by Patty Jansen
Master Thiele gave her a wide-eyed look.
“They won’t let you in the palace with weapons,” Adrian said.
“We won’t have weapons. The enemy is magic. Weapons are useless.”
“There will be weapons,” Henrik said. “Maybe not in the main party, but as long as I live, no expedition like this will take place without armed support. Anyone who is capable and can carry a weapon will accompany the troupe in the shadows. I don’t know how it will work, but we will be there.”
“I can provide some men as well,” Master Thiele said. “It’s the most ridiculous scheme I’ve heard, but it might just work. All I know is that a straight attack will not only be treason against the state but is likely to get us all killed. Just enlighten me on what is going to happen once we’re inside the palace.”
“We’ll have a feast. We bring the food and the wine and the palace kitchen staff will not have to do a single thing. We invite all the nobles because Casper will want to impress them. The food will contain the magic antidote. Shepherd Wilfridus will not be invited. If he invites himself, there will be lots of questions for him, because the people are no longer under his control.”
“He’s still a magician.”
“Yes, but we have a dragon.”
Somehow, there would be a confrontation when Shepherd Wilfridus turned up, and she wasn’t sure that the dragon could win it, or that Bruno had enough control over him to make sure that he didn’t flee like he had done previously. She supposed she could talk to the dragon sternly, but would it be enough? The shepherd wasn’t going to give up, not until he was dead.
And would it be sufficient to put a fourteen-year-old boy on the throne to settle a ten-year-old succession dispute, especially since the boy wasn’t ready for the task?
Henrik continued, “We, the armed men, will be outside waiting for signs of trouble and informing the citizens of what they need to know if there are curious masses, and I’m sure there will be plenty, once the sweets start doing their work.”
“Especially if we leave the elephant in the forecourt,” Nellie said. “And the promise of more sweets.”
Master Thiele looked from one to the other. “How long have you two been planning this?”
Nellie said, “I don’t plan, I make use of the things I have.”
Henrik said, “I do as she says.”
The men all laughed.
Because the secret guard guild was small and had no power, Master Thiele had few resources. Many of the members had worked for the guards but were not guards anymore, although some still had contacts with their former colleagues. Master Thiele assured Henrik that there would be a small but experienced and well-informed group of armed men available.
But first many other things needed to be done. To start, the required herbs against magic had to be obtained. Nellie agreed that she would take care of that.
And then, if the women and whoever wanted to come were to enter the city disguised as a circus troupe, they needed to have suitably flamboyant clothing. They needed things to make sure people didn’t recognise them: hats, scarves, face paint, masks, things like that. Nellie agreed that she would also take care of that. Others would be in charge of finding another cart and horses, and bringing weapons.
Nellie went to the artisan quarter, but the shops that normally sold local herbs of the sort she would need were no longer there. Yolande’s shop of sweets and knickknacks had been boarded over. Another shop with little trinkets and magical items was completely empty, the windows broken, the door smashed in.
In despair, she went to Mistress Julianna’s shop, only to find it burned out.
That made her feel cold. What had happened to its occupant? Nellie didn’t like Mistress Julianna, but she didn’t wish any ill on her either.
A new shop sat on the corner at the start of the street, opposite the church. It was open, and a steady stream of people went in and out the door.
Nellie stopped to have a look.
She was sure the shop hadn’t been here in the short time when she lived in the artisan quarter. It sold fresh bread, hams and sausages, spices, sugars and jars of pickles, salted fish and many things. A wonderful smell came from within, and because Nellie wanted to look like she was shopping, she went inside. At least twenty people were inside the shop, all of them waiting at the counter to be served.
Then she recognised a woman behind the counter. It was one of the wayfarers in Zelda’s group.
By the Triune.
Nellie couldn’t leave quickly enough. Spies were everywhere.
Where could she find the herbs?
Last time when she had looked for juniper berries, Els had suggested she go to Mistress Julianna. Maybe the two sisters would know where everyone was getting their remedies now that Mistress Julianna was gone. So she went to the unfinished warehouse to ask Els
Els seemed genuinely pleased to see her. She was very keen to hear that Gisele was safe, and that they would be coming back to the city. She said, “To be honest, I was afraid that I would have to run the gin business by myself, and Gisele is so much better at it than I am. But I can’t go back to the palace, not with what I know now. I’ve often said that I don’t want to end up like my mother, and I truly don’t. I want to have a proper business that I don’t have to hide.”
“So do we all. We’re working hard at making this a fair place again.”
“I want to help.”
“Well, I need a number of things. I know how to find most of them, but I do need to buy some herbs, and it seems that all of the herb sellers have disappeared. Not even Mistress Julianna’s shop still exists. I thought she was in with Zelda and would be protected by the palace guards but apparently that’s not so.”
“Mistress Julianna was always a strange one. She doesn’t really want to work with anyone, and that was her biggest problem. She just isn’t a very nice person.”
