Aztec Century (30 page)

‘Motecuhzoma told me they captured you and faked your death in the hope of marrying me off to one of their princes. Is it true?’

This was mere supposition on my part, and Alex’s response was to half squirm, half shrug.

‘They never told me why,’ he said hastily. ‘I was just brought here, told I’d never be able to see you again.’

‘I don’t understand why they went to all the trouble of faking your death. I’m surprised they didn’t simply kill you.’

He had no answer for this, and I could see I was in danger of throwing him completely off-balance by being too cold-blooded and rational. I had to give him more time to recover his composure if I was to revenge myself on him – and on Extepan – to the full.

I surveyed the room. ‘At least they made you comfortable.’

He took my arm, seated me beside him on the chesterfield, ‘It looks like it,’ he said, ‘but no amount of comfort can replace freedom and having those you love beside you.’

This deserved a suitably withering riposte, but I did not rise to it. The more he talked, the easier I found it to despise him.

‘I don’t think Victoria’s going to be released,’ I said. ‘Do you know she was accused of trying to kill Tetzahuitl and others with a bomb? It’s ridiculous, but they say she confessed. She’s still regarded as an enemy of the state. I can’t believe she had any part in it.’

Without his beard, it was easier to read the expressions on his face. He looked somehow naked, no longer the cavalier of old. Every mention of Victoria seemed to make him writhe inwardly.

‘It sounds quite unlike her,’ he managed to say.

‘I think they’re going to keep her in exile for some time yet.’

He hesitated. ‘Where is she?’

‘In China, of course. Beijing.’

He was struggling to maintain an appearance of equanimity. He rose, taking out a pack of Xitli Golds.

‘Forgive me,’ he said, lighting one. ‘Having you here … so unexpectedly. I still can’t believe it.’

I proceeded to smother the situation with gossip, telling him about Richard’s marriage, Precious Cloud’s suicide, and all the other things that had happened since his ‘death’. Of course, I was sure he was fully informed about them, but I wanted to give him more time to recover, to understand – or think he did – his current situation. I wasn’t ready to tell him the real truth yet; I wanted to see how far he would go in his duplicity.

Alex was dutifully attentive, chain-smoking Xitlis and squeezing my hand from time to time, as if to say he still couldn’t quite believe my joyous return to his life. The old charm was beginning to reassert itself, the self-confidence and sheer well-heeled nerve which had fooled me so often in the past. He clearly thought he might, even yet, extricate himself from this extraordinary situation. No doubt he imagined I knew only partial truths. Perhaps he thought that Victoria might indeed be discreetly got out of the way by Motecuhzoma’s agents so that he could resume his life with me. Or perhaps he was simply paralysed and was going along with me because he didn’t know what else to do.

I myself knew no more than what Bevan had gleaned from the network. Alex had been transferred to Mexico only a matter of months after our capture, and he had been living in Quauhnahuac ever since. Victoria was sent to join him there when she was ‘exiled’. Her message was a fake in the sense that she had pretended she was in Beijing, whereas I now knew she had never set foot in China. Of course, she may have been forced to lie by the Aztecs, but I doubted this. I was now certain they were not only lovers, but had been so ever since those long-ago days of Ty Trist.

How I had deluded myself about Alex from the very start! My father had never really approved of him, I knew. Though he had not once said anything specific to me, I had always felt that he considered Alex charming but untrustworthy, a user who would do anything to elevate his status. And what better way than by marriage to me? I could never have accepted that at the time,
and my father must have agreed to the marriage because he knew I was in love with him. He had been prepared to surrender me to a man he considered worthless because to do otherwise would have ruined my happiness. And Alex had turned out to be more despicable than even he imagined.

Despite all this, I continued talking, telling Alex about my life over the two and a half years of our ‘separation’. I wondered how much he already knew. According to Bevan’s information, he and Victoria had never been prisoners in Quauhnahuac, although there were apparently certain restrictions on their movement. I talked to maintain my grip on the situation, to keep him guessing.

At length I said, ‘Did you know Extepan wanted to marry me?’

His mouth opened, but I rushed on.

