Unobtainium 1: Kate on a Hot Tin Roof (7 page)

‘After dark?’ Charles asked.

‘Yes, quite late when any gentlewoman should be abed.’

‘Then how would you be aware of it, Georgina?’

‘I… have been suffering from bouts of insomnia. I observed her from my bedroom window.’

‘In the dark? From a window which faces west and does not directly overlook the lake for the express reason that you claim it affects your constitution?’ There was a pause as Georgina tried to come up with a reply and then Charles displayed his gentlemanly qualities to the best. ‘I will speak with her on the matter. Are we concluded?’

‘There is one other matter, Charles,’ Alexander said, and the fact that it was him saying it gave his son pause. ‘Twice now in the past few months your ward has been… restive. She often takes long walks to clear her head, for which I commend her, but when she is around others she acts in a manner which is disturbing. It is almost as if she stalks them. I’ve seen her following some of the grooms around the stable.’

‘You believe she is dangerous?’

‘I… believe she is unsure why she is doing it herself.’

‘It’s unbecoming,’ Georgina stated.

‘I am quite sure that Kate would agree with that,’ Charles replied.

~~~

‘The first time it happened,’ Kate said as she walked beside Antonia up into the hills above the lake, ‘I simply felt uncomfortable. I had some… odd dreams and I felt restive, unsettled.’

‘Might I ask what happened in these dreams?’

‘I… remember nothing clearly.’

‘I see. Please continue.’

‘The second time there was the same feeling of restlessness, but stronger. I spent much of my time here, in the hills, away from people. I feared that my more feral aspect might emerge. When I returned, I found myself oddly fascinated by the grooms around the stable. The scent was… I was drawn to follow them around. I felt I was stalking them, though I’ve no perception of what I would do with one if I caught him. This is hardly decorous conversation for an afternoon stroll, Mrs Wooster.’

‘I have told you before, Kate, but I see I must say it again, when we are not surrounded by men and those of a more nervous disposition, you will call me Antonia. I believe we are friends, are we not?’

‘I would certainly be honoured to be considered one of yours, Antonia.’

‘And despite what society determines to call your lower station, I yours, Kate. And as to the subject matter, your state of mind concerns me greatly, as it does your guardian. You have made most excellent progress from the barely understandable, might I say almost feral, child I met this year gone. Even then you showed a humility sorely lacking in much of today’s youth, but now you would grace any gentlewoman’s dinner party who would be so fortunate as to have you as a guest. If there is some strange accident of your nature which might disturb your progress, we must uncover it and do what we can to negate it. And I would much rather do so in the bright sunshine than in that stuffy house.’

Kate giggled. ‘In which case, Antonia, I would be most grateful for your assistance in this matter.’

‘Then let us see what can be done. How are you feeling when these moods are
not
afflicting you?’

~~~

‘It has only happened twice, Doctor Barstow-Hall,’ Mrs Morton stated, ‘but there have been other changes in your young ward since these episodes began.’

Mrs Morton was an old school friend of Georgina’s and rightly a gentlewoman. Her husband had met an untimely end some two years earlier and at that time there had come to light some irregularities in the accounts of his business which had resulted in his wife being left with barely any income. At the same time Georgina had been looking for a governess for Alicia, and so an arrangement had been made. And when Kate had needed an education in manners and etiquette, Mrs Morton had stepped up to the plate, as the Americans said.

Thankfully, while she shared an approximate age with Georgina, the woman had a far more practical and level-headed view of the world and had adjusted to her new circumstances well. It had seemed to Charles that she rather relished the task of educating Kate. It had come as little surprise to discover that Bernard Shaw was one of her favourite playwrights.

‘Please elucidate, Mrs Morton,’ Charles encouraged.

‘Well…’ She looked upward as though trying to put into words her feelings on the matter. ‘When Kate was presented to me, she was a rough girl with few words, no education, and manners born only of a natural inclination to avoid offence. She learned voraciously. I do not believe a child has ever grasped so rapidly all the skills she has acquired in the past year. It is true that undue stress has been known to cause her to become… less humane.’

