145
"Why not? Just because your driving was so bad that you
overturned instead of merely losing by an inch or two?"
"Enough," The man from the coach spoke with a quiet
deadliness. "I have no interest in your disagreements, and you
will oblige me by saving them for another time and place."
He turned to Robert Choiniet "You will go by Bramingham
Place and inform them that Lord St. Clair has met with an
accident on the road. I trust you are capable of giving them
sufficient directions. Beyond that, all I require of you is that
you do not return."
"I understand perfectly, sir," Robert said coldly "Give you
good day."
He raised his hands a quarter of an inch. His horses sprang
forward, eager to be away, and the phaeton swept off down
the road. George Dashville stared after it, spluttering in-
coherently, while the Baron straightened his cravat and
brushed at his coat and breeches Kirn shook herself out of
her daze and eased herself farther down the slope of the
ditch. A low stone wall ran along the far side; if she could get
over it, she had a good chance of getting around the entire
muddle of men and carriages without being seen,
Her luck held- The chestnut horses took exception to the
Baron's abrupt movements, and George's efforts to keep them
from bolting occupied both his attention and St. Clair's while
Kim slid over the wall unnoticed- She bent over and crept
along it, keeping her head tow despite her curiosity. She
didn't want St. Clair to catch her, even if he wasn't Dan Lav-
erham. From the way Mairelon acted, St. Clair was as bad as
Dan. She didn't straighten up until the Baron's caustic obser-
vations regarding George's horsemanship began to fade with
distance -
146
FIFTEEN
~^-yk^" -vr im's back was sore and stiff from her long,
jtjL'^^ j^. crouched-over walk to avoid Baron St.
f r Clair, so she took things easier on the last mile
to Bramingham Place. Once she reached the drive leading up
to the house, she slowed even further. She enjoyed looking
about at the bushes through which she and Mairelon had
dodged the night before, though the manicured lawn and me-
ticulous placement of the trees made her nervous. Besides,
she was in no real hurry to complete her errand.
Slow as she went, the house drew inexorably nearer- Kim
sighed and straightened her jacket. She had better get this
over with before her nerve failed her. She went up to the
door and knocked.
The door opened at once, and Kim thought she saw a
faint, fleeting expression of surprise on the face of the butler
who had opened the door "Message for Miss D'Auber," Kim
said, touching her cap respectfully -
"Very good." The butler held out his hand.
"The master said I was to give it only to her."
147
The butler's features stiffened into cold disapproval, but all
he said was, "1 will see that she is informed Wait here "
The door closed, leaving Kim standing on the step outside.
Kirn frowned at it. She had a vague idea that there was some-
thing not quite right about the butler's action, but her knowl-
edge of gentry kens was limited to the most likely location of
the silver. She shrugged Wait, the man had said; well, she
would wait, then. She sat on the step and stared out across
the drive.
Several minutes later, Kim heard the door behind her
open. She could practically feel the butter's disapproving stare
digging into her spine, and smiled to herself. She twisted her
head and shoulders around without rising and looked up with
an expression of hopeful inquiry
"Miss D'Auber will see you," the butler said. His mouth was
turned down at the corners and he was standing rigidly erect,
as if to make up for Kirn's informality.
"Good," Kim said cheerfully, and scrambled to her feet.
The butler winced, "She will see you in the green saloon. [
would not presume to say how soon- This way."
Kim tried to suppress a grin as she followed the butler. She
was only partially successful, but as the man's back was to-
ward her it did not really matter. He led her down a short
hall and showed her into a large room with pale green walls
and spindly-legged chairs covered in green-and-gold-striped
silk. There were two gilded pier tables between the windows,
each with a large gold-rimmed mirror hanging on the wall
above it, and at the far side of the room stood a small writing
desk-
As the door clicked shut behind her, Kim eyed the chairs
dubiously. They did not look as if they were meant to be sat
on, but the two footstools did not look any sturdier and she
couldn't sit on the pier tables She finally settled herself on a
148
footstool, reasoning that if it collapsed under her she would
be closer to the floor. She had hardly sat down before the
door latch clicked again, and Renee D'Auber walked into the
room-
"I am Mademoiselle Renee D'Auber," she announced,
frowning at Kim. "You have a message for me, yes?" Her
auburn hair shone in the sunlight and her figured muslin
morning dress was the height of elegance- Looking at her
made Kim feel small and rumpled and unpleasantly aware of
the dust and grass stains her clothes had acquired on her walk
to Bramingham Place-
"Yes," Kim said shortly. She rose and reached into her
jacket for the letter Mairelon had given her. As she did, she
saw Renee's eyes widen.
