“Nobody’s seen him all day,” Maddie explained. “Supper will be served with the king’s family after this, and Francis willmiss it.”
“I’m sure he hasn’t gone far,” Archie said. “Have they got a library? He’s probably in there, hiding in a corner with a book.”
“There’s five libraries in this palace alone,” Maddie hissed. “I already checked one of them.”
“So that leaves four,” Archie said. “Find Christian and Gustav, and we’ll search one each. He’s bound to be in one of them.”
“And if he isn’t?” she demanded.
“Then we’ll keep looking,” Archie assured her.
* * * *
Francis was enjoying himself so much, he lost all track of time.
He was far more interested in the tram tracks, getting down on his hands and knees to investigate the miniature version before him.
“How does it run?” he asked his new friend, standing somewhere behind Francis.
“Heat,” he replied. “Sun.”
“More solar power?” Francis sat up and turned to find the stranger’s eyes on him. Francis hadn’t meant to put himself on display like that but found he didn’t mind being admired either.
The stranger offered Francis his hand, pulling him easily to his feet.
He was strong, and firm. Two things Francis rather liked in a man.
The stranger smiled at him, then released his hand when Francis would have rather held on for longer.
“You have no sun in your country?” he asked.
“In summer, we do,” Francis answered.
The stranger shrugged. “So, use it for the energy. Windalso.”
“I’m afraid nobody has been clever enough to work that out yet,” Francis said. “Beyond using wind to sail ships, I don’t believe it is used for anything else. How exactly is energy collected from the sun?”
“Mmmm.” The stranger hummed, turning away to pet his kitten.
He seemed reluctant to stay on the topic, Francis realised. Perhaps he wasn’t supposed to share state secrets.
He didn’t know who Francis was, after all.
Francis knew Granny would’ve liked him to use an opportunity such as this to ply the man for information, that he might bring them home for Stormburg engineers to work from.
But Francis found he wasn’t in the mood to deceive his new friend more than he already was. He had concealed his identity only to afford himself some reprieve, not for spying purposes.
“I really must thank you for showing me all your cats and gardens,” Francis told him. “I know we haven’t been properly introduced, but might I know your name?”
The stranger turned back to him, looking at Francis with an open expression.
“Hasim,” he said, offering Francis a shy smile. “My family calls me Hasim.”
“Hasim,” Francis said. “That’s nice. It has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
The smile faded from Hasim’s face. “You are leaving?”
“I fear I probably should,” Francis said. “Though, I do not want to.”
