Sometimes Charlotte has to put up with more than she should. I’ll make it up to her. That okay with you?’ Jamie let the silence lengthen and he saw something unexpected in Steele’s eyes, before the banker blinked and it was gone. ‘You have to understand that this has taken a long time and a great deal of hard work to put together,’ Steele continued, grinning ruefully. ‘For a man with my – let’s face it – my obsession, this could be a defining moment. I can’t do it without you, Jamie. Don’t make any rash decisions. Please.’
‘I didn’t mention anything about the codex.’ Jamie turned the computer so Steele could see the screen. ‘As far as Charlotte is concerned, we were doing some research on old Nazis.’
The banker’s eyebrows rose as he recognized the figure in the dark uniform. ‘Heydrich, eh? Well, next time you need a helping hand with your research let me know. Maybe I was too hasty about Charlotte? If there’s going to be a lot of this kind of technical stuff perhaps there’s a place for her on the team. Gault knows his stuff, but her German is better than his. I’ll think about it. The main thing is did you find anything?’ He waved a hand at the computer.
‘Only that Heydrich was kept busy locking people up in Dachau, rounding up Jews in Austria and blackening the name of his rivals at the time Wulf Ziegler hints he was involved in the Excalibur affair. Not that thatnecessarily means anything. He was Hitler’s handyman. If it needed doing Heydrich would get it done.’
Adam Steele produced an almost beatific smile. ‘That wasn’t all he was good at.’ Jamie waited expectantly. ‘He was also a very expert swordsman, who could have taken both of us on and we wouldn’t have got a touch.’ He grinned at the younger man’s confusion. ‘If any man in Nazi Germany knew his swords, it was Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich.’
‘You rang, boss?’ Gault appeared in the doorway.
‘Mr Saintclair needs some help with his research.’
Gault raised an eyebrow and Jamie smiled and threw him a book from the table. ‘You’ve got until dinner tonight to learn everything there is to know about King Arthur and Excalibur. I’ll be taking questions after pudding.’
IX
‘So what do we have?’
Casually dressed in a pink open-necked shirt and mustard-coloured corduroy trousers, Adam Steele sat back in his chair at the head of the long oak table after his butler had cleared away the dishes and decanted another bottle of wine. Charlotte cast a nervous glance into the dining room a few minutes later and asked if they needed anything else. She looked surprised when Steele gestured to her to take a seat. Gault rose and checked the door.
‘All clear, boss.’
‘This is all a bit cloak and dagger, isn’t it?’ Jamie laughed.
Steele sipped his wine. ‘When it’s your million quid, you can do it your way, Jamie, but as long as it’s my hard-earned cash we do it mine, and that means tight security. Christ knows what would happen if another collector got wind of this, or, God help us, the bloodynewspapers. No, we keep it within the family for now. Charlotte?’ He produced a wry smile. ‘I apologize for my behaviour earlier. You shouldn’t have to put up with that and I’ll make it up to you. You have a little catching-up to do, so you might want to get out your notebook.’
Charlotte exchanged glances with Jamie and he nodded.
‘So,’ Steele said. ‘What do we have so far?’
Jamie shrugged. ‘Between us Gault and I have checked every major source we could find for the Arthur legend and every reference to Excalibur in your books or on the Internet, and nothing changes my opinion that you’re wasting your money. The earliest mentions of an Arthur are in a Welsh poem, The Gododdin, about a group of British warriors riding to the aid of a southern king facing annihilation by the Saxons. The Gododdin are all but wiped out, but when he’s listing the heroes who made the trip,
‘I didn’t mention anything about the codex.’ Jamie turned the computer so Steele could see the screen. ‘As far as Charlotte is concerned, we were doing some research on old Nazis.’
The banker’s eyebrows rose as he recognized the figure in the dark uniform. ‘Heydrich, eh? Well, next time you need a helping hand with your research let me know. Maybe I was too hasty about Charlotte? If there’s going to be a lot of this kind of technical stuff perhaps there’s a place for her on the team. Gault knows his stuff, but her German is better than his. I’ll think about it. The main thing is did you find anything?’ He waved a hand at the computer.
‘Only that Heydrich was kept busy locking people up in Dachau, rounding up Jews in Austria and blackening the name of his rivals at the time Wulf Ziegler hints he was involved in the Excalibur affair. Not that thatnecessarily means anything. He was Hitler’s handyman. If it needed doing Heydrich would get it done.’
Adam Steele produced an almost beatific smile. ‘That wasn’t all he was good at.’ Jamie waited expectantly. ‘He was also a very expert swordsman, who could have taken both of us on and we wouldn’t have got a touch.’ He grinned at the younger man’s confusion. ‘If any man in Nazi Germany knew his swords, it was Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich.’
‘You rang, boss?’ Gault appeared in the doorway.
‘Mr Saintclair needs some help with his research.’
Gault raised an eyebrow and Jamie smiled and threw him a book from the table. ‘You’ve got until dinner tonight to learn everything there is to know about King Arthur and Excalibur. I’ll be taking questions after pudding.’
IX
‘So what do we have?’
Casually dressed in a pink open-necked shirt and mustard-coloured corduroy trousers, Adam Steele sat back in his chair at the head of the long oak table after his butler had cleared away the dishes and decanted another bottle of wine. Charlotte cast a nervous glance into the dining room a few minutes later and asked if they needed anything else. She looked surprised when Steele gestured to her to take a seat. Gault rose and checked the door.
‘All clear, boss.’
‘This is all a bit cloak and dagger, isn’t it?’ Jamie laughed.
Steele sipped his wine. ‘When it’s your million quid, you can do it your way, Jamie, but as long as it’s my hard-earned cash we do it mine, and that means tight security. Christ knows what would happen if another collector got wind of this, or, God help us, the bloodynewspapers. No, we keep it within the family for now. Charlotte?’ He produced a wry smile. ‘I apologize for my behaviour earlier. You shouldn’t have to put up with that and I’ll make it up to you. You have a little catching-up to do, so you might want to get out your notebook.’
Charlotte exchanged glances with Jamie and he nodded.
‘So,’ Steele said. ‘What do we have so far?’
Jamie shrugged. ‘Between us Gault and I have checked every major source we could find for the Arthur legend and every reference to Excalibur in your books or on the Internet, and nothing changes my opinion that you’re wasting your money. The earliest mentions of an Arthur are in a Welsh poem, The Gododdin, about a group of British warriors riding to the aid of a southern king facing annihilation by the Saxons. The Gododdin are all but wiped out, but when he’s listing the heroes who made the trip,
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