Eason was back on board the Orph an hour later, after a shopping expedition through the fancy shops of Kariwak's main boulevard. He picked Althaea up, and spun her around, kissing her exuberantly. Tiarella gave him a sour glance as she cast off. He even smiled at her.

The department store's big carrier bag was slapped down on the roof of the cabin with considerable panache. «I bought some essentials,» he said as they were passing the ancient landing craft in the middle of the harbour. Althaea gasped in delight as he pulled out a couple of bottles of champagne, and three crystal glasses. Packs of honey-roast ham followed, then steaks, imported cheeses, exotic chocolates, ice-cream cartons cloaked in frost.

«You'll be sick if you eat all that lot,» Tiarella grunted.

He pulled a face at Althaea, who bit back on her giggles.

«I got something for you, too,» he said. «Actually, for us.» He held out the flat red leather jewellery case.

Althaea opened it cautiously. There were two platinum lockets resting on the black velvet inside.

«It's for hair,» he told her. «You snip off a few strands of your hair for mine, and I do the same for you. If you want.»

She nodded eagerly. «I do.»

«Good.» Finally, he produced a square box, and gave Tiarella a pointedly dubious look before he eased the lid off a fraction to show Althaea what was inside. Her eyes flashed as she saw the tiny white-silk neglig

They sat together on the cabin roof, back to back, sipping champagne as Orph cut through the water. He could feel the tension slipping away as the mainland fell behind.

It wouldn't be long, a month at most, before there was nothing left of the hardliners of the Quissico Independence Party. Vaughan Tenvis was right to say the ESA's main activity was collecting information; but if it ever found a threat to the Kingdom it acted with terrifying efficiency to eliminate it. Nobody would come for him now.

The just cause would go on, of course, led by whoever survived. Moderates and compromisers, those who lacked fire. And in another thirty-five years Quissico would be an independent state, just as the founding charter promised.

One chapter of his life had closed irrevocably. He was free to embrace the new. Tiarella was now nothing more than an annoying irrelevance, one he could ignore with impunity. She was deranged, reading portents in the sky. Althaea belonged to him, and through her Charmaine. Fait accompli . If Tiarella continued to object . . . well, there had already been one boating accident in the family.

It was for the best. He could do wonders with Charmaine; a smart tough new master with plenty of money to invest was exactly what it needed. In a few years the old place would be up and jumping.

«More champagne?» Althaea asked.

He grinned and kissed her. «I think so.»

Tiarella sat behind the desk in her study, dealing from her pack of tarot cards. She was aligning them in the shape of a cross, each one pushed down firmly on the dark wooden surface with a distinct snick.

«I'm going to live here permanently,» Eason told her.

Another card was dealt. «You wouldn't enjoy it, not full-time. Oh, granted you're riding a crest with all these improvements you're making right now. It's all new and thrilling for you. But forty years of hard labour. I don't think you're quite cut out for that, now are you?»

«I wasn't proposing to do it all myself. I'm offering to buy in. I've cashed in my starship ticket, and liquidated some other investments. There's enough money.»

«A dowry. How quaint.» The arms of the cross were laid down methodically, five cards on each side. «The man Althaea chooses won't have to buy his way in. I'll greet him with open arms. He will have Charmaine because she has Charmaine. It's that simple, Eason. Have you asked her if she wants to share it with you?»

«We're virtually engaged. She's mine, and you know it.»

«Quite the opposite. She is not yours. She never will be. Her destiny is with another.»

The sly attitude of superiority infuriated him. He leant over the desk and caught her wrist as the last card was slapped down.

Tiarella didn't flinch at the pressure he exerted.

«Maybe you're jealous,» he said harshly.

«Of you two being lovers? Good God, no! You can never replace Vanstone. I thought you knew that by now.»

He bit back a furious retort.

«Would you mind letting go of me now, please?» she asked grimly.

He released her, slouching back in his own chair. «The money would make an incredible difference,» he said, refusing to give up. «We could buy some more tractors, clean out the rest of the groves, restore the coffee bushes, hire some labourers to prune the trees. Then there's the house to fix up properly.»

