The UnTied Kingdom by Kate Johnson Page B

castle over a moat Eve wasn’t entirely sure had always been there. The guards at the gate saluted Harker and waved him straight in, and Eve had to admit it was sort of cool riding a horse into the Tower of London while armed guards saluted her. Even if they were missing the shiny uniforms and the big hats.
    ‘Hey, what happened to the Beefeaters?’ she asked.
    ‘The what?’ Harker said, and Eve sighed.
    He handed the horse over to a female sergeant, and it occurred to Eve that there were an awful lot of women around. They all wore the same uniform as the men, and they looked, as Harker had said on that rather distant and frightening day south of the river, as if they were prepared to face ‘combat situations’.
    ‘Is your whole army female?’ she asked.
    Harker gave her a pissy look. ‘I look female to you?’
    No, and half-an-hour on horseback with him had made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t.
    ‘It’s just, there are a lot of women around.’
    ‘Aye, well. Time was, we only conscripted men over eighteen. But then a load of them went and got shot, and we ran out of men to conscript.’
    ‘So you actually put women on the front line?’
    ‘If we didn’t, we’d have no front line.’ He held a door open for her. ‘After you.’
    The false courtesy didn’t impress Eve the way it had when he’d done it a few days ago. She stomped inside, then wished she hadn’t, because her ankle was still a little sore. Limping slightly, she followed him down a corridor lit only by the light coming in through small windows. It was enough to illuminate the peeling paint on the uneven walls. The stone stairs they reached echoed madly.
    ‘Um,’ she said. Harker sighed for about the dozenth time. ‘Well, it’s just that I’m a prisoner, right?’
    ‘Technically.’
    ‘Technically, meaning yes.’
    ‘All right, yes.’
    ‘So … well, are we leaving on this mission today?’
    ‘No. First thing tomorrow.’
    ‘Right. So where am I staying tonight?’ Eve asked, full of trepidation as they reached another dark corridor lined with incomprehensibly labelled doors. She was a prisoner in the Tower. Surely that sort of thing led to damp dungeons and rats?
    ‘With my lieutenant,’ Harker said. Hammering on a door and yelling, ‘Charlie,’ he leaned back against the wall, head back, looking tired.
    ‘Who’s Charlie?’ Eve ventured.
    ‘Lieutenant Riggs. My right hand,’ Harker said, again with that ghost of a smile. Eve’s gaze shot down to the stub of his little finger, but before she could ask what had happened to it, the door opened and the woman with the frizzy hair looked out. ‘Sir?’
    A woman. Thank goodness.
    ‘Charlie. This is Eve Carpenter. She’s coming with us tomorrow. Knows something about computers.’
    Charlie looked Eve up and down and didn’t seem too impressed with what she saw.
    Well, at least I’m on speaking terms with conditioner, honey , Eve thought, flashing a smile at the other woman.
    ‘Wheeler’ll have my head if I put her in the brig. Has Bly’s bed been reassigned?’
    Charlie shook her head, and Eve glanced at the crossed-out name on the door. Dead woman’s bed. Nice.
    ‘In that case, Eve’s your new roommate for tonight.’
    ‘Yessir,’ Charlie said, not looking particularly happy about it.
    ‘Leaving at oh-seven-hundred,’ Harker said, unlocking the handcuff bracelet from his wrist and locking it to Charlie’s. Eve rolled her eyes, and was ignored.
    ‘See you in the morning, sir,’ Charlie said, and then Harker was gone, and Eve was left chained to another total stranger.
    ‘If you snore,’ Charlie said, ‘I’ll have you shot.’
    ‘It’s nice to meet you, too,’ said Eve.

Chapter Eight
    Over the river, a faint mist danced, but Harker wasn’t in the mood to appreciate its beauty. He’d been up since the early hours, making sure everything was packed in the wagon – not a truck but a sodding wagon – and that C Company would run properly in his