MacVitie came upon the 'excavation squad' at the old demolished factory. Mungojerrie was both supervising and getting his own paws dirty digging around. Naturally he would be the one to 'discover' the Stone.
Catching Jerrie's eye as he straightened a moment to stretch his back and wipe sweat from his brow, Mack jerked his head to summon the tiger tom. Wouldn't suit 'Milord Leader's dignity to simply go around yelling, 'Jerrie!'
"How goes the search?" Mack inquired.
"No leads yet, Leadah…" Mungojerrie had to pause and cover a laugh with a fake sneeze. No matter how dire the situation, evidently he couldn't kick the habit of snickering over everything and nothing… "But we'll find it, rest assured." Jerrie lowered his voice. "Er, er… when exactly sh'ld that be?"
"A bit less than three weeks."
"I'm, er, ah'm, not sure there's enough rubble left'ere t'last that long…"
"Better find a new site, then. I'll have a look around the neighborhood whilst I'm…out and about."
"Yew…yew gonna go see'er?"
"I've got to know what's going on with her. Jerr', I can't focus for thinking of it."
"Jus' mind'ow y'go. 'Twouldn't do fer the Lord Leadah t'be seen…" He lowered his voice even further. "…At'is mum's 'ouse."
"The Leader can do as he pleases," Mack declared, loudly and imperiously. "I'll be careful," he muttered for Jerrie's ears only.
He had heard gossip among the henchqueens—or, rather, Rumpelteazer had heard the gossip and had repeated it to him. Her first thought had been to keep it from her mate as long as possible; he had enough to keep him fretted for life as it was. But upon further consideration, Teazer had realized that one way or another he would most likely hear something; better it should come from her, and he wouldn't thank her for remaining silent on the subject for any length of time.
Bella had been seen hanging about the Bull and Bush again—occasionally attempting to strike up conversation with the henchcats, more often seated alone at some corner table weeping into a dish of milk. Lily LaRose had at last flat-out banned Bella from her pub, for she 'lowered the mood of the whole place.'
"Fr'm their talk, Vitie…she don't…seem t'look very well," Teazer confided.
MacVitie was overwhelmed with remorse. He'd not seen his mother since the night he had poured out his troubles to her like a frightened kit, and she had responded by going on about what a dreadful feline she was and ended by advising him to do exactly as Griddlebone had told him.
And so he had. And his brother had nearly been killed. Yet if he'd refused… Admetus and Rumpelteazer would have been the ones killed.
No, he could not resent his mother for it. And he blamed himself for her current state, for hadn't he noticed something was dreadfully wrong with her even then? And yet he'd left her on her own and not sought her out again until hearing the rumors. Of course, there had been a myriad of other matters occupying his time…
In any case, he now sought her out in the only place he could think of, apart from the pub (where she was now banned) and the Junkyard (where he didn't trust himself until the right time, and somehow doubted she'd be there in any case): her humans' flat.
He scanned the doors, seeking out the kitty flap with the telltale 'P' printed on.
Bella lay on the front step, appearing to be asleep, but her eyes snapped open and she jumped up to her feet as MacVitie approached. Never was much good at stealth.
The older queen appeared panicked, glancing from side to side as if seeking an escape, and it occurred to Mack she might not actually recognize him. Teazer had more than once mourned the state of his once-neatly-kept ginger coat, especially how long and unkempt it had grown around the ears, and had offered (begged and/or demanded, more like) to smooth it out for him. But Mack and Jerrie had insisted it helped with 'intimidation factor.' Mack could use all the help he could get with that. Briefly the thought struck him that Electra had never seen her father's fur in any state other than neglected and sticking out every which way. When this was all over and he finally had time for such things as grooming, would cleaning up his appearance render him unrecognizable to his own kit?
He stopped a fair distance from the step so Bella wouldn't feel cornered. "Mum…it's me."
The grey queen gasped. "Not…Vitie?"
Mack bit his lip, wondering what she'd heard about him, bracing himself for her to turn on the waterworks like the last time.
But contrary to his expectations, no tears were forthcoming for the moment. Indeed, once she realized she was in no danger, she lowered herself back onto the step, as if even the small space she would need to cross in order to close the distance between them would take too much effort. "Come here," she murmured, "and tell me where you've been keeping yourself."
She didn't sound overly concerned—only weary, as if he were a kit again, come to confess some minor misdeed that weighed so heavily on his mind he had to wake her up to tell her about it. She sounded as if speaking, too, cost an incredible effort on her part.
Approaching closer, he realized it might be true. His mother appeared ragged, ancient—he even fancied he could detect a rattle in her chest when she drew breath.
"Mum," he gasped, "what's…what's happened to you?"
"I might ask you the same question," she said evasively. "In fact, I believe I did."
"Well…I'm—that is, we've been…" He cast about for something to say that wouldn't be too shocking in her seemingly-fragile state. Though she seemed so lethargic, perhaps she was incapable of grasping anything extensively enough to be shocked. And surely she had heard at least something at the Bull and Bush? "Mum…have you heard…what's been happening? Have you heard any news at home, or…anywhere else?"
"Home?" Bella echoed, as if the word were foreign to her.
"Back at the Junkyard." His heart pounded. "You have been back there?"
She was silent for a long while. Just when he was considering repeating the question, she spoke at last.
"Once…for a short time…never again."
"Mum! Why? What do you mean?"
"They…they know."
"Who knows what?"
"Everyone. Everything. Growltiger, the Glamour Cats, Plato and Admetus…That it's my fault you ever got mixed up with…with him and his lot…"
"Mum, it's not your fault! It was…" Belatedly, he remembered to lower his voice. "It was Growltiger and Griddlebone's. And they…they're gone. You know that, don't you? You're free of them at last."