«That's the short cut, Eason, the easy option. You want to be a manager, the grand plantation owner living in his mansion while others bring in the crop. That's not the way to do it, not here. Life is about cycles; you can't fight what nature has ordained. And now we've come round to the time when Charmaine is passed on to Althaea just as it was passed to me all those years ago. I haven't done very well with it, but Althaea and her husband will. They'll rebuild Charmaine slowly. Every day there will be some new accomplishment for them to rejoice about. Their whole life is going to be rich with genuine satisfaction, not this cheaply bought gratitude you offer.»

«Then I'll give the bloody money away. She can have me just the way I was when we met, a destitute drifter.»

Tiarella's mask of indifference cracked for the very first time. She gave him a tired smile, compassion lurking in flecked emerald irises. «I never expected you to fall in love with her. I really didn't.»

«I . . .» He clenched his fists. Admitting that to her would be a defeat in this war, he knew.

«The money won't make any difference to Althaea's answer or mine,» she said weakly. «Believe me, I'm being kind to you. Just go, Eason. If you truly love her. Go now. You'll be hurt by her if you don't.»

«Is that a threat?»

«No. Listen to me, I had a lover before I met Vanstone. He was a good man, he adored me passionately, and I did him. But then Vanstone arrived, and I dropped him. Just like that. I never thought about how he felt. Girls that age can be unknowingly cruel. I don't want that to happen to you.»

«Althaea's not like you. She has a heart.»

Tiarella laughed. «And you believe I don't? I suppose I can't blame you for thinking that. I am a bitch these days, I admit. But I used to, Eason, I used to have a heart just like hers.»

«I don't get it. I really don't. You brought me here, you and that monstrosity snake helped me snuff the bounty hunters. You screwed with me. You stand by and let me screw your daughter. Now you tell me you don't want me here. Why ?»

«Your time is over.»

«Don't give me that card shit again. You realize she's probably pregnant by now. I didn't exactly hold back.»

«Don't get excited, she's not pregnant. I made quite sure she was using a contraceptive.»

He stared at her, shocked. «You . . .»

«Bitch? I'm her mother, Eason.»

«Jesus Christ.»

«You're welcome to stay here as long as you like, although I expect you won't want to. But you must understand, neither Althaea nor Charmaine is ever going to belong to you.»

«We'll see.» He was so furious he didn't trust himself to say anything else to her.

Althaea was in the kitchen, preparing their lunch. She looked up when he came in and gave him a happy smile. He kissed her, and took her hand. «Come along.»

She skipped after him as he went out into the hall. Tiarella was standing in the study's doorway, watching. Althaea automatically stiffened, glancing sheepishly at her mother.

«Althaea and I are going upstairs,» Eason said levelly. «That cot in my chalet is too small for the kind of sex I prefer. So from now on we'll be using the bed in her room. OK?»

Althaea drew a loud, astonished breath.

Tiarella shrugged indifferently. «Whatever.»

Eason grinned victoriously, and tugged a confounded Althaea up the stairs.

«Oh God, she'll kill me,» Althaea wailed as soon as the door shut behind them. «She'll kill both of us.»

«No, she won't.» He imprisoned her head between his palms, putting his face centimetres from hers. «She must learn to accept that you're a grown woman now, and that you and I are in love. We have a perfect right to be together in your bed. I did this for you. Everything I do is for you now.»

«You love me?» She sounded even more frightened than before.

«Yes. Now you and I are going to take the rest of the afternoon and evening off, and spend it in here. If your mother doesn't like that, then she should seriously start to think about leaving the island.»

Eason had never been in Althaea's bedroom before. When he woke up the next morning he looked round blearily. Wan white walls were hung with holographic posters, one of which gave the bed a panoramic view over rugged snowcapped mountains and a magical Bavarian castle. He turned over. Althaea was missing. Her ageing Animate Animal bear was on the floor along with the white silk neglig

He pulled on his jeans and went down to the kitchen. Althaea wasn't there either, which was unusual. She normally made breakfast for everyone.

He started opening cupboards, then he heard her screaming for help. Tiarella was already charging down the stairs as he rushed out of the back door. It sounded as though she was down at the jetty. He pounded along the path, wishing to Christ that the fluxpump wasn't back at his chalet. If that damn snake had run amok . . .

