Freddy Meredith nodded, as if to emphasize the logic and
propriety of his actions
Jon turned a fascinating shade of purple and opened his
mouth "Freddy's got a point, Jon," Robert said hastily "If he
didn't use the Order's funds to buy it with—"
"What funds?" Austen put in 'This Order hasn't got any
funds, nobody's paid their subscription fee in over six
months Including you, Jon "
"There, you see?" Freddy beamed
"You idiot'" Jon said. "Do you know how long it took me to
locate that platter? We must get it back'"
"It's quite all right, Jonathan," Robert said "We'll just buy it
back from whoever won it from Freddy Who did win it, by
the way? Not Lord North, I hope "
91
"No, no, I don't play at his table," Freddy assured him
"Been around long enough to know a flat from a leg, you
know No, I was playing whist with Henry "
"What does Henry Bramingham want with the silver dish
of the Sons of the New Dawn?" someone asked
The grass beside Kim quivered as Mairelon tensed, but she
could not tell what had provoked the reaction from him
Surely it couldn't have taken him this long to guess that the
"sacred dish" these culls were so nattered about was the Salt-
ash Platter he was looking for?
"Only stake I had left by the end of the night was the
platter," Meredith explained "Henry cleaned me out Last
hand, that went, too "
"Who cares?" someone else said. "it's obvious that we're not
going to dedicate the Sacred Dish tonight, so let's finish up
here and get inside where it's warm "
This suggestion produced a round of enthusiastic cheers,
and the entire group threw off their robes and started down
the hill despite Jonathan's grumbles and the glowering looks
he continued to throw at the oblivious Freddy Meredith
None of them bothered to check the far slope of the hill, so
Mairelon and Kim escaped detection. Even so, Kim did not
really relax until the last sounds of merriment were muffled by
the solid closing of a door
/ Kim sat up at last, feeling cold and stiff, and realized that
Mairelon was stilt lying prone against the side of the hill She
crouched again hastily and hissed, "Somethin' wrong?"
"What?" said Mairelon in a normal tone "No, nothing's
wrong, I'm thinking, that's all "
"Think about gettin' us back to camp," Kim advised "Or
Hunch'11 be comin' after us with a rope, like as not "
"Oh, Hunch won't start worrying until well after dark,"
Mairelon said, still without moving.
92
Kim looked at him with profound exasperation "It is well
after dark/' she pointed out
"Then we'd better get back to camp quickly, hadn't
we?" Mairelon said He pushed himself away from the hill
with his hands, twisted sideways, and slid down the slope
feet-first Kim scrambled after him, muttering curses She
was beginning to understand how Hunch had acquired the
habit
Getting back to camp took nearly as long as Kim had ex-
pected Mairelon got lost twice, forcing them to retrace their
steps in the dark Kim did not enjoy these detours The
noises of insects and the occasional rustling movement of
small animals made her jump, where the calls of lamplighters
and the rumble of the heavy drays would have been soothing
Stumbling over an uneven clump of grass and falling into a
bush was somehow different, and more unpleasant, than trip-
ping on a broken cobblestone and landing in a pile of litter
Even the darkness had a different quality, a clarity and depth
that bore no resemblance to the foggy blackness of the back
streets of London
Hunch met them on the road He was carrying a lantern
and frowning heavily, and both ends of his mustache looked
distinctly damp and ragged "Master Richard'" he said in evi-
ble "You ain't urt'"
"What? Of course not," Mairelon answered "Why should
I be?"
"'Cause you 'adn't got no reason for a-goin' off and not
tellin' me, if you ain't been urt," Hunch said, recovering
rapidly "Leastwise, I don't see as you did "
"That's because you don't know where we've been," Mair-
93
elon said in his most reasonable tone "You really ought to
have a little more faith in me, Hunch "
Hunch snorted expressively "All right, where ave you
been?"
"Finding things out," Mairelon said "Among them, the rea-
son why our friend Shoreham has such a low opinion of the
Sons of the New Dawn. As well as a hint to the current
owner of the Saltash Platter "
"And 'oo might that be?"
"According to the ersatz druids whose undeniably imag-
inative ceremony we observed this evening, Henry Bra-
mingham Not the best of news "
'"Enry," Hunch said, frowning "I ain't sure—"
"Later, Hunch, if you please Later, and preferably warmer,
drier, and much less hungry 1 hope no one has stolen our
dinner while you've been swanning about out here "
"You ad ought to be sent to bed without any," Hunch
grumbled, "and that dratted girl, too."
