‘Sahib?’
Mr Ambrose’s reply was unintelligible. His cool voice was much quieter than the rumble of the mountainous Mohammedan.
Quickly, I jumped up and pulled up my trousers. This male outfit was pretty nifty. Had I been in a dress and crinoline, it would have taken me a quarter of an hour to get up from the toilet. As it was, I was up and across the room in a few seconds, my ear pressed against the keyhole.
‘…perimeter is watched closely, Sahib. We have been asking questions - it seems, no unusual shipments have gone out.’
‘So it might be that the file is still there?’
My ears grew to the size of bat ears. They were talking about the stolen file!
‘Yes, Sahib.’
Yes! Dalgliesh hadn’t gotten away with it yet, that slimy little… incredibly powerful peer of the British Empire.
‘And what about the house itself? Number 97, East India Dock Road?’
That was it! That was the address I had discovered. I remembered that much from last night and knew that this part had not been a dream.
‘It is better guarded than the Queen’s hulks[48], Sahib. Men with swords and guns are everywhere, some even professional soldiers. Something is in there, that much is sure.’
‘I see. We will go ahead as planned then.’
Go in? As planned?
Was there something planned? And if so, what? And most importantly, why hadn’t I been told? It had been I who discovered the ruddy place, after all!
‘Be ready in three days. I shall need all the things on list I gave you by then.’
Three days? And then… what? What were they going to do? Just march up to the doorstep and demand that they be given back the file? No, that couldn’t be it. But the only other explanation could be…
A shiver went down my back.
Secret preparations. Scouting. These words sounded familiar. They sounded like something you would do when you were planning something illegal.
‘Sahib… I must once more raise the matter of-’
‘No! Karim, we discussed this.’
‘Still, Sahib, going in there by yourself…’
Violently, I jerked away from the keyhole and stared at it in disbelief. But as soon as they started speaking again, I pressed my ear back against the metal. Surely I could not have heard right!
‘I have always done what needed doing myself.’
He had? Damn and blast the arrogant bastard!
‘Yes, you have, Sahib. In the colonies, when we were dealing with bandits, and gold-diggers and other fools who thought too highly of themselves. This is an operation of Dalgliesh’s, Sahib.’ Karim’s voice hesitated. ‘You know what happened the last time you faced him, Sahib.’
The silence that erupted on the other side of the door could have cut iron.
What? What happened? Lord Dalgliesh and Mr Ambrose have met before? Go on! What happened? I want to know!
Silence.
Speak up, blast you!
Silence.
Then, a voice. But not the one I had been hoping to hear.
‘I… am sorry, Sahib.’
‘I will go alone.’ Mr Ambrose voice was as cutting and cold as his silence had been. ‘Who else can I trust to do it right?’
‘You can trust me, Sahib.’ If I wasn’t very much mistaken, I could hear something like hurt in the bearded mountain’s voice.
‘I know. Which is why I need you to say here to keep an eye on things.’
‘I… Very well. As you wish, Sahib.’
To the dickens with the Sahib’s wishes! Mr Ambrose was not going alone! I was going to stick with him, if it was the last thing I did!
If there had been other men in the room, they might have exchanged a few pleasantries before breaking up the meeting. But I had learned enough about Mr Ambrose by now to know that he wasn’t given to chatter. Karim left the room, and I hastily got up off the powder room floor, dusted off my knees and cracked the door open, peeking out.
Mr Ambrose was sitting behind his desk. When I entered, he looked up from the papers he was studying, meeting my gaze coolly. I had to catch my breath when I looked into his eyes. How come I had never noticed quite how beautiful their deep, dark depths were until this moment?
‘You heard.’ It was a statement, not a question.
‘Yes, Sir.’
‘Then forget what you heard.’
‘I cannot do that, Sir.’
‘Oh? I gave you an order.’
‘You can take your order and stick it up your- um, I mean you can take your order and feed it to the ducks in Green Park! I’m coming with you!’
There was no need to say when and where. We both knew what I was referring to.
‘No.’
‘Yes, I am!’
‘No, you are not.’ His eyes glittered with frost. ‘Mr Linton - believe me when I say that if we could recapture the file by excessive consumption of alcohol, you would be in the front lines. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and I therefore decline your request.’