CHAPTER 25
As the clock struck ten, Shrike opened the register.
‘Let us begin,’ he said. ‘Chancellor of the Exchequer?’
‘Present,’ said Sanderling.
‘Postmaster General?’
‘Present,’ said Whimbrel.
‘Astronomer Royal?’
‘Present,’ I said.
‘Comptroller for the Admiralty?’
‘Present,’ said Smew.
‘Surveyor of the Imperial Works?’
‘Present,’ said Mestolone.
‘Pellitory-of-the-Wall?’
‘Present,’ said Wryneck.
‘Principal Composer to the Imperial Court?’
‘Present,’ said Greylag.
‘His Exalted Highness, the Majestic Emperor of the Realms, Dominions, Colonies and Commonwealth of Greater Fallowfields?’
Shrike paused and waited.
Five minutes went slowly by and nothing happened. Then suddenly there was a huge fuss and kerfuffle outside the door.
‘Let us pass!’ demanded an imperious voice. ‘We are the Player King!’
The author would like to thank Simon Moody
and Mark Pappenheim for their patience.
A Note on the Author
Magnus Mills is the author of The Restraint of Beasts, which won the McKitterick Prize and was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread First Novel Award in 1998, and of five other novels, including The Scheme for Full Employment, and the story collection Screwtop Thompson. He lives in London.