Kim could see that he was not giving her his full attention
When she began to speak of Bramingham Place and Renee
D'Auber, however, the magician's preoccupation vanished
Kim found this extremely annoying until she noticed Mair-
elon's right hand rise to touch his breast pocket from time to
time He was more worried about that spell than he wanted
to let on
As soon as they reached the wagon, Mairelon began rum-
154
maging in the large chest. Kim sat on the floor beside the
door and hugged her knees, watching with great interest She
was cold, tired, and very hungry, but she did not mention it
She was, after all, used to being cold, tired, and hungry, and
if she said anything, Mairelon might remember she was there
and send her away while he read Renee's letter
Mairelon laid a white silk scarf and a small crystal globe on
the counter and closed the lid of the trunk. He turned and
spread the scarf out, smoothing it carefully until not a wrinkle
remained He drew Renee D'Aubers letter from his pocket
and set it in the exact center of the scarf, with the blob of
sealing wax facing him Then he lifted the crystal globe with
the tips of his fingers and set it on top of the letter It showed
a strong tendency to roll off the lumpy surface of the wax,
but he got it positioned at last
Finally he was satisfied He raised his hands slowly and
extended them, cupping them around the precariously bal-
anced globe without touching it He bent his head and began
to whisper The words hissed and sizzled in the confined
space of the wagon, rough and saw-edged Kim held her
breath
Orange light flared from the crystal globe, and Renee
D'Auber's voice filled the wagon "My friend, there are things
that you must know, and even this means of communication
is not entirely safe I will meet you two hours before the time
I told your young companion, in the hollow below the oak
hill southwest of Ranton Hill Do not fail me in this,"
Slowly the orange light faded Mairelon stood motion-
less, staring down into the crystal, even after the last of the
light was gone Kim twisted to get a better look at his face
and realized that he was not looking at the globe in front
of him His eyes were focused on empty air, and he was
frowning
155
Kim cleared her throat, then cleared it again Mairelon did
not respond At last she said loudly, "Heyi Is that all?"
"What?" Mairelon said, then shook his head and turned to
look reproachfully at Kim "Don't ever interrupt a wizard in
the middle of a spell, Kim Magic requires a great deal of
concentration, and breaking it can be very dangerous "
"I wasn't interrupting a spell," Kim said "You were just
thinkin', far as I could see "
Mairelon blinked and glanced at the crystal Then he
rolled it to one side and picked up Renee's letter He stood
staring at it for a moment, tapping it gently against his left
hand, until Kim was afraid he was going to go back into a
brown study She tried to clear her throat again and started
coughing in earnest as she inhaled something the wrong way
This attracted Mairelon's full attention at last, though his
first inclination was to proffer cups of water instead of expla-
nations As soon as Kim got her breath back, she pushed the
cup away and demanded, "What was it that was takin' you
such a lot of thinkin' on? You ain't goin' to meet that gentry
mort like she says to, are you?"
"Meet Renee"? Of course I'm going to," Mairelon said He
looked down at the note, which he had still not read, and his
frown returned "I was just wondering why she chose that
particular place "
"What particular place?" Kim said, exasperated
"The hollow by the oak hill where those ridiculous 'druids'
had their ceremony the other night," Mairelon said "Feeling
more the thing? Good, because we're going to have a busy
evening 1 want to get a good look at that hollow while
there's still light, and after that—well, we'll see Come
respond
"Hunch ain't goin' to like this," Kim muttered as she
climbed to her feet
156
"Isn't," Mairelon's voice corrected A moment later his head
reappeared in the open doorway "And since Hunch isn't
here, it doesn't matter Bring the lamp and the little sack in
the corner, I may want them " The head disappeared once
more
Kim rolled her eyes, picked up the tamp and the sack Mair-