"Really, Hunch'" Mairelon said in a shocked tone before
Kirn could do more than gasp in outrage "And alt this time
I'd thought you were worried about the proprieties "
Hunch's tangled efforts to refute this deliberate misin-
terpretation lasted until they reached the wagon Kirn was
sure that this was exactly what Mairelon had intended, and
while she would normally have been annoyed at his high-
handed method of taking over her battle, this time Kim was
grateful She was cold and tired, and her hands and face bore
scratches that stung when she thought about them She was
in no condition for an argument with Hunch.
Dinner was waiting, and if the stew was thick enough to
cut with a knife and the potatoes in it were so well cooked
that they came apart at the touch of a spoon, Kim did not
mind at all Mairelon was either pickier or preoccupied; he
settled himself on the bottom step of the wagon with a full
94
dish and a spoon, but ate so slowly that Kim was halfway
through her second bowl before he finished a quarter of his
own
When Kim paused long enough to notice this curious be-
havior, she glanced at Hunch He was frowning and nibbling
delicately on the left half of his mustache whenever he looked
in Mairelon's direction That was enough for Kim She moved
to a conveniently situated rock, rattled her spoon against the
side of her dish, and when Mairelon glanced up, said,
"What's got you so nattered, then?"
"Henry Bramingham," Mairelon said He took a spoonful
of stew and looked down at his bowl with a frown of an-
noyance "It's gone cold "
"if you'd of eaten it right off, you wouldn't of no-
ticed," Kim said without sympathy "Who's this Bramingham
&nb
sp; cove?"
"Henry Brammgham is the son of Charles Bramingham and
Harriet St Clair Bramingham," Mairelon answered Hunch
made a strangled noise, and Mairelon looked up "Yes, ex-
actly "
"Exactly what?" Kim said, thoroughly exasperated
"Exactly the problem," Mairelon said "Harriet, you see, is
the sister of Gregory St Clair And the Baron has, shall we
say, very little liking for your obedient"
"'E's the one as called in the Runners," Hunch said darkly
"And gave 'em Master Richard's name "
"So we thmk," Mairelon said "He's also something of a
wizard, and well known for his interest in unusual magical
objects If young Henry turns the platter over to his uncle,
and I can think of no reason why he shouldn't, our chances of
recovering it are small "
"So?" Kim said The two men looked at her, and she
shrugged "I don't see what's the good in your havin' this plat-
ter you're so set on If the Robin Redbreasts catch you with
95
it, they'll be sure you cracked the cnb and took it I thought
that was what you didn't want happenin'"
"You're right, but unfortunately there's no other way of
finding out who really took the Saltash Set in the first place,"
Mairelon said "!f we can get all the pieces together. Shore-
ham and I can use one of the Ribensian Arcana to locate the
person who stole them, but it won't work unless we have
everything "
Kirn shrugged again "it's your neck Which direction are
you goin' to stick it out in next?"
Mairelon grinned "The inn at Ranton Hill, 1 think 1 can
pick up some gossip and get some idea of how things stand at
the Brammghams', how recently Lord St Clair has visited,
that sort of thing "
"Not tonight," Hunch said firmly "And this time you ain't
a-going off alone, not if I 'ave to 'ide every pair of breeches
you 'ave "
Mairelon looked startled, then thoughtful "Yes, I think it
will do very well," he said after a moment "You can poke
about in the stables and kitchens, Kim can sit in the public
room, and I'll see what the news is in the private parlors
Someone's bound to know something, and this way we don't
stand a ghost of a chance of missing it"
"Why're you so sure?" Kim asked
"The country inn is the heart of every village, or at least its
ears and tongue," Mairelon explained "Think of it as a
London public house, only more so "
"If you say so," Kim said dubiously "Just what am I gom' to
have to do?"