‘I think that’s why he arranged to get you out of the way. But Motecuhzoma told me you were alive. He realized he couldn’t let his son marry me under false pretences. Urgent action was needed, which is why he told me the truth and sent me here. Now he wants to see you, but of course things are rather tricky with Extepan still believing he’s going to marry me. We have to go back secretly to the palace, sneak you in. Motecuhzoma doesn’t want Extepan to know anything about it until he’s had a chance to speak to you.’

Alex looked suitably cautious at this farrago. ‘Isn’t he in New England? Extepan, I mean. The war’s been all over the television.’

‘He has his own men at the palace. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of intrigue at the moment, and Motecuhzoma wants to do what’s best for us. I think he’s going to try to get us out of the country as quickly as possible and back to England.’

Alex was in a corner, but he came out fighting.

‘Kate, do you realize how risky all this sounds? Have you any more reason to trust Motecuhzoma than any other Mexican?’

‘I have the best reason. He doesn’t want his son – who might be the next
tlatoani –
to marry me.’

He stroked my hand in his paternal way. ‘I understand that. But how do you know we’re not being set up? It all sounds very underhand and suspicious.’

‘Of course it is. The emperor wants as few people to know as possible. Do you think I would have been told about you and allowed to come here if he didn’t?’

Alex nodded sagely. ‘Nevertheless, I think you should let me check. I’ve established one or two useful contacts since I was here, people I know I can trust. I’ll make a few phone calls.’

He was on his feet. I jumped up. ‘Alex, we have to leave immediately. There’s an escort waiting for us outside.’

‘It’ll only take a few minutes, Kate.’

‘We don’t have the time.’

He was obviously surprised by my vehemence. In the past, I had always been the one to give way in the face of his wishes. He hesitated, still unsure, but perhaps concerned that Victoria might at any time return from her shopping and ruin everything.

‘At least allow me to pack a bag,’ he said.

‘Alex, we have to go
now
.’ I couldn’t allow him out of my sight. ‘Don’t worry, we can arrange for everything to be shipped on to us if necessary. It’s imperative we get you to the palace.’

Still he was cautious. ‘What about the servants?’

‘They don’t need to know anything. We’ll just leave. We have to maintain the utmost secrecy until your audience with the
tlatoani
. It’s better if they don’t even know you’re gone.’

Naturally my story was muddled and filled with inconsistencies, but Alex was in no position to argue. He could only refuse by telling me the truth: this was the challenge I had set him.

‘Are you absolutely sure about this, Kate?’

I noticed a pair of Victoria’s shoes under an armchair.

‘Of course,’ I assured him. ‘Who can you trust if you can’t trust me?’

Reluctantly, he let me lead him out of the palace and across the square to Chicomeztli. Already I was thinking ahead. I warned Alex not to speak of either our discussion or our true relationship, telling him that the escort knew nothing and that he had to maintain his anonymity. I was acting for the
tlatoani
, and him alone.

To my surprise, Alex raised no protest. Suddenly his confidence seemed to have evaporated, and what I saw in its place was bewilderment and even fear.

Chicomeztli came out from under the awning to meet us. I was already confident that he would not know who Alex was because he hadn’t been aware that he was living in the palace. And so it proved.

‘We have to take this man back to Chapultepec,’ I told him.

Chicomeztli scrutinized Alex, then took me aside.

‘Who is he?’

‘I can’t tell you that at the moment, and he’s under instructions to say nothing. He’s a friend of Extepan’s, that’s all I can say. An important friend.’

‘If he was a friend, then I would know of it.’

‘Please, you
have
to trust me. We must get him into my apartment without anyone else knowing. And without further delay.’

‘This is a great trust you are asking of me.’

‘I know. I know. Please help me.’

Chicomeztli glanced at Alex, who looked unnerved by our whispering. I indicated to him that he had to keep silent, that I knew what I was doing.

Chicomeztli’s erratic gaze darted between the two of us. I felt ashamed because he was an innocent whose loyalty I was betraying. But it was too late for conscience now.

‘We
must
leave immediately,’ I insisted.

‘Do you understand what you’re asking?’

‘I’m asking you to do as I say without explanation. For my sake. And for Extepan’s.’

‘And what then?’

‘Then you go back to your normal duties, and wait. When the time’s ripe, everything will be explained. That’s all I can tell you now.’

