Feline Wizards - To Visit The Queen Part 10

She couldnat manage it for a while. He wasnat reading for a change tonight, and he didnat even turn on the TV: he just sat in the dimness and stroked her, and Rhiow just sat and let him. It was strangely like the days when Hhuha had been here, and she would simply sit with Rhiow in her lap, not doing anything but being there.

Slowly Iaehh began to fall asleep that way. She looked up at him and saw how tired he looked: his face was more drawn than it had used to be, and he was losing weight. What are we going to do about you, Rhiow thought. Hhuha would not like to see you this way. You are so unhappy.

Weave got to find you somebody.

Then she felt like laughing at herself. The world may start to stop existing next week, or the week after that, if we fail, Rhiow thought, and here I am thinking about matchmaking for my ehhif. Yet there was no question that he did need somebody, and she was going to have to do something about it.

And what about me? she thought. There would be no mates for her, and no kittens. Huff might be a good acquaintance now, might be a friend later. Yet Rhiow was feeling the need for something more. I must go looking, she thought, and see whatas available for a wizard whoas been spending too much time in work, and not enough in having a social life.

a.s.suming the universe doesnat end later this month ...

She sighed and lay back in Iaehhas lap. The end of the universe would have to take care of itself. Right now she was home with her ehhif, and had had a good dinner. Just this once, she would lie still, and let it all pa.s.s her by: and tomorrow evening, no matter what happened, she would be able to look the Powers in the face and say, I have been a Person: and after that, what matters?

Much later, in the darkness, Rhiow realized that she was having a vision. It shouldnat have surprised her, in retrospect, she thought: the ravens had already shown her that vision was transferable. It hadnat immediately occurred to her that others might learn that trick: but it seemed that at least one had.

You made me do it, he said. So you had to see what happened. It was your act ... even though I enacted it.

In the vision he was walking down the bike path next to the East River. There had been a time when he had been unable to go anywhere near that body of water: the mere sound of it had been a horror to him. Now, though, he walked down the path and listened to the water chuckling underneath the walkway, listened to it slapping against the concrete piers, and didnat mind a bit. The voices in it were friendly now.

He was looking for someone, and waiting for something: and because this was his vision, he knew he would shortly find both.

Ith had given him the hint, as often happened these days. The same venom will not work twicea"you will begin to develop an immunity.

At first he had rejected this idea. But Ith was wise, in his way. The more you looked at something that frightened you, or horrified you, the easier it got. This was probably how ehhif became conditioned to killing. In their case, it was a fatal flaw. But in this case, the function was different. Become used to your own death, to the point where it no longer hurts youa"and your Enemy is suddenly without a weapon.

He had done it twice tonight already. He was becoming an expert at dying.

The third time would pay for all.

It was not that long until he saw the pale shape of the slender young Person walking nervously down the bike path. Indeed it shouldnat have been very long: you would be a poor kind of Seer if you couldnat tell when people were going to turn up for appointments, so you didnat have to stand around waiting. As she came, he stepped out and got in her way.

She spat at the sight of him. aYou -- ! Get out of my way.a aNo,a he said. aIf you want me to move, youare going to have to fight.a aThen Iall fight. You think Iad have trouble with that? I hate you! You killed me!a aNo, I didnat. But you know Who did.a aYouare crazy. Get out of my way!a aNo,a he said. aNot till you admit what you are.a aOh?a She sneered. aAnd what am I?a aA twin. Half of a pair.a aNot any more. You put an end to that.a aNothing can put an end to it,a he said. aRoles may change temporarily. But this time they havenat. Iam a Seer. But youa"youare something else. Or you will be.a aNo!a aYes. The other side of Seeing, the same way our colors are sort of reversed now. Doing ... thatas what youare for.a aNo!a aYes. Youare the power source, after all. Since when are queens power sources? Mostly queens think itas too boring.a aIam not just some queen!a aNo. Youare not. And you can prove it.a aHow?a aLook.a They looked up the river, in the predawn dimness.

The bag came floating toward them ... if afloatinga was the right word. Water was seeping into it rapidly, and it was beginning to submerge.