When Eason burst out of the trees, the scene he found was nothing like what he expected. Althaea was lying on the grass right on top of the coral wall, stretching out desperately. There was a wooden dinghy in the water, being tossed about by the current. It smacked into the coral wall with a nasty crunch. Althaea tried to grab the arm of the single occupant, but the dinghy twisted and surged backwards.

Eason ran forwards and threw himself down beside her. The dinghy had been holed on the vicious coral teeth surrounding the wall, and was sinking fast. Another swell rose, pitching it forward again. His synaptic web came on-line, calculating the approach vector and projecting the impact point. He shifted round fractionally, stretching out—

A wrist slapped into his waiting palm. He grabbed tight and pulled. The dinghy was dragged back, sharp spears of coral punching through the hull as it sank below the foam. Tiarella landed on the grass beside him with a hefty thump, reaching out to grasp the shoulder of the lad Eason was holding. Together, the three of them hauled him up over the top of the wall.

Eason blinked in surprise. It was Mullen.

«You idiot!» Tiarella yelled. «You could have been killed.» She flung her arms round the dazed lad. «Dear God, you could have been killed.»

«I'm sorry,» Mullen stammered. He was shaking badly. There was blood oozing from his palms.

Tiarella let go, as self-conscious as Althaea had ever been, then sniffed and wiped away what Eason swore were tears. «Yes. Well, OK. It's a tricky approach, you'll have to learn about the currents round the island.»

«Yes, miss,» Mullen said meekly.

Eason took one of the lad's hands and turned it over. The skin on the palm had been rubbed raw. «What happened?»

«It was the rowing. I'm not used to it.»

«Rowing? You mean you rowed here from Oliviera?»

«Yes.»

Eason's immediate response died in his throat. He glanced at Althaea who was looking at Mullen with an expression of surprise and wonder.

«Why?» she asked timidly. «Why did you come?»

«I wanted . . .» He glanced round at Eason and Tiarella, panic-stricken.

«Go on,» Tiarella said gently. «The truth never hurts in the long run.» She smiled encouragement.

Mullen took a nervous breath. «I wanted to see you again,» he blurted to Althaea.

«Me?»

«Uh-huh.»

Her delicate face betrayed a universe of delight. Then it crumpled to guilt, and she looked at Eason, almost fearful.

His own emotions were almost as confused. What a ridiculous romantic the lad was. Small wonder Althaea was flattered. However, right now he was not prepared to tolerate a rival.

«Eason,» Tiarella said sharply. «You and I have to talk. Right now.»

«We do, yes, but now is not the time.» He said it politely, making an effort to keep his temper in check.

«I insist. Althaea.»

«Yes, Mother?»

«I want you to treat Mullen's hands. You know where the first aid kit is. Do it in the kitchen, I expect he'll want something to eat after that voyage.» She patted the surprised lad's head. «Silly boy. Welcome back.»

Eason closed the study door, cutting off the sound of Althaea and Mullen chattering in the kitchen. When he faced Tiarella he knew that somehow she'd undermined him. Mullen's arrival had changed everything. Yet he didn't see how that was possible.

«Just what the fuck is going on?» he asked.

Tiarella's expression was glacial. «I warned you. I told you your time was up, but you wouldn't listen.»

«My time is just beginning.»

«No it isn't. And as from now, you're not to sleep with Althaea again. I mean that, Eason. And I will enforce it if you make me. Solange is quite capable of dealing with you, and that's just the creature you know about.»

«You're bluffing.»

«Am I? Then it's your call.» She opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a finger-length cylinder with wires trailing from one end. «This is out of the fluxpump. I visited your chalet yesterday evening, just in case.»

«You would seriously set that snake on me for loving your daughter?»

«I would now, yes. Force is all you know, Eason. It's what you'll use if you think Mullen threatens you. I won't tolerate any violence against him.»

«Oh, come on! You honestly think she's going to choose that boy-child over me?»

«She chose him before she was born.»

«This is your cards shit again, isn't it?»

«Far from it.» She walked round the desk and pointed up at the big family print. «Who is this?» A finger tapped impatiently on Vanstone.

