John Schettler - Touchstone

Maeve’s pronouncementfell like a stone in the pool of silence that now filled the room. The ripples played over the expression of both Nordhausen and LeGrand, who looked at each other, and then back at her.

“Come, Robert. I think it’s time we leave.”

“Now, Maeve,” Robert began, but Maeve answered by getting up and striding to the door, obviously intent on vacating the premises at once, with or without her friend. Robert gaped at her as she went out the door, then turned briefly to LeGrand and stood up quickly to follow.

“I’m very sorry,” he tried to apologize.

“This is most irregular,” said LeGrand, a look of amazement on his face. “What about the discovery? I’ve made all the arrangements. And where will you sleep? Doesn’t that woman realize it’s a dangerous world out there?”

“Only too well, I suppose,” said Nordhausen. “Look, I must get after her, you understand. Please forgive me.” He extended an arm in a quick, apologetic gesture, and set off after Maeve, one hand straightening his wig as he went.

By the time he caught up with her, she was out through the courtyard and exiting the gate to the inn. The sun had climbed high during their conversation, and the mid-day heat was beginning to radiate from the dry landforms about them. A saving breeze was still blowing in off the ocean to the north, but it was going to be very uncomfortable out in the open sun. Maeve had already opened her parasol and was slowing her gait somewhat to let Robert catch up.

“Really,” he said, somewhat out of breath. “Was it necessary to make a scene like that?”

“It was.”

“But I don’t understand—the man was only trying to help us. He had quarters arranged, tea, and no doubt there would have been some breakfast in the bargain as well. He knows exactly where the discovery site is, and now we’ll just have to bungle about on our own because of your stubborn—”

“Leave it, Robert. Either you weren’t listening in there or you have a severe case of time lag. The man is dangerous, don’t you understand?” She kept walking, heading east, in the general direction of the town center. Robert was pulled along with her.

“Dangerous? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it? The man is an agent.”

“But he’s merely observing,” Robert explained. “He’s standing a watch on the milieu—”

“And executing instructions he receives by courier. It’s the same scenario Paul stumbled into at Castle Massiaf. You were just about to explain it to him, yes?”

“Well, of course!” Robert did not see the danger that was obviously so apparent to Maeve.

“You were going to tell him about the scroll, the hieroglyphics, everything. In fact, I’ll bet you couldn’t wait to translate the message Rasil was carrying. Didn’t you hear? They were trying to change the outcome of Hattin—by arranging the death of Reginald. I don’t know what Paul did when he was there but, whatever it was, it foiled their plan.”

“Well, you’re acting like he’s our enemy.”

“Robert…” Maeve stopped suddenly, turning to confront him. “Anyone who intends to alter the history we know is our enemy. Get that into your head! We’re here to find out if this stone you prize so highly is damaged or not. You know why, yes? Well, I should know why as well—but I don’t. The Meridian has been altered , and something that was once roosting happily in my head is gone. I wasn’t in a Nexus, like you were, when the transformation occurred, and I’ve lost something—the Rosetta stone, for one thing, and god only knows what else!” Her face reddened as she concluded, her eyes burning with controlled anger.

A look of recognition came over Robert’s face. His eyes softened, losing the frustration that was in them as he chased after her. “Very well,” he said at last. “I understand your concerns now. I can see that this is going to be very difficult—for all of us. Still, we might have learned something more from LeGrand, if you weren’t so headstrong.”

“I’ve learned quite enough,” said Maeve. “He’s an agent; probably involved in all sorts of mischief. He may be here to preserve Napoleon’s life from the assassins, or to tamper with the outcome of his battles—who knows? But I’ll tell you one thing: he’s a liar , and that makes him my enemy, no matter what his pleasantries and feigned hospitality might say to the contrary.”

“A liar? About what?”

“Weren’t you listening? He said Graves discovered Paul’s DVD in the memorial site. Now we both know that the site was tampered with, and the DVD was taken—possibly as an attempt against Kelly’s life. But Kelly’s not gone…” Her lips tightened as she struggled to complete her thought. “He’s still here, or at least I hope he is. He recovered when you and Paul determined to do something about the tampering, and published the backup DVD to the Internet. If that stands, then Graves must have found the DVD by some other means, and LeGrand is lying.”

“Well, he’s been here in Egypt for over a year, Maeve. The tampering just occurred. How would he know about it when he was stuck in Palestine with Napoleon’s army?”

“Oh, don’t be silly. Use your head, man! The tampering occurred in the year 2010, Robert. Remember, he would be privy to any transformation of the Meridian between our lifetime and his. He said it himself—it’s all history to him. He should have known that the site was tampered with, and the DVD was found by other means—yet he feigned ignorance of the whole matter.”

Nordhausen scratched his head. “Good heavens. Now I am confused.”

“Think of it this way,” Maeve explained, “the fact that Kelly remained substantial after the tampering means that something was done to preserve the DVD record—and it was found. LeGrand told us the story he thought we would believe. He’s a liar.”

“I see,” said Robert. “This is becoming more complicated than I imagined. This temporal logic is confounding. How do we know that the whole matter isn’t undone by some other operation—something that prevents the tampering with Kelly’s memorial site, just as we prevented Palma?”

“We don’t know,” said Maeve. “But the facts, as they stand now, reveal LeGrand to be… insincere, to say the least, and devious, to say more. I’ll tell you something else that you might have missed: LeGrand said the perfect time for an operation against the stone would be somewhere on the road between here and Cairo.”

“Well… That seems logical enough.”

“Oh, it would be,” Maeve said quickly. “Only the stone was not transported to Cairo by road. All that talk about the French commandeering the good riding stock was bogus. Do you realize how heavy that thing is? Really, Robert, you should have researched this mission if you were so damn set on it. They moved the stone by river. They barged it up the Nile to Cairo, and so LeGrand was just trying to put us off the scent with his clever little scenario about a roadside ambush.”

Nordhausen scratched his head, amazed that Maeve had been so perceptive. “Well,” he said at last. “I suppose I understand your hostility toward the man now.”

“Right,” Maeve agreed quickly. “We must act as though he were a potential contagion to the Meridian, Robert. He is not our friend. He was sent to intercept us—with foreknowledge of our exact arrival time and location. This Order he speaks of is aware of our operation here, as they are doubtless aware of our intention to prevent their tampering. Again—everything we do is history to them—at least the outcome of our actions. In that case, we become obstacles to their plans as well—Founders and Prime Movers all.”