Mairelon the Magician

by Patricia C. Wrede

  "When we are in the country, we keep country hours, jas-

  per," Lady Cranleigh replied "I explained that to you yester-

  day, had I known you were going to be obstinate, I would

  have postponed our expedition until tomorrow I am sure that

  Lord St Clair would have been delighted to accompany us "

  "Of course he would," Freddy said gallantly "I mean to

  say, lovely ladies, pleasant company—anyone would be de-

  lighted "

  Jasper Marston had by this time taken his place in the

  coach, and Lady Granleigh had had more than enough of

  Freddy, nephew of Lord Cecil Meredith or not "It is high

  time we were going," she announced "Good day, Mr Mer-

  edith Driver'"

  The coachman nodded and slapped the reins lightly against

  the horses' backs The team snorted and began to move, in

  another moment, the landau had pulled out of the inn's yard

  and was on its way east to Swamton

  109

  ELEVEN

  ~^-w-^' vy im drew a shaky breath as she watched the

  SS^~^ 1- coach pull away, all too conscious that only

  f ^ good luck had kept Jasper Marston from notic-

  ing her She wanted to run away, to hide, and she wished

  suddenly and passionately that she were back in London,

  where she might have had some chance of doing so With

  both Jack Slower and the skinny toff in Ranton Hill, it was

  beginning to look very much as if staying in London would

  have been safer than leaving

  Freddy Meredith, who had also been watching the coach,

  chose this moment to turn and see Kim "Hi, boyi Get some-

  one out here to take this horse, will you^"

  Clad of the excuse, Kim nodded and went inside. The inn-

  keeper was coming out of the kitchen into the hallway, carry-

  ing a tray "And where the devil have you been, boy?" he

  asked when he saw K-im

  "Man outside wants someone to take his horse," Kim in-

  formed him, ignoring his question

  The innkeeper rolled his eyes "Quality' Well, I'll see to it

  110

  Your master wants you, third door on the right at the top of

  the stairs Take this along with you "

  The stairs were narrow and steep, and Kim had some diffi-

  culty in climbing them without dumping everything off the

  tray the innkeeper had handed her She made it to the top at

  last, and stood balancing the tray against the railing while she

  caught her breath Then she counted doors and kicked at the

  third one

  "Enter," Mairelon's voice called from inside the room

  "I can't," Kim called back crossly "You'll have to open the

  door yourself "

  She heard a scraping sound on the other side of the door,

  and then Mairelon opened it "Kimi What are you doing with

  that?"

  'The buffer downstairs said you ordered it," Kim replied,

  setting the tray on the table

  "And was too lazy to bring it up himself, hmm? Good

  Lord, you're white as a winding-sheet' Sit down, sit down,

  before you fall over " Mairelon took the tray from Kirn's sud-

  denly shaking hands and set it on the small table beside the

  window Kim sank into the nearest chair She was cold and

  her legs felt like jelly, she was too stunned even to think,

  though a corner of her mind marveled distantly at the

  strength of her reaction

  "Here," Mairelon said, pressing a glass into her hand

  "Dnnk this Will you be all right alone for a moment? I'm

  going to get Hunch "

  Kim nodded, and Mairelon left She took a deep breath,

  and the feeling of being far away from everything began

  to lessen She sipped at the glass Mairelon had handed her,

  and coughed as a fiery liquid ran unexpectedly down her

  throat

  The door opened and Mairelon reentered the room "Now,

  111

  what's given you the wind up? Did your friend from the Dog

  and Bull see you?"

  "I don't think so," Kim said. "But how did you know—"

  "He's staying in the next room," Maireton said, "I could

  hardly help noticing his presence, and I thought there was

  something familiar about his voice- So I contrived to get a

  look at him as he left If it wasn't our skinny friend, what's

  upset you?"

  "I ain't sure," Kim said. She was feeling more like her-

  self, and her momentary weakness bothered her "I ain't

  never done nothin' like that before, not even on my first crack

  lay."

  "Really- And how long has it been since you did any house-

  breaking?" Mairelon asked.

  "Couple years. Since old Mother Tibb died, anyways. After

  what happened to her, I lost the taste for it, sort of."

  "What happened to her?" Mairelon said very softly.

  "The nabbing culls got her. Most of the others, too 1 was

  lucky I got away " She took a tiny sip from the glass and

  closed her eyes. "They got transported, mostly, but Mother

  Tibb swung because she ran things for the lot of us."

  "I see."

  "I shouldn't of gone to watch. It was stupid. And after

  that. . ."