He gave an exasperated sigh. Crazy bitch. Then he looked, really looked at the man's features. All the confidence, all the anger inside him started to chill. «It's . . . But it can't be.»

«Yes, it is,» she said wistfully. «It's Mullen. About ten years older than he is now.»

«What have you done? What is going on here?»

Tiarella grinned ruefully. «Small wonder he frightened the life out of me in that dinghy this morning.» She cocked her head to one side, looking up at Eason. «There's just one last thing to show you.»

He hadn't even known the house had a cellar. Tiarella took a torch to lead him down the slippery stone steps. There was a metal airlock door at the bottom. It was open, leading into a small decontamination chamber. The door at the far end was shut.

«This is Dad's old lab,» Tiarella said as she pumped the manual handle to open the inner door. «The electrics fused in a storm years ago, but it's all still functional, I think.»

Inside, Eason found a world completely removed from the rest of Charmaine. Benches of glassware glinted and sparkled as Tiarella swept the torch beam round. Dead electronic modules sprouted wires and optical fibres to mingle with the tubes, bulbs, and dishes. Autoclaves, freezers, synthesis extruders, and vats stood around the walls, along with cabinets he couldn't begin to understand. Two large computer terminals occupied the central desk, a high-resolution holographic projector on the ceiling above them.

«Most of Charmaine's foliage was spliced together in here,» Tiarella said. «And those pesky firedrakes.»

«Right.»

She came to a halt in front of a large stack of machinery. «What I'm trying to show you, Eason, is that Dad knew what he was doing. He took his master's degree at Kariwak University. Several bitek research labs offered him a position, but he came back here.»

«OK, I believe you. Nyewood was good.»

«Yes. So have you worked it out yet?»

«Tell me.»

«He cloned Vanstone for me. A parthenogenetic clone, identical to the original. There was enough of him left after the accident.»

«Oh Jesus wept. Rousseau said you gave one of your babies away. Twins! He said you had twins.» Then he realized.

«That's right. Dad cloned me as well. He engendered them in here.» She tapped the stack of machinery. «And I nurtured the pair of them in my womb. A second little me, a second little Vanstone, growing together even then. After they were born I kept Althaea here, and gave Mullen to the Church orphanage. He grew up in exactly the same environment as Vanstone did.»

«You really think she's going to fall in love with him, don't you?»

«She already has; she couldn't do anything else. The love between us is too strong, too beautiful. I couldn't let something that wonderful die, not when I had a chance to see it renewed.»

«You used me. You crazy bitch, you used me. You had a lover before Vanstone. That's why you let me come here; to make the conditions for Althaea as close as possible to your time.»

«Of course I did. As you used us to escape whatever it was you were fleeing. Althaea had to learn the difference between a meaningless sexual infatuation and the true love which only Mullen can provide.»

«Crazy bitch! You can't dictate her life like this.»

«But it's my life. And you know she doesn't belong to you. You saw the effect Mullen had on her, and her on him.» She smiled, distant with recollection. «Just like me and my Vanstone. He sneaked back to Charmaine from his parish, you know. Only he did it on a regular trader.»

«It's different this time,» he snarled. «This time, I'm here. She loves me, I know she does.»

Tiarella started to put her hand out towards him, then drew back. «Oh, Eason, I never meant for you to get hurt. What the hell is someone like you doing falling in love anyway?»

«Someone like me?»

«Yes. I thought you were perfect when you turned up at the harbour. A thug on the run; selfish and iron-hearted. Why couldn't you treat her the way you treated everyone else in your life?»

He glared at her, helpless against her sympathy, then ran from the laboratory.

«Don't touch her!» Tiarella shouted after him. «I mean it. You leave her alone.»

Eason didn't need the warning. It was obvious within hours that he'd lost. Althaea and Mullen were so besotted with each other it was scary. The one person he'd ever loved was gloriously happy, and anything he did to stop that happiness would make her hate him for ever.

He didn't know whether to call it destiny or history.

They went to bed together on the second night, the two of them bounding up the stairs after supper. Althaea was in front, carefree and eager.

He watched them go, remembering that night after the funeral, the wretched difference. Tiarella was watching him, her face showing compassion.

«If it means anything, I am sorry,» she said.

