Страница 67 из 68
"Yeah, time to make it official, and devastate Lee'smore rabid fans. I think I might ask Minto do the dress – he's so wasted as our costume department."
"Wasted as in still loving every minute while pretendingthe world a
"That about covers it. Be warned, I'm ready and able to rope you in to paint the backdropsagain, if and when we move to another stage production."
"Good. I learneda lot last time."
The prolonged stay in India had been due to a combination ofcircumstance and choice. Attempting toleave Sydney, they'd been co-opted by the Australian Army, which at least hadsolved transport problems. Particularlywhen they'd decided on Tokyo as the next stop after Melbourne, joining theeffort to weed out the most powerful of the Moth clans. From there they'd been shuttled to Mumbai, justin time for the local forces to declare victory. With most cities well on the same path,they'd been able to cut loose from the military so Nash could meet up withSaashi. But that had effectivelystranded the Musketeers, since civilian air travel wasn't exactlyhappening. They'd turned the situationinto a hands-on apprenticeship in film-making, as Nash's powerhouse sister putthem all to work helping her document some of the thousands of stories of theinvasion. The combination of interviewsand 'mini-play' dramatisations had won Saashi a greatdeal of notice, and kept the company which had been her parents' ticking alongwhile the world tried to sort out if it had an economy.
TBM – The Blue Musketeer Production Company – had evolvedfrom this experience, and Nash, Pan, Min and Noi had worked steadily towardgaining the reputation and knowledge to film The Blue Musketeers to the standard it deserved. Of course, it helped immensely that theMusketeers were world-famous, and even more that Saashi had agreed to directand provide experienced crew members.
"Do you think they regret asking you to submit adesign?" Noi asked, as they emerged from the screening trees and stopped,gazing up at the replacement for the Archibald Fountain.
"Maybe. I didsometimes, during the fuss. But therewere a lot of other submissions, and they decided by public vote."
"Beautiful and terrible," Noi murmured. "I can almost look at it withoutcringing."
The statue rose twenty metres, a graceful curve of white shotwith central veins of blue clustered into a semblance of a human figure. The base was suspended in a clear block,giving it some necessary stability, and beneath was a patterned non-slip gridto drain the water which fell in a single sheet from the outstretched, kite-likewings. On hot days children would beable to play in the near-mist of the fall.
"He liked water," Madeleine said.
They walked on in silence, ignoring the small scatter ofpeople who recognised Noi and looked closely at her companion. In the mist, tiny rainbows were visible,shimmering in the fine liquid sheet.
Arms slid around Madeleine's waist, warm and familiar, andFisher rested his forehead wearily on her shoulder. "What mad impulse made me agree to be aspeaker?"
Madeleine leaned back, knowing perfectly well he'd done it tomake it easier for her to refuse. "When are they bringing them?" she asked instead.
"Just after dawn."
"What's this?" Noi asked. "Bringing who? Oh, wait – do you mean the Goat Islandcrowd? Seriously?"
"It seems to be important to them." Fisher tightened his arms briefly, thenshifted to Madeleine's side, catching hold of her hand. "And kept absolutely quiet for obviousreasons."
In Australia twenty-seven Moths had survived a choice tosurrender. After interminable debate theGovernment had recognised Pan's offer of amnesty and collected them all on GoatIsland. Not every country followed suit– some were still struggling to form a stable enough government to make aruling – but there were still several hundred En-Mott around the world. And, of course, endless rumours that this orthat prominent Blue was really an undiscovered Moth.
Fisher didn't work directly with the team which had spentyears creating a way to communicate with the remaining Moths, but occasionallyhe was drawn into issues surrounding them, just as he had been all through themonths immediately following the fall of the Spires. The En-Mott would ask for him, becauseThéoden had become as much a hero to them as he was to the Blues he'dsaved. Every time, the discussions gaveFisher nightmares, and he would seek Madeleine out and start talking – aboutart, about whatever he was studying at the moment, or the latest book he'dread. Talking until the knots relaxed,and the tension flowed out of him.
A shout summoned attention, and it was time to greetlong-absent friends, be introduced to new, and ignore the people taking photosof the rare sight of the original Blue Musketeers all in one place. After the initial excitement had eased, Madeleinebroke away from the crowd and drifted with Fisher to a simple plaque set in thepaving right on the edge of the mist.
His profile as he gazed at the curve of blue and white abovetook all her attention, and she was immediately distracted into pla
The expression he wore when he looked down at her becameanother that she urgently wanted to capture, stealing her breath with itsintensity. "Do you remember what Isaid the first time you asked me that?"
"I'm not likely to forget." He'd said 'Always', voice shaking, and kissedher immediately afterward.
"It meant you'd started seeing me. You asked that question and I –" He paused, glancing at the audience behindthem, and offered her a faint, wry smile. "For you to see me, ME, was everything."
"Now I feel bad because I was simply glad that I'dfinally figured out how to paint you."
His smile became sardonic. "By that point I'd noticed you draw a great many people, but onlyseem to urgently want to paint those who matter to you."
She'd not thought of it that way, but it was true enough,making another similarity between them, since he spared time from his studiesonly for people he considered important. There had been times, even after Tokyo, when she'd struggled not to givein to divided feelings, but she'd never regretted choosing to go toMelbourne. And had been rewarded by aslow return of the total confidence she'd felt when she first held her hand outto a boy more complicated than anyone guessed.
"I wonder if Noi and Lee would be interested in a doublewedding?" she asked, standing beneath mist and rainbows.
Fisher's hand tightened on hers. "Are you proposing to me?"
"I think I must be." The dust-catcher was a mercy, her face surelycrimson. "I can't imagine ever notwanting to paint you."
Fisher gave her his response silently and completely, turningto take her free hand, every line of him shouting joy as the mist-fine falldrifted around him. She was glad thishad happened here, the place where it had begun and ended, and wasn't evena
Keeping a firm clasp of Fisher's hands, she looked up atrainbows, then down at the stone plaque they stood before.
"Théoden," it read.
Beneath the name, three words:
ONE FOR ALL
ooOoo