Siffhaah saw it and shrank back. aNo!a aWhat are you afraid of?a Arhu said. aItas all over.a aYesa"buta"a Still she shrank back.

aBut,a Arhu said. aThereas still a sound you havenat let yourself hear.a aI donat want to hear it!a aNeither did I. But once I did, everything changed. I couldnat hear until I heard that sound: I couldnat See until I Saw what was making it.a aNo -- !a aYou know whatas happening in there,a Arhu said.

aI donat want to think about it -- !a She tried to run, but Arhu got in front of her.

aIf you donat think about it,a he said, athatas all youall think about for the rest of your life. Youave already spent all your life thinking about it. All the things you do, all the spells you power, all the time you spend inside that big blast of force you like so mucha"itas all about being deaf and blind. You pour so much power into what youare doing, of course, that everyone around you is deaf and blind too, for the duration, and no one else notices that you canat see or hear most of the time.a aYouare crazy, what are you talking about -- ?!a He could see her glance over his shoulder. The bag was floating nearer. aYou donat dare be quiet,a he said. aYou donat dare be still. If you do, youall hear whatas happening in there.a She took a swipe at him, a good one. It hit him across the nose. He bled, but he wouldnat give back. aYou owed me that,a Arhu said. aMy claws must have dug into you, while I was trying to keep my head above the watera"a aShut up!a She launched herself at him, every claw bared. Arhu went down, and together they tumbled across the spa.r.s.e flat gra.s.s by the bike path, spitting and clawing. She got her claws into him, hard. He gave as good as he got. Fur flew.

aWhy did you do ita"a she panted. aYou were my favorite, I loved you, I slept with you, I ate with you, whya"a aI wanted to live! I wanted to breathe! So did you! You stepped on my head a lot of times, you clawed me, I loved you too, I ate with you, I slept with my head on your tummy, I washed you, you washed me, but there came a time when the washing wouldnat help, the loving wouldnat help, we both wanted to live and we couldnata"a The bag floated closer. There was a slight movement inside it, as of some tiny struggle. The smallest sound from inside: a tiny mewling ...

aIt saw us coming,a Arhu panted. aIt saw the Seer, it saw the Doer, It knew that together we would be a danger to It, It tried to kill us both. Still, It couldnat kill both of us. Help was already coming: It knew one would survive. So It killed the one It thought was more of a threat, more of a power. It knew you would come back, but It counted on you being so tangled up with anger and so confused that you wouldnat know what to do with yourself, and wouldnat put your half back with the other half to make a whole again: youad waste the power you had on things that werenat all that important, and finally die frustrated and incomplete and useless. And you can still do that. Or you can frustrate Ita"a aWhat are you talking about?a aDonat do. See. Just this oncea"a And she opened her eyes, which were squeezed shut against Arhuas clawing, and looked at him: and Saw.

Saw what happened inside the bag.

Not from her point of view: from his.

The grief. Tired. The pain. Theyare all dead. The resignation. I donat want to live any more, theyare all dead. The anguish. Sif, she had my same spots. Sheas dead. I donat want to live, let it end now. The water bubbling in ...

And, abruptly, astonishingly, the rage built, and built, and burst up and out of her. To her amazement, it was not rage at what had happened to her: it was fury at what had happened to him. It had never been directed at anything outside her before, not really: not in all her short life. But now it leapt out ... and found its target. Now she knew what it was that she had to do, what she had come back for, what business she had to finish.

Something that hung all about them in the air, something that laughed, that had been laughing forever, suddenly stopped laughing as force such as even It had not often experienced came blasting out at It. Not some unfocused curse at a generalized cruel fate, but a specific, narrow, furious line of righteous anger, a rage like a laser, aimed, directed, and tuned. The anger lanced out and found its mark.

WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! IaM GOING TOa"

The air in the vision, the air outside it, shuddered with a soundless scream from something which had not been dealt so painful a blow in some time. That influence, for just a little while, fled ...

... leaving Arhu crouching and squeezing his eyes shut against what his vision showed him, a shape like a Person made out of lightning, radiating fury and purpose and the ability to do anything, anything ... for this little while.

The lightning looked at him.

aYou were right,a she said. aThereas no spell I couldnat power, now. Nothing I couldnat do. Nowhere we canat go.a a ... We,a he said.

Very slowly, she put her whiskers forward.

aCome on,a she said. aLetas go practice ... a She pa.s.sed, a long timea"four breaths, fivea"then said it: a ... brother. Weare going to have a busy night.a And the vision faded ... and in her sleep, Rhiow put her whiskers forward, and knew that a tide had turned.

