Shoulder the Sky Read Online Free Page B

deplored. It surprised him how much it still hurt that the one time John Reavley would have turned to him for professional help it had been too late, and he still, nearly a year later, could not complete the task.
    Judith, five years younger than Matthew, was using the only real skill she had and harnessing her aimless impetuosity somewhere in the Ypres area, as a VAD - a part of the Voluntary Aid Detachment driving ambulances, staff cars, whatever she was asked. Her letters sounded as if finally she had found a sense of consuming purpose, and even a fellowship, which gave her a kind of happiness in spite of the frequent danger and the almost perpetual physical hardship.
    That meant it was only Matthew who was able to pursue the little knowledge they had in order to find the Peacemaker, not for personal vengeance or even some abstract of justice, but to stop him in whatever alternative way he was pursuing his goal. And none of them had ever imagined he would abandon it.
    He drew up at the crossroads. A team of horses heavy and patient creatures was drawing a harrow over the field to his left, and he could smell the turned earth, a rich, clinging fragrance.
    The rain had passed and the sunlight glittered on the dripping leaves in the hedge.
    He accelerated and moved forward. He could trust no one outside the family, not even his own superior in the SIS in fact, possibly him least of all. He could only rehearse the facts that were indisputable and deduce from them what else had to be true.
    John Reavley had finished his university education in mathematics in Germany, and had many German friends. One of them had been Reisenburg, the man whose calligraphic skills had been used to draft both copies of the treaty. He had been appalled by what he saw, and had stolen them, bringing them to England, to the one man he trusted and believed might be able to stop the conspiracy.
    Reisenburg had passed the documents to John Reavley, who had within hours telephoned Matthew in London, saying he would bring them the following day. But he had got no further than a few miles when he had been sabotaged on the road by Sebastian Allard, Joseph's favourite student at St. John's College, passionate, idealistic and terrified of the destruction, not only to life but to the very spirit of civilization, that war would bring. He had believed the Peacemaker's plan to be the lesser evil. Then, after he had committed double murder in its cause, and seen with horror the reality of violent death, he had found he could not live with it.
    That had been followed by the murder of Harry Beecher, Joseph's oldest and dearest friend, and finally by yet another suicide. Reisenburg too had been killed, but Matthew had no idea by whom.
    And on 4 August Britain had been plunged into war.
    Who was the Peacemaker? A man with allies, who had access to the German royal court, almost certainly to the Kaiser himself, and who also had private and personal access to King George V. No one would conceive of such a plan, let alone put it into action, without knowing both men. He was also quite obviously politically astute, had a soaring and utterly ruthless imagination, and yet, in his own way, a passionate morality.
    He and his disciples had desperately wanted the treaty document back because there was neither time nor opportunity to redraft it and get the Kaiser to sign it again before offering it to the King, but also it was imperative it did not fall into the hands of anyone who would make it public.
    When they had discovered it was gone, they must have known it was Reisenburg who had taken it, but not in time to follow him. If they had, they would have taken it from him and killed him then. Similarly they could not have seen him pass it to John Reavley, or again they would have acted at the time.
    And yet they had instructed Sebastian Allard to kill John Reavley the very next day. Therefore they had to have known that he had it, and that he would be driving down that particular