A Cruel Bird Came to the Nest and Looked - By Magnus Mills Page 0,10

court of Greater Fallowfields. There’s an important difference.’

‘Sorry,’ said Whimbrel. ‘I’ll try to bear it in mind.’

Wryneck gathered together the books and handed them to Smew. Meanwhile, I headed out through the door and down the steps, thankful that the meeting was over for another week. I hadn’t got very far, however, when Brambling caught up with me.

‘Can I have a word?’ he said.

Chapter 4

The counting house was tall and narrow and built from red brick. Brambling unlocked the front door and led me inside.

‘Here we are,’ he said. ‘Welcome to my domain.’

We were in a plainly decorated room with small windows and sparse furnishings. There was a marble floor, a desk and two chairs. In the corner stood an iron-bound treasure chest. A huge ledger lay on top of the desk. On the walls hung portraits of several previous emperors; but none, yet, of the latest incumbent.

‘Three words actually,’ said Brambling. ‘Fees, rents and disbursements.’

‘Do I owe some rent then?’ I enquired.

‘Oh no,’ he said. ‘Officers-of-state reside at the emperor’s expense.’

‘That’s what I thought.’

‘The reason I’ve invited you here is to discuss your stipend.’

‘Ah.’

‘I expect you’re curious to learn what it is, aren’t you?’

‘To tell you the truth I hadn’t really considered it.’

‘I’m surprised,’ remarked Brambling. ‘All the others have been here to claim theirs already.’

‘Even Whimbrel?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well, he never said anything to me about it.’

‘There’s no reason why he should, is there?’

‘No,’ I said, ‘I suppose not.’

‘Anyway, please take a seat and we’ll look it up.’

We sat down opposite one another at the desk and Brambling opened the ledger. It was evidently a weighty tome because at his first attempt to turn its pages it slammed shut again noisily. The sound reverberated all around the counting house. Only when I reached over and helped from my side of the desk was Brambling able to open the ledger properly and find the place he required. I could see a series of printed columns with handwritten entries beside them.

‘Now then,’ said Brambling, running his finger down the page. ‘Principal Composer to the Imperial Court. According to my records the office pays a stipend of sixpence.’

‘Very generous,’ I said.

From where I sat I could clearly see the entries for all the other officers-of-state, including Brambling himself. Each was to receive a stipend of sixpence, just the same as me. Brambling must have known this beforehand and hence there had been no real need for him to ‘look it up’. I didn’t mention this, though, as I had no wish to quash Brambling’s pretensions. In his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer he dealt with all fees, rents and disbursements, and it was his privilege to conduct matters in the way he thought appropriate.

Carefully, he closed the ledger. Next he opened a drawer on his side of the desk and from it produced a tin money box. This, apparently, was locked. Brambling then proceeded to fumble in his pockets until eventually he found the key. Lastly he opened the lid and took out a sixpence, which he placed on the desk before me.

‘Thanks,’ I said. ‘Do I need to sign for this?’

‘Of course not,’ replied Brambling. ‘Your office is one of trust.’

I took the sixpence and examined it casually.

‘Just one more question,’ I continued. ‘Is it sixpence a day or sixpence a week?’

At these words Brambling looked at me with complete astonishment. It was as if I had just queried a central tenet of his existence; or challenged the integrity of the chancellery; or maybe suggested that the counting house was built on shifting sands. For several long moments he stared at me silently across his desk. Then he stood up and walked around the room, glancing from time to time in my direction. Finally, he opened the door, went outside and peered in at me through the window.

After a while he came back.

‘Nobody’s ever asked me that before,’ he said. ‘I’ll have to find out.’

Brambling was still going through his ledger, page by page, in search of an answer, when I said goodbye and left him to it. I had decided to pay Greylag a surprise visit, so I strolled across the park with my sixpence in my pocket. It must have rained during the night because there were large puddles of water lying everywhere. I wondered vaguely how the weather affected Whimbrel’s nocturnal activities. After all, he could hardly study the skies when there were great rain clouds blocking his view. I remembered that prior to the cabinet meeting he’d mentioned