elon had indicated, and started after him
157
SIXTEEN
~^jl^' T- or the rest of the afternoon, K-im and Mair-
JK^^^ 1 elon tramped through the wood at the foot
/ '•of the druids' hill, peering under bushes and up
into trees Kirn had only the vaguest idea what they were
looking for, but after several attempts to pry an explanation
out of Mairelon she gave up and simply copied him Half-
remembered warnings about mantraps and poachers made her
move warily, but she found nothing Maireton seemed to do
no better than she had, but he was preoccupied on the walk
back to the wagon, and Kirn was positive he had noticed
something she hadn't
At Mairelon's insistence, Kim spent the evening working
on her lessons Her fingers were growing more used to the
moves and twists that made coins seem to vanish from one
hand and appear m the other, and she had mastered the art of
tying knots that slid apart when the proper bit of rope was
pulled, but she was not doing nearly so well at reading She
pored over the stubborn little black marks for hours, mutter-
ing to herself, while Mairelon prowled restlessly up and down
the wagon Once she ventured a question about his meeting
158
with Renee, but he was so completely uninformative at such
length that she did not try again
Mairelon was up at dawn the next morning, blundering
around the limited space inside the wagon in a way that made
sleep impossible for anyone else Kim tried muffling her head
under the blanket, but it was no good Finally she gave up
and rose, yawning, to see whether breakfast was one of the
things Mairelon had been getting ready during his annoying
rambles
It wasn't Kim had to make the porridge herself, which
did not improve her mood Her irritation increased further
when she noticed that Mairelon had put on his flash togs,
rather than his smock or stage clothes, to go to his meet-
ing with Renee He looked very well in them, which some-
how annoyed Kim even more To top things off, she
didn't do much better with the porridge than Mairelon had
the day before "I'll be glad when Hunch gets back," she
muttered as she spooned the lumpy grey mixture into her
bowl
"What? Not already'" Mairelon said He glanced around
hastily, then turned a reproachful e
xpression on Kim "Don't
scare me like that"
Kim stared at him in complete bewilderment "What're you
talking about^"
"I thought you said that Hunch was back," Mairelon ex-
plained
"No, 1 said I'd be glad when he was," Kim said Then, in
response to Mairelon's skeptical expression, she added, "So
we can get some better grub "
"Oh " Mairelon looked thoughtful "You have a point Per-
haps we should dine at the inn tonight if Hunch hasn't ar-
rived by then I rather hope he hasn't "
"Why? Hunch cooks better than that fat cove," Kim
said
159
"if Hunch gets here today, it'll be because he's in a hurry,"
Mairelon answered "And he'll only hurry if he thinks
Shoreham's information is important I'd prefer not to have
any startling news about any of the people connected with
the Saltash Platter Or its copy "
Kim mulled that over while she finished her porridge She
scraped the last few lumps from the sides of her bowl and
surreptitiously shook them off her spoon and onto the ground
beside the steps where she was sitting She scowled down at
the bowl, dropped her spoon into it with a muffled clink, and
said, "We ought to leave if you want to be the first one at that
hill "
"Yes," Mairelon said "Thank you for reminding me " He
rose and brushed at his pants, as if to dispose of nonexistent
crumbs "Practice that handkerchief trick while I'm gone; you
still haven't got the last twist nght "
"You ain't leavin' me herel" Kirn said incredulously.
"I most certainly am," Mairelon replied. "When Renee says
alone, she means alone I shouldn't be long "
"You shouldn't be gom' at all," K.im told him "And you
particularly shouldn't be goin' alone What if that druid
cull shows up wavin' his pops, the way he did the other
night?"
Mairelon looked amused "Jonathan Aberforcb ! doubt that
he's even out of bed at this hour, much less wandering about
in the woods with a pistol "
"How do you know^ He's dicked in the nob, if you ask
me, and there ain't no knowing what notions a Bedlamite'!!