I had stretched his good faith to the limit, and I was sure he was going to refuse me.

But I was wrong. He turned to the escort and informed them we were leaving.

Throughout the flight back to Tenochtitlan, I made sure that Alex and Chicomeztli had little opportunity to speak to one another. We sat together like strangers, and I was aware of playing a multiplicity of roles: one for Alex, another for Chicomeztli, still another for myself. I had no justification for using Chicomeztli in this way. The fact that he did not know Alex merely emphasized that he had had no part in any of the subterfuges which had been played on me. But I had to use him to gain my revenge.

The Valley towns were asleep under neon-lit darkness when we landed at a private airfield in Tlatelolco. We took a hydrofoil across the lake to the palace, and Chicomeztli had us admitted through a side entrance, Alex and I bundled up in hooded cloaks at my request. It was all suitably melodramatic, but I was relieved that Chicomeztli seemed prepared to play his part to the full.

Though there were guards on duty, they did not stop us or ask for identification. It was obvious that the palace was more preoccupied with events in New England, and our comings and goings were of no great concern to them at that moment. Besides, Chicomeztli was a trusted servant of the empire.

He accompanied Alex and me to my apartment. At the door I took him aside and said, ‘It’s better if you leave us now.’

He eyed Alex again. ‘Are you intending to keep him in your rooms?’

‘I’ll lodge him with Bevan for the night,’ I lied. ‘He’ll be safe there.’

Again the look of uncertainty. Alex himself was too disorientated
to question my whisperings to Chicomeztli; either that, or he was obeying my instructions to the last word.

‘And in the morning?’ Chicomeztli said.

‘Arrangements will be made. I can’t say any more than that at present.’

He looked stiff, unconvinced. Because he was so small, it was easy to make the assumption that he could be treated like a child.. I knew better than that.

‘And what am I to do in the meantime?’

‘Nothing. Do nothing. Just keep your head down and wait. Remember, this is in Extepan’s interests.’

‘I greatly hope so,’ he said. ‘I’ve placed every trust in you.’

‘You have my undying gratitude. And Extepan’s.’

For a moment he hesitated. Then he marched off to his own quarters.

I led Alex inside. He was like a lamb. The first thing I did was to creep across to the adjoining door. There was no sound from beyond. I checked that the door was securely locked, then removed the key and dropped it in a vase.

Alex was still standing there in the centre of the room. He looked fearful, unsure of himself.

‘It’s all right,’ I whispered. ‘You’re safe here. Motecuhzoma will see you in the morning.’

‘I’ve never met him,’ he remarked.

It was obviously a source of regret on his part. I wondered if this was what had finally persuaded him to accompany me – the opportunity, at last, to meet the emperor himself.

‘He’s kind,’ I said. ‘More considerate than I’d ever imagined.’

He was eager to agree with me. ‘They’re not such bad people, Kate.’

‘I know he’ll be happy to see us reunited again.’

What pleasure I took in seeing him squirm! I went forward and put my arms around him. He responded as a husband might.

‘Alex,’ I breathed, ‘I’m so happy to have you back. Nothing else matters.’

He smiled. I think he was pleased that I was so rewarded by his presence. The old vanity. Again he leaned down to kiss me on the lips, and this time I did not stop him.

I responded as fully as I might have done in the past, feeling
the unfamiliar abrasion of his shaven face, the strength of his arms enfolding me, his sheer bulk – even more ample now. Inside I remained cold, unrelenting, determined to avenge myself on him.

Alex had always been easily aroused, and quite soon I could feel him responding, an obligatory kiss giving way to a familiar need which I knew he would want to satisfy, despite the uncertainties of the situation. And I was not going to deny him: in fact, this was what I intended – the final consummation of my betrayal. I had pledged myself to Extepan, but he would never have me now.

‘We’ve got all night to ourselves,’ I said softly into his ear. ‘No one will disturb us here.’

His eyes were filled with desire. It was lust rather than love that had always made him want me, I knew that now. But I was ready for it, ready to make a calculating submission to him. He could have me one last time if it meant his damnation.

‘The bedroom,’ I murmured. ‘It’s through there.’

The door was already ajar. As he had done so many times in the past, he lifted me up and carried me through.

