St Mary’s before you’d had any real experience of the world. You are in the strange position of leading a hazardous but sheltered life. Now you can look forward to a safe but unpredictable life. Who knows what each new day will bring you? Are you, for instance, likely to get halfway to Tesco and suddenly find yourself fighting monsters?’
‘Not that often, I should imagine.’
‘So if it’s not the new, safe life that concerns you, then is it, as I suspect, having to share that new, safe life with someone else?’
‘Eddie you’re far too smart for my peace of mind.’
‘Well, you may as well tell me. I’m very discreet.’
‘I don’t know whether … whether I … I don’t know if he …’
I stopped, floundering. Words had obviously taken the day off.
‘You don’t know what’s going to happen next, is that it? You’ve spent all your working life knowing the Persians will attack, the Pharaoh will die, the earthquake will occur. You’ve had control over everything that happened in your life. But now, your life is about to happen to you.’
I nodded.
His eyes twinkled. ‘Welcome to the real world, Max.’
I had to laugh.
‘It is, I think, comforting to know that you are not approaching this new phase of your life with unconcern or an unrealistic assessment of the problems of living closely with someone. Somehow, though, I think the two of you will find a way. It may not be the conventional way or even the way you expect, but, having met the two of you, I have no fears.’
He paused. ‘However …’ he said, suddenly serious.
‘Yes, Professor?’
‘If it does all go horribly wrong, you must promise me one thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You must promise me first refusal.’
I loved this man.
‘Eddie, if it all goes horribly wrong, I promise I’ll be all over you like a rash.’
He patted my hand.
‘I don’t think yours will ever be a conventional life, Max. And I think you will find your happiness in an unconventional way. Ah – here’s Teddy.’
Teddy Bairstow?
‘And my car.’
I stood. ‘I’ll say goodbye now, Eddie. Take care of yourself.’
He kissed my cheek and murmured, ‘Don’t forget – if it doesn’t work, my bedroom door is always open!’
Chapter Five
And on to Troy. Our next assignment.
This was my favourite moment – everything stretching out in front of us, gleaming with promise and excitement and we hadn’t yet had a chance to screw it up.
They were all there, except for the Boss, absent on a punitive visit to Thirsk. Which would keep them both quiet for a while.
I gazed at the sea of expectant faces in front of me. The history department had seated themselves down one side of the Hall. The security and technical sections were spread across the other, with small pockets of R&D staff scattered around. Their people, wise in the ways of their leaders, had carefully arranged for Professor Rapson and Doctor Dowson to be as far away from each other as possible while still actually being in the same room.
Mrs Enderby and her team from Wardrobe were chatting excitedly to Mrs Mack and the kitchen staff nearby. The medical crew sat at the back, possibly estimating potential casualties, but more likely playing Battleships.
Everyone had scratchpads, blank data cubes, sticks, files, and even old-fashioned scribblepads laid out in front of them. We were all ready to go. I took my usual deep breath and plunged straight in.
‘Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. As anyone who isn’t actually dead must know by now, our next assignment is Troy. The purpose of this briefing is to get a broad outline of the mission, allocate responsibilities, and discuss the proposed schedule.’
Using the big screen, I brought up such maps as we had been able to find. Plus a few artists’ impressions, just to give everyone an idea.
‘This is
‘Not that often, I should imagine.’
‘So if it’s not the new, safe life that concerns you, then is it, as I suspect, having to share that new, safe life with someone else?’
‘Eddie you’re far too smart for my peace of mind.’
‘Well, you may as well tell me. I’m very discreet.’
‘I don’t know whether … whether I … I don’t know if he …’
I stopped, floundering. Words had obviously taken the day off.
‘You don’t know what’s going to happen next, is that it? You’ve spent all your working life knowing the Persians will attack, the Pharaoh will die, the earthquake will occur. You’ve had control over everything that happened in your life. But now, your life is about to happen to you.’
I nodded.
His eyes twinkled. ‘Welcome to the real world, Max.’
I had to laugh.
‘It is, I think, comforting to know that you are not approaching this new phase of your life with unconcern or an unrealistic assessment of the problems of living closely with someone. Somehow, though, I think the two of you will find a way. It may not be the conventional way or even the way you expect, but, having met the two of you, I have no fears.’
He paused. ‘However …’ he said, suddenly serious.
‘Yes, Professor?’
‘If it does all go horribly wrong, you must promise me one thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘You must promise me first refusal.’
I loved this man.
‘Eddie, if it all goes horribly wrong, I promise I’ll be all over you like a rash.’
He patted my hand.
‘I don’t think yours will ever be a conventional life, Max. And I think you will find your happiness in an unconventional way. Ah – here’s Teddy.’
Teddy Bairstow?
‘And my car.’
I stood. ‘I’ll say goodbye now, Eddie. Take care of yourself.’
He kissed my cheek and murmured, ‘Don’t forget – if it doesn’t work, my bedroom door is always open!’
Chapter Five
And on to Troy. Our next assignment.
This was my favourite moment – everything stretching out in front of us, gleaming with promise and excitement and we hadn’t yet had a chance to screw it up.
They were all there, except for the Boss, absent on a punitive visit to Thirsk. Which would keep them both quiet for a while.
I gazed at the sea of expectant faces in front of me. The history department had seated themselves down one side of the Hall. The security and technical sections were spread across the other, with small pockets of R&D staff scattered around. Their people, wise in the ways of their leaders, had carefully arranged for Professor Rapson and Doctor Dowson to be as far away from each other as possible while still actually being in the same room.
Mrs Enderby and her team from Wardrobe were chatting excitedly to Mrs Mack and the kitchen staff nearby. The medical crew sat at the back, possibly estimating potential casualties, but more likely playing Battleships.
Everyone had scratchpads, blank data cubes, sticks, files, and even old-fashioned scribblepads laid out in front of them. We were all ready to go. I took my usual deep breath and plunged straight in.
‘Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. As anyone who isn’t actually dead must know by now, our next assignment is Troy. The purpose of this briefing is to get a broad outline of the mission, allocate responsibilities, and discuss the proposed schedule.’
Using the big screen, I brought up such maps as we had been able to find. Plus a few artists’ impressions, just to give everyone an idea.
‘This is
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