Grint sighed at the Frenchness of these names.
‘Both ladies feel a great reluctance to pass him but fortunately another man turns up and is able to direct them to the Petit Trianon. A little further on they will encounter a solitary lady, sketching. Moberly particularly notices her old-fashioned dress, and later, firmly believes she has seen the queen, Marie Antoinette. They will pass her by and shortly afterwards, walk out of the time-slip, return to 1901 and join another party of travellers, without really realising what has happened.’ She shut down the map, saying briskly, ‘And that, lady and gentlemen, is what you can expect to encounter within this particular time-slip.’
Ellis stood up. ‘Thank you, Officer North. Now, we know this is not the first time this time-slip has appeared, and this one is well-documented so we won’t be working in the dark. We know exactly what should occur and when, so it’s just a case of ensuring that it does.’
Jane raised her hand. ‘Sir, how often does this particular time-slip materialise?’
‘I think this is its fifth appearance to date and the first one for about seven years. It’s a recurring problem. Not as bad as Liverpool, of course, but nothing is as bad as Liverpool. Apparently, it is now almost impossible to arrive at the end of Bold Street and still be in the same century in which you set out. For some reason there was a lot of activity there in the Time Wars, which has substantially damaged the fabric of Time, and if we had our way, the whole area would be a no-go zone but, apparently, we’re not allowed to shut down a large chunk of Liverpool. Or so they tell us. To some extent I can see their point – it would only draw attention to the time-slip, and every nutter, conspiracy theorist, new-age weirdo, mad scientist, teenager, and historian in the world would be all over it.
‘What marks this occurrence as a genuine time-slip event, however, is not what the women in question saw, but the feelings they experienced. Those of us who’ve had the misfortune to encounter a time-slip will be well aware of the . . . flat . . . nature of events inside. It’s been likened to being inside a picture. There is no sound. No wind. No light and shade. Everything is lifeless. You will also experience feelings of nausea very similar to travel sickness. Be aware of how easily you can lose your sense of direction. If the slip closes with you still inside, you’re stuck for good until either it opens by itself or we can force it to do so. So stick together and don’t get lost.
‘You will also find yourselves subject to feelings of despair and hopelessness. Live with it. It’s not as if you don’t encounter despair and hopelessness every day in the Time Police. You might also find difficulty in concentrating, but since in my experience this is your default state, I encourage you to work around it.
‘Lt Chigozie’s team are already in 1789, unobtrusively keeping an eye on things at the Versailles end. Your two teams will both be in 1901. Lt Grint’s team will set up an unobtrusive perimeter to ensure no one else can be involved. Usually, this is a very well-behaved time-slip. Nothing ever changes. The women enter, wander around for a couple of hours and then exit. On this occasion, however, the slip is generating anomalous readings, as observed by Trainee Farrell.’
He turned to Grint. ‘You’ll need to be vigilant, Lieutenant.’
Grint nodded. ‘No problems there.’
‘My team will enter the time-slip to keep an eye on our two intrepid English ladies. At a discreet distance, people. Our only purpose is to ensure nothing befalls them, that they tread the familiar path and emerge safely back in 1901. The time-slip usually seals itself once they’re out. Any questions so far?’
‘Yes,’ said North. ‘I’d like to be included, sir. I speak excellent French and an historical perspective might be useful.’
‘Doubt it,’ said Grint. ‘The old biddies wander in and then wander back out again. It’s always the same.’
‘Nevertheless . . .’ said North, managing in just one word to convey her misgivings at Grint’s attitude. Major Ellis nodded his understanding.
‘Agreed,’ he said. ‘You probably won’t be needed, North, but it’ll be useful to have you around. Unless you object, Lieutenant?’
Grint scowled and shook his head.
‘You’re with me then, North. Standard operating procedures for this one, everyone. And don’t bother with weapons – anything not contemporary with that particular period will work in a time-slip. Nor your coms. Be aware.’
‘Sir, do we know what triggered this particular time-slip?’ asked Jane, scribbling in her notebook.
‘No one ever knows what sets them off. We haven’t yet discovered whether they work to a timetable, or just randomly occur. I suspect, given the date and location of this one, it’s something to do with the period in which time travel was legal, and we’re looking at a recurring phenomenon caused by too many would-be time travellers all trying to catch a glimpse of Marie Antoinette as she’s arrested at Versailles, and this has made the entire area unstable. All attempts to fix this one have, so far, proved unsuccessful, and we usually just deploy a team to keep an eye on things. Today, however, our priority will be to identify the source of the anomaly before it escalates into anything major. Once we’ve dealt with that and if it follows its own rules, the time-slip should spontaneously shut itself down once the Englishwomen emerge and then we can all come home.’
Ellis sighed heavily. ‘Please also keep your eyes peeled for any time-travelling lunatics from St Mary’s who, with our luck, are almost certain to turn up and make a bad situation considerably worse.’
No one looked at Matthew. Matthew continued to stare at his scratchpad.
Everyone else sighed in unison. The Time Police and St Mary’s had, on several occasions, been forced to work together and that had rarely ended well. Standing orders forbade the Time Police to shoot St Mary’s dead on sight and this was a recurring grievance. Several officers had offered to forgo their next pay rise in return for the privilege of eliminating every member of that cursed organisation who unwisely crossed their path. Commander Hay, with some regret, had declined these kind offers.
Luke put up his hand. ‘We won’t have to wear those daft clothes, will we? They had mice living in their wigs, you know.’
‘Our presence will be discreet and unobtrusive. If it isn’t, you’ll be answering to me afterwards. You will keep an exceedingly low profile, so no daft clothes, no mice. And be aware that anyone inadvertently preventing the French Revolution from occurring as it should can expect to find themselves explaining to a deeply unhappy Commander Hay – together with all the unpleasantness that usually entails. Any other questions?’
Luke raised his hand again. Without even looking, Jane pulled it back down.
Ellis wound up the briefing. ‘Remember, people – this is a time-slip. There will be a certain amount of confusion and disorientation. You’ll be jumping to 1901 but you’ll be operating in 1789. Keep your wits about you. That’s it, everyone. Dismissed.’