get"
"All the more reason for you to stay here," Mairelon said
To Kirn's indignation, he still looked more diverted than con-
cerned "If he shows up, you can bar the wagon door No
more arguments, Kim, if you please You're not coming, and
that's that "
160
"It don't please me at all," Kim muttered, but she could see
that Mairelon was determined, and she knew from experience
that once he took a notion, he was stubborn as a coster-
monger defending his route through the market She sat and
glowered at him while he straightened his jacket and brushed
his hat, but she did not make any further remarks until he had
disappeared into the woods Then she burst out, "Bubble-
brained, pigheaded, sapskulled gull> Muttonheaded flat' Nod-
cock Coosecap It'd serve him well enough if I up and fol-
lowed him Bufflehead Shab—"
She stopped suddenly, staring at the place where Mairelon
had vanished She could follow him, as easy as not She
scrambled to her feet, then hesitated, considering Mairelon
was a wizard, and in spite of the abuse she had just been
showering on him, Kim had to admit that he was sharp as
two needles That gmger-pated D'Auber mort was a wizard,
too, and she had a powerful reputation She was foreign into
the bargain, and therefore unpredictable What would they
do if they caught Kim spying on them^
The thought gave Kim a moment's pause Then she
shmgged She'd just have to make sure they didn't catch her,
that was all Stay hid and sherry off if they looked like sus-
pecting anything It was no different from being on the
sharping lay in London And if there was trouble, Mairelon
would excuse her obstinacy in following him Besides, given
Mairelon's idea of "explanation," there was no other way
she could be sure of finding out what happened at the
meeting
That decided her She threw some dirt on the fire, kicked
her bow! under the steps of the wagon, and started off
She did not take the same route as Mairelon had, but cut
sideways up to the road After all, she knew where he was
going There was no point in risking discovery by sticking
too close
161
The road was dry enough for comfortable walking, and
there was no sign of approaching vehicles, but Kirn, remem-
bering her experience the day before, stuck to the far edge
anyway "What am 1 doing?" she asked herself as she trudged
along "Coin' off to spy on a couple of frog-makers? 1 must be
madder than he is'" But she continued walking in spite of her
misgivings
The sound of hooves and the rattle of a carriage brought
Kim out of her reverie. Glancing up, she saw a landau coming
briskly toward her from the direction of Ranton Hill. She
sighed and angled down the verge, hoping that the driver
would not pay any heed to a shabby boy heading into town.
When she looked up again, the carriage had slowed and be-
gun to turn down the lane that led to the druids' meeting
place It was close enough now to give Kim a clear view of
the occupants, and she nearly choked trying to smother an
exclamation Lady Granleigh sat stiffly erect in the rear seat,
while her brother Jasper made shift with his back to the
horses The driver was the heavyset Stuggs, and he was
frowning in evident concentration as he tried to maneuver the
landau around the corner.
"This is the outside of enough!" Lady Granleigh said in a
carrying voice as the landau lurched forward. "On our return,
you will drive, Jasper "
"Really, Amelia, I don't see why you think I'll do any better
than Stuggs," Jasper replied. "I'm no Corinthian You should
have let me bring the coachman."
"You are, at least, a gentleman," Lady Granleigh said firmly.
"And the fewer who are aware of this excursion, the better
Since you have seen fit to confide in this - person, we
have no choice but to utilize his admittedly second-rate skilts-
And I must say, Jasper, that I think you could have -found
someone with more ability if you had only applied yourself
properly "
162
The landau lurched again and rolled reluctantly into the
lane, and Lady Granleighs complaints were lost among the
trees Kim shook off her paralysis and sprinted forward- That
skinny toff and his sister were trouble, whatever their lay was,
but Kim was willing to bet sixpence that they'd be a particu-
larly whacking great tot of trouble if they found Mairelon and
Renee D'Auber at the druid hilt. Fortunately, the lane was
rough and curving, and with Stuggs driving they wouldn't
make good time Kim might, just possibly, get to the hill first
with a warning if she ran.
She didn't manage it The uneven ground, the constant
ne
ed to dodge inconveniently placed trees, and the thin
branches of the young trees and brush that whipped her face,
all combined to slow her more than she would have believed
As she neared the hill, she heard voices ahead of her and
cursed under her breath In London she would have gotten
there in plenty of time
Kim slowed and began to pick her way with more care- It
would do Mairelon no good at all if she made too much noise
and Jasper or Stuggs discovered her. She reached the fringe
of bushes below the hill and started working her way toward
the voices As she came around to the far side, she heard
Jasper's voice with sudden clarity, saying, "—question is, who
are you?"
'Tell him to come down here, where we can talk without
shouting, Jasper," Lady Cranleigh put in imperiously.
As Jasper repeated his sister's command, Kim stopped and
peered through the bushes. Lady Granleigh and her brother
were standing at the foot of the hill. Stuggs was a little be-
hind them; beyond, the landau and horses were a sketchy
outline between trees- The dark bulk of the druids' lodge was
barely visible, though Kim knew from yesterday's explora-
tions that it was only a few steps from the hill
Mairelon was sitting on the ground halfway up the hill,
163
careless of the damage his fine clothes must be suffering His
face was in shadow and Kim could not make out his expres-
sion, but his pose conveyed polite but bored attention
"Welh" Jasper said when Mairelon did not reply "Who are
you?"
"No, no," Mairelon said "1 asked you first I also, If you