‘Go and claim a refund. You’ll see several cancellation automats next to the ticket office. There’s a machine readable code printed on the back of your ticket. Feed it into the slot, and collect the cash below. Or you can burn it into a charge card if you have one.’

‘I didn’t pay for the ticket myself.’

‘Doesn’t matter. Today’s a good day to claim a refund. Because of the strike there’s an element of compensation added to the ticket price, and because the strike has been going on for several days the railway company is obliged to refund an extra ten per cent, for tithes and commutations many passengers had to find.’

The door on my side of the car lifted effortlessly and silently. A blast of freezing air swept in on me. I had no outer protection! I levered myself out of the car seat as quickly as possible, and with a clumsy scrambling motion stood up on the concourse outside.

The car door whooshed down immediately. The engine was idling, the purring sound of a fantastically powerful giant cat, at the ready for a kill. I paid no more fanciful attention than that, and scuttled forward, crouching to try to minimize the impact of the cold.

The station entrance hall was not exposed to the outside air, but even so it was a chilly and draughty place. Music and announcements clashed on the overhead speakers, as before. The whole immense edifice was full of echoes. Three of the five cancellation automats were labelled as being out of service, one with a broken glass screen, but the first of the others I tried responded the instant I slipped in my charge card.

Within two minutes I had completed the transaction. My card was credited with the return part of the fare, also for the use of a sleeping compartment I no longer required, four pre-paid meals I would never eat, cabin services I would not be benefiting from. The compensation and refunded tithes Frejah had mentioned almost doubled the total amount. Mutability discounts added a few further cents.

The total refund was in simoleons, and as I hurried back to the car I knew that the problem of the hotel bill was mostly solved.

The car door opened. I swung myself inside. I was chilled through. The door swished closed.

‘Thank you,’ I said to Frejah Harsent. She boosted the heater, floored the accelerator pedal.

Strangers in a Car

6

Strangers in a Car