When it was over, I lay in silence while Alex smoked a Xitli and told me how he had survived after the attack on Ty Trist by hiding out in deserted towns and villages further down the valley until he was finally picked up by the Aztecs. I was certain it was a lie, just as I was certain that all his expressions of pleasure at our reunion were fake. I gazed idly around the room, wondering whether anyone was watching us even now through a hidden camera. Of course I had no concrete evidence that my apartment was under surveillance, but it was unlikely that foreign guests would be allowed complete privacy in the very heart of the empire.

Who would come to arrest us? Chicomeztli, possibly – I was certain he would check my story as soon as he was able – or, more likely, some anonymous minion of the empire. It didn’t matter to me either way; I no longer cared about destroying myself if I brought disgrace on those who had betrayed me.

I thought of all the mornings, in exile in Wales, when I had looked into Victoria’s room and seen tousled sheets and smelt
body heat. Alex was up early most mornings. I thought of how solicitous he had always been to Victoria, taking her bilberry-picking in summer, visiting her when she was confined to her room with a migraine – just pretexts, I saw now, for adultery. I had wilfully blinded myself to all this, unable to credit not simply that he would seduce my sister but that she would let him, perhaps even encourage him.

There was much I still didn’t know about the circumstances of his ‘death’. Who had organized it? And had Victoria known all the time? Was her supposed part in the bomb plot simply a ruse to ensure that she could be reunited with Alex in Mexico? Somehow I found this hard to credit. It was easy to imagine them as illicit lovers, harder, with Alex’s fickleness and Victoria’s lack of moral fibre, to imagine them in a long-term partnership. But it was possible. It was possible they had fallen in love so deeply with one another they had indeed risked everything.

I let Alex murmur his endearments and promises, soothing him with my own platitudes in return. He looked drained by the day’s events, and eventually he fell asleep. I smiled, satisfied that for once I had played the game far better than he.

But then he began to snore. It was a sound I had always found endearing in the past, but it was louder, more raucous than I remembered, and in my bitterness it became positively irritating to the point where I would have liked to press a pillow to his face, to end it all, then and there, by suffocating him. Of course, this was not practicable, and besides, I had already committed my crime. Now I simply had to wait and let the consequences unfold.

After a while I crept from bed and put on a pair of jeans and a cotton blouse. Then I returned to bed, pulling the sheets up to my neck. I wanted to be ready to face my accusers. Beside me, Alex slept on, satiated, cheek pressed to the pillow. His mouth was slack and his incipient double chin sagged. I began to long for the soldiers to come, to burst in and arrest us. But nothing happens quite as we plan it, and as the quiet night wore on, with no hint of disturbance, I, too, exhausted, slept.

In the morning I woke to a room filled with sunlight. Alex was still profoundly asleep beside me, as if he had not moved at all
throughout the night. I was surprised to find that I felt no shame but was simply amazed that both he and I had slept without interruption.

Then I rolled over and saw Maxixca standing at the foot of the bed.

He wore full uniform, and there were four armed guards with him. He was smiling, of course, a broad, satisfied smile.

Slowly I sat up, letting him see I was fully clothed.

‘How good to see you again,’ I said.

In his hand he held a small device, a tape recorder, which he promptly switched on.

Alex had always been a demonstrative lover, but I had also ensured that there could be no doubt about my willing part in the seduction. Every intimate sound was perfectly captured, so that even if we had not been found in bed together, there could have been no mistake about what had happened.

Maxixca plainly relished playing the tape in front of us. He turned the volume up until Alex stirred and sat up blearily. When he realized what was happening, he was horror-struck.

I smiled sweetly at him and sat back.

It was true I hadn’t expected Maxixca, whom I assumed was still in Russia. But somehow he was perfect, though I admit I was now more frightened than I had anticipated. When the tape finally fell silent, he switched it off with a contemptuous flourish.

Alex looked like a cornered animal. He was too terrified to say anything. I also remained silent.

‘Just like your sister,’ Maxixca remarked.

I manufactured a smile. ‘Is it normally your habit to burst into the bedroom of a husband and wife?’

‘The marriage is null and void,’ he replied instantly. ‘Perhaps you weren’t aware that the good duke has been living here in Mexico with your own sister for almost two years.’

