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mostly empty park; there were few people around. The path he happened to be
standing on was deserted, so he continued on, pushing his hands into his pockets
and wishing he had thought to bring his coat.
To warm up, he began to jog.
His leather-soled shoes slapped the pavement hard; he could feel the jolting impact
with every step. He passed some people bundled up on park benches; they regarded
him with the kind of look reserved for suspicious strangers running in street clothes.
James didn t care. It felt good to run, to felt the cold air burning in his lungs. This, at
least, was real, he thought. After all that he had heard in Embries office, he needed
something tangible, something physical; he needed sweat and cold and an ache in his
side and a blister on his heel to anchor him to reality once more.
The rhythm of running changed the flow of his thoughts; the questions spinning in
his head grew sharper, more focused. Instead of asking the vague and amorphous
why? the question became: why does this upset me?
All that Embries had showed him, when added to what he already knew, made
perfect sense. And it wasn t as if the news was particularly scandalous maybe
once upon a time, but not now; anyway, everyone even remotely concerned was
dead now, except James. If no one else cared about his parentage, why should he?
He thought about the legal wrangle over the estate. How many times, he asked
himself, in how many months, have you wished for something amazing to turn up?
If once, then a thousand times, came the reply. A letter, a will, a bolt from the blue
anything to turn the case his way. Now, here it was, the miracle he had secretly
hoped would save his home and livelihood. James stood to inherit one of the few
great estates left in the entire country. Why be upset about it? Why not embrace it,
welcome it, seize it with both hands and shout Hallelujah! like any normal person?
He had no answer. The plain fact was that he was upset. He could accept his
parents deception; he could accept his new identity and, insofar as it promised to
secure his home and all he held dear, he could even welcome it. Yet there was
something about all this that filled him with unspeakable trepidation. He felt sweat
trickle down his sides, and it was the cold sweat of pure, undiluted dread.
It seemed to James that the very air swarmed with uncertainty and menace as if a
great weight hung over him on a fast-fraying rope.
It must be fear, he concluded at last. Was he not behaving like a frightened man?
Running, desperately trying to escape from the peril he felt closing in around him.
But what was it? he wondered. What was there about this situation that frightened
him so much it had him running like a madman through the park?
When James finally stopped to look around, the sun was already past midday and
the shadows were growing long. The sky overhead had a darkly threatening aspect,
and a light breeze was kicking up the few dry leaves on the path which had become
little more than a muddy track through unmown grass. He was sweating from his run,
and was feeling the cold begin to bite. He decided it was time to head back. First,
however, he had to figure out where he was.
With quick steps, James returned along the path and reached the place where he had
departed from the pavement. Making his way to the nearest street, he left the park
and walked quickly towards the closest junction, thinking to find a street sign or two
to help orient himself. As he approached the intersection, however, he glimpsed, out
of the corner of his eye the motion of a dark shape coming up behind him, and
recognized the black Jaguar. The car stopped as he turned around; Rhys jumped out
of the driver s seat and opened the back door. Cal and Embries were inside.
We thought you might be getting cold, sir, Rhys said. Would you like to come
with us?
James nodded, and slid into the backseat with Embries, who held out his coat.
Thanks, James said, pushing his arms into the sleeves. The car slid silently into the
street traffic. How did you know where to find me?
Oh, I have a nose for these things, Embries answered. James could not tell if he
was joking.
Would you like some lunch or anything? asked Cal from the front seat. We
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