somewhat smudged envelope. “Is there a cafe nearby that wouldn’t mind us taking a table for a bit until the office is open?” It had taken them a while to get to the surface. The city was waking up properly.
Frankie gave them directions to one up near the Monument Tube stop, the sort of place that didn’t care much who turned up so long as they paid. Farran couldn’t tell if it was actually open all night or if it opened early to give cabbies and delivery men and whoever else a place to get something. There was a small table open by one window. Farran sorted out strong tea and some slightly dubious toast and eggs. They tasted grand, though maybe that was the combination of their night’s exertions. The jam was excellent as well, surprisingly so.
“What do we do now?”
“You’ve work.” Vega hadn’t said much in their retreat from the depths. He’d thought it was partly from the exertion, but looking at her now, Farran worried it wasn’t just that.
“I took the day off, so not today. Though I was thinking more about sleep than anything else.”
“Probably, I ought to go see my family. Now, soon. I mean, not at six in the morning. We are not morning people, most any of us. Unless it’s the sort of morning that’s about having stayed up all night first.”
Farran tilted his head. “Astronomers.”
“Exactly. How far does your knowledge go? No, wait, that’s a question for later. You’re not dressed to come with me, really.” She looked him up and down. “I’m not either, but I’ve got clothes in my room there.”
They were, honestly, both more than a bit grubby. Soot got everywhere, of course, and there was plenty of that from coal fires, even if the Tube was electric. And there’d been plenty of dust in the rooms they’d gone through, as well. “So, we could go back to our respective places, wash up, and meet to go out to your family. If you wanted me there. I’d understand if you didn’t, not right away, anyway.”
Vega looked down at her hands. “I want you there, and I’m not sure how it’d go, both.” She didn’t look up, and Farran triedto decide what she meant by it. First, he pushed the rest of the jam closer to her. She still had some toast left.
Then he swallowed, before asking, “Do you think they’ll be difficult to me?”
“I think they won’t pay attention to you. Not properly. It’s only because of you that we’re— I mean. I couldn’t do it myself.” Now she looked up, and she was blinking away tears. Farran rummaged in his jacket, pulling out a clean handkerchief and handing it over.
“I couldn’t have done it without you. We did it together.” Farran did his best to keep his voice firm and clear. This was not actually what he’d been taught, or why he’d been taught it. The kinds of speaking he had to do working for an auction house were entirely different, honestly. “I’d not have been doing anything with it if you hadn’t asked.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how to tally that up or appraise it. No tidy checklists of best practices.”
The way he put the last of it made her giggle, which was all to the good. She blew her nose on the handkerchief. “All right. So we finish breakfast, we go back to our own places, and we meet at the portal at, what? Ten?”
“Is ten reasonable for your people? Would eleven be better, or does that look like we’re hoping to get them to feed us lunch?” He got another little laugh out of her, and Farran was very pleased with that.
“Oh, if you come, we’re not getting out of there without a meal. And also you talking to at least three aunts. Senior aunts. Maybe more.” Vega leaned forward, considering him. “Treat them like you did Vivian when you started? Though she’s younger than they are.”
“One thing Ormulu teaches you early is how to be exceedingly polite to elderly women. Including the varieties I expect won’t be a problem here. More money than sense, forexample, or people who cling to the idea that a valuable thing stays the same kind of valuable, no matter how time passes.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s not like that. There are fashions in auctions, like everything else. Should I pick up some sort of hostess gift? Or whatever you call it here.”
Vega shook her head. “If it were purely a social call, maybe. Though we go in for books for that, and that’s not something you can just pick up anywhere. The right sort of book, obviously. Cut flowers are a bit, er.”
“Implying things about your local gardens and greenhouses?” Farran offered. He’d seen that one often enough, too. “Or allergies?”
“Mostly the first. Wine goes over well, but you’ve got to hit the right mark with it. A small decorative object, attentive to our interests— that means astronomy— doesn’t go badly. But again, I’m assuming you don’t have one tucked away in a wardrobe waiting for the occasion.”
“No.” Farran leaned back. “Though there are a few things coming through on sale I’ll keep an eye on. Or there’s someone runs an antique shop in Trellech, and if I go in, he’ll be wondering what I’m up to for days. That’s always fun.” He shrugged. “I’ve settled up the bill already. Shall we go find a cab or whatever?”
They were out on the street, at the corner near the Bank station entrance, when Vega saw something. She tugged on Farran’s elbow, hard enough to almost pull him off balance. They both saw the shape they’d been worried about. Tall, long coat, hat. Then he turned, and Farran was sure it was Vandermeer. He was ten feet away, maybe.