The Brotherhood of the Dragon

Chapter Two

Chapter TwoMy guide proved to be Charles, the general’s batman.

‘I believe a thank you is in order,’ I said as we walked toward the distant greenhouse.

‘Me, sir?’

‘I was informed it was you who carried me inside when my unconscious body was found near the house gates.’

‘Oh, that, sir. Well yes, it was me, so you are most welcome.’

Stepping outside, someone had taken all the morning’s wondrous sunshine and put it in a box. Dark grey clouds had replaced the blue sky, and they could not have been more threatening if they had been carrying a pistol.

As we stepped inside the greenhouse I was hit by a wall of heat beyond stifling. Having walked only four steps, I took my coat off, undoing some of my shirt buttons and gasping deeply for air like a fish flopping about on the floor of a rowboat. The sickly-sweet stench of manure, rotting vegetation, and flowering orchids was intense and it reminded me of another garden long ago.

Deep inside the gloomy room sat what had once been the imposing figure of a man. Though I had never met General Wilberforce Stamford, I recalled seeing images of him in newspapers when he was in his prime. The man who sat before me could not even be called a shadow of his former self as a shadow would carry substantially more weight. What was left of the general was sitting in a wheelchair, his legs buried under a heavy wool blanket.

‘Take off whatever you need to. I understand how hot it is in here,’ the general whispered.

I sat on the chair before the old man, lowering myself to what was clearly a more comfortable viewing angle. ‘A pleasure meeting you, General Stamford.’

‘You know me?’ he asked. ‘I was under the impression you’d lost your memory.’

‘I have—at least I seem to have lost most of it. However, snippets keep filtering through. I remember seeing you in a paper some years ago.’

‘Back when being a “Hero of the Crown” meant something. Yes, those days are well behind me now.’

‘If I may ask, exactly what happened? I don’t think that newspaper was published that long ago.’

‘Damned if I know, damned if anyone knows. I’ve had dozens of doctors and quacks of every persuasion poke and prod me. The consensus has me catching something in a foreign jungle or swamp that is yet to be seen or described by science. The only other thing they all agree on is that there’s nothing that can be done. So now all I do is sit, day after day, waiting and wasting away.’

‘That is no way for a man to live.’

‘It’s no way for anyone to die either, young man. All I do is spend my days in here receiving warmth like one of these damnable orchids, sucking in all that nourishes me from the wet, warm atmosphere. I do believe I am even starting to smell like one of these damn plants.’ He was too, but I was too polite to point this out. ‘So here I sit, waiting to die, existing in an environment similar to the one that likely put me here in the first place. Funny how life can turn out sometimes.’

‘Funny is not the word I would use,’ I said.

The general gave me a long, thoughtful look. ‘No, I suppose not.’

While we’d been talking, a servant had entered silently and placed a large glass of ice water next to my seat. I picked up the glass, making sure not to let its perspiring surface from the greenhouse’s humidity slip through my equally perspiring hands. Having drained half the glass in one long swallow, I ran its cool surface across my brow before returning the vessel to the table. It only took a moment, but already most of the ice had melted.

‘Would you like something stronger? I can no longer imbibe myself, but you are more than welcome to partake.’

‘No, no thank you. Strong alcohol may not be advisable at the moment,’ I said as I tapped my bandaged head.

‘Of course, of course. I am an unthinking fool.’

‘Not at all. So, if I am not being too rude, why did you have me called before you?’

The general seemed ready for this question. ‘The house seldom has visitors these days, and I far less. The chance to talk to someone new is one of the few luxuries afforded me in life.’

‘Surely your family …’

‘My family wants nothing to do with me,’ the old man spat. ‘If it was not for the fact that Stamford House is mine, I doubt they would even remain in the same city as me. Luckily the family’s modest fortunes these days are tied up with the estate, and so with me. Even though they refuse to speak to me, at least I know they are close and safe.’

‘Safe?’

‘It’s a dangerous world, young man, a fact you surely must have personal and intimate knowledge of.’ One skeletal hand, wrapped in a dark spider web of veins, opened and a single finger tapped the side of the old man’s almost hairless head in roughly the same place my wound was situated. ‘But you are correct to enquire; this is not the only reason I have asked you here today.’

I sat back and took up the glass of water. After another sip I replaced it on the table, allowing the general time to get his thoughts in order.

‘You must be very careful in this house. Things do not end well for men who visit us here.’

‘Is this a none-too-subtle warning for me to keep my hands off your granddaughters? I assure you no such thought …’

The old man waved off what I was saying like a bothersome fly. ‘No, no, nothing like that. I am sure you are an upstanding and honourable fellow. There is no such implication offered. I am being very literal. Watch yourself during the time you remain with us, and make sure you leave at the first opportunity. Too many young men have been ensnared within the web of my family, and few have ever escaped our clutches.’

I recalled the old general had seen a lot of action during his military service, and many a young man wearing his uniform had followed him into battle and never returned. Somehow I knew this was not the sort of loss he was talking about.

Before we could recommence our talk, a clock at the far end of the room struck three. Immediately a door behind the general swung open and another servant entered. Without saying a word, he took hold of the old man’s chair, wheeled him about, and pushed him out of the room. The general did not look pleased about this, nor did he do anything to stop it.

Apparently dismissed, I picked up my jacket and walked out the door I had come in, happy to leave that sweltering hell behind.