EIGHT.

It was the morning of 6 June 1874: sunny and hot, one more baking hot day in the middle of one of the most prolonged hot spells to manifest itself in the British Isles for nearly fifty years. Temperatures had been in the eighties every day for the past two weeks. The Times reported that a stationary high was in place over the Isles and showed no signs of moving in the immediate future.

A small stout woman on horseback came riding sedately up through Windsor Home Park at an easy canter. She wore a long black riding dress, and rode sidesaddle with some grace and ease. She rode around the path that skirted the East Terrace Garden, and came up to the George the Sixth Gateway, clattering through under the archway and into the wide, graveled s.p.a.ce of the Upper Ward. Grooms ran forward to take her horse as she stopped near the little circular tower which marked the entrance to the State Apartments. One groom bent down to offer his back as a step to the woman dismounting: another took her by the hand and helped her down.

aHe is breathing better this morning, Rackham,a she said to one of the grooms. aPerhaps he will not need the mash any more this week.a aYes, your Majesty.a She swept in through the entrance to the State Apartments and up the stairs, then bustled down along the hallway which ran down the length of the first floor, making for the day room attached to her own apartments there. Maids curtsied low and footmen bowed as she pa.s.sed: one of them rose to open the door to the day room for her.

The Queen stepped into the room, and then stopped, very surprised. Tumbling about on the carpet were two small cats, one mostly white with black patches, one more black with white patches, wrestling with each other. As the Queen looked at them, they rolled over and gazed at her with big innocent golden eyes.

aMeow,a said one of them.

The Queenas mouth dropped open, and she clapped her hands for delight. One of the maids appeared immediately. aSiddons,a said Queen Victoria, awherever did these darling kittens come from?a aPlease, your Majesty, I donat know,a said Siddons, a beautifully dressed young woman who immediately began to wonder if she was going to get in trouble for this. aMaybe they came in from outside, your Majesty.a aWell, we must make inquiries and see if we can discover to whom they belong,a said the Queen, abut they are certainly very welcome here.a She went over to them, knelt down on one knee and stroked one of them, the kitten with more black than white. They were really a little larger than kittens, but were not yet full grown cats. The one she was stroking caught her hand in soft paws and gave it a little lick, then looked up at her with big eyes again.

aDarling thing!a said the Queen, and picked the little cat up in her arms, holding it so that it lay on its back. The small cat patted her face gently with one paw and gazed up at her adoringly.

aWhat was that you said? aMeowa?a said Siffhaah, still rolling and stretching on the floor. aLook at you, squirming around like youave still got your milk teeth. How shameless can you get?a aWell, it says here that a cat may look at a King,a Arhu said. aSo Iam looking.a aWell, this is a Queen. And it doesnat say anything about being truly sickeningly sweet to the point where Iau Herself will come down from broad Heaven and tell you youare overdoing it. Youare going to do bad things to my blood sugar.a aYouare a wizard: adjust it. Meanwhile, at least she smells nice. Some of the ehhif around here could use a scrub.a aTell me about it.a aWell, come on, donat just lie there. Weave got to get ourselves well settled in. Find something to be cute with.a Siffhaah got up and headed for a thick velvet bell-pull with ta.s.sels. aAll right, but Iam not sure this isnat going to stunt my growth.a She started to play with the ta.s.sels.

The Queen burst out laughing and put Arhu down. aOh, my dear little kitties,a said the Queen, awould you like something to eat?a She turned to look over her shoulder, toward the butler standing in the doorway. aFownes, bring some milk. And some cold chicken from the buffet.a aYes, your Majesty.a aNow for once Urruah was right about something,a Arhu said. aMilk and cold chicken. I donat suppose theyave invented pastrami yet ... a Siffhaah inclined her head slightly to listen to the Whispering. aYouare on the wrong side of the Atlantic. They do have it in New York ... a aDear Mr. Disraeli is coming to see me before lunch,a she said to the cats. aYou must be kind to him and not scratch his legs. Mr. Disraeli is not a cat person.a aUh oh,a Arhu said.

aI wish she hadnat said that,a Siffhaah said. aI wonat be able to resist, now ... a aDonat do it,a Arhu said. aHe might nuke something.a aPlease,a Siffhaah said. However pleasant the surroundings, none of them had been able to stop looking up at the sky for that quiet reminder of which Power seemed to be busiest in this universe at the moment.

aHave you been in the bedroom yet?a Arhu said.

aNo.a aBetter take a look, then.a aOK.a aHey! Donat walka"scamper.a Siffhaah scampered, producing another trill of laughter from the Queen. Arhu went after her the same way. A door opened out of the day room into the anteroom, and from the anteroom, to the right, into the royal bedroom. The bed was quite large, and beautifully covered all in white linen.