‘Oh, yes,’ I replied. ‘I was aware of it.’

Alex recoiled at this, gazing incredulously at me. A mixture of raw emotions flooded across his face – shame, guilt, anger, but, above all, fear.

‘I came here in good faith,’ he announced to Maxixca in his halting Nahuatl. ‘The
tlatoani
wants to see me.’

‘Get dressed,’ Maxixca told him in English.

‘I must protest. This is outrageous treatment—’

Maxixca pulled a pistol from his holster. ‘If you do not get dressed immediately, I will shoot you myself.’

Alex had no option. In full view of everyone, he was forced to stumble around, gathering up his scattered clothes and pulling them on.

I got out of bed and stood up. I was dressed even down to my shoes. Immediately a guard took me by the arm.

I could see Maxixca thinking; he was obviously surprised by my preparedness, yet his dignity would not allow him to enquire further.

We were marched off, Alex doing his best to maintain some shred of dignity. Not once did he look at me.

We were taken down the long corridor which led to the council chamber. As we approached its serpent-decorated doors, I anticipated our final humiliation in front of the entire
tlatocan
with Motecuhzoma presiding. What would they do to us? A real exile this time, no doubt, somewhere truly remote and Spartan. Would Extepan be there? I hoped so. He had deceived me, and I wanted to see his face now that I had betrayed him.

When we entered the chamber, however, only Tetzahuitl was there. Maxixca and his guards led us forward.

‘Well,’ the
cihuacoatl
said to me. ‘An interesting turn of events.’

He wore a charcoal-coloured mantle with a silver scorpion clasp. Clusters of white-tipped crows’ feathers hung from his hair.

I found the fact that we were alone with him and Maxixca ominous. In his dark colours, the
cihuacoatl
looked even more fearsome, very much a figure of retribution. I did my best to appear, if not defiant, then at least unintimidated.

It was Alex who spoke. You must forgive me if I’ve offended anyone. I certainly didn’t intend it.’

‘I brought him here,’ I said. ‘I fooled Chicomeztli into thinking he was doing it for Extepan. I don’t intend to justify my actions, but you must believe me that Chicomeztli is blameless. He thought he was doing his duty.’

‘I understood I was coming here to see Motecuhzoma,’ Alex
said. ‘I was told that my marriage to Catherine had been restored by him.’

Tetzahuitl gave him a withering stare.

‘I think I would have known, had that been the case. You were given strict instructions never to come to Tenochtitlan.’

‘She came to my home. She told me the
tlatoani
had sent her. What was I to do?’

He sounded firm and forceful, but underneath I could hear his fear. I was determined to do nothing to help him.

‘He wasn’t aware I knew he’s been living with my sister,’ I said. ‘That arrangement didn’t stop him from sharing my bed last night.’

‘You bitch!’ Alex blurted.

I merely smiled at him. ‘That must be the first honest thing you’ve said to me since I turned up at your door.’

I expected him to bite back again, but something changed in his expression. In place of anger, I saw a final acceptance of his defeat. He was thoroughly compromised, and he knew it. Mustering all his composure, he took a step towards me and laid a hand on my arm.

‘Catherine,’ he said softly. ‘Forgive me. Forgive me for everything.’

I couldn’t forgive him, of course, but I had no desire to humiliate him further.

‘What are you going to do with us?’ I asked Tetzahuitl.

‘That remains to be seen,’ he replied. ‘There’s much to consider. You must tell me how you learned about your former husband’s whereabouts.’

Women’s intuition,’ I said scathingly.

‘Surely you see it will make no difference to you now?’

‘I won’t give you the satisfaction.’

A smile of imperturbable calm. ‘Such hatred. From someone we were prepared to take into our hearts.’

He had a chilling way with the most commonplace expressions. I was not going to let him frighten or rile me.

‘Does Extepan know?’ I asked.

‘That would be difficult,’ Maxixca interjected. ‘He’s under siege in Potomac.’

Tetzahuitl glared at him, and he fell silent. He had obviously
spoken out of turn, revealing something the
cihuacoatl
preferred me not to know. And there was glee in his voice.

‘Under siege?’ I repeated.

‘The war has not progressed as smoothly as we had hoped,’ Tetzahuitl said, smiling.