The poisoned chalice

charade at Maubisson. Vauban has left us to die. He is probably drafting the letter to our royal master, saying we left the palace safely and that he cannot be accountable for our movements after that. We are supposed to disappear, but how?'
    I stood and shivered with fear for the thought hadn't occurred to me. How could we be in danger in the centre of a maze? Vauban could be trying to ridicule us and we could spend most of the night trying to get out, but there must be something more than that. I heard the eerie shriek of peacocks from the lawns then a gust of evening breeze fanned the stench from that horrible orchard and its rotting human fruit. Old Shallot's courage just ebbed away. Benjamin played with the top of his boot. 'Master, what are we to do?'
    A twig cracked. Benjamin rose quickly and pushed me down a path. He ignored my protests and shoved me on, turning up and down the paths of the maze. He was using the setting sun as a pointer, determined to put as much distance between us and the centre of the maze as possible. At last, breathless, we stopped and Benjamin put his hand over my mouth.
    'Who else came into the maze?' he whispered. Benjamin saw the terror in my eyes and smiled thinly. 'Yes, indeed. The mameluke,' he whispered. 'He and those damned cats. Roger, we are being hunted!' 'But how?' I hissed. 'They will need our scent.'
    'Where's your sword belt, Roger? They have our scent, as well as our weapons.'
    We stood, ears straining into the darkness. We heard a faint snap followed by a soft, silken sound and the low, deep purr of one of the cats.
    Now, I have been hunted by wolves in frozen Paris and outside Muscovy; by killer dogs in the catacombs of Rome; and by Venetian assassins in the old Roman sewers of London. Yet none was more macabre than that dreadful hunt on a balmy summer's evening through a dark green maze under the night skies of Paris. Now and again we could hear the sound of merry voices on the evening breeze and, every so often, the slither of soft-soled shoes over twigs and pebbles, the pad of clawed feet and the deep-throated purr of the hunting leopards. What is more we couldn't run. There was nowhere to run to. No fixed point of safety. And that's what Vauban intended. We would run until we dropped then wait for the mameluke and his leopards to capture us. The sweat streamed down our faces. My heart began to thud like a drum and my terror only increased when I realised we were using paths we had already been down. The green box hedges closed in like the thickest walls of a prison. I suppose my presence gave my master some form of courage for, when I glanced at his sweat-soaked face, the usually calm features were twisted into a snarl of rage.
    We paused, caught our breath and hurried on. We turned a corner and there, squatting on all fours, was one of the leopards, eyes blazing, ears pulled back, its great tail twitching. For a few seconds it just sat there, the muscles of its golden back rippling, then it rose and the purr became a snarl. Benjamin seized me by the shoulder and we ran. We came to a crossroads in the maze. Benjamin unhooked his cloak and threw it to the ground. 'Leave it!' he gasped. 'It will delay the cat.'
    We hurried on, the blood pounding in our ears, our hearts hammering, breath coming in short coughs, until we were forced to stop, gasping and retching.
    'Let's think,' Benjamin whispered. 'We are armed.' He slid one sweat-soaked hand down into his boots and pulled out the long, thin, Italian stiletto he kept there. 'Anything else?' I asked.
    Benjamin shook his head. 'That's all, Roger, and our wits.' He looked up at the top of the hedge. 'Come on, up you go!' 'Master, the leopards will follow.'
    'No, they won't. The hedge will take our weight, the branches are intertwined. Spread yourself as if you were on a frozen lake.'
    Benjamin cupped his hand for my boot and, gasping and panting, I swung up on to the hedge, lying face down. The sharp branches, freshly shorn, bit into my stomach, crotch, legs and chest. I had to protect my face with my hands as I inched my way to the edge. I lowered my hand and, God knows how, pulled Benjamin up to lie just behind me. For a few seconds we lay there, catching our breath. I was too terrified to move but Benjamin, half-raising himself, stared out over the maze.
    'We are fortunate, Roger. This hedge is slightly higher than the rest. If we go forward as the crow flies, keeping the sun as our guide, we could reach the edge of