“Where can I buy the herbs I need?”
“People buy them from Zelda.”
“You mean Zelda’s shop on the corner? I can’t go in there. Zelda has already betrayed us once. She would betray us to the guards again if she thought she could make money out of it. I don’t think the shop sells what I need anyway. It seems to be for fancy cakes and bread.”
“They have the herbs, but you need to ask for them.”
“And then someone records what you buy and passes the information to the guards?”
Els looked like she was going to say something. She opened her mouth, but closed it again. Her eyes grew wide.
“I bought some juniper berries,” she said, her voice soft. “The next day, a man came in here, demanding that I pay him so much or he’d go to the guards.”
“Did you pay?”
Els shook her head. “I don’t have that much money. I expect the guards to turn up any day. Without Gisele, there’s not much point in carrying on with this business. I can’t do it all by myself, and they know this when they threaten me. Maybe I should follow Mistress Julianna’s example.”
“Where is she?”
“Word is that she fled town, but no one knows if that’s true.”
People believed that those who had fled town were somewhere in the surrounding cities, but Nellie knew that wasn’t true. The mercenaries outside the city had the grisly task of killing everyone who tried to leave.
The full horror of the situation depressed her. Every time she thought things were improving, they got worse. They couldn’t rely on any help from outside, because anyone who left the city never came back.
How could they break the spell of magic? All the herb sellers were gone; all the shops that sold non-magical food were gone. If the palace banquets took care of the nobles, Zelda did the same for the rest of the people: the merchants with her special tea, and the citizens with her cakes. And the church looked after the poor with the food given out from the stores.
She asked Els, “Could someone from the Science Guild possibly help me?”
Els shook her
head. “They aren’t meeting any more. After the raid where Madame Sabine was arrested, they thought it was too risky. I’ve heard that some of the merchants have left town, but I don’t know all of them, because I never went there very often.”
So it seemed like the secret guard guild was one of the very few places where the truth still held out. Nellie didn’t know where else she might buy the herbs that she needed, and with dread she realised that the only place left to get them was the nunnery next to Lord Verdonck’s estate.
She realised it was a risk to speak to Els about getting these herbs, in case Els was captured for her illegal gin making and questioned. So she asked about where to buy the best clothing and where to buy some of the other items they needed.
Els told her that the shops in the street that sold second-hand clothing were far too expensive. “Really, those things are worth very little any more, because there are no people who want to buy fancy clothes. Most of the clothing is not very practical, and would be more useful if you wanted to start a circus.”
Well, then, wasn’t that a coincidence?
Els sent Nellie to visit a family who had collected a lot of the nobles’ abandoned wardrobes and were preparing to export them.
They lived in a dingy old house with paint peeling off the door and the window frames. The windows were grimy, the curtains dusty and faded.
After her knock, she heard sounds on the other side, but the door remained closed.
“Please open the door. Els send me.”
The bolt was driven back, and slowly the door opened.
For some reason, Nellie expected an old woman like Juliana, but the person who opened the door was a handsome young man who was quite well dressed.
He lifted his eyebrows. “Can I help you with anything?”
“Els sent me here. I would like to buy some nice clothes, but I don’t have a lot of money. Someone told me that you could help me.”
“Come with me.”
He took her through the hallway to a room at the back of the house that was packed with clothes racks, crates and boxes.
They held all sorts of luxurious clothing: ruffled dresses in the latest fashions and colours, including ones with scandalously low necks, and garishly coloured men’s trousers and jackets and shirts with ruffles of lace.
“Wow.” It was cold in the room, and Nellie’s breath steamed in the pale light.
He explained. “These clothes all came from houses of families who have left. I’m not sure how much you’ll find that’s practical, but you’re free to have a look.”
Nellie wasn’t looking for practical clothing. In fact, she was looking for the most garish and outrageous outfits she could find, the type of clothing that turned heads, and there was plenty in this room.
It seemed like the young family had emptied the wardrobes of all the noble ladies and their families. The room was full of beautiful dresses as well as servants’ clothing.
Nellie chose a stack of glamorous dresses in different sizes. She picked out ridiculous hats and veils. She found some masks in the shape of bird faces, with long beaks. And she selected men’s outfits: long trousers, cloaks and hats.
A big box in the corner contained all manner of powders and lip paints, so she selected the most ridiculous colours from that.
All the while the young man watched from the door. Once, a toddler boy came for a curious look, half-hiding behind his father’s legs.
“It looks like you’re dressing a crowd for a noble ball,” he said, when Nellie dropped another dress onto the pile, this one for Koby.
“We’re staging a play,” she said, because that was what they had agreed to say if someone asked.
“That’s a brave thing to do in this hard time.”
“It will be free, and we hope to cheer up the citizens.”
“An admirable goal. I might have something else you like.” And then he climbed on a ladder and pulled some hatboxes off the top of a wardrobe. They contained the most outlandish hats, with ruffles and huge bright-red feathers.
“Yeah, I like those.”
He then pulled out all manner of things, from belts made of leopard skin to bright yellow shirts and long sheer veils and gloves with so many beads that the wearer couldn’t possibly pick up anything while wearing them. And corsets that were supposed to be worn on the outside of the dress, with little bells that tinkled when the woman walked.
Quite coquettish, Nellie thought. All of those things went into the pile.
Then the moment came that she had to ask how much he wanted to be paid, and he didn’t want anything.
“All these things are just a burden to us. They take up space, but no one wants them. We get the occasional merchant lady wanting to buy a dress, but it has to be something that she can wear in the street without creating a scandal. That’s why we’re preparing to take all of this to Burovia, where hopefully the mindset allows women to wear these things. But we can’t take everything, so I’m happy to be rid of the most outrageous items. I wish you good luck with your play. Do tell me when it’s on.”
“I will, and thank you so much.”
Chapter 19
NELLIE ARRANGED FOR the items to be packed up—she would send someone around with the cart later in the day—and then made her way back to Master Thiele’s house through the misty streets. Some people were out, but it wasn’t very busy.
Nellie crossed the markets and passed the palace gates, which were still closed. A number of bored guards stood in the guard box.
After she went into the street that led from the market to the harbour, she had the feeling that someone was following her. It was as if a dark spot moved in the corner of her eye. She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder.
It was a dog, a mangy beast with a dark grey coat of matted hair. Once she stopped walking, it came closer, sat on its haunches and whined.
It wore a collar.
Poor thing. It looked like it had been abandoned. She wondered who looked after it now.
But at the same time, she realised: Bruno and the dragon were under siege in the palace. That was why the gates were closed, after all. But if she’d doubted those rumours, here was her proof. The dragon’s presence attracted animals, and this poor scruffy dog was one of them. Being a dog, with a dog’s nose, it might even be able to smell the dragon on her. She held out her hand to the dog, but that was too much. It got up and scooted away.
In Master Thiele’s back yard, the men had brought in the cart and Nellie and Henrik’s two horses, so she asked them to pick up the purchases.
Inside the house, Master Thiele’s men had collected packs and weapons from their homes and stacked them in the corner of the large downstairs living room.
Nellie went to make tea and found a large kitchen that reminded her of the palace. She filled a kettle from the pump and set it on the stove.
“What disguise did you get for me?” Henrik had come into the kitchen after her.
“Oh, you gave me a fright. I was just thinking that this kitchen looks like the one in the palace.”
“This used to be a guesthouse,” he said. “Master Thiele retired from the guards when he became injured and started a series of ventures for retired or wrongfully dismissed guards. He tried to clear their names. He was head of the King’s Guard when they existed. Their job was guarding the guards to make sure that they behaved according to the king’s law. When the king died, he was forced to go into hiding, and that’s when he opened the guesthouse. It was for ordinary travellers, but anyone in the guards knew that if you ever got into trouble for standing up for the right thing, the doors here were always open. Still are, even if the guesthouse has closed.”
“A man of extreme honour,” Nellie said.
“Definitely. More honour than me.”
“Don’t talk yourself down. You acted with a lot of courage.”
He sat down on one of the chairs at the table. “I remained loyal to the Regent for too long, even if I knew how much he took fr
om the citizens. I couldn’t kill the magician and had to settle for leaving two boys orphaned. I was dumb. I was rash. I was too keen to make it up to you.”
The kettle produced clouds of steam. Nellie took it off the stove and poured the hot water into the teapot.
“I got you a nice suit,” she said.
“Some silly colour?”
“No, it’s black, and there is a hat as well. You can be the circus magician, with a pink silk handkerchief.”
“That’s a silly colour.”
They both laughed.
“You should clip your beard.”
“I should shave.”
“No, I like it. And you didn’t have a beard when you were in the guards so it’s a disguise.”
She found a pair of scissors, and a comb, and proceeded to cut the straggly hairs on his chin all the one length.
It was very stiff, a lot of it was white and some of it still sandy-coloured. Having his beard neat made him look much younger.
When she finished, he looked at the reflection in the window.
“I’m almost handsome man again. It’s funny how we don’t appreciate when we’re young how good we look.”
“I always thought you looked good.”
“I thought you looked good, too.”
“I did not. I was a horribly skinny mousey thing, and I acted like a mouse, too.”
“I thought you were pretty. Not too loud. You didn’t too obviously try to get my attention just because I wore a uniform.”
“So why did you never talk to me?”
“I was the oldest son. I had to set the right examples.”
“And my father was not the right example, I’m guessing.”
He blew out a breath. “I don’t like to speak ill of people, but he was so . . . severe.”
“Scary?”