Siffhaah looked it over critically, walking around it. aItas a good size,a she said to Arhu. aBut not so big that we canat put a forcefield over it that would stop a raging elephant, not to mention a guy with a knife.a aWeall have to be careful how we trigger it, though. If she gets up for something in the middle of the night, sheall bang herself on it and get upset.a aWouldnat want that,a Siffhaah said. She walked around to look at the elaborately carved headboard. aHey, look at the nibble marks. Sheas had mice in here.a aYeah, well, we need to make sure she doesnat have another one,a Arhu said. aWith much bigger teeth.a aYour Majesty,a said a servant who appeared at the day-room door and bowed, athe Prime Minister has arrived.a aVery good. Bring his usual tea. Where is the catsa chicken?a aComing, your Majesty.a aHere, kitties,a the Queen called, acome and have some milk!a They glanced at each other. aI am not used to this kind of thing,a said Siffhaah. aLet her wait a few minutes.a aWhy? Youare hungry.a aIf we come when she calls us, sheas going to get the idea that weall do that all the time. Weare People, for Iauas sake.a aWell, sheas a Queen, and sheas used to people coming when she calls. All kinds of people. Come on, Sif, humor her a little.a aOh, all right.a They trotted into the day room together. The Queen was holding a bowl of milk, which she put down for them.

They drank. aOh, sweet Iau, where are they getting this stuff?a Arhu muttered, and practically submerged his face in the bowl.

aReal cows,a said Siffhaah. aNot pasteurized. Full fat. They may know what cholesterol is here, but it doesnat bother them ... a Footsteps came from down the hall. A few moments later, the man who had his finger on the Victorian nuclear trigger came in and sat down. He was long and rangy and had the abundant beard that seemed so popular at this point in time. Arhu looked up at him from the bowl and got an immediate sense of thoughtfulness, subtlety, an almost completely artificial sense of humor, and dangerous intelligence. At the same time, behind the sleek and well-behaved facade lurked emotions which, though carefully controlled, were not at all mastered. This was the kind of man who could hold a grudge, teach it to think it was a carefully thought through opinion, and then turn it loose to savage his enemies.

aI wouldnat shed on him if I were you,a Arhu said softly. aI think you might pull back a b.l.o.o.d.y stump.a aMr. Disraeli,a said the Queen, ahave you seen my two lovely young guests? I am hoping they will stay with me and enliven my sad days a little.a aMaaam, anything which brings joy to your days is a joy to your humble servant,a said Disraeli, and bowed.

Siffhaah gave him an amused look. aPull the other three,a she said, atheyave got bells on.a aHe canat help it,a Arhu said. aHe has to say things like that to her all the time now, or she wonders whatas wrong with him.a He put his whiskers forward.

aSit, please,a said the Queen, and Disraeli did so and started chatting with her informally about the state of affairs in the Empire, particularly in India. Here, as in their own universe, he was trying to convince her to accept the t.i.tle of Queen-Empress, and she was presently in the stage of coyly refusing it.

