Page 103 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt
‘Louise Forbes,’ she said. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘Gus. Gus Zeeker. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs Forbes.’ I looked to Elle, frowning at the use of the anagram.
‘Do I detect an accent there, Mr Zeeker?’ Rupert asked. ‘Whereabouts are you from?’
‘Oh, that is a difficult question to answer, Mr Forbes. I like to think of myself as a citizen of the world.’
‘Well, that’s jolly impressive. But even citizens of the world have to be bornsomewhere, don’t they, old chap?’ Rupert replied, with a laugh.
Eszu chuckled back at him. ‘Now, Mr Forbes, you seem like an intelligent man. Would you really define an individual just by their place of birth?’
‘Of course not. I was merely making conversation. You see, I pride myself on being able to identify an accent. Yours is fairly unusual, that’s all.’
There was a palpable pause before Eszu’s reply. ‘As I said, I am a citizen of the world.’
‘Yes. But I wonder which side a citizen of the world chose to fight on during the war?’ I was impressed with the bravery of Rupert’s question.
Kreeg laughed once more. ‘Are we not all friends now, Mr Forbes?’ There was another stony silence. ‘Forgive me, you mentioned if you could help me find a particular book.’
‘Yes,’ Rupert said curtly. ‘Can we?’
‘That would be most helpful. In fact, I was in here just the other day. I spoke with someone else, though. He was tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. Who might that have been?’
I gripped Elle’s hand tightly.
‘Hmm,’ I heard Rupert say. ‘Are you quite sure that it was Arthur Morston Books you wandered into? It pains me to admit, but there are several similar shops in the area. We don’t have anyone of that description working here.’ I couldn’t believe Rupert was protecting me.
‘Oh yes, I’m quite sure it was this shop,’ Eszu said slowly. ‘There was a young blonde girl in, too. She wasveryfair.’
‘Forgive me, Mr Zeeker,’ Rupert said. ‘When you walked in you complimented us on our shop, as if it was the first time you had entered. We have told you that we do not have staff who match your description, so I must ask again – are youquitesure it was Arthur Morston Books you visited?’
I listened as the old wooden floorboards creaked under Eszu’s slow, deliberate footsteps.
‘What a beautiful little baby,’ he said. ‘I assume it is yours?’
‘Heis, yes,’ Louise replied.
‘Family is so important, isn’t it, Mrs Forbes?’ Eszu continued.
‘Of course it is, Mr Zeeker.’
I heard Kreeg give a pronounced sigh. ‘Look at this little child. So meek and helpless. I imagine he relies on you for everything, does he not, Mrs Forbes?’
‘I would rather think so, yes. His name is Laurence.’
‘Laurence? Allow me to compliment you on your choice of name, Mrs Forbes. Its origins are French. It means “bright, shining one”. As all babies are born free from sin, I feel you could not have selected anything more appropriate.’
‘I... didn’t know that,’ Louise replied steadily. ‘How fascinating.’
‘Names are, generally. The things we call ourselves... I’ve always found it very amusing that something so personal to us is used almost exclusively by others.’
Rupert cut in. ‘Sorry to be a nuisance, old man, but the wife and I were just about to shut up shop for lunch. What was the book you were looking for?’
‘Of course, Mr Forbes. As it happens, I was in here the other day enquiring about an old atlas.’
I screwed my eyes shut. Of course, the name would mean nothing to Rupert or Louise. In fact, I suspected that Kreeg knew I was within earshot, and this performance was for my benefit.
‘Well, as I said, I doubt it was Arthur Morston Books you were in, but our geography section is just over here,’ Rupert said. ‘Was there a certain type of atlas you were looking for?’
