The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (Alfred Kropp 1)

“Where is Mogart?” Bennacio asked.

Cabiri shook his head. “I don’t know. We’ve heard nothing, Lord Bennacio.”

His whole attitude toward Bennacio was tender and respectful, like it was a great honor just to be around him. If he had known I was responsible for this whole mess, he probably would have directed Jules to take me out with the bazooka.

“And now there is no way to cross the Atlantic,” Bennacio went on.

“They closed the border and yet you crossed. Do not despair, Lord Bennacio. I know you loathe them, but I see no choice now. We must use what tools we have.”

Bennacio sighed. “I will consider it.”

I wondered who Bennacio loathed.

“Who are the outsiders?” I asked. “OIPEP?”

“OIPEP!” Cabiri sneered, and he made a spitting sound.

“What is OIPEP anyway?” I asked. “The best I could come up with was ‘Operatives Investigating Powerful Evil Persons.’ ”

“Ha ha!” Cabiri shouted. “You have found a witty one, Lord Bennacio!”

Nobody said anything for the rest of the drive, which lasted about thirty minutes. We ended up in this little hamlet with Cape Cod–type houses lining these narrow, twisty streets. It might have been Halifax or it might not; I didn’t know how big a town Halifax was or how far it was from the airstrip.

We went inside a house painted blue with white shutters. There was a fire snapping and popping in the fireplace and kerosene lamps set on tables, and I wondered why they didn’t have electricity. Maybe these servants of the Sword had to operate on a tight budget. But Bennacio handed that guy a blank check from Samson Industries. Maybe the knights had an expense account but the Friends didn’t. Or maybe it was a lifestyle choice, like those reenactors you see on TV.

“We are safe here, Lord Bennacio,” Cabiri said. “At least for a few hours. Jules, find Lord Bennacio something to eat.” He didn’t tell Jules to find me something to eat. “Milo, tell her Lord Bennacio has arrived.” He smiled at Bennacio. “She has been quite concerned.”

Bennacio didn’t answer. He sank into the chair closest to the fire and pressed his fingertips against his eyelids. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I sat on a stool next to Bennacio and wished I had some dry socks; the bottoms of my feet were starting to itch. I wondered if it would be rude to take off my shoes.

Cabiri slipped off his brown robe. Underneath he wore a flannel shirt and Wrangler jeans. He had short-cropped, very curly hair, like a poodle. He looked like the guy on the Brawny paper towels.

Jules carried in a tray loaded down with smoked salmon, big chunks of cheese, bundles of fat grapes, and lumps of little black greasy-looking balls on thin crackers that I guessed was caviar. I had never tasted caviar and didn’t want to try anything new on an empty stomach, so I helped myself to some salmon and cheese. The grapes were good, with very tight skin, so when I bit into one the juice exploded in my mouth. Jules left and came back with a bottle of wine and some glasses, but I’m not a wine drinker, so I ate a lot of grapes for their juice. Maybe they’d have the cash for electricity, I thought, if they didn’t blow it on caviar and expensive French wine. Cabiri was a big guy like me with an appetite to match, and between us the tray didn’t stay full for long.

“You must call them,” Cabiri told Bennacio.

“The thought galls me,” Bennacio answered.

Just then a girl came into the room, and Cabiri got up and Jules got up and so I got up, and all the crumbs in my lap fell on the throw rug. She was tall, almost six feet, barefoot, wearing a sleeveless green dress that trailed the floor. Her auburn hair was pulled back from her face and her pale skin glowed in the firelight. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

She went directly to Bennacio, who stood up as she came toward him, and she took his hand and kissed it, then pressed it against her cheek. “My lord,” she said softly.

He touched her cheek with his free hand and said, “Natalia, you should not be here.”

“Nor should you,” she said.

He was turned three-quarters from the firelight, so his face was in shadow and I couldn’t see his expression when he said, “I have no choice,” but he sounded sad, the same way he’d sounded when he said “Our doom is upon us” back in Knoxville.

He turned toward me and said, “This is Alfred Kropp.”

“I know who Kropp is,” Natalia said, and she didn’t look at me. Her voice had a very clear tone, like the ringing of bells in the distance, so even though she spoke softly, you could hear her across the room.

“He saved my life,” Bennacio added. I’m not sure why. Maybe to get her to like me. I could see that was going to be a hard sell.

“That you might sacrifice it,” she said to Bennacio.

&nbs

p; “That I might keep my promise.”