  "After that, you didn't feel as if you could go back to

  housebreaking "

  Kim shrugged "I never took to it much, not tike some of

  the rest Besides, it ain't a good lay for a loner, and I couldn't

  join up with one of the other gangs because—" She stopped

  short and shook her head Why was she telling Mairelon all

  this?

  "Because they'd have discovered that you were a girl,"

  Mairelon finished quietly He was looking at her with an odd

  112

  expression that she didn't have the energy to figure out "Was

  it so important to you, staying a boy?"

  Kim nodded wearily. "You ain't never seen the stews in St

  Giles, or you wouldn't need to ask. Mother Tibb kept me on

  a good three years longer than most, because I had a knack

  for locks, but that wouldn't of lasted much longer- Anybody

  else would of packed me off as soon as they found out 1

  wasn't a boy "

  Mairelon went still "Drink your brandy," he said, and his

  voice was harsh.

  The brandy wasn't so bad, now that Kim knew what to

  expect It was a great deal better than the cheap gin she had

  sometimes bought in London She sipped it slowly, and in a

  few minutes more her grim mood began to lift.

  "I found out some things you ought to know," Kim said to

  end the long silence.

  "Wait until Hunch gets here," Mairelon said "No sense in

  going over everything twice."

  Fortunately, Hunch was not long in appearing. He snorted

  through his mustache when he saw Kim, which did more to

  make her feel herself again than even the brandy.

  "Sit down and stop grumphing, Hunch," Mairelon said

  "I've taken separate rooms for tonight, but we can hardly talk

  through the wall, and Kim says she's found out something of

  interest."

  "That's as may be," Hunch said darkly "But she 'adn't ought

  to be 'ere, and neither should you Someone's been asking

  questions down at the stable."

  "But it's such an interesting pla
ce," Mairelon said, waving in

  a general way at the walls of the inn "Really, Hunch, you

  have no idea how fascinating this inn is "

  "Maybe not," Hunch said, "but I know when you're at one

  113

  o' your queer starts. Master Richard And you 'adn't ought to,

  not this time Someone's looking for us."

  "Oh, really, Hunch, how can you be sure of that?"

  "'Ow many people 'ave a yellow wagon with red wheels

  and a painting of a man in a top 'at on the back?" Hunch

  countered-

  Mairelon frowned- "Someone's asking questions about the

  wagon?"

  Hunch nodded. "It's us she's looking for, right enough "

  "She?"

  Kirn thought that Hunch was enjoying the effect his news

  was having, though his expression remained dour. "Aye. One

  of them grand ladies, they said. Offered a meg to anyone as

  'ad news of it, and a shilling extra if she could be sure no one

  else 'ad the news afore 'er"

  "What a good thing we left the wagon in the woods,"

  Mairelon commented- He moved to the window and stared

  down at the stable-

  "That ain't all, neither," Hunch said. "There was a cove

  nosing around, too, 'anging about in back of the inn and

  be'aving oddly The 'ostler said 'is name was James Fenton."

  "Fenton''" Kirn said. "There was a Mr Fenton in the tap-

  room for a while; he looked like a footman or somethin'. I

  think he works for that Meredith cove, the one who had that

  platter and lost it playin' cards."

  "Does he," Mairelon said thoughtfully- "1 wonder. What

  was he doing here, do you know?"

  "He came to meet a Mr. Aberford," Kirn said "He wanted to

  sell him the news about Meredith's losing the platter, only Ab-

  erford knew already." Quickly she recounted the scene in the

  taproom. "When he took off, I followed him, and then—" She

  hesitated-

  "And then?" Mairelon prompted-

  "I think maybe I ought to go back to London," Kirn

  114

  blurted, staring down at her hands to avoid seeing Mairelon's

  or Hunch's expressions "I'm goin' to be trouble for you if 1

  stay "

  "I see," Mairelon said after a moment of silence that to K-im

  seemed to go on forever "Or rather, I don't seo Why don't

  you begin by telling us exactly what happened, and then per-

  haps 1 will "

  "It was }ack Slower," Kim said "He's one of Laverham's

  boys I told you about Laverham "

  "i remember "

  "I swear ! don't know how he followed me from London, I

  swear 1 don't He didn't see me, but if he's pokin' about, he'll

  find out I'm here for sure, and—"

  "Slow down and back up," Mairelon said "Where and

  when did you see StoweP In the halh On the stairs?"

  "Outside, talkin' to that Meredith cove," Kim answered.

