3. A Second Chance (5 page)

‘But …’

‘Yes, Mr Markham?’

He lowered his voice. ‘Some of us …’

‘Yes?’

‘It’s not just hands and face.’

‘Sorry, I don’t understand.’

‘You know. Some of us … all over.’

‘No. Still not with you. Some of us – what – all over?’

‘You know …’

‘You don’t mean …?’

He nodded miserably. ‘It was a dare.’

‘Oh my God,’ I said, delighted. ‘You’re going to have a hell of a rash. Hope you’re not allergic to dairy.’

‘You’re an evil woman.’

‘And shortly to be a rich, evil woman. Pay up or develop something horrible.
And
you’ll still have to pay Dr Bairstow. At least I’m trying to help. How can you be so ungrateful?’

He reached for his wallet.

‘I’m paying now, but one day I’ll have my revenge.’

I looked at the cash. ‘A hundred pounds?’

‘Yeah, well, you know … Don’t want to boast, but it’s going to take a lot more than four ounces … Where are you going?’

‘Dining with Professor Penrose. Although I may have lost my appetite.’

I was sad when Professor Penrose finally left us. We sat together for a while, waiting for his car to arrive. Once again, he was telling me how much he’d enjoyed every single moment.

‘Even the really exciting bits?’

‘Especially the really exciting bits. I have to say, Max, if I was at the other end of my career, I’d be taking a quick course in History for Beginners and signing up at St Mary’s as fast as I could. As it is …’

I took his hand. ‘I hope you have a long and happy retirement, Eddie. Filled full of incident and adventure.’

He looked around and lowered his voice. ‘And you, Max. Are you looking forward to your long and happy retirement?’

‘Of course,’ I said with enthusiasm and conviction and he wasn’t fooled for a minute. He really didn’t miss anything at all. He knew more about what I was thinking than I did. Still, I suppose if you’ve spent your entire working life probing the secrets of the universe, then the thoughts of one small, ginger historian must be a bit of a doddle.

I smiled, uncertainly.

‘Is it possible, Max, that you have some reservations?’

‘No. And yes.’

‘Well,’ he said comfortably, ‘I often find it useful, when making a difficult decision, to look at the situation in reverse.’

I raised my eyebrows.

‘For instance, how would you feel if his offer was withdrawn? That the option of this scary new life was no longer available? Or, how would you feel if he made that offer to someone else? How happy would you be about that?’

‘Not happy at all, Eddie.’

‘Now consider this. Is it leaving St Mary’s that’s the problem? Or starting a new life somewhere else?’

‘I …’

I stopped, suddenly very unsure.

‘It’s understandable, Max. You joined St Mary’s before you’d had any real experience of the world. You are in the strange position of leading a hazardous but sheltered life. Now you can look forward to a safe but unpredictable life. Who knows what each new day will bring you? Are you, for instance, likely to get halfway to Tesco and suddenly find yourself fighting monsters?’

‘Not that often, I should imagine.’                                                      

‘So if it’s not the new, safe life that concerns you, then is it, as I suspect, having to share that new, safe life with someone else?’

‘Eddie you’re far too smart for my peace of mind.’

‘Well, you may as well tell me. I’m very discreet.’

‘I don’t know whether … whether I … I don’t know if he …’

I stopped, floundering. Words had obviously taken the day off.

‘You don’t know what’s going to happen next, is that it? You’ve spent all your working life knowing the Persians will attack, the Pharaoh will die, the earthquake will occur. You’ve had control over everything that happened in your life. But now, your life is about to happen to you.’

I nodded.

His eyes twinkled. ‘Welcome to the real world, Max.’

I had to laugh.

‘It is, I think, comforting to know that you are not approaching this new phase of your life with unconcern or an unrealistic assessment of the problems of living closely with someone. Somehow, though, I think the two of you will find a way. It may not be the conventional way or even the way you expect, but, having met the two of you, I have no fears.’

He paused. ‘However …’ he said, suddenly serious.

‘Yes, Professor?’

‘If it does all go horribly wrong, you must promise me one thing.’

‘What’s that?’

‘You must promise me first refusal.’

I loved this man.

‘Eddie, if it all goes horribly wrong, I promise I’ll be all over you like a rash.’

He patted my hand.