‘There is no need to dissemble, Mrs Morton. I told you of Kate’s nature when I requested your assistance. We know that there are more basic elements of her brain which can gain a stronger hold upon her. Even if I succeed in curing her of her primary affliction, she may be plagued by those problems her entire life and you have done much to ensure that she is well equipped to avoid circumstances which provoke her in such a manner.’

Mrs Morton gave a nod, accepting the compliment. ‘Since the first of these incidents, her progress has slowed. She is an intelligent girl and she still learns well, but not with the remarkable speed she has shown previously. Something about her has changed, Doctor.’

~~~

‘And these episodes last for perhaps six days?’ Antonia asked. ‘And then you return to normal?’

‘Aside from Mrs Morton’s disquiet at my decreased retention, yes. I feel no different now than I always have.’ Kate frowned. ‘That is not quite true. I feel…’ She paused, stopping her pace to consider and then shaking her head. ‘I cannot express it, for I have no frame of reference and no words to describe it. The world seems sharper, the scents stronger.
I
am stronger, I know that. There are times when I am practising Master Sun’s forms that I can
feel
the power within me, just as he says I should. The perfect balance of yin and yang, the taiji he calls it. I can feel that power and it scares me a little, but it also makes me feel… exhilarated.’

‘Perhaps I should try Master Sun’s exercises myself. What is it he calls them?’

‘Taiji chuan, which I am given to understand means “supreme ultimate fist.” It is an art which has been taught in China for centuries.’

‘You understand some Chinese?’

‘I have learned a little Mandarin Chinese and some French, which Mrs Morton says can be of use.’

‘It can indeed. Mandarin less so, but for trade. I myself speak Afrikaans and a little Zulu and Gikuyu. Enough to get by in the regions of the Dark Continent I visit.’

‘Oh, it must be exciting to travel to such remote locales. You said that you were knowledgeable of the jungles of the Congo. I should love to see a jungle one day.’

Antonia laughed. ‘I believe you might, and I have no doubt you would brave the dangers there with the ease you have shown in braving the dangers of the English drawing room. Trust me when I say that the latter is a far more treacherous place, though less likely to result in physical injury.’

‘Believe me, Antonia, when I say that I can well understand your words to be true. I fear we must return. I must spend my afternoon in a different kind of light.’

‘Time for the reactor?’

‘Indeed, though I admit the solitude is not usually disagreeable. Today I have someone to converse with which makes it more so.’

~~~

‘The first occurrence was on the eighteenth of February,’ Charles said, ‘and the second began on April tenth. Mrs Morton noted them in her diary, for the first was unusual and the second cause for concern.’

‘And you’re sure of the dates?’ Antonia asked.

‘When I wish to remember something, I do, Mrs Wooster.’

‘Of course. And Kate said that each episode lasted six days…’

‘Which would give a forty-six-day gap between.’

Antonia smiled. ‘A good memory and an ability with calculation second to none. Forty-six days… Were the pattern repeated, her next episode would begin…’

‘Tomorrow. Of course this phase could be transitional. We have insufficient data to say that this will definitely follow that pattern.’

‘No, but we should be watchful.’ She pursed her lips musingly. ‘Forty-six days… And the way she describes her mood. This reminds me of something and my lack of recollection taxes my patience. Did your grandfather have many books on animal biology?’

‘That was not an area with which he was particularly concerned, though there may be a few. He read voraciously.’

The door of the little drawing room in which they sat opened and Lilian walked in. ‘If either of you stand,’ she said, ‘I shall be most cross.’ And then she made her way to one of the chairs which was still in the sun.

Far from being in the flush of youth, Lilian Barstow-Hall was nevertheless a strong woman who still carried with her some of the beauty which had graced her features when she had married Hunter Hall. Her hair was white now where once it had been a rich gold and her blue eyes were greyer but still had a sharp intelligence about them. Her figure had gone a little over the years and her waist could no longer handle the waspish form it had accepted before, but she was still slim and quite fit. She had loved walking in the hills when she was younger, and still did though her walks had had to be shortened. She hated formality as much, if not more, than Antonia did and tolerated it only when it was absolutely required.

‘Lilian,’ Antonia said, bowing her head.

