The train pulled away into a deep cutting, its whistle hooting. Buildings on either side cast deep shadows across the windows, then Miriam found herself watching the darkness of a tunnel. “I’m worried about the congress,” Miriam admitted.

“Hah. Leave that to the duke. Do you think he would have called for it if he didn’t trust you?”

“If anything goes wrong, if we don’t get there, if Brill was lying about my mother being safe—”

The train began to slow again. “Our stop!” Olga stood up and reached for her coat.

They waited at one end of the platform while the huge black and green behemoth rumbled away from the station. A handful of tired travelers swirled around them, making for the footbridge that led over the tracks to the main concourse. Miriam nodded at a door. “Into the waiting room.” Olga followed her. The room was empty and cold. “Are you ready?” Miriam asked. “I’ll go across first. If I run into trouble, I’ll come right back. If I’m not back inside five minutes, you come over too.”

Olga discreetly checked her gun. “I’ve got a better idea. You’re too important to risk first.” She pulled out her locket and picked up her bag: “See you shortly!”

“Wait—” It was too late. Miriam squinted at the fading outline. Funny, she thought, irritated, I’ve never seen someone else do that. “Damn,” she said quietly, pulling out her own compact and opening it up so that she could join Olga. “You’d better not have run into anything you can’t handle—”

Ouch. Miriam took a step back and a branch whacked her on the back of the head.

“Are you alright?” Olga asked anxiously.

“Ouch. And again, ouch. How about you?”

“I’m fine, except for my head.” Olga looked none the worse for wear.

“Where are we?”

“I should say we’re still some way outside the city limits.” Miriam put her bag down and concentrated on breathing, trying to get the throbbing in her head under control. “Are you ready for a nice bracing morning constitutional?”

“Ugh. Mornings should be abolished!”

“You will hear no arguments from this quarter.” Miriam bent down, opened her bag, and removed a cloak from it to cover her alien clothes. “That looks like clear ground over there. How about we try to pick up a road?”

“Lead on,” sighed Olga.

They’d come out in deciduous woodland, snow lying thick on the ground between the stark, skeletal trees; it took them the best part of an hour to find their way to a road, and even that was mostly dumb luck. But, once they’d found it, Niejwein was already in sight. And what a sight it was.