"But what is this? You are a girls Of what is it that Monsieur
Merrill is thinking?"
"You ask him, if you want to know," Kim said. French or
not, this woman was altogether too fly for comfort. Kim
scowled and tapped Mairelon's letter with her forefinger.
"And how'd you know this was from him?"
"It is of all things the most likely," Mademoiselle D'Auber
replied- "Who else would know 1 was here? Also, I have been
asking for him, and he would of course hear of it. It is unim-
portant. Give me the message."
Reluctantly Kim held the letter out to her. Mademoiselle
D'Auber took it and tore it open at once without stopping to
took at the seal. She turned away as she began reading; a
moment later Kim heard a brief exclamation in what was pre-
sumably French, Kim had no idea what the words meant, but
the tone in which they were spoken was one of surprise rather
than anger or annoyance-
Renee D'Auber glanced over her shoulder at Kim, then
returned to the letter, this time studying it with evident
care. Kim wondered what Mairelon had said about her
149
and what this Mademoiselle D'Auber thought of it She
shifted uncomfortably, wishing she could sit down again but
not danng to do so for fear of offending Mademoiselle
D'Auber
Mademoiselle D'Auber finished reading and turned back to
face Kirn "Of a certainty, this is not at all good," she said,
waving the letter
'That's what we thought," Kim said, emphasizing the "we"
slightly
'To find the real platter becomes a thing most necessary,"
the Frenchwoman went on as if she had not heard "! do not
at all see how we are to go about it "
"We?" Kim said
"But of course! It is why 1 am here, to help "
Kirn's frown returned "Hold on! I thought you was the one
that nicked the real platter Mairelon said nobody else could
of got to it before we did "
"Monsieur Merril! is not altogether right," Mademoiselle
D'Auber replied "1 looked at Monsieur Brammgham's so-re-
markable platter yesterday afternoon, yes, but at once I saw
that it was only a copy I thought, me, that Monsieur Mernll
had been very clever, but now 1 find that it was not him at
all, but someone else It is most annoying This business is
not well arranged, 1 think "
"It ain't no fault of ours," Kim muttered
Renee had crossed to the writing desk and did not hear "I
shall write something for you to carry back to Monsieur Mer-
rilt," she said, taking out a sheet of heavy, cream-colored pa-
per "And you must take his letter with you as well I will
allow Madame Bramingham to persuade me to stay here for
another day or two " She made a face as she spoke, then
shmgged and bent over the page
"Why do you want me to take Mairelon's message away
again?" Kim asked
150
"But it would be most awkward if it were found!" Made-
moiselle D'Auber said, writing busily "Monsieur Bramingham
would of a certainty call the Bow Street Runners He has
already spoken of it It was very foolish of Monsieur Merrill
to take the copy of the platter, I think"
So Mairelon's letter had not included all the details of the
previous night's events! Kim considered the implications of
that while Renee finished her letter, and she began to feel
more cheerful "Why did you come—"
"A moment " Mademoiselle D'Auber sanded her letter, then
folded it neatly and sealed it with a blob of wax, muttering
under her breath as she did. Her voice was too soft for Kim
to hear what she was saying, but each word had a sharp,
crystalline quality that distance and muttering could not dis-
guise Kim remembered the spell that Mairelon had cast to
test her tmthfulness, and backed up a pace
Mademoiselle D'Auber finished and straightened up with a
smothered sigh She studied the paper for a moment, then
turned and held it out to Kim along with Mairelon's unfolded
letter "Here; take this to Monsieur Merrill and tell him that I
wilt be at the inn down in the village tomorrow morning at,
oh, ten o'clock precisely "
Kim nodded and took the letters, doing her best to hide
her reluctance Renee D'Auber had put some sort of spell on
that letter, Kim was sure of it And she, Kim, was going to
have to carry the thing all the way back to Ranton Hill at
least, and maybe farther, if Mairelon had given up waiting at
the inn and gone back to the wagon Kim wasn't normally
squeamish, not even about magic, but she didn't like not
knowing what kind of spell she was carrying
Mademoiselle D'Auber watched closely as Kim stowed the
letters away beneath her jacket, which did nothing to im-
prove the state of Kirn's nerves "There is one thing more,"
