Hunting for Silence (Storm and Silence 5)

‘Indeed?’

‘He concluded that it was the work of a lone gunman. A revolutionary or anarchist.’

‘You don’t say.’

‘’owever, he does not preclude the possibility that there is a larger movement, and that the assassin was just the tip of the iceberg.’ Closing the folder, Guizot met Mr Ambrose’s expressionless eyes. ‘It seems my best course of action would be to reinforce my policy of stronger amiable connections with ‘er Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom.’

Mr Ambrose gave a small nod. An important nod. ‘Taking into account Lord Dalgliesh, Minister, that would indeed be the wisest course of action. I would pursue it with the greatest possible speed.’

Guizot’s eyes narrowed.

‘What, pray, does ‘is Lordship ‘ave to do with the matter?’

‘Things tend to…happen where Lord Dalgliesh is involved.’

‘Hm.’ The minister considered for a moment—then nodded. ‘The king’s guard will be reinforced.’

‘A wise measure.’

‘And also—not that I am under any obligation to tell you this, mind you—I shall send a special envoy directly to my colleague in London and see what we can do about deepening relations. As for appearances of His Majesty in public…does your generous offer regarding free tickets to your opera still stand?’

If Mr Rikkard Ambrose had had facial muscles in that stone mask he called a face, they would have contorted in pain. ‘Yes, Minister.’

‘Excellent.’ The minister smiled, in a way that told me he enjoyed that moment a little bit too much. ‘Then His Majesty and I will be paying your establishment a visit soon. And you may expect some other dignitaries to join us there in the near future. I must say, I am particularly glad this whole business happened before the big visit.’

Mr Ambrose froze. Until a moment ago, he had been a stone statue. Now he was a stone statue with a coating of ice. Only his eyes were flickering with fire.

‘What visit?’ he demanded.

‘Why, the visit of the Earl of Auckland, of course.’

Mr Ambrose didn’t relax. If anything, he became even tenser, and the temperature in the room plummeted.

‘Would that be the same Earl of Auckland who is currently Governor-General of India, Minister?’

‘Yes. Why—’

‘The governor-general of the company in which Lord Dalgliesh is the majority shareholder?’

There was a momentary pause. We all exchanged dark glances. Was this part of Dalgliesh’s real plan? Was this what we had been missing? Why he wanted us gone?

‘Yes.’

Mr Ambrose took a step forward. ‘And did you plan to show him around the city? Show him the sights? Maybe invited him to social events with yourself and His Majesty, such as…the opera?’

Shadows fell across the minister’s countenance.

‘Yes. I did.’

Behind me, Karim uttered a low oath and slammed his fist against the wall.

A Special ‘Arse Connection

‘I don’t understand.’ Uncertainly, I glanced from Mr Ambrose, over Karim, to the minister. ‘Auckland is in Dalgliesh’s pay, isn’t he? Dalgliesh is going to have him assassinated? And, more importantly, why the heck should we care?’

Karim’s only reaction was to smash his fist into the wall again.

The minister winced. ‘Please, Monsieur, would you be so kind as to desist? I ‘ave asked the king for a new Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I would rather that this building not topple around my ears before the other is finished.’