‘No, I’m not.’ He was silent for a moment, thinking, before adding more hesitantly, ‘You know I don’t believe, yes? In your strange God who seems determined to make my life…unnecessarily challenging.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, does it not seem incredible to you that when we needed our family to be taken to safety in an impossible storm, one of the world’s greatest sailors—who haddiedcompleting his own impossible voyage—was here with us? It is just me, or does the universe continue to align just how it should?’
‘You also said we have an apocalyptic human-extinction plague on the island with us.’
‘Well, yes, but now you’re just being pedantic. I prefer to look at the bigger picture.’ He frowned, then asked extremely annoyed with himself, ‘You did…see Harry, didn’t you?’
‘Huh?’
‘Anyway, so yes, I don’t think it was coincidence he was here when we needed him, and therefore I know with a hundred percent certainty that they are all safe.’
‘So you do—have…faith.’
‘Yes, I’ve just told—well, no, not like that. Notfaith.’
‘Just belief in a higher thingy looking after everything. How come when I say things like that you mock me mercilessly?’
‘Because your belief comes from a misplaced understanding of how the world works, whereas mine is based in intellectual rigour and deep—that hurts. Do you want to hear my plan or not?’
‘I’m not sure. Is it as good as your one to go and read your book yesterday and wait for me?’
Aleksey huffed. ‘This is going to be an issue between us for some time, yes?’
‘Yup. Exeter, Nik. You managed to get shot in the face inExeter. On aSunday.’
Not seeing the relevance of either of these points, but not actually having anything concrete to support his theory that both occurrences were just as likely to happen to anyone who wasn’t him, he countered with, ‘Topsham, actually. I got shot inTopsham.’ Ben turned once more to face him, his eyes narrowed, but before Ben could win the argument, which even Aleksey could see wouldn’t be that hard, he asked with a slight hesitancy, ‘This is because of my…face, yes? That I will no longer be…that you will no longer think I am…well, what you foolishly said I was.’
Ben smirked. ‘Did I used to fall for that kind of bullshit? Yeah, I guess I did. I used to immediately come out and say something dumb like you’ll always be beautiful to me… Stop trying to manipulate me.’
‘So, youdon’tthink I’ll…? Well, huh.’
Ben flung his arm over Aleksey’s shoulders and pulled him closer for a kiss. ‘I can still think you’re the most beautiful man in this entire world, and at the same time know that you’re a total fucking moron. Two things can be true at once. So, tell me your plan, oh wise one. I’m all ears—which is more than I can say about you.’
* * *
Chapter Twenty-Nine
They went in through the coal cellar.
The doors swung back easily as they laid them flat on the weeds.
Ben dropped down first and then helped him to enter and land equally silently.
Ben darted up the small flight of steps and crouched on the top one, listening for any sound from the scullery. When he was happy it was empty, he slipped swiftly through the door.
Aleksey followed.
They could hear voices in the main room, but headed up the servant stairs to the second attic. They wanted to make sure they were not surprised from behind when they began their assault and had decided to sweep through, clearing the rooms, top to bottom.
There was one soldier left, Bailey, plus Austin and Madeline. Max and Rachel, Aleksey assumed, would weigh on their side. He and Ben only had two rounds left in the pistol they’d liberated, but he didn’t think they really needed to worry about taking on three people, even if one of them was armed.
The attic was almost pitch black except for a faint bluish glow from moonlight streaking in from the south-facing skylights, which sent eerie shadows stretching into corners. Someone had cleared the space since they’d last seen it, and the huge rocking horse from the other room had been dragged into the middle of the emptiness. It was obvious whom Ben was thinking about when he saw this. Aleksey put his hand up, clasped him behind the neck and pulled their foreheads together. Ben clenched his jaw and nodded to the unspoken promises being offered.
As they made their way to the doorway between the two rooms, Aleksey heard a creak behind them, turned, and saw that the horse was moving ever so slightly. In other circumstances he might have been considerably disturbed by this—a rocking horse in an empty moonlit attic swaying independently—but for some reason he felt reassured by the horse’s contribution. The spirit of Guillemot was with them.
The larger attic was even more packed with boxes than it had been on their first trip, presumably added to by the ones that had been removed to make the play space for Molly. They slid around all the various cases and bits of old furniture, opened the door and went down the short flight of steps to the upstairs hallway. This long corridor was illuminated from the large picture window well enough for them to see it was empty.