‘I don’t think yours will ever be a conventional life, Max. And I think you will find your happiness in an unconventional way. Ah – here’s Teddy.’

Teddy
Bairstow?

‘And my car.’

I stood. ‘I’ll say goodbye now, Eddie. Take care of yourself.’

He kissed my cheek and murmured, ‘Don’t forget – if it doesn’t work, my bedroom door is always open!’

Chapter Five

And on to Troy. Our next assignment.

This was my favourite moment – everything stretching out in front of us, gleaming with promise and excitement and we hadn’t yet had a chance to screw it up.

They were all there, except for the Boss, absent on a punitive visit to Thirsk. Which would keep them both quiet for a while.

I gazed at the sea of expectant faces in front of me. The history department had seated themselves down one side of the Hall. The security and technical sections were spread across the other, with small pockets of R&D staff scattered around. Their people, wise in the ways of their leaders, had carefully arranged for Professor Rapson and Doctor Dowson to be as far away from each other as possible while still actually being in the same room.

Mrs Enderby and her team from Wardrobe were chatting excitedly to Mrs Mack and the kitchen staff nearby. The medical crew sat at the back, possibly estimating potential casualties, but more likely playing Battleships.

Everyone had scratchpads, blank data cubes, sticks, files, and even old-fashioned scribblepads laid out in front of them. We were all ready to go. I took my usual deep breath and plunged straight in.

‘Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. As anyone who isn’t actually dead must know by now, our next assignment is Troy. The purpose of this briefing is to get a broad outline of the mission, allocate responsibilities, and discuss the proposed schedule.’

Using the big screen, I brought up such maps as we had been able to find. Plus a few artists’ impressions, just to give everyone an idea.

‘This is our objective – the city of Troy and its surrounding areas. Situated on the coast of north-west Turkey and flanked by the two rivers Simoeis and Scamander, Troy’s position on the major east/west trade routes and guarding the entrance to the Black Sea has ensured it has become the most important and richest city in this part of the world. Troy has accumulated massive wealth by collecting tributes and tolls and generally skimming everyone’s profits.

‘The ruling family is headed by King Priam. He has a large family, mostly sons, nineteen of whom are legitimate. His official wife is Queen Hecuba and the most notable of their offspring are Hector, Paris, Deiphobos, Helenus, and Kassandra. Hector is Priam’s heir, favourite son and hero of Troy. His wife is Andromache and their infant son is known as Astyanax, Lord of the City. So that’s Team Troy.

‘Shortly to be ranged against them – Agamemnon, high king of Mycenae, leader of the Greeks. His brother is Menelaus, king of Sparta and husband of the supposed cause of all the trouble, Helen. Then there’s a whole host of followers to be identified – that cunning bugger Odysseus, Big and Little Ajax, the tedious Nestor – and Achilles, of course. Forget the tall, blond hero – he’s a cross-dressing psychopath. Achilles is the first warrior to wage total war. Not the traditional, familiar, ritualistic fighting of the time, but all-out-slaughter-everything-in-sight-in-a-berserker-rage war. Not that anyone ever complains – either because they’re happy to be on the winning side, or because they’re too dead.

‘I shall refer to the attacking force as Greeks, even though this is long before Greece actually existed as such. Homer gives them many names – you’ll find them referred to as Hellenes (nothing to do with Helen) or Achaeans or Argives. The Trojan forces also consist of Thracians, Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Lycians, and many more. For simplicity, we will be calling them Greeks and Trojans.

‘Any questions so far?

Nope.

‘Right. This is the last great Bronze Age struggle. A struggle between east and west. But, whatever the cause – and we’ll be identifying that – Troy will fall. And we’ll be there to see it.

‘There will be two parts to the assignment. The first part is pre-war. The city of Troy existed for a good long time before the war and for a good long time afterwards. So the first visit is the control visit. We will familiarise ourselves with the city – getting to know it well will enable us to evaluate the impact of the war. That done, we return ten years later, to witness the end of the Trojan War.

‘The Pathfinders will establish the dates. Dr Peterson will oversee this part of the mission. We’ll be looking at the period between 1250 and 1180 BC. All co-ordinates will be worked out by the IT section and laid in by Chief Farrell. Once we have the dates sorted, we’ll make a quick pre-visit to select locations for the pods. That team will consist of me, Chief Farrell, and Major Guthrie. We may be there overnight while we suss things out, but it’s unlikely.

