Lessons in Solving the Wrong Problem - Charlie Cochrane Page 0,7
to dinner? Or stay a few days.” Perhaps his lordship had warmed to the two dons and wished to make this more of a social visit than merely a business one. Or maybe he simply wanted to gaze more upon the facsimile of Helena Stewart’s face. “Yes, a few days at the house might be best, if you could be spared from St Bride’s. It would be more efficient than meeting elsewhere, given that the house and estate are germane to the mystery. Now, Applecross, how has the morning gone?”
The conversation turned to the dig and stayed there, Lord Henry demonstrating considerable knowledge of the subject and being particularly interested in the two incomplete mosaic representations of gladiators which had been recently lifted. When they’d all finished eating, his lordship rose, made his farewells and went in search of Kane, whom, he said, would be his governess for the rest of the afternoon.
“He’s off to do his scraping for the day,” Applecross observed. “He and Kane get on well, despite the contrast in backgrounds. We could have worse landowners to deal with.”
“You could, indeed,” Jonty said. “Now, is there any chance of seeing your one and a half gladiators before we go?”
Applecross, with an unreadable grin, jerked his thumb in the direction of the entrance. “We can see that right now. They’re still in our finds tent, being cleaned and preserved. Lord Henry would like to have the remains of the mosaic in his house, and we’d be hard pushed to argue against that, given his hospitality. He should get the pick of what turns up and he’s got the good sense not to want one of the intact floors lifted.”
The pieces from the winter dining room proved to be exquisite, with tesserae smaller, finer and more richly coloured than those in the corridor had been. But what struck Orlando so profoundly—and had perhaps already struck Applecross, given the earlier grin—was the resemblance the more complete figure bore to Jonty. Put the man in a tunic and give him a trident and you’d have said he was the model for the piece.
“Well, how extraordinary.” The man concerned had donned his spectacles for a closer inspection. “Would this man have been of Roman origin or a local? I know the Stewarts go back a long way and turn up everywhere but this is a surprise.”
“He could have been a native Briton,” Applecross said, “but—as with so much we find here—we will never know for certain.”
The time seemed right to make their leave. As the three men headed in the general direction of the road, Jonty asked, “Applecross, I have to ask. When you first invited us to visit these excavations, was it all off your own bat, or did his lordship happen to mention that he’d like to meet us?”
“I can’t deny that the original suggestion came from him.” Applecross appeared unperturbed at being caught out. “He wanted to consult you and felt it would be better to do so in person, rather than writing to you at St Bride’s. If I’d felt I was being imposed upon or asked to do something I didn’t want to, I’d have found a way to decline. I didn’t need to, though. After Dr Panesar both vouched for your character and effected an introduction, I’d have invited you here irrespective.”
The answer seemed heartfelt.
“Of course,” Applecross continued, “it also seemed the perfect opportunity of getting you to do some work for me. The hypocaust calculations.”
“I’ll address those as soon as is convenient,” Orlando promised. He didn’t mention that would likely be that very evening, as he was itching to develop some ideas he’d already had and the other problem he was currently working on was proving a hard nut to crack. Best to let his brain work on that quietly in the background while he put his conscious efforts into connecting with the thinking processes of the average Roman engineer.
It would also keep at bay his curiosity concerning what Lord Henry Byrd could possibly want to consult them about.
Chapter Two
The invitation from Lord Henry arrived two days later, asking if they’d stay for a couple of nights the weekend after next. Their acceptance followed hard on its heels, once they’d cleared with Dr Peters that they could rearrange their scant commitments for the Friday afternoon. Jonty professed himself delighted that they’d have a new puzzle to get stuck into. The last mystery hadn’t proved to be quite as mysterious as they hoped, the best aspect