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a position to wonder at his true identity. You can help to fan
the flame of public curiosity and in this manner elicit their
support.
 What about yourself? said Dewhurst.  You will join us in
this charade?
 No, I will not, said Finn.  I must create about myself an
aura such that will insure that I can never be suspect in this
matter. Only then will I be free to act. I shall have to be an
even greater actor than my wife, for I will have to fool her,
along with everybody else. None but you and Ffoulkes, as well
as Briggs, for I must take him into my confidence, must know
the part that I will play in all of this.
 What of the Duc de Chalis? Dewhurst said.
 I shall have to speak with him and prepare him for the part
he is to play, said Finn.  As for the rest of it, you are quite
right. We must limit the number of those who share our secret.
Dewhurst smiled.  I must say, it all sounds like a great deal
of fun.
 It will be very dangerous, said Finn.
Dewhurst shrugged.  It will be fine sport. And what is sport
without some element of risk? He laughed.  By God, I m really
going to enjoy this! I can t wait to get started!
The Pimpernel Plot
Finn smiled.  We have already started, Tony. Let s have a
drink on it. To the speedy and safe arrival of Andrew Ffoulkes
and to the creation of our mysterious crusader!
Finn took a sip of rum and then passed it to Dewhurst.
 What shall we call him, then? said Dewhurst.  He will have
to have a name, this flower of English manhood pitted against
the fleur-de-lis of France.
 Yes, he shall, said Finn,  or he will be a common flower,
indeed.
Dewhurst chuckled.  Even a common English wayside
flower smells sweeter to me than any of those that grow in
France.
 A common English wayside flower, said Finn, musing.  Say,
like a pimpernel?
 The pimpernel, said Dewhurst, considering. He grinned.
 The Scarlet Pimpernel!
Finn raised his eyebrows.  It has a sort of ring to it.
 I like it, Dewhurst said. He raised the flask in a toast.  To
the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel!
The Fisherman s Rest in Dover, in the county of Kent, was a
warm and pleasant sanctuary from the damp and piscatory air
of the cliffside town. They came in out of the mist to be greeted
by the welcome warmth and glow of Mr. Jellyband s fireplace.
The proprietor, a jovial, well-girthed innkeeper with a balding
pate and a hail-fellow-well-met air, bowed to them as they
came in and immediately dispatched his serving girl to the
kitchen with orders for the help to snap to, as obviously
well-heeled patrons had arrived.
The inn had more of the air of a country hostel than a
 fisherman s rest, for it was clean and bright, with a red-tiled
floor that was kept spotless and dark oak rafters and beams.
The tables, though marked with the ancient circles of many
pewter mugs that had overflowed, were well polished and there
Time Wars #3
were pots of scarlet and blue flowers in the windows. They
hung up their cloaks and made themselves comfortable at a
long table Jellyband ushered them to.
 Your pardon, gentlemen, said Jellyband, wringing his
hands in his obvious anxiety to please,  would one of you happen,
by any chance, to be the honorable Sir Percy Blakeney?
 I have the honor to answer to that name, said Finn.
 Ah, yes, well, there is a young woman here expecting the
arrival of your lordship, Jellyband said.
 Indeed? said Marguerite.
 One of his lordship s servants, I believe, Jellyband added,
hastily.  A young woman of a most peculiar temperament, if
you will excuse the observation, she was most insistent that
I 
 That would be Andre, I believe, said Finn.
 Andre? said Marguerite.  I thought you said that it was a
young woman?
 Andre is a young woman, my dear, said Finn.  Her family
has served the Blakeneys for years. She was part of the serving
staff at my estate in Rouen. I sent her on ahead with Lucas
to make certain that all was in readiness for us at Richmond.
Regrettably, they were the only two of all my staff there who
have shown me the least bit of loyalty. The others were all so
full of revolutionary zeal that they all elected to become free
citizens and, as such, could hardly be expected to continue in
the service of a despised aristocrat such as myself. Go and
fetch her, my good man, he said to Jellyband. Then turning
to Marguerite, he added,  She is of Basque origin, I believe,
and possesses the roughness and independent spirit of those [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]