‘What brings you down from your roost, Lilian?’ Charles asked. Calling her ‘grandmother’ had been known to leave bruises.

‘I saw Kate going out to the reactor building an hour ago. She will return shortly and I wish to spend time with the people I
like
before I have to put up with the conversation at dinner.’

Antonia suppressed a smirk with some difficulty. ‘Perhaps you could be of assistance. Do you know whether your husband had any books on zoology?’

‘Try the small library on the top floor. Not an area he studied extensively, more of a rocks man, but he had a few books on animals. They’d have been kept in with the other random purchases. The man never could resist a book.’

The door opened once more and Kate came in. She saw Lilian sitting by the window, paused, and then bobbed a polite curtsey. Lilian’s eyes narrowed and Kate grinned brightly at her. ‘Good afternoon, Lilian. It is a pleasure to see you down from your rooms.’

‘Impertinent girl. Come here and give me a kiss before I think you’ve forgotten
everything
I taught you.’

Kate almost skipped across to kiss Lilian’s cheek before sitting down nearby.

‘Have you been corrupting my ward, Lilian?’ Charles asked. Lilian was well known for her views on the role of women in society. Indeed, it had been her efforts which had finally allowed women into the Barstow Club and she had been very happy indeed when it had been concluded that the fairer sex were the best operators for the Mechman devices.

‘I have not. Kate is a naturally independent young lady and needs no encouragement from me. I have simply been teaching her that formality should be kept for those who deserve
and
require it, or for when it makes life less bothersome than familiarity. Neither of which applies here. And she delights in testing my patience by showing me deference, which is an adorable feature in and of itself.’ She turned to Kate and asked, ‘Are you well, child?’

‘I am, though if I was affected by the radiation it is unlikely to show for several hours.’

‘You’ve become something of an expert on that yourself, I see,’ Antonia commented.

‘Not an expert, far from it, but Sharles has taught me some small part of the handling of Unobtainium and its uses.’

‘I thought, given her circumstances, that it would be wise,’ Charles said.

‘And it is an interesting subject though I could work for decades and never scratch the surface of what Sharles knows.’

‘Yes, almost certainly,’ Lilian agreed, ‘but then “Sharles” always did have a brain too big for his head. What did Georgina have to say this time?’

‘Oh…’ Charles frowned. ‘Have you been swimming in the lake at night, Kate?’

‘I… Well, yes, but I wait until everyone else is asleep and only when it is warm.’

‘Georgina has apparently seen you, though I cannot imagine how. Her rooms don’t overlook the lake.’

Lilian gave a throaty chuckle. ‘They don’t, but Gall’s do.’

‘The footman?’

‘Handsome young man, don’t you think? Georgina certainly does.’

‘Lilian!’ Antonia said and then shrugged. ‘Not that I’m entirely surprised, but still.’

‘I merely offer an explanation for her ability to see through walls. You keep swimming, Kate. If Georgina objects, I’ll have a word with her.’ She grinned a little maliciously. ‘It won’t be a polite word.’

1
^st
June.

The fresh air of the morning filled Kate’s lungs as she marched out into the hills, calming her thoughts and stilling the heat within her. She turned, looking down on the hall, and felt none of the conflict which had filled her since she had awoken during the night.

Then her petticoat rubbed against her leg and she winced. Lifting the heavy fabric of her skirt away from her thigh helped, but it would be days before the stupid burn healed properly. She had woken in the night with the smarting pain of the damaged skin against her sheets and after that sleeping had been almost impossible. She had decided to go out as soon as the sun showed itself, but now that was proving a problem and she
really
needed to be away from the hall.

Lifting the front of her skirt high, she turned and walked off into the wilderness, where there were no people to disturb her calm.

~~~

‘Dalton, have you seen Miss Felix?’ Charles asked when there was no sign of the girl at breakfast.

Dalton was an older man who fitted the role of butler well. Alexander had persuaded him away from some Edinburgh family and it had been one of the elder Barstow-Hall’s best decisions. Dalton ran a tight ship and he missed nothing that went on under the roof he was responsible for. That meant he almost certainly knew of Gall’s nocturnal activities which made Charles wonder why he had not called the man up on it.