Martha in the Mirror Read online

  ‘Did she insult you?’ Martha asked quietly.

  Gonfer nodded. He wiped his eyes. ‘I hated her. Really hated her. She was only, what – about ten or eleven? But she could be so nasty. Evil. No,’ he said at once, correcting himself. ‘Not evil, that’s too harsh. But she was unpleasant and she enjoyed upsetting people.’

  ‘Where did they come from, these girls?’

  ‘Oh, now that’s a good question,’ the Doctor said. ‘Excellent question, that. Wish I’d thought of it. Actually, I did,’ he remembered.

  ‘They were always here,’ said Gonfer. ‘Born here. Their mother worked in the castle. Not sure exactly what she did. It was well before I arrived.’

  ‘And their father?’ the Doctor asked.

  ‘Mother died soon after the twins were born. Father was a guard with the Anthium Heavy Infantry, I think. Well, twelve years ago – you can guess.’

  ‘But the war was over by then, wasn’t it? Or at least, they’d stopped fighting over this place.’

  The Doctor glanced at Martha. ‘Tell us anyway.’

  ‘He was posted to the Ursuline Fringes. Killed at Modolfin in the reactor accident, like all the others.’

  ‘And the girls stayed here, Janna and Tylda?’ Martha said. ‘They just got left behind?’

  ‘I think officially they were left in the care of the Adjutant of Extremis. But he couldn’t care less about them. Or anything else, come to that.’

  ‘What happened to him?’ Martha asked.

  Gonfer shook his head. ‘He’s still here. Well, he isn’t because he went off in a huff when Defron set up the treaty negotiations and didn’t involve him, thank goodness. Said he’d got six months leave owing and he was taking it. Probably cruising round Hamthis drunk out of his mind on booster tabs.’

  ‘And what,’ the Doctor asked quietly, ‘happened to Tylda?’

  Gonfer leaned back against the wall, staring past the Doctor and Martha. ‘She’d annoy the guards, the kitchen staff, anyone. They got so riled they’d chase her off, and she’d run away laughing. Into the garden. She knew no one would dare to follow her there.’

  Martha felt suddenly cold. ‘You said the garden was a minefield.’

  ‘Not all of it.’ Gonfer pointed to the long swathes of beautifully cut grass. ‘The lawns are cut with mechomowers which won’t trigger the mines because they aren’t organic. They’ve been adapted to prune the hedges and other stuff. But the girls, they knew the safe ways through the garden.’

  ‘Still do,’ the Doctor said. ‘Janna ran off into the garden after I spoke to her. Just along there.’ He pointed. ‘Good job I didn’t follow.’

  Gonfer nodded. ‘Most of the mines have been cleared now, under the auspices of the GA. The paths are all clear now, or so they tell us. But I’m not convinced. When you’ve seen what those things can do… Anyway, they reckon a death trap wouldn’t be too good for the tourists they hope will come.’

  ‘Probably not,’ the Doctor agreed.

  ‘But it was very different a year ago’ said Gonfer. ‘I think the girls learned where was safe from the gardeners. They keep themselves to themselves, and they never go near the lawns. But some of the jobs need real people to do them still. Maybe they have maps of where the mines are or something, I don’t know.’ He paused, biting his lower lip before going on with his story. ‘Tylda upset one of the kitchen boys. Really upset him. He was shouting and screaming at her. I’ll never forget it. She ran away…’

  ‘And of course she ran away into the garden,’ the Doctor said.

  Gonfer turned, unable to look down into the gardens as he spoke. ‘She must have strayed from the safe path across the lawn. The explosion was heard right through the castle. It blew out the windows in the East Wing below us.’

  ‘So Janna’s on her own, poor thing,’ the Doctor said quietly.

  ‘Oh no,’ Gonfer told him. ‘She’s changed. She doesn’t help now. She hides in the shadows and creeps round the castle like she’s a ghost. She steals food from the kitchens, though of course they don’t mind. They feel sorry for her – like we all do.’

  ‘Sounds like she’s on her own to me,’ Martha said.

  ‘She still has Tylda with her,’ Gonfer said. ‘It’s like they’ve fused together. If you talk to her, you never know which of the twins you’re with. She might be quiet and polite and helpful. The next moment she’s raging and angry and insulting. It’s like her dead sister is somehow inside her body, with her.’