aBut, maaam, the nations over which our benevolent influence is extended wish only to have you a.s.sume this t.i.tle as a token of their esteem ... a aIf esteem is to be discussed,a said the Queen, reaching for a piece of chicken, athen I would sooner discuss the sort which France is expressing at the moment.a aAh, Majesty, their inflammatory republican comments are intended for their own people and their own politiciansa ears. They have no import here.a aThey do when the French suggest that the British monarchy is superannuated and without merit,a the Queen said mildly, while this time giving Siffhaah the piece of chicken she was holding, and reaching for another one for Arhu. aNo, donat grab, my darling, there is plenty for you both. And when they threaten my cousins on the various thrones of Germany. I have no desire to seem as if we wish to expand our Empirea"which is broad enough at the momenta"at the expense of others.a aIf those others will not comport themselves wisely, those of them who live on the Empireas doorstep,a Disraeli said gently, asurely it is in our interest to explain to them the likely results of their destabilization of the nations of Europe. We have no desire to seem threatening, of coursea"a aIndeed we do not,a said the Queen, looking up rather sharply from the distribution of the next piece of chicken. aAnd I require you to see that we do not. My diplomatic boxes have been full of disturbing material of late: complaints from neighbors who feel that our purpose is to destabilize them. I will not leave Europe in a worse state than I found it, Mr. Disraeli.a aIndeed, maaam,a Disraeli said, athe general opinion is that it would be left in much better state if more of it were British.a The Queen sniffed. aA state of which my royal father would never have approved. We are the most powerful nation on the globe: all respect us, and those who do not respect us, at least fear us, which unfortunate situation at least keeps my subjects safe. Let France provoke as it please, let Italy rattle her spears. They are too short to fly far. As for France, the English Channel is now a tie that binds us, not a protective barrier. She will do nothing but harm to her own trade by c.o.c.king a snook at us across the water.a aMaaam,a Disraeli said, athese direct attacks on the monarchy are being taken, by some, as direct threats to your royal person. There are those in Parliament who have begun calling for war.a aThey do that every year around tax time,a the Queen said mildly. aSome distractions are worth more than others, especially in a year which presents the possibility of a general election. As for my peopleas opinion, they love to talk about conquering Europe, but they are not eager to do it themselves.a aThey would be if you asked them to,a Disraeli said softly.

The Queen gave him a cool look. aI have no interest in spending their blood,a she said, afor no better reason than a few vague threats. I am a mother too, and I know what the blood of sons is worth.a Disraeli bowed at that. aYet it brings us to another matter, maaam,a he said. aYou are a mother not only of princes and princesses, but of a people. And those people greatly desire to see you take up your public role with more enthusiasm. We have spoken of this beforea"a aAnd doubtless will again,a said the Queen, turning away from him. aMr. Disraeli, I know your concerns. But I cannot make a show of myself when my heart would be insincere, no matter what public opinion would make of it. You cannot possibly know the pain I suffer for the lack of my dear Albert ... how I long for him ... how that longing makes so many things, the splendors, the pleasures, as nothing but ashes in my mouth. I will not pretend to be what I cannot be ... and my people, who love me, will understand.a He bowed again, slowly, reluctantly: and gradually their talk pa.s.sed to other things. Arhu, meanwhile, rubbed against the Queenas skirts, then headed back into the bedroom.

Siffhaah followed him in. aWell?a she said. aI didnat follow all of that.a aIt gets complicated. But that was the lead-up, all right,a Arhu said. aThe circ.u.mstances are lining up as predicted.a aYouare looking smug.a aSmug?a Arhu shook his head until his ears rattled. aNo. I like a high accuracy rating: it makes me a lot less nervous ... especially when I hear the words anecessary expansiona from someone who has nuclear weapons when no one else does. Nope,a Arhu said, aweare in the right place at the right time. Now all we have to do is wait ... a The timeslide gatings which first transported the London and New York teams to 1874, and then had dropped Siffhaah and Arhu in the Queenas rooms, had both run into trouble, as Ith had predicted. The resistance to them had been staggering, an order of magnitude greater than the last time it was tried. But Whoever was handling the resistance had not been prepared for a power source which for the first time, simply ran into it, and through it, as if it was not there. The timeslide had first aligned itself with the time and place where Artie had stumbled upon them: they left him off in time for tea with his Uncle Richard, and making their farewells, they gated once more and popped directly out into Old Jewry in the late evening of July the eighth. There, under the scarred and tarnished Moon, the teams made themselves at home, as best they could, in the Mark Lane Tube station.

Rhiow found its trains surprisingly modern: the station was clean and safe, and more handsomely decorated than its contemporary counterpart. The worldgates were not there, though. As Rhiow had suspected, they were presently up in the Fenchurch Street mainline rail station, and Rhiow and Huff had both been unwilling to tamper with them or to try to contact any London-based gating team which might be supervising the gates at this time. There were already enough complications to deal with.

