Heart of Gold by Michael Pryor Page A

They've gone, didn't seem to want to linger around
here at all.'
    An oil lantern loomed out of the darkness. 'Mr
Fitzwilliam. I see you are here.'
    Aubrey stood. All his muscles were sore; he felt as if
he'd been beaten and wrung like dirty washing.
'Inspector Paul. Are you in charge here?'
    Inspector Paul bowed to Caroline. He was well
groomed and dry. 'I am Inspector Paul of the Lutetian
constabulary. And you are?'
    Aubrey waved a hand wearily. 'Miss Caroline Hepworth,
this is Inspector Paul. Inspector Paul, Miss Hepworth.'
    'She's with us,' George said.
    'Of course. But what are you doing here?' Inspector
Paul gestured at the last of the retreating Marchmainers.
'They are bad men. You should not be with them.'
    'The Marchmaine League? We weren't with them. We
were sightseeing with the Albion Friendship Society and
happened upon the Marchmainer parade.'
    'They were going to the Town Hall,' Inspector Paul
said. 'They were very angry. Very dangerous.'
    'They didn't look angry. Determined, if anything.
Quite disciplined, too.'
    'Then why did they attack the police?'
    'What?' George said. 'It looked to me as if the police
attacked them.'
    'Magic,' Aubrey said. 'It was magically inspired anger,
setting both groups against each other.'
    'You know magic?' Inspector Paul said. He frowned.
    'A little.'
    Inspector Paul pursed his lips. 'I see.'
    Aubrey watched Inspector Paul's attitude change in
front of his eyes. Concern was replaced with mistrust, and
Aubrey stifled a sigh. It was something he'd seen before.
Regular law enforcement officers were almost automatically
wary of magic and magical investigation. This was
why Tallis, head of Albion Special Services, and Craddock,
the head of the Magisterium, had a strained relationship.
    'Then who would cast such a spell?'
    'Good question.' Aubrey had suspicions, but he wanted
to examine them for himself before making them public.
    Inspector Paul fixed Aubrey with his gaze, as if imagining
him behind bars. 'Do not concern yourself with
such matters. You are a guest in our city.'
    He stalked off.
    'Come on, old man,' George said, taking Aubrey's
shoulders. 'We should go.'
    'Caroline? We'll walk you home. It's on our way.'
    'How do you know that?'
    Aubrey opened his mouth and hoped that a plausible
answer would come out, but Caroline waved it away. 'Oh,
never mind.'
    She led the way along the river, away from the police
who were assembling and trying to reinstate some order
in their ranks.
    Aubrey dragged his weary, wet body after his friends.
A ragged headache gnawed at his skull. He felt flat and
drawn, but he tried to marshal his thoughts.
    Setting the authorities against the Marchmainers could
ignite a political crisis for Gallia. It was exactly the sort of
thing his father had asked him to watch out for. He'd
now seen it with his own eyes and could report that the
tension was real, that the Marchmaine Independence
League was an active force.
    But who was using such potent magic to pit the
Marchmainers against the authorities? What could they
hope to gain?
    Aubrey had answers, but he hoped he wasn't correct –
for they all pointed toward war.

Five
    T HE FOLLOWING MORNING , A UBREY AND G EORGE decided to take breakfast at one of the open-air
cafés in their neighbourhood. Brightly chequered tablecloths
and bustling, white-aproned waiters made the
place inviting. Aubrey automatically sat so that he could
study passers-by.
    George fretted over his pastries, playing with the pot of
strawberry jam. 'You should have kept up your Gallian,'
Aubrey said to him. He'd buttered a roll but when he
lifted it to his mouth, he couldn't face it. He sipped his
coffee, instead, and rubbed eyes that were gritty from a
fitful sleep. 'Then you'd be able to read the newspapers.'
    'Not sure I'm in the mood for light diversion,' George
said. 'Last night's events have me on edge, rather.'
    'You're not the only one.' Aubrey gestured at the
quartet of police officers on the opposite side of the street
and winced