The Purple Emperor

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THREE

The barge was sailing along Cheapside, rather more distant from the river bank now for fear of missiles from the anti-royalist element in the district. But so far as Pyrgus could see, there was no sign of any trouble. The shoreline was a waving mass of miniature House Iris flags and the cheering was so loud it actually echoed back from the massive warehouse buildings on the other side of the river.

Pyrgus wondered if Henry's idea would really work.

'Do you think my idea will really work?' Henry asked. It had all gone so fast and now, suddenly, he needed reassurance.

'Nothing else was going to,' said Mr Fogarty. 'And you have to admit it'll be interesting. Especially when Hairstreak discovers what's happening.'

'Do you think Lord Hairstreak's still alive?'

'I know it. Cynthia's people reported he was in his place at the Cathedral just before first light. Take more than a demon invasion to kill off that little slimeball.'

'What if he tries to cause trouble?' Henry asked.

'You leave Hairstreak to me,' Mr Fogarty growled.

Flapwazzle slid under the door in a perfumed cloud. 'Our ouklo's here,' he said.

'Best go then,' Mr Fogarty said. 'Wouldn't do to get there after the Royal Barge.' He glanced at Henry's britches. 'You'd better travel standing up.'

'Blue,' Comma said, 'why did the demons attack Uncle Hairstreak's house?'

Blue turned on him suspiciously. The trouble with Comma was you never knew what was going on inside his head. After the night he'd come to her bedroom, he'd not mentioned Pyrgus again to anyone. Even when they went to him with Henry's scheme there'd been no trouble. She'd expected him to rant and rave and make demands and threats, but all he did was shrug his agreement, as if their plans had nothing to do with him at all. He hadn't even seemed all that interested in Mr Fogarty's bribes of a new title and a trust fund to spend any way he liked. At the time, Blue had wondered if he'd been feeling guilty about the part he'd played in helping Hairstreak make a monster of their father. Whatever it was, he'd said nothing about Pyrgus's actions and there were times when she half wondered if he'd forgotten what he'd seen in Hairstreak's operating theatre. But now he was thinking about the day it happened. Was his question a preliminary to something much more sinister?

She decided to play it straight. 'I think Lord Hairstreak upset the Demon Prince,' she said.

Comma glanced through the expanded porthole. 'We're nearly at the Cathedral,' he told her.

The great riverside tower swung into view, marking the outer boundary of Westgate. They would reach the Cathedral Dock in twenty minutes, half an hour at most. Pyrgus sighed. He'd never felt so nervous in his life. Yet he knew he was doing the right thing. The more he thought about Henry's idea, the more it made sense. He should have thought of it himself, weeks ago, instead of… instead of…

He pushed the thought savagely from his mind and stood up. Best concentrate on getting ready.

The ermine cloak he had to wear throughout the ceremony was hanging in the cabin wardrobe. He took it out and placed it round his shoulders, staring at his reflection in the mirrored door.

He thought of his father, who had worn this same cloak at bis Coronation. He thought of his mother, who had been Faerie Queen for such a tragically short time. Then he turned and walked up on to the golden deck to let his loyal subjects see him as the barge drew slowly into the Cathedral Dock.