fourdays."
"I see." They went down perhaps four more steps before Lord Darcyasked quietly, "Tell me, Sir Pierre, were you privy to _all_ of CountD'Evreux's business?"
Another four steps down before Sir Pierre answered. "I understand whatyour lordship means," he said. Another two steps. "No, I was not. Iwas aware that my lord the Count engaged in certain ... er ... shallwe say, liaisons with members of the opposite sex. However--"
He paused, and in the gloom, Lord Darcy could see his lips tighten."However," he continued, "I did not procure for my lord, if that iswhat you're driving at. I am not and never have been a pimp."
"I didn't intend to suggest that you had, good knight," said LordDarcy in a tone that strongly implied that the thought had actuallynever crossed his mind. "Not at all. But certainly there is adifference between 'aiding and abetting' and simple knowledge of whatis going on."
"Oh. Yes. Yes, of course. Well, one cannot, of course, be thesecretary-in-private of a gentleman such as my lord the Count forseventeen years without knowing something of what is going on, you'reright. Yes. Yes. Hm-m-m."
* * * * *
Lord Darcy smiled to himself. Not until this moment had Sir Pierrerealized how much he actually _did_ know. In loyalty to his lord, hehad literally kept his eyes shut for seventeen years.
"I realize," Lord Darcy said smoothly, "that a gentleman would neverimplicate a lady nor besmirch the reputation of another gentlemanwithout due cause and careful consideration. However,"--like theknight, he paused a moment before going on--"although we are awarethat he was not discreet, was he particular?"
"If you mean by that, did he confine his attentions to those of gentlebirth, your lordship, then I can say, no he did not. If you mean didhe confine his attentions to the gentler sex, then I can only saythat, as far as I know, he did."
"I see. That explains the closet full of clothes."
"Beg pardon, your lordship?"
"I mean that if a girl or woman of the lower classes were to comehere, he would have proper clothing for them to wear--in spite of thesumptuary laws to the contrary."
"Quite likely, your lordship. He was most particular about clothing.Couldn't stand a woman who was sloppily dressed or poorly dressed."
"In what way?"
"Well. Well, for instance, I recall once that he saw a very prettypeasant girl. She was dressed in the common style, of course, but shewas dressed neatly and prettily. My lord took a fancy to her. He said,'Now there's a lass who knows how to wear clothes. Put her in decentapparel, and she'd pass for a princess.' But a girl, who had a prettyface and a fine figure, made no impression on him unless she wore herclothing well, if you see what I mean, your lordship."
"Did you ever know him to fancy a girl who dressed in an offhandmanner?" Lord Darcy asked.
"Only among the gently born, your lordship. He'd say, 'Look at LadySo-and-so! Nice wench, if she'd let me teach her how to dress.' Youmight say, your lordship, that a woman could be dressed commonly orsloppily, but not both."
"Judging by the stuff in that closet," Lord Darcy said, "I should saythat the late Count had excellent taste in feminine dress."
Sir Pierre considered. "Hm-m-m. Well, now, I wouldn't exactly say so,your lordship. He knew _how_ clothes should be worn, yes. But hecouldn't pick out a woman's gown of his own accord. He could choosehis own clothing with impeccable taste, but he'd not any real notionof how a woman's clothing should go, if you see what I mean. All heknew was how good clothing should be worn. But he knew nothing aboutdesign for women's clothing."
"Then how did he get that closet full of clothes?" Lord Darcy asked,puzzled.
Sir Pierre chuckled. "Very simply, your lordship. He knew that theLady Alice had good taste, so he secretly instructed that each piecethat Lady Alice ordered should be made in duplicate. With smallvariations, of course. I'm certain my lady wouldn't like it if sheknew."
"I dare say not," said Lord Darcy thoughtfully.
"Here is the door to the courtyard," said Sir Pierre. "I doubt that ithas been opened in broad daylight for many years." He selected a keyfrom the ring of the late Count and inserted it into the keyhole. Thedoor swung back, revealing a large crucifix attached to its outersurface. Lord Darcy crossed himself. "Lord in Heaven," he said softly,"what is this?"
He looked out into a small shrine. It was walled off from thecourtyard and had a single small entrance some ten feet from thedoorway. There were four _prie-dieus_--small kneeling benches--rangedin front of the doorway.
"If I may explain, your lordship--" Sir Pierre began.
"No need to," Lord Darcy said in a hard voice. "It's rather obvious.My lord the Count was quite ingenious. This is a relativelynewly-built shrine. Four walls and a crucifix against the castle wall.Anyone could come in here, day or night, for prayer. No one who camein would be suspected." He stepped out into the small enclosure andswung around to look at the door. "And when that door is closed, thereis no sign that there is a door behind the crucifix. If a woman camein here, it would be assumed that she came for prayer. But if she knewof that door--" His voice trailed off.
"Yes, your lordship," said Sir Pierre. "I did not approve, but I wasin no position to disapprove."
"I understand." Lord Darcy stepped out to the doorway of the littleshrine and took a quick glance about. "Then anyone within the castlewalls could come in here," he said.
"Yes, your