  Reminded of the task she had originally been set, she out-

  lined the scene she had witnessed in the innyard. "Bra-

  mingham said his uncle was comin' down tomorrow, and he

  was goin' to give the platter to him as soon as he got there,"

  she finished. "The Meredith cull got Aberford inside, and

  then the toff from the Dog and Bull turned up. He's the Fri-

  day-faced mort's brother, name of Jasper Marston. They all

  drove off, and I came in

  Mairelon was staring into space with a heavy frown, look-

  ing as though he had not heard a word Kim had said for

  several minutes at least "Slower, Laverham, Fenton," he mur-

  mured. "And a lady asking questions A grand lady—Lady

  Granleigh, perhaps^"

  "She acted grand enough," Kim said doubtfully -

  "And her brother is the unpleasant but not altogether

  bright gentleman who arranged for my wagon to be broken

  into, thus beginning our acquaintance. And he obviously

  knows considerably more than he has any right to Someone

  115

  is playing a very deep game, I wonder whether it's him or

  her?"

  "I don't see as it matters," Hunch said. "'Ooever it is, we

  adn't ought to stay ere tonight"

  "For once, Hunch, I believe you are right," Mairelon said

  Hunch's jaw dropped MaireSon did not notice; he was dig-

  ging through the drawers in search of something Not finding

  it, he went to the door of the room and opened it "None of

  us will stay the night at the inn Hi, landlord' Bring me up a

  pen and some paper "

  "I thought you said we weren't stayin'," Kim said, be-

  wildered

  "We are not staying the night There is no reason not to stay

  the afternoon; it's a long drive to Swafflton, and the ladies

  will more than likely be shopping for hours- Besides—ah,

  thank you, landlord."

  The innkeeper had arrived, carrying a scruffy-looking

  quill, an inkpot, and a sheet of paper- Mairelon took them

  with a charming smile and shut the door in his face "Besides,

  I don't expect this to take long," he finished, setting the im-

  plements on the table.

  "What are you goin' to do about Slower?" Kim asked as

  Mairelon made a face at the quill, dipped it in the inkpot, and

  began covering the paper with flowing, spidery letters.

  "I am going to do nothing whatever, for the time being at

  least," Mairelon answered He wrote another three lines and

  set the quill aside "No sand? Our landlord seems singularly

  unprepared for Quality clientele, can it be that he seldom has

  any?" He picked the page up by one corner and waved it

  through the air to dry the ink

  "I'd better go back to London, then," Kim said

  "You will do no such thing Hunch is the one who is going

  to London He'll be quite all right, this Laverham fellow isn't

  looking for him " He folded the note and handed it to

  H6

  Hunch, who scowled and chewed absently on one end of his

  mustache. "Hire a horse and change whenever you have to I

  don't want any more time wasted Give this to Shoreham and

  tell him what we've found out so far. I've asked him to learn

  what he can about Laverham, Marston, Slower, and Fenton;

  stay til he has an answer to send He'll be quicker about it if

  he knows you're waiting "

  Hunch's scowl lessened slightly during this speech, but his

  expression remained gloomy "All right, Master Richard But

  you ain't staying 'ere, are you?"

  "After what I have heard, I have not the slightest intention

  of doing so," Mairelon said with evident sincerity.

  Hunch chewed more vigorously, and his frown returned.

  "You ain't going to do nothing dreadful while I'm gone, are

  you?"

  "That depends to some extent on how long you take,

  doesn't it?" Mairelon said, rising "Come along, let's break it

  gently to the landlord that his newest guests are leaving al-

  ready. I doubt that he'll be pleased "

  The innkeeper was not nearly as unhappy about their

  abrupt departure as Mairelon had predicted, primarily be-

  cause Mairelon informed him casually that he would, of

  course, pay for the rooms he had bespoken even though he

  would not remain to use them. He t
hen hired a gig with

  which to drive to the next town and agreed to pay for the

  stabling of the horses until they could be sent for A large

  purse changed hands; Kim had not known there was so much

  money in the wagon, and she wondered what else she had

  missed.

  Three people were a tight fit in a gig, but they managed

  Kim was almost grateful to be squashed between Hunch and

  Mairelon,- they hid her very effectively from view on either

  117

  side, and with her cap pulled low and her head tucked down

  she felt that Jack Stower was unlikely to recognize her, even

  if he should suddenly appear from around a corner

  Fortunately for Kirn's peace of mind, Jack was nowhere to

  be seen, and once they were out of the village she relaxed a

  little Mairelon was silent during the drive, staring out over

  the fields and hedges with an absent expression that made her

  think he was not really seeing any of them. Hunch chewed

  rhythmically on his mustache and scowled at the horse, cast-

  ing intermittent glances in Mairelon's direction but saying

  nothing

  There was no one in sight when they reached the woods

  where they had left the wagon, for which Kirn was grateful.