  The Doctor tapped his fingers on the top of the wall. ‘Result of the trauma. She’s become a sort of introvert, who can’t let go. Twins can be bound very tightly together.’

  ‘One person, but two aspects?’ Martha said.

  ‘Sometimes angelic – like when she spoke to me. Sometimes mischievous.’

  ‘Like when she tried to lead you into the minefield,’ Martha said.

  ‘I wouldn’t say it’s all safe,’ Gonfer told them. ‘But stick to the paths and they say you’ll be OK. And Janna knows the safe routes better than anyone. She’s mischievous not murderous. I think.’

  ‘Well,’ the Doctor said, ‘that’s comforting to know.’

  Plates of cold meat and bowls of salad had been laid out on the main table in the Great Hall. But Professor >Thorodin ignored it. He was standing in front of the Mortal Mirror when Lady Casaubon arrived.

  Hearing her footsteps on the stone floor, Thorodin turned and walked swiftly to collect a pile of books and papers he had left on a side table.

  ‘You are alone, Professor?’ Lady Casaubon asked in surprise.

  ‘Evidently.’

  ‘I thought I heard voices.’

  ‘Just me,’ the Professor confessed. ‘I was making some notes. I read them aloud as I write sometimes. When I’m alone.’

  ‘Forgive me for disturbing you,’ Lady Casaubon said. ‘The others will be here shortly if you wish to join us for lunch. Defron is clarifying a point of order with Chekz. I’m afraid it went over my head rather. But join us, please. You will be very welcome.’

  Thorodin picked up his books and papers. ‘Thank you, My Lady. I should put these away.’

  ‘I hope the Doctor and Martha will join us too,’ Lady Casaubon added as she walked up to gaze into the large mirror at the end of the room. ‘It is so very fine,’ she said quietly. ‘And so unusually generous for General Orlo to make such a gift.’

  ‘General Orlo is an unusual individual,’ Thorodin said. ‘Who are the Doctor and Martha?’ he went on. ‘I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.’

  Lady Casaubon wrinkled her nose and raised her eyebrows, examining her reflection in the looking glass. ‘GA observers. They seem harmless enough, if a little…’ She shrugged, unsure what the word was. Thorodin was standing too far to the side of the room for her to see him in the mirror, so she turned. ‘You will join us?’

  ‘I’d be glad to.’ Thorodin had his books and papers balanced on his right forearm, steadying them with his left hand. ‘I’ll see you soon.’

  As he left, Lady Casaubon turned back to her reflection. So many lines and wrinkles, she thought. She didn’t resent them – experience and wisdom came with a price. She could still see the young woman she had once been – the young woman she still felt she was, really – in her reflected image. But could anyone else? She smiled sadly, and her reflection smiled back at her.

  Gonfer led the way down the steps from the battlements into the courtyard. They were steep and, despite the huge lights shining on the gardens outside the walls, they were soon in shadow. Martha carefully watched where she was putting her feet. She didn’t fancy tumbling down the aged steps, knocking the Doctor and Gonfer flying.

  ‘Why make such beautiful gardens a death trap?’ she wondered aloud. It seemed such a shame that the gardens were there but couldn’t be enjoyed.

  ‘I think it’s the other way round,’ the Doctor called back over his shoulder. ‘This was a fortress, remember. They mined the area outside the walls in case anything got through t
he force bubble thing.’

  ‘Weaker at the edges,’ Martha remembered.

  ‘That’s right. If you have to look out over a deadly minefield death trap area, well – no reason not to make it look pretty.’

  ‘I suppose.’ Martha wasn’t convinced that made it any better.

  ‘And it’d confuse the hell out of the enemy. They might even get lost in the maze.’

  By the time Martha reached the bottom of the steps, the Doctor and Gonfer were already striding out across the courtyard, deep in conversation. Or, at least, deep in the Doctor monologuing and Gonfer looking confused.

  Martha sighed and set off quickly after them. Then she stopped, and turned. She’d felt a prickling at the back of her neck like someone was watching her. Sure enough, there was a figure standing in the shadows beside the base of the steps. A girl.

  ‘You Martha?’ the girl asked.

  ‘That’s right,’ Martha said.

  ‘You don’t want to listen to Gonfer,’ the girl said. ‘He’s a peasant.’