«Right.» He rose and went out into the gloaming. Rousseau's stock of despicable home-brew was where he'd left it.

Althaea found him the next morning, sitting on the jetty, looking down at the water. A few scraps of the dinghy's timbers were still wedged between the coral spikes.

She settled down beside him, her face anxious. «Are you all right?»

«Sure. I'm just amazed Ross survived as long as he did. That stuff really is dangerous.»

«Eason. Mullen and I are going to get married.»

«Tough decision, was it?»

«Don't. Please.»

«OK. I'm happy for you.»

«No, you're not.»

«What the hell else can I say?»

She stared out across the ocean. «I'm almost frightened of myself, the way I'm behaving. I know how stupid this is, I've only known him for two days. But I feel it's right. Is it?»

«Know what I think?»

«Tell me.»

«I think that your body is the focus for your mind on this journey. It's guided you home through an awful lot of fog, and now it's time to make a safe landing.»

«Thank you, Eason.»

He put a finger under her chin, and turned her head to face him. «I want to know one thing. And I want you to be completely honest. Did you ever love me?»

«Of course I did.»

Tiarella gave him a quizzical glance as he came into the kitchen and flopped down at the table.

«You'll be happy to hear I'm leaving,» he announced.

Her blatant relief made him laugh bitterly.

«I'm not that heartless,» she protested.

«Oh, yes you are.»

»Orph and I will take you wherever you want to go.»

«How very conscientious of you; but it's not that simple.»

«What do you mean?» The old suspicion resonated through the question.

«I've thought this through. Wherever I am, I will always think of Althaea. You know that. Which means you and I will always worry that I might come back. Because I know I'll never be able to trust myself, not completely. So what I propose is that I go somewhere that I can't come back from. I'll pay you to take me there, give Charmaine a proper contract to maintain the ride. God knows you can do with the money despite all those ridiculous ideals of yours; it'll be a nice dependable income for Althaea and Mullen to start with, too.»

«What are you talking about? Where do you want to go?»

«The future.»

The zero-tau field was nothing more than a grey eyeblink. An eyeblink that was giddily disorientating. The laboratory instantly changed to a dark, cool room with an uneven polyp ceiling.

Where Tiarella was leaning over him to switch on the pod a moment before, another figure now straightened up as her finger left the control panel. They looked at each other suspiciously. The girl was about twenty, undoubtedly related to Althaea. He could never mistake that fragile, narrow chin; her skin was ebony, though, with flaming red hair trimmed to a curly bob. Geneering trends had changed a lot, apparently.

«Hi,» he said.

She managed a strong echo of Althaea's shy grin. «I never quite believed it,» she said. «The man in the basement. You're a family legend. When we were little Dad told us you were like a sleeping knight ready to defend Charmaine from evil. Then after I grew up I just thought they were using the zero-tau pod to store botanical samples or something.»

«I'm afraid I'm not a knight, nothing like.» He swung his feet out of the pod, and stepped down. The floor was raw coral. Large cases and plastic boxes were stacked up all around. «Where am I?»

«The basement. Oh, I know what you're thinking. They dismantled the old lab fifty or sixty years ago. The family has membership in an agronomy consortium back on Kariwak. They provide upgrades for Charmaine's groves these days.» She gestured at the stairs.

«What's the date?»

«April nineteenth, 2549.»

«Jesus Christ, a hundred and two years. Is the Confederation still intact?»

«Oh yes.» She gave him an awkward grimace. «Mr Eason, Grandma's waiting.»

«Grandma?» he asked cautiously.

«Althaea.»

He stopped at the foot of the stairs. «That wasn't the deal.»

«I know. She says she'll understand if you want to jump back into the pod for another few days. She doesn't have long to live, Mr Eason.»

He nodded thoughtfully. «Always knew what she wanted, did Althaea. I never said no to her back then.»

The girl smiled, and they started up the stairs.

«So you're her granddaughter, are you?»

«Great-great-granddaughter, actually.»

«Ah.»

He recognized the layout of the house, but nothing more. It was full of rich furnishings and expensive artwork. Too grand for his taste.

Althaea was in the master bedroom. It was painful for him to look at her. Two minutes ago she'd been a radiant seventeen-year-old a week from her wedding day.

