“so there you have it,” mr mahmoud finished his tale. “in addition to the damage caused, the two young rascals seriously impugned the honor of the ancient kingdom of s…………., which, obscure aa it may be, is nonetheless a member, indeed a founding member of the alliance i have the honor to be the spokesperson for.”
lord chandler sighed. “and these damages that you refer to, what exactly do they amount to, in pounds and drachmas?”
mr mahmoud waved his hand . “they are nothing. they are of no account. it is the honor of one of the members of our alliance that is of concern.”
“of course. still, if you could be so kind as to write the amount of the damages on a slip of paper, i will write a cheque for it, payable by my government and made out to bearer. i trust you can put it in the right hands.”
“i would be honored.”
“that part is settled, then. now, what else does the kingdom of s………. desire, to satisfy its honor?’
“it wants the two miscreants returned to face public trial.”
“i see. well, i may be a bit prejudiced, but i know that my nephew, the young duke of d——, is what you might call a languid young man, not at all demonstrative or given to violent expressions - of - much of anything. as a duke, hardly less than as a member of royalty, he has been trained in the art of graciousness.
i venture to say it was much more likely that the other young chap involved - and i am not sure exactly who or what he was - was the true culprit. of course, a full investigation should be made.” lord chandler cleared his throat. “perhaps a special commission, that sort of thing.”
mr mahmoud laughed gently. “i think the time or special commissions has passed, my lord. also, if i may say so, think putting the blame on the other young man will not be much to the purpose.”
“and why not?” lord chandler replied with a bare hint of annoyance. “who is he, anyway? and what nation is he from?”
“that is the problem. he belongs to no nation. he is the nephew and heir of mr n——————, the chief stockholder of the nautilus conglomerate. not exactly untouchable, but close enough. and of course the nautilus conglomerate is hardly known to the peasantry and inspires neither awe nor loathing. ”
“oh, dear,” agreed lord chandler. “i see what you mean.”
“and there is another factor,” mr mahmoud continued, with a gleam in his eye. “the oldest factor of all.”
“oh?”
“a woman!”
“a woman? my nephew did not mention a young woman.”
“not a young woman. but a woman you may have heard of , or remember - none other than carlotta bligh.”
“carlotta bligh!” lord chandler exclaimed. “i thought the world had been well rid of carlotta bligh years ago.”
“apparently not. she is probably preparing her version of events even as we speak. at the very least, she will surely make it impossible to make the whole incident disappear.”
lord chandler sighed. “i think i need to talk to my nephew again. when i have finished with him, we can resume this conversation. is that agreeable to you?”
mr mahmoud smiled. “of course.”
“perhaps we can meet again over breakfast.”
“i would prefer, my lord, to come to an understanding tonight.”
“very well. as you wish.”
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