They waited, and saw the City as best they could, and became very expert of ridding themselves of mud in short order. In particular, they spent a fair amount of time visiting with Ouhish and Hwallis at the British Museum. Hwallis had been delighted to hear about the recovery of the full spell for protection against the Winter: but the news about what was required to activate it had come as a blow.

The intervention, however, was Rhiowas and Huffas main care, and they made their preparations slowly, despite the impatience of some members of the team. Look, itas been two days now, Arhu said, late on the eighth, and I donat know how much more petting we can stand. If itas not Herself, then itas the princes and princesses. And all the servants are trying to make friends with us too.

I should think you could do very well out of this ... Urruah said. Like the others, he was down on the twin of their aderelicta platform, where the timeslide spell was astableda until they would need it again.

Do you mean food? Please! Donat even mention it, Siffhaah said. Iam so stuffed Iam losing the ability to scamper.

Huff smiled at that. A historical moment, he said.

Have you heard from Auhlae?

Yes. Nothing unusual as yet. So far the gates are behaving themselves.

Rhiow put her whiskers forward, glad to hear it. She had also been glad when Auhlae volunteered to mind the gates during the intervention. It had taken a weight off Huffas mind: he had been very nervous indeed of the prospect of bringing her here.

Just hold on the best you can, you two, she said. Itas only a couple of days more. Have you seen the Mouse?

Yes. A very inoffensive-looking little ehhif, Arhu said. Itas no wonder he was so good at the second-story work before McClaren hired him for this job: heas pretty small. He works in the gardens every day, putting plants in pots and taking them out again, and no one gives him a second look.

Well, youare ready for him ...

There are more protections waiting to be activated around that bed than any ehhif needs, Siffhaah said. And weare there too: she insists on us sleeping with her. But heas not going to have a chance to make it this far, anyway. Come tomorrow afternoon, heas going to find himself locked in the Albert Tower with no way out ... and the morning after, the police will take him away.

Theyall probably charge him with suspicion of theft when they find out what kind of work he used to do, Arhu said. I wonat mind. I see the way his little eyes look at things. Itas not a mouse he reminds me of: itas a rat.

Rhiow shivered a little. The image of a ratas mind in a manas body bothered her. Well, she said, keep an eye on things. Urruah has gone to the House to see about that letter.

Good, Arhu said. This is a nice place ... but Iall be glad when this lady is safe. Sheas got her problems, but none that deserve being killed for.

Thereas also the slight problem of what would happen after she was killed ...

Donat remind me. Well, keep us up to date, Siffhaah said. It really will be kind of a relief to get out of here. She cries about Albert every night, like itas a ritual, and the pillows get all wet. Iam amazed she doesnat catch cold.

Rhiowas tail twitched. aDo what you can for her,a she said. aA purr at the right time can do wonders.a We will.

Rhiow sighed and lay back on the concrete. She was missing Iaehh already, and she was beginning to get that twitchy, uncomfortable feeling that comes of staying out of oneas home time too long. In addition, she was beginning to feel peculiarly ... exposed. I just wish I knew to what. But the feeling of something watching them, with bad intent, was getting very strong.

No matter. It wonat take very long now. Urruah will sort that letter out ... and then we can frame the Mouse and go home.

But something kept suggesting to Rhiow that it would not be that simple ...

The morning of the ninth of July came up, hot and still, with crickets creaking in the crevices of stone walls and under the foundations of houses. It was hot everywhere, from Landas End to John OaGroats.

Nearer the John OaGroats end of things, just after the time when the milk arrives after dawn, the postman came up the walk of a small neat semidetached home in Edinburgh city. Before he could knock, the latch was lifted, and a small dapper man came out. The postman handed him several letters, which the man went through swiftly. One of these he opened: then, as the postman was on the way down the walk to the street, the small man called him and stepped back inside the door of the house for a moment. When he emerged, he handed the postman another letter. The postie took it and went his way.

In the Palace of Westminster, unseen, a gray-striped tabby cat walked calmly down the Commonsa Corridor, looking at the paintings that adorned the walls there: the last sleep of the Duke of Argyll, the acquittal of the Seven Bishops in the reign of James II, Jane Lane helping Charles II to escape.