the Frenchwoman said She fixed her eyes on Kirn's face and
151
said with great seriousness, "It is of all things the most impor-
tant that Monsieur Mernit not leave before I see him You
understand^ So if he thinks to go, you must try to stop him 1
think he will listen "
"Be the first time, if he did," Kirn said, shrugging "I'll tell
him, though "
"Good " Renee D'Auber gave Kirn a long, measuring look,
and Kim found herself wondering once again just what Mair-
elon had said about her in his letter Then the Frenchwoman
went to a long, embroidered bellpull and gave it a vigorous
tug A few moments later, the door opened and a footman
stepped into the room "Mademoiselle^"
"See this boy out," Mademoiselle D'Auber said
"Mademoiselle " The footman bowed With a single, side-
long look at the enigmatic Frenchwoman, Kim followed him
out of the room and down the hall to the door of Bra-
mingham Place
When Kim arrived back at the inn late that afternoon, she
found Mairelon in the public room playing cards with Freddy
Meredith They were the room's only occupants, and judging
from the litter of coins near Mairelon's left elbow, they had
been at it for some time An empty wine bottle lay on the
floor beside the table, a second bottle, barely a third full,
stood next to the pile of coins that had been wagered on the
current hand
Kim paused in the doorway, wondering what the magician
could want with a cloth-head like Meredith Her eyes nicked
from one to the other, and she frowned Both men were im-
peccably turned out, from the stiff folds of their cravats to
their gleaming Hessian boots, they looked the perfect picture
of a pair of gentry That, Kim realized, was what was bother-
ing her She had seen Mairelon in his gentry togs before, but
152
she had never realized how well they suited him No, not
quite that, either She had never realized how well the whole
role suited him
Still frowning, Kim stepped into the room As she did,
Meredith looked up and saw her He blinked bleanly in her
direction He was, Kim saw, more that a little bit on the go
"Who's this, Mernll^"
Maireton turned "Kim' What news^"
"Message for you, sir," Kim said, remembering }ust in time
that she was still playing the part of an errand boy
"Can it wait?"
Kim hesitated What on earth was she supposed to say to
that? "I think you should look at it, sir," she answered at last
"Ah, well Let's have it, then " Mairelon held out a hand
expectantly
Kim froze "Uh—" She couldn't tell him straight out that
Renee D'Auber had set a spell on the letter, not with Freddy
Meredith sitting there, but she couldn't let him open it with-
out warning him, either "Sir, I, urn—"
"Bailey didn't write it down? I see " Maireton shoved his
chair away from the table and rose, tossing his cards faceup as
he did Kim was relieved to see that there was nothing wrong
with his balance or his speech, she had been afraid that he
would be as bosky as his companion "Sony, Meredith, but
duty calls "
Meredith muttered something and began gathering up
the coins from the center of the table Mairelon scooped
his own winnings into his hand and thrust them into one
of his pockets, then turned and followed Kim out of the
room
"That's a retiefi" he said as the door shut behind him "I was
wondering how to get out of there without winn
ing too much
from him You caught on very quickly Where's Renee's mes-
sage?"
153
"Here " Kirn took the sealed paper out of her jacket "She
put a spell on it "
"What? Nonsense' There's no reason for her to do that"
Mairelon twitched the note out of Kirn's hand and reached for
the seal He stopped, frowning, and set his forefinger gently
against the dull red wax "You're right, though," he said after
a moment's concentration
Kirn let out her breath in a soundless sigh of relief "Can
you do anything about V>"
"Not here We'll have to take it back to the wagon "
"You sure we should?"
Mairelon looked irritated "There's no other way to find out
what she's done I'd also like to read whatever she's written,
that is why you went to Bramingham Place, after all "
"I was Just askin' "
Mairelon tucked the note into his breast pocket and started
for the door "There's no point in waiting You can tell me
what happened on the walk back Come along "
Kirn rolled her eyes, shook her head, and followed
Between Kirn's desire to include every detail of her journey
to Bramingharn Place and Mairelon's periodic interruptions,
Kim's tale took up most of the walk to the wagon Mairelon
commended Kim for avoiding the Baron St Clair and
frowned over his strong resemblance to Dan Laverham, but