They spent the next hour or so discussing the exact meth-
ods each would use in their descent upon Ranton Hill's inn,
what stones they would tell, and what clothes to wear to be
convincing Mairelon declared that he would pose as a fash-
ionable Town buck, victim of a carnage accident while dnv-
96
ing down to a friend's country house Kim would be his
Tiger, despite her protests that she knew nothing about
horses and would be unable to convince anyone that she was
what she pretended to be Hunch was a groom who had been
traveling with the baggage coach, he would lead the horses
from the wagon, claiming that they belonged to the ostensi-
bly demolished phaeton Mairelon's confidence overrode his
companions' misgivings, and by the time the fire began to die
everything was settled
97
TEN
'^•w^' T) anton Hill consisted of three shoptronts,
JW_^^ I. two houses, an inn, and a stable The build-
f r ings looked to Kim as if they had huddled to-
gether for protection from the empty farmland all around
them Not that the land was, technically, empty, but some
low stone walls, a few trees, and a couple of sheep did not go
nearly far enough, in Kirn's opinion, toward filling up the
space
In addition, the village was so quiet that as they ap-
proached along the rutted dirt road Kim began to wonder if it
was peopled by ghosts The sound of the wind, the squeak of
the harness leather, and the crunching of their feet and the
horses' hooves against the road were the only noises She was
a little reassured when a dog began to bark as they reached
the first house, summoning a stable hand in a well-worn
smock from the rear of the inn
Mairelon gave the man an offhand nod and disappeared
into the inn Kim looked after him, shifting her weight from
foot to foot white the stable hand and Hunch eyed each other
measuringly
98
"What happened"?" the man said at last, making a gesture
that included the horse, Kirn, Hunch, and the vanished Mair-
elon
"'E tipped 'is phaeton over trying to feather a corner,"
Hunch said with fine contempt "Leastwise, that's 'ow I make
it '£ says a coach-and-four ran 'im off the road "
The stable hand spat "Another one o' them wild uns He
Stayin' the night?"
"'Ow do 1 know" Hunch said "Even if 'e'd told me, 'e's just
as likely to change 'is mind as not "
"That's the Quality for you," the stable hand said, and spat
again "Well, bring your horses around back, no reason they
should suffer for their masters stupidity "
The man started walking as he spoke Hunch tightened the
makeshift leads attached to the horses' halters The animals
bobbed their heads, slightly out of sequence, and began to
move Kim shifted her weight again, wondering whether she
should follow or wait and wishing Mairelon had told her a
little more about the duties of a Tiger She was just about to
start after Hunch and the horses when Mairelon stuck his
head out of the door of the inn
"Kimi There you are No need to stand about, the luggage
won't be along for a couple of hours at least Come inside and
wait where it's warm "
Kim nodded, glad to have some direction at last As she
started into the inn, she noted that the village was showing a
few signs of life at last a targe, round woman had emerged to
sweep the step in front of the mercer's shop (and get a look at
the new arrivals), an open carriage was descending a distant
hill toward the town, and a second dog had joined the bark-
ing of the first, prompting a volley of curses from an unseen
person on the second floor of the inn The last thing Kim saw
before the door of the inn closed behind her was a large jug
99
hurtling out of the window in the general direction of the
dogs The crash was audible even after the door closed
Mairelon was standing just inside the door, in a short hall-
way at the foot of a steep flight of stairs Beside him, the
innkeeper darted uncertain looks at the mud-splattered boots
and breeches of his newest guest, clearly trying to decide
whether this was truly one of the Quality or only some
jumped-up Cit trying to pass himself off as gentry Kim could
almost sympathize Mairelon's cape was well cut but, to her
experienced eye, a little shabby and out of fashion,
and the
mud made it difficult to determine whether his boots were
similarly well used Had she been looking him over on the
London streets, she would have given him a casual glance and
gone on hunting for a better pigeon to pluck
"Get yourself something to dnnk while you wait," Mairelon
said, seemingly oblivious to the innkeeper's worried frown
He tossed Kim a coin that glittered silver in the air, and the
innkeeper's expression lightened Kim suppressed a smile and
bobbed her head respectfully as Mairelon turned to the inn-
keeper "Now, since we're agreed, I'll just go up and clean off
a little of this dirt"
"Very good, Mr de Mare," the innkeeper answered "Your
lad can go on in there, my wife will be glad to see to him
Now, if you'll just come this way
Mairelon followed him up the stairs without a backward
glance, leaving a trail of damp and dirty footprints Kim
snorted softly At least she would be able to find his room if
she needed to She looked down at the coin Mairelon had
tossed her ft was a new shilling, more than enough for a pint
of ale and perhaps a roll She flipped it into the air, caught it,
and went into the public room to listen to whatever local
gossip there might be
The room was nearly empty Two weather-beaten men in
farmers' smocks glanced up from their mugs as she entered,