  ‘Really?’

  The girl shrugged. ‘I don’t like him. He’s stupid.’

  Martha nodded. ‘He was telling me about you and your sister,’ she said.

  The girl’s eyes narrowed. ‘What did he say? It’s all lies.’ Her face was blank, like a mask. Like she was suppressing all feeling and thought and emotion.

  ‘Janna and Tylda,’ Martha said, watching the girl’s expression. It didn’t change. ‘Which one are you?’

  On the other side of the courtyard the Doctor and Gonfer paused at the door and glanced back, looking to see where Martha had got to.

  Neither of them noticed the cowled figure that stood nearby, watching them silently from the shadows.

  In the reflection of the Great Hall, Lady Casaubon could see the food prepared for lunch. She turned, deciding which of the meats to start with. Diplomacy might be a dreadful bore, but at least one was well fed.

  Behind her, Lady Casaubon’s reflection had not turned. It watched the elderly woman surveying the food. Its expression had changed from a sad smile to a cruel sneer. It reached out a wrinkled hand, pushed it through the mirror. The glass rippled round the fingers, the wrist, the elbow as the reflection reached out of the looking glass. The clawed fingers slowly edged towards Lady Casaubon’s shoulder.

  The reflection stepped forward. A foot broke the surface of the mirror. A wrinkled face pushed through, as if surfacing through water. The hand descended towards the old woman’s unsuspecting shoulder.

  ‘Lady Casaubon?’ The shout came from outside the Great Hall. ‘My Lady – are you there?’

  Lady Casaubon sighed and walked quickly towards the door. ‘I’m here, Stellman,’ she replied. ‘I am more than ready for lunch.’

  Stellman appeared in the doorway. ‘I’m sorry, My Lady. I didn’t see you leave.’ The concern faded from his face. ‘If I had, I would have left myself. Defron is such a pedant. And as for Orlo…’

  They smiled at each other. A private moment of amusement and honesty in the midst of the tact and diplomacy.

  And the old lady in the mirror cursed silently as she stepped away from the reflection and back into the shadows of the world behind the mirror.

  Lunch was a surprisingly informal event. Gonfer led the Doctor and Martha back to the Great Hall.

  ‘See you later,’ Martha said.

  The Doctor leaned close to Gonfer and whispered: ‘And if it’s just us, you can talk. Even in costume. We won’t tell. Scout’s honour.’

  The slight figure of Defron hurried over to them and enthused about the food. ‘Though I’d avoid the Zerugian water truffles,’ he said in a low voice. ‘They’re only here because we know that General Orlo likes them.’

  ‘Not good?’ Martha said.

  Defron shook his head. ‘They’re the things that look like fetid pond weed. Well, actually, from talking to the chef, I’ve discovered that they are fetid pond weed.’

  ‘Definitely trying that,’ the Doctor decided, grabbing a clean plate and napkin from the end of the table.

  ‘Please tell me he’s not serious,’ Defron said to Martha.

  ‘Not usually,’ she assured him. ‘But this time, who knows?’

  She joined the Doctor in time to see him fishing what did indeed look – and smell – like fetid pond weed from a large bowl with a pair of tongs. It was straggly, green and mushy.

  ‘I’m hoping it’s like spinach,’ he said, not seeming to realise that everyone else had stopped to watch him.

  Lady Casaubon was shaking her head at Martha in an attempted warning. Martha shook her head back, meaning ‘He won’t be told.’ Stellman watched with a resigned expression on his face. Defron had his hand over his mouth. Chekz and Orlo stood on the opposite side of the table watching with interest.

  The Doctor lifted a long strand of gooey green weed with his fingers and dangled it high above his mouth. ‘Well, here goes.’ He hesitated. ‘Although, now I come to think about it, I don’t really like spinach.’ He sighed. ‘Oh well.’ And dropped the green stuff into his mouth.

  Almost at once he doubled up. ‘Oh,’ he managed to say through a mouthful of weed. ‘Oh cripes. Crikey O’Reilly. Gordon Bennett. Uncle Tom Cobley and all.’

  He straightened up and shook his head violently, coughing.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Martha wasn’t sure if he was choking.

  ‘Oh, but that is good,’ the Doctor announced. ‘Really good. You should try it Martha. What’s that sort of spicy aftertaste?’

