‘Well, that’s possible too,’ Irene agreed regretfully. She held up her hand to pause him as the waiter arrived with their soup, and they were quiet until the man had left. ‘All right,’ she said, picking up her spoon. ‘Go on.’
‘The current Ambassador has held the post for the last eighty years,’ Kai said, picking up his own spoon. ‘His name is Silver. Or rather, people call him Silver. It seems nobody knows his real name outside Liechtenstein, if anyone does. Though the fact that it’s apparently a reportable fact about him that nobody knows his real name . . .’ He sighed. ‘Fae. The reporter that I was talking to said that he hadn’t changed at all in the last eighty years, except to update his wardrobe. He’s got a fairly typical reputation for a Fair Folk. Seductive, arrogant, party-going, patronizes artists.’
Irene thought about that. ‘Does he patronize engineers?’ she asked.
‘The reporter didn’t mention that,’ Kai said. ‘Why?’
Irene shrugged. ‘It just seemed relevant, given we’re told this alternate favours technology, and if Liechtenstein’s economy is based on airships. By the way, you know a lot about the Fair Folk.’
Kai looked as though he was considering spitting on the ground. ‘Those creatures – we had something like them in the alternate that I came from. Pervasive thieves, wasters, destroyers – they make their way into society and tear it apart. They destabilize reality. They’re tools of chaos. They are chaos. You can’t expect me to approve of things like that.’
‘Look, calm down,’ Irene said. ‘Have some soup. I agree that they’re malign. But we’re not here on some sort of campaign to root them out. Remember the mission.’ She was surprised by his vehemence; it was more than she’d expect from a trainee. But personal experience was probably behind it. She wondered how personal the experience might be. An involvement with one of them? The loss of a friend or lover? ‘Our job is to get the text and then we can get the hell out of here.’
Kai stared at her for a moment, then lowered his eyes. ‘I apologize for my improper behaviour,’ he said, suddenly formal. ‘You are the head of this mission, of course. I just wish to convey my feelings on the subject. My extremely strong feelings on the subject.’
Irene tried to think of a way to respond which wouldn’t seem dismissive. And he was shifting speech patterns again – from slang to formal and back again. She wondered if he’d noticed it himself. Possibly the influence of the Library, compared to his previous edgy lifestyle?
She set those thoughts aside for later consideration, and did her best to smile. ‘It’s all right. Really. You aren’t the only one who’s had problems with chaos. But we can’t assess how to handle the situation until we have a full picture of it. Please tell me more about Liechtenstein and the Embassy.’
Kai returned a thin smile, but it was clearly a duty rather than a pleasure. ‘Well, as I was going to say, the Fae infestation in Liechtenstein seems to help keep out neighbouring countries. Maybe because they’re not sure what the Fae could do, or maybe they’re worried about the Fae expanding into their countries. And Liechtenstein’s a peach that a lot of people would otherwise want to pluck from the branch and sink their teeth into.’
Irene raised her eyebrows.
‘Okay,’ Kai said, waving his spoon, ‘a dramatic simile, but have you noticed how very balanced and counterbalanced this whole world is? If you take Liechtenstein, there are mad scientists everywhere. The people I questioned implied some kind of mad scientist race. I know I’m just a trainee, but surely the influence of science there could only be to balance the amount of chaos the Fae bring to the table – especially in Liechtenstein itself?’
‘Or maybe the Fae are telling stories about science,’ Irene hypothesized. ‘Or being involved in stories about science. Or maybe Liechtenstein is taking on the role of Belgium in this alternate. My father once did a check on it in as many alternates as he could find. Belgium always seems to get invaded, fall prey to meteorites or get infested by alien fungus or something . . . and don’t look now, but someone’s just come in and is staring at us.’
‘It must be you he’s looking at,’ Kai said hopefully, tilting his spoon in a vain attempt to catch a reflection of the room behind him. ‘Do something odd and see if he reacts.’
‘He’s coming this way,’ Irene said briefly. He appeared every inch the wealthy aristocrat. From the top hat to the silk-lined cape to the silver-headed cane (a sword cane, she suspected). His eyes were fixed on Kai. ‘Quickly,’ she murmured, ‘did you do anything that you should have told me about?’
‘Definitely not.’ Kai turned to follow Irene’s gaze. ‘Hm. Wait. I saw him at the Embassy.’
‘As I saw you, sir,’ the man said, doffing his top hat in a small bow to Kai, then a subsidiary one to Irene. ‘May I join you at this table?’