«Almost made a hundred and twenty,» she said from her bed. Her chuckle became a thin cough.

He bent over and kissed her. Small black plastic patches were clinging to the side of her wrinkled neck. He could see the outline of more beneath her shawl.

«Still want to fight dragons for me?» she asked.

«'Fraid not. I was rather impressed by that great-great-granddaughter of yours.»

She laughed and waved him into a seat beside the bed. «You haven't changed. Mind you, you haven't had the time.»

«How's Mullen?»

«Oh, him. Been gone five years, now.»

«I'm sorry.»

«We had a century together. That's why I wanted to see you again. I wanted to thank you.»

«What for?»

«For doing what you did. For leaving us alone.» She tilted her head towards the open window. «I loved him, you know. All the time he was alive, and even now, a whole century of love. It was an excellent life, Eason, truly excellent. Oh, I wasn't a saint; I had my share of fooling around when I was younger, so did he. But we stayed together for a hundred years. How about that?»

«I'm glad.»

«I lied to you about the children. Remember the day after you arrived I said I wanted ten.»

«I remember.»

«Course you do; it's only been two months for you. Well, I only had eight.»

«That's a shame.»

«Yes. But, ah, what they achieved. Take a look.» She flicked a pale finger at the window. «Go on.»

So he did. And there was his dream waiting outside. The neat ordered ranks of fruit trees stretching right round the island, a fleet of tractors buzzing down the grassy avenues, and Edenist-style servitor chimps scampering through the branches in search of the bright globes. The red-clay rooftops of a small fishing village; boats bobbing at their moorings along the seven jetties. People walking and cycling everywhere. Adults and children setting up tables and parasols in the garden ready for a party. And, as ever, the firedrakes, noisy flocks of them spiralling and wheeling overhead.

«That's all thanks to you,» she said. «I don't know what would have happened if you'd stayed around. I was so torn. I loved Mullen for a century, but I kept the guilt, too.»

«It's beautiful,» he said.

«You can stay if you want. I'd like you to enjoy it.»

«No. My time here is over.»

«Ha! That's Mother talking.»

«She told you?»

«Oh yes. Mind you, I never told Mullen. It was too weird.»

«She was right, though, wasn't she? You two were made for each other.»

«Yes, damn her, she was right. But that guilt always made me wonder.»

It was called the Torreya Memorial Clinic, a mansion sitting astride the foothills above Kariwak. Long since converted from a private residence, its main wings provided free health care for the city's poor. Of course, such charity was expensive, so the foundation which ran it also provided first-class treatment for those who could afford it. As well as standard medical facilities there was an excellent rejuvenation centre, and for those who wished to give their offspring the best start in life, a geneering department.

Eason waited for Dr Kengai to complete his credit checks, remembering the last time he was in an office, facing down agent Tenvis. The doctor had a much better view over Kariwak than the old Kulu Embassy provided. Although the city was much the same size as it had been a century ago, he was disappointed to see the number of skyscrapers that had sprung up. The sequoias were still there along the central boulevard, and prospering, tall green spires waving gently high above the clutter of white buildings.

«Your financial status appears quite impeccable, Mr Eason,» Dr Kengai said happily.

Eason grinned back with equal sincerity. «Thank you. And you'll have no trouble providing the service I want?»

«A parthenogenetic clone is a relatively straightforward procedure. It poses no difficulty.»

«Good.» He unclipped the silver chain around his neck, and handed over the locket. «Is there sufficient genetic material here?»

Dr Kengai removed the tuft of gold-auburn hair it contained. «You could reproduce several million of her from this.» He teased a single strand loose, and returned the locket.

«I only want one,» Eason said.

«I understand you don't intend to raise the girl yourself?»

«That is correct. I'm going to be away travelling again for a few more years, my ride isn't quite finished.»

«Unfortunately, we do have to reassure ourselves that the child will have a viable home to go to once she is removed from the exowomb. The clinic is not in the business of producing orphans.»

«Don't worry. My lawyer is currently seeking a suitable set of foster parents. A trust fund will pay for her to be brought up out in the archipelago for seventeen years.»

«Then what will happen to her?»

«I'll come back, and she'll marry me. That's when she loves me, you see.»