‘There will be two sites, designated, with startling originality, A and B. Site A is to be inside or as near to the upper citadel as is deemed practical and Site B will be in the lower town. Miss Van Owen will supervise Site A and Miss Schiller will supervise Site B.

‘The Rule of Threes, people. Three pods on each site containing three people who will each spend three weeks on site before returning for one week’s R & R. There will be no more than nine people on any one site, of whom at least three will be security.

‘Pods Four, Six, and Seven will be located at Site A and Three, Five and Eight at Site B. One and Two will operate as shuttles, ferrying people and supplies under cover of darkness. Our transport pod, TB2, will not be used on this assignment.

‘Our second visit will enable us to record the end of the war and assess the impact on the city.’

I paused. Everyone stopped writing or typing and looked at me.

I grinned. ‘Yes, and to see the Trojan Horse, of course.’

They heaved a sigh of relief and we continued.

‘On to individual responsibilities – I’ve tried to accommodate people’s preferences and specialities as much as possible, but, as usual, there’s a lot to do and not many to do it.

‘Major Guthrie. You and your team will be responsible for mapping and surveying the city. I want a detailed street-plan. The lower town has been lost over time and the upper town had its top sliced off later to accommodate the new Temple of Athena, so this will be important. Please can you try to get most of it done on the first visit. It’s probably not a good idea to be seen surveying a city while there’s a war on.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘This is all in addition to preventing historians from damaging themselves, each other and/or the timeline?’

‘Of course. Are you anticipating any difficulties?’

‘Surveying the city – no. Preventing damage to our current crop of historians – yes.’

‘You’ll cope,’ I said, heartlessly. ‘You always do.’

He sighed. ‘I can feel the traditional pre-assignment depression settling around me.’

‘Look on the bright side, Ian,’ said Leon. ‘If they do manage to kill each other off then we can all come home early.’

He brightened. ‘True.’

I swept scathingly on.

‘Mr Clerk, I’d like you to be responsible for the study of religion and ritual. This should include the pantheon of gods, and rituals pertaining to births, death, and marriage. All the usual stuff. Select your own team. You’ll be based at Site A. Any questions?’

He shook his head, still scribbling away.

‘Culture – Miss Prentiss. I’d like you to take this on board, please. Language and writing, if any, legends, stories, the usual. Please include entertainment – public and private. Art, pottery, ceramics, statues. You know the sort of thing. You’ll be at Site A with Mr Clerk. I imagine there will be some overlap. Any questions?’

‘How many can I draft into my team?’

‘Not more than three. All team leaders – be aware you can mix and match. Borrow each other’s people by all means, but don’t forget to give them back. There aren’t enough of us to work on all these projects simultaneously, so work out a schedule. No one team has priority and the work does not have to be completed in any particular order. We can have up to nine months on site, which should be more than enough. Understood?’-

You have to tell historians these things; otherwise there would be more conflict inside the walls of Troy than outside.

‘OK, the next one’s the biggie. Dr Peterson and Doctor Black, who has returned from Thirsk to be with us on this assignment, will head this one. Social Structure. Tim, I want medicine and health, including diet. Daily life, family structure, housing, clothing, all that sort of thing. Please also look at ethnicity and gender roles.

‘Kal, I’d like you to take on actual society structure – kings, priests, soldiers, tradesmen, slaves, and everything in between. And, most importantly, the structure of the royal family. We’ll need you to identify as many of the main players as possible. We may even get to see Helen herself.’

I doubted it. While I had no doubt the war itself was real, along with Achilles, Menelaus, Hector, and all the others, I had strong doubts about whether Helen ever went to Troy. Anyone who’s read Herodotus is familiar with the casual attitude towards the abduction of royal women. You snatched Princess A, made off with her, and a few months later you lost Queen B – kidnapped in retaliation. It was almost a ritual.

According to the world’s first historian, it was inconceivable that Priam would risk his city and the lives of his people for a woman whom Paris had stolen from his host. A breach of the rules of hospitality that should have resulted in both of them being returned to Menelaus with Priam’s compliments, apologies, and an invitation to dispose of them as he pleased.