"But you aren't," Bella said, abruptly turning the conversation onto him once more. "I have heard something…rumours… Oh, Vitie, how is it that you're still mixed up in all of this?" At least she sounded slightly livelier than she had a moment ago.
"It's…part of a plan." Mack tried to sound more confident than he felt. "The situation is temporary. It was necessary for a time, but soon we'll be— Mum…when you say 'they all know'… Was it you yourself who told them?"
"I told…your father. Most of it he knew, of course; the rest he had guessed, but I had to speak it all aloud to him once and for all, clear the air, I—I couldn't bear it anymore. Of course he put his arms around me and told me he had long since forgiven everything, even suggested I wasn't to blame at all, and should not live in shame any longer…"
"And he's right," MacVitie insisted. "Listen to him, Mum. Go back. It may be difficult at first, but things will soon settle down, you've just got to give it a chance. Once…once I've…done what I have to do, I'll be back too—along with Jerrie and Teazer and a group of new kits to join the tribe, and…" He thought of something that might spark her interest. "And one of them's my daughter. Mum, you have a grandkit. Her name's Electra, and I've been telling her about the Junkyard and everyone, and that we only had to hold out for a while until we could go home," he babbled on, hoping to see some sort of change or interest in her countenance. Bella's expression, however, remained unchanged. She didn't even bat an eyelid at the mention of one of her sons' having a kit of his own. MacVitie's shoulders slumped in disappointment. But then, he reminded himself, Bella never had been much interested in kits. "Everything would eventually go back to normal," he finished lamely.
"I thought—hoped—so too," Bella sighed. "But then…I made the grave mistake of…asking your father to tell the others for me. I…I wanted to put an end to all the secrets once and for all, not just between him and me, but between me and everyone else as well…"
He grasped her paw, hoping to encourage her. "It was brave of you, Mum."
"Brave," she laughed bitterly, "but I wasn't brave enough to tell them myself. Vitie, your father… I trust you know this, but he is so… There is no feline on earth as good as he. He got the story out gradually, telling each Jellicle individually, in the gentlest way possible. All except…your brothers. Your father and I had to tell them together, it was only right, he said, and I agreed. Plato and Admetus were present too, of course, as it involved them…"
Mack's breath caught in his throat, imagining his brothers' reactions. He knew Munkustrap had already known much of their mother's past, but the revelation of Plato and Admetus's parentage must have been shocking, to say the least. And knowing she had discarded them… He certainly couldn't see Admetus, at any rate, taking it well. "What…what did they say?"
"No one…said much of anything. Plato and Munkustrap each took my paw and laid their cheeks against mine—but coldly, as if from a sense of duty, as if they only did so because Deuteronomy had instructed them to…"
"Dad would never give orders about such things, you know that…"
"Perhaps not, but it's the sign of forgiveness he would have wished for, and clearly they did it for his sake, not mine… I can understand the young ones, I've no claim on their affection, but for even my Munk to treat me as a stranger…"
"He was shocked and hurt, mum… You know how he dotes on kits, and the thought of their being abandoned—his own kin, no less— But he'll forgive you, I know it," Mack hastened on, not wishing to reopen the wound, "and as to treating you like a stranger—time is the only remedy for that." He hesitated. "You've…not mentioned…Tugger's or Admetus's responses."
"Admetus… He wouldn't touch my paw, but bowed stiffly in my direction and then excused himself…"
Mack nodded. It was no more than he had expected… "Tugger?"
Bella covered her face with her paws. "He…wouldn't even look me in the eye," she whispered. "Before your father had even finished speaking, he…he turned his back and walked away."
Mack's fist clenched at his side. "What reason does he have for taking it any worse than the others—for not even having the decency to stay and listen… To walk away from you and Dad…"
"No, Vitie, no, you mustn't blame him…I think he remembers more than any of you…even guessed at what was happening, long before I told anyone…"
MacVitie had to admit to himself that he had probably underestimated his eldest brother at every turn. People think I don't see things, but I do, Tugger had said. How true was it? Just how far did it go? How long had Tugger been playing the 'air-headed superstar,' just to cover up his hurt at the destruction he saw within his own family before it was detected by either of his younger brothers? Until now, when at last these terrible matters were being spoken aloud…it was too late, Tugger's bitterness and anger had become a hardened shell that encased his heart, deafening him to his mother's pleas, keeping him from truly getting close to anyone…perhaps he never would settle down with a mate because he feared abandonment... Mack's stomach lurched at the thought that he himself had helped contribute to that bitterness by constantly fighting with Tugger or brushing him off rather than even attempting to understand him. No wonder he and Tugger might have nearly killed one another without thinking twice…
He shivered. "But Mum… You mustn't let that keep you away… You must keep trying; now that you've spoken the words aloud, there can be reconciliation…it'll just…take longer with some than with others, that's all…" And the same would be true for him when he got back…if he got back…
"Vitie…" Bella shook her head. "I can't."
"But if you…" Abruptly, Mack stopped and turned his head to the side, listening intently. He thought he'd heard something, some rustling nearby. Too late, he realized what a foolish move that had been and that he ought to have appeared unconcerned; now whoever-it-was would know he was onto them... Of course, it might just be a neighbor's dog…
"Vitie…?" Bella looked at him questioningly.
"Get inside," he hissed. When his mother hesitated, he actually took her arm and began helping her up the steps. "It's probably nothing," he said, belatedly feigning nonchalance, "but just in case…stay inside while I go look in the next garden. Just as a matter of interest, have they got a dog?"
"I—I think so."
"Good, then. That's probably what it was. I'll just go see…"
"Vitie, pollicles are nothing to be trifled with!"
"Oh, I'll be fine. Haven't you heard I'm now the scariest thing in town?"