  ‘The seed pods emit a mild acid when crushed,’ Orlo told him.

  ‘That’s brilliant. Really brings out the flavour, doesn’t it?’ He started to ladle more of the mushy green weed onto his plate. ‘You could put this in sandwiches, make soup, have it with chips. Oh yes. Can I get you some, Martha?’

  ‘I think I’ll pass, thanks. There’s cheese and stuff over there.’

  ‘Your loss,’ the Doctor said indistinctly through another mouthful.

  Martha kept to food she recognised. She was helping herself to a very safe-looking bread roll when Stellman came up to her.

  ‘So how are things at the GA?’

  ‘Oh, you know,’ Martha said. ‘Same as ever.’

  ‘That bad?’ Stellman asked, apparently in all seriousness.

  Martha smiled through a bite of roll, just in case he was joking. She wasn’t sure she’d seen the man smile. Maybe his face didn’t do that. ‘How are the negotiations going?’ she asked. Adding a quick ‘Sorry’ as breadcrumbs sprayed across Stellman’s suit.

  He brushed them off without comment. ‘Same as ever,’ he said. And this time Martha was sure she saw a slight twitch in one eye. Perhaps he was joking after all.

  On the other side of the table, General Orlo had engaged the Doctor in animated conversation. Martha wasn’t sure what it was about, but from the few words she caught, it seemed likely it was a discussion about the merits of the pond weed truffle stuff. She was better off talking to Stellman, she decided.

  ‘It’s an acquired taste,’ a voice said.

  Martha turned to find that First Secretary Chekz had joined them. ‘Don’t think I’ll be acquiring it,’ she told him. ‘Sorry.’

  The huge creature towered over Martha, but somehow he managed not to seem intimidating. Not like Orlo. ‘There really is no obligation,’ he said kindly. ‘I think your friend is being polite.’

  ‘You can take diplomacy too far,’ Stellman said.

  Chekz’s head bobbed up and down and he made a rhythmic growling sound that Martha took to be laughter. ‘I myself have never much taken to water truffles,’ he said. ‘But like the Doctor, I have found myself in situations where one must pretend.’ He turned to Stellman. ‘As you say, diplomacy. Tell me, do you think Lady Casaubon would back down on item five if I were to back down on the restitution clause?’

  ‘I think you might find her sympathetic to such a suggestion,’ Stellman said. ‘Provided you made it clear you were also willing t
o reconsider the question of the settlers on the Gammantrilon Plateau.’

  Chekz nodded. ‘That may be possible. Perhaps I will suggest it now. While my colleague the good General is distracted.’

  ‘You don’t think he’d go for it?’ Martha asked, though she didn’t know what they were talking about.

  ‘General Orlo gives way on nothing,’ Chekz said. ‘He sees all compromise as surrender.’

  ‘So why is he here?’

  It was Stellman who answered. ‘Perhaps he thinks it is better that both sides surrender than risk the other side winning.’

  ‘Or perhaps,’ Chekz said, ‘he is old and tired. I know I am. Now, please excuse me.’ He lumbered across to where Lady Casaubon was talking quietly to Defron. Despite being a huge upright crocodile creature, Martha thought, he did indeed look frail. She wondered how long the Zerugian life span was, and turned to ask Stellman.

  But before their conversation could progress, another man came into the room. He was tall and thin, walking with a slight stoop. His hair was grey and thinning badly on the top. He walked carefully and slowly round the edge of the room, as if keen to keep well away from the food.

  ‘Looks like he’s tried the water truffles,’ Martha said quietly to Stellman.

  ‘Professor Thorodin always looks like that,’ Stellman told her.

  ‘The mirror man?’

  ‘Oh he’s an expert in all manner of antiquities. Or so he keeps telling us.’ Stellman called across: ‘Professor, come and meet Miss Mouse.’

  ‘Martha,’ she corrected him quickly. She held out her hand to the Professor, but the man ignored it.

  ‘I can’t stop,’ Thorodin said in an agitated and impatient tone. ‘I had some questions about the replica mirror for General Orlo but he seems…’

  He broke off to glance at Orlo who was still talking with the Doctor. At that moment the two of them burst into laughter.

  ‘Oh that’s good,’ the Doctor was saying loudly. ‘Very good. You ever heard of a guy called Noel Coward? Very funny, Noel.’