No, I was convinced the Trojan War was about money and power, not a queen, no matter how beautiful she might have been. Troy was the most important city in that part of the world, strategically placed to control the maritime trade routes of the time. Mycenae coveted that role. Hence Agamemnon’s move against them and the massive following he was able to muster. It was a power struggle. We would see this again with Rome and Carthage.

I continued.

‘Doctor Black will be at Site A and Doctor Peterson at Site B.

‘Mr Roberts, you’ll be at Site A. I’d like you to study commerce; trade, shipping, and the harbour – if there is one. Look at the shops, markets, warehouses, and associated trades. Please pay particular attention to coins – if they have any, together with the barter system and how it’s managed.’

He was overjoyed and terrified all at the same time. He was the most recently qualified of all my historians and, as I had been at the time, both desperate for some responsibility and scared of messing it up. I glanced at Van Owen who nodded slightly. She’d keep an eye on him.

‘Major, I’m back to you again. I’d like you to liaise with Miss Morgan to report back on military politics. The army, the navy – they must have one, for heaven’s sake. Why weren’t they deployed when the black ships turned up? The structure of the government, city defences – you know the sort of thing. Walls, watchtowers, gates, water supplies. Please pay particular attention as to whether the siege was complete or whether they used the eastern routes to supply the city. How did they withstand a ten-year siege? You’ll both be at Site B.’

I paused for a glug of water.

‘Right, team leaders, start organising your people. I want them to become specialists in at least one area but remain flexible enough to cross groups if needed.

‘All personnel are to undergo medicals. See Dr Foster and get your appointments sorted out. Everyone is to update their Field Medic training.

‘Report to Mrs Enderby and get yourselves kitted out. Everyone wears tunics – chitons – linen in summer and wool in winter. Ladies’ are full length; men’s finish around the knees so now is the time to tone those calf muscles, gentlemen, and deal with the vexing question of unwanted hair. And while I think about it, wear everything in before we jump. I don’t want to see a bunch of people running around in shiny new tunics and sandals.

‘The shift pattern is three weeks on and one week off. Miss Lee, please organise the shift rota, liaise with Mrs Mack over food supplies, and with Chief Farrell over the shuttle rota.

‘Dr Dowson will provide the background info. See him with your lists of material to upload.’

I paused for another glug.

‘Please be aware that in one instance at least, we have been misled. In the
Iliad
, the Trojans speak Homeric Greek. In reality, they spoke Luwian, which is similar to Lycian and closely related to Hittite. Dr Dowson will be issuing everyone with a list of basic words and phrases. Learn as much as you can, but remember that while the Greeks have a more or less common language, sometimes the Trojan allies have difficulty understanding each other. So don’t panic if you can’t make yourself understood.

‘Dr Peterson, as head of the Pathfinders, please liaise with Dr Dowson about establishing the dates. He and Miss Lee will set up the usual rota.’

When you have people coming and going, trying to narrow down a set of co-ordinates for a specific time and place, you need to monitor things very carefully indeed. Therefore, we set up a data-stack, to be maintained by someone who inspires terror in the ranks. In other words, Rosie Lee, my assistant, with whom no one ever argues. Ever. To keep it simple – we’re historians after all – there’s just one rule. No jumping about all over the place. Everyone moves in one direction. Forwards. They’d start in 1250 BC and slowly move forward until they established the dates for the Trojan War. Mr Markham was accepting bets. My guess was 1184 BC as stated by Eratosthenes – a bloke who really knew what he was talking about. I had quite a lot of money riding on it.

‘Chief Farrell, all pods to be serviced and ready to go. We’re using all of them except TB2 – too big. We don’t want to attract attention.

Ian Guthrie snorted. ‘A bunch of historians all together in a war zone? We’ll not only attract attention, we’ll be lucky to last a week.’

‘Less than that if the security section operates to its usual deplorable standards,’ said Kalinda.

I cleared my throat.

‘It’s going to be a huge amount of work. We’re going to need to go like the clappers to get it all done. But one thing – and this applies to everyone, so pass it along. This is a once in a lifetime event. No one has ever had this opportunity before and maybe never will again. Work hard, but don’t forget – lift your head occasionally and look around you. Remember where you are. And enjoy it.’