Helliconia Summer - Brian W. Aldiss [352]
‘I will much enjoy your drawing me a picture of how you manage that,’ the Ice Captain said.
They spiralled back to the ground, Billy clutching Abathy’s hand.
Downriver, the scenery changed. First one bank, then the other, became the scene of intensive cultivation. The jungles were left behind. They had entered the land of the loess. The Lordryardry Lady slipped into Ottassol almost before its passengers realised, unused as they were to cities which had withdrawn their existence underground.
As Div supervised the unloading of goods onto the quay, Ice Captain Muntras took Billy below decks and into a now empty cabin.
‘You’re feeling well?’
‘Excellent. It can’t last. Where’s Abathy?’
‘Listen to me, Billish, I want you to stay quiet here while I transact a little business in Ottassol. I must see an old friend or two. And I have an important letter to deliver. There are clever Johnnies here, not just country bumpkins. I don’t wish anyone to know of your existence, you understand?’
‘Why’s that?’
Muntras looked him in the eye. ‘Because I’m an old bumpkin myself and I believe your tale.’
Billy smiled with pleasure. ‘Thank you. You have more sense than SartoriIrvrash or the king.’
They shook hands.
The bulk of the Ice Captain seemed almost to fill the little cabin. He leaned forward confidentially. ‘Remember how those two treated you, and do as I say. You stay in this cabin. No one must know of your existence.’
‘While you go ashore and get drunk again. Where’s Abathy?’
A big hand came up in a cautionary gesture. ‘I’m getting old and I want no fuss. I will not get drunk. I will return as soon as possible. I want to get you safe to Lordryardry, where you will be well looked after, you and that magical timepiece of yours. There, you can tell me about the vessel that brought you here, and other inventions. But first I have some business to transact, and that letter to deliver.’
Billy became more anxious. ‘Krillio, where is Abathy?’
‘Don’t make yourself ill again. Abathy has gone. You know she was travelling only as far as Ottassol.’
‘She’s left without saying good-bye? Without a kiss?’
‘Div was jealous, so I hustled her away. I’m sorry. She sent you her love. She’s got a living to make, like everyone else.’
‘A living to make …’ Speech failed him.
Muntras took the opportunity to slip nimbly out of the cabin and lock the door from the outside. He pocketed the key, smiling as he did so.
‘I’ll be back soon,’ he said reassuringly as Billy started to hammer on the door. He climbed the companionway stairs, crossed the deck, and strolled down the gangplank. Across the wharf was a tunnel leading into the loess. A notice above it read LORDRYARDRY ICE TRADING CO. TRANSIT GOODS ONLY.
This was a modest wharf. The main Lordryardry wharf was half a mile farther downstream, where the seagoing ships tied up, and a grander affair entirely. But here few eyes pried, and security was good. Muntras walked down the tunnel and entered a checking office.
Two clerks, alarmed to see the owner arrive, stood up, hiding playing cards under ledgers. The other occupants of the office were Div and Abath.
‘Thank you, Div. Will you take these clerks away and let me have a moment alone with Abathy?’
In his sullen way, Div did as instructed. When the door had closed behind the three men, Muntras locked it and turned to the girl.
‘Sit down, my dear, if you like.’
‘What do you want? The journey’s over – at long last – and I ought to be on my way.’ She looked huffy and at the same time anxious. The sight of the locked door worried her. In a way she had of drawing down her mouth in displeasure, Muntras recognised her mother’s gesture.
‘Don’t be cheeky, young lady. You’ve behaved properly till now, and I’m pleased with you. In case you don’t realise it, Captain Krillio Muntras is a valuable ally for a young slip of a thing like you, old though I am. I’m pleased with you, and I intend to reward you for how amiable you were with me and Billish.’
She relaxed slightly.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just that you were making a – a bit of a mystery of