Marvelous stuff, Urruah thought to himself, but is it art? Most of it, he thought, was the kind of painting which a partisan of a subject does to try to convince other people that itas of as much historical or cultural value as he thinks it is. Figures of old-time ehhif gestured heroically or stood in stoic silence, and all of them, to Urruahas educated eye, had aEstablishmenta written all over them. Urruah walked among them with amus.e.m.e.nt, heading for the House of Commons, and restraining his urge to sharpen his claws on the more bombastic of the murals.

He was sidled, naturally, and therefore had to sidestep to miss the occasional ehhif parliamentarian making for the House. They seemed to hold their meetings very late. It was nearly midnight: even bouts of hauissh, the feline pastime which most nearly includes politics, did not usually take place quite this late. Whatever, Urruah wasnat terribly concerned about what hours they kept, except as it involved one man: McClaren.

He paused by the doors to the House, a little off to one side, and listened before going in.

a ... because the expense would be so great,a an ehhif was saying in a great deep rolling voice; awhilst perhaps in the next parish there might be a clergyman who turns to the east when he celebrated the Holy Communion. If a parishioner called upon the bishop to prosecute in that case, then there would be no difficulty, it would be easy to prosecute for the posture ... but by no means easy to prosecute for the doctrine. Is it not a monstrous proposition that when unsound doctrine is preached, one must proceed by the old, slow, c.u.mbersome ecclesiastical law, and yet there should be a rapid prosecution for gestures ... a Urruah stood there trying to make head or tail of this for some minutes. It seemed that the ehhif was talking about communicating with the One, which was certainly a courtesy and a good idea generally: but these ideas of ehhif as to how the One liked to be communicated with seemed amazingly confused, and also seemed to be very hung up on obscure symbology which had to be exactly observed and duplicated, or else there would be no communication. If they really think this, Urruah thought, maybe itas no wonder theyare so asocial. The Universe must seem to them like a place run by ants. Rude, illiterate ants ...

a ... among the leading churchmen I have found extreme distaste and dissatisfaction with the bill. It is said that the bishop, in the ninth clause, must appear ain a fatherly charactera, but before the canons come in, he must practically have p.r.o.nounced that some offense had been committed which ought to be proceeded against. Thus the power of the bishop as arbitrator can never commence until he has p.r.o.nounced and sanctioned the prosecutiona"a Urruah reared up and peered through the gla.s.s of the doors. His view was largely blocked by frock-coated men standing between him and the floor of the House, and talking nonstop.

Well, vhaiad if Iam going to stand here all night, he thought. Very carefully Urruah slipped through the wood paneling of the lower half of the door, slowly, so as not to upset the grain of the wood, and being careful not to become strictly solid again until he knew exactly where the legs of the ehhif on the other side were. Fortunately none of them were too close.

Once in, Urruah stood there at the back of the House and listened for a few more minutes ... finally wondering why in Iauas name anyone would come here late at night to hear this kind of thing ... unless indeed they were all insomniacs in search of treatment. Up in the strangeras gallery, various visiting ehhif were either asleep or on their way to being so: on the other side, journalists were scribbling frantically in notebooks, trying to keep up with what the ehhif who spoke was saying. Urruah wondered why anyone would bother. The man had the most soporific style imaginable, and in this hot, still room, made hotter yet by the primitive electrical lights, the effect produced put the best sleep-spells Urruah knew to shame.

Urruah peered about him again, looking for any sign of McClaren. The ehhif was tall and had a big beard, but unfortunately that described about half the ehhif in here: this was a very hairy period for ehhif males in this part of the world. McClaren also had a long hawkish nose and very blue eyes, but again Urruahas view was somewhat blocked.

Heas probably not here, Urruah thought. Still ... Iall take a look around. And the impish impulse struck him.

He unsidled.

At first no one noticed him. It was late, and he was walking softly down the carpeted floor of the gangway on the Opposition side. He knew where he was headed: toward the center of the room, the aaislea, where he could get a good view of both front benches. McClaren was a government minister, and would normally have been sitting there on the left-hand side of the Speaker as Urruah was facing the Speakeras Chair.

He looked around him at the weary, complacent faces as he came down the gangway ... and they began to look at him. Urruah put his whiskers forward as the laughter started. Thatall wake them up, he thought: thisall probably make the papers tomorrow ... He came down to the aisle, took a long leisurely look across at the Government benches ... and saw McClaren there.

Urruah stopped short, with the laughter scaling up all around him.

Whatas he doing here?!