retired .
I don ’ t know how long I had been asleep but the sound of something hitting the floor and the scraping of a chair woke me .
Opening my door slowly , I peered out of my room and saw a man sitting at the dining table where the kitchen staff took their meals . He was lit by a thin beam of moonlight that profiled his gnarled face and bulky form . He was huddled over , a bottle of whiskey in one hand .
‘ In or out , boy ,’ he said , and the timbre of his voice shook my bones .
sir ?’
I stepped out of my room . ‘ C-c-can I help you ,
‘ Who are you ?’ ‘ I ’ m Jack , sir . The Prime Minister ’ s aide .’
‘ Another one . I had half a mind they would stop hiring them after the last one .’
‘ What h-h-happened to the last one ?’
He turned to face me , and I got a good look at his features . Everything seemed too big for his face , as though he was a failed pugilist , or a portrait of a man painted with too much paint . His hair was a shocking mane of curls , and his eyes seemed almost yellow in the darkness .
‘ I won ’ t spoil the surprise ,’ he said . ‘ Take a drink with me boy .’
I walked towards him , and he raised a hand . 45