Stone's Fall

'Oh no. I very much doubt anyone deserves to be stabbed. He may – at that particular moment – have considered she deserved it; that by striking at her, he was warding off the torments he was experiencing. Of course, this was heightened by the drugs.'

'What?'

'Oh, you people!' He said with exasperation. 'You really notice nothing, do you? Did you not see the glassy eyes, the sweating, the slurred expressions, the way his movements became more uncontrolled and exaggerated?'

'I thought he'd been drinking.'

'He drank nothing but water. Opium, my dear Stone. Classic symptoms.'

'Cort is an opium addict?'

'Dear me, no. But he had undoubtedly consumed some of the drug shortly before he arrived. It is easy enough to come by. You can buy it in most pharmacies.'

'He told you this?'

'No. He denied it absolutely. Nevertheless, he was certainly under its influence.'

'So, he's lying. Perhaps he is ashamed.'

'Perhaps he was unaware of it,' Marangoni said absently. 'Not that it matters. He will get no more of it while he is in my care.'

'What do you think of Marangoni?' I asked when I next saw Louise.

'Ugh, disgusting,' was her reply. 'Do you know, he tried to seduce me, that dirty little man? I was so ashamed, I have never told a soul. But you I can tell. I know you will not hold it against me. Just don't listen to anything he says about me; I'm sure it would be nasty and cruel.'

'Of course not,' I said. 'Why should I, when I seduced you myself?'

'But with you I wanted to be seduced,' she said. 'I would sacrifice anything for you. I even accept,' she said, her voice trembling, 'that you will sacrifice nothing for me.'

'But you know . . .'

'It doesn't matter,' she said with a sigh, looking away from me. 'I will be your mistress and one day you will leave me. It is enough.'

'Don't say that.'

'But it's true. You know it is. And when you do leave me, I will kill myself.'

She said it seriously, and looked steadily at me as she spoke.

'Why would I want to live without you? To spend the rest of my life with a disgusting husband and a snivelling child, to be tormented day and night by them? If only I could be free of them! All I have that is worthwhile is you.'

'That cannot be true.'

'Oh, believe that, then,' she said, turning away. 'Believe that, then you will be able to leave me with a clear conscience. I do not wish you to suffer as well. You do not love me, I know. Not really.'

'But I do.'

Then prove it. She did not say these words; she did not need to.

CHAPTER 13

Two days after this encounter, Cardano's letter – his first letter, I should say – arrived, and the last piece of my plan took place. His news explained much; after the normal sort of chatter about the markets, he got onto the subject of Mr Macintyre. Here his information was surprising. I had asked whether anything was known about Macintyre's reputation. This was not the sort of thing that a man like Cardano would know, but it was easy enough to discover. I thought I would hear merely that Macintyre was a decent, competent well-respected engineer of skill. Until my interview with Ambrosian I had expected nothing more.

Cardano's letter was very much more informative than that, however.

Fortunately, the annual meeting of Laird's took place yesterday afternoon, and I went to it; I have some shares in the company (so do you, if you recall). Normally these meetings are worse than useless, but it is good to show one's face occasionally. I asked Mr Joseph Benson, the general manager, about your Mr Macintyre and got a most surprising response. He looked rather shocked, and disturbed that I should mention the name. Why was I asking? What had I heard? He was very worried indeed.

I found this perplexing, of course, and kept at him until he was sufficiently reassured to tell me the entire tale – one which you had best keep to yourself.

Macintyre was extraordinarily able, and remarkably pig-headed, it seems. He would never listen to advice, constantly having disputes with anyone who disagreed with him, and was, all in all, well nigh impossible to work with. It seems he was always coming up with novel ideas, and would work on them in the company's time, using the material and resources which should have been used for something else.

That is beside the point, which is that he was a man who could turn his hand to any engineering problem. If there was anything which defeated all others, Macintyre would be called in, and would find the solution. He was, in other words, both impossible and indispensable at the same time. I do not know if you remember the Alabama? It was a Laird's ship which ended up in Confederate hands. As it caused a great deal of damage to Northern shipping, the Yankees were extremely angry about it, and are still trying to blame Laird's and the British Government. Laird's maintain it was nothing to do with them; they sold the ship in good faith, and could hardly have guessed it was going to be fitted out with weapons by the owners, then sold to the Confederates . . .