Aztec Century Read Free Page A

cigarettes and went over to him.
    ‘Would you like one?’ I asked.
    He took the pack, withdrew a cigarette and sniffed it, inspecting the tiny gold crowns stamped around the filter.
    ‘Got a light, have you?’
    I lit the cigarette for him.
    ‘Do you know what’s happening?’ I asked.
    He squinted at me. ‘Planning on taking a trip, are you?’
    ‘A ship’s on its way. A ship from Russia.’
    It seemed to me quite unfair that we had told him nothing. He might want to come with us, and even if he didn’t, we could hardly leave him without an explanation.
    ‘Coming tonight, is it?’
    ‘We think so. There’s room for you if you want to join us.’
    He drew heavily on his cigarette, exhaling through his nostrils.
    ‘Is there, now?’
    I felt uncomfortable. ‘I only heard about it myself this morning. Probably no one’s bothered to tell you because they assume you want to stay here.’
    ‘Being Welsh, as I am, no doubt.’
    I couldn’t tell whether he was being sarcastic.
    ‘I mean it,’ I said. ‘We all appreciate the help you’ve given us here. If you come, I’ll make sure you’re looked after when we get to Russia.’
    ‘Very generous of you,’ he said drily. ‘Couldn’t go without talking it over with my mam, though, could I?’
    I never knew when he was joking. He claimed that his mother lived alone in Trefil, a village to the north of Tredegar, and that he had stayed behind to look after her. We had never been able to confirm this. He came and went as he pleased.
    ‘Bring her with you if you want to,’ I said.
    He looked beyond me at the others. I couldn’t see his eyes under the shadow of his brow.
    ‘I’ll think about it,’ he said, then turned and went back into the house.
    Alex had volunteered to take first watch. I stood with him on the balcony.
    ‘I’ve told Bevan what’s happening,’ I said.
    ‘Oh? Do you think that was entirely wise?’
    ‘It can’t make any difference now, can it? Besides, think of how much we owe him. I’ve offered him a place on the ship if he wants it.’
    He said nothing to this. I knew he and Bevan had never liked one another, but the Welshman had done as much as Alex toensure our continued survival. I doubted he would want to leave his homeland for an uncertain future in Russia.
    There was a draggy pain in the small of my back, and when Alex suggested we steal off to our bedroom for half an hour, for once I pleaded tiredness. He was ten years older than I, and we had met at Henley when I was eighteen. At first my father had resisted our involvement because Alex was a divorcé, with a reputation as a womanizer. I had found him irresistible from the start, and his appetite for me remained as strong as ever.
    ‘Besides,’ I said, seeing his disappointment, ‘we can’t leave the fort unguarded.’
    Another pinpoint of light was crossing the sky, winking as it went. The night was utterly still and silent, and I felt that we were naked under the gaze of the heavens. At that moment a terrible sense of foreboding filled me, though I couldn’t explain why.
    ‘Have you got my cigarettes?’ Alex said.
    It was only then I realized that Bevan had taken the whole pack.
    It was Alex who shook me awake. Groggy, I sat up and saw the first blue hints of dawn through the window.
    ‘Is it here?’ I asked.
    ‘Not yet. But I’d be grateful if you took over the watch.’
    ‘Have you been up all night?’
    He shrugged. ‘I thought I’d let everyone get plenty of rest. It could be a long day today.’
    ‘Into bed immediately,’ I ordered him.
    I dressed and went down to the balcony. The dawn chorus had started, though the valley still lay in darkness. Everyone else apart from Victoria was asleep on sofas and armchairs in the drawing room beyond.
    Perhaps the Russian craft had been delayed or even shot down. According to Alex, it would most likely follow a northerly route to avoid Aztec airspace in mainland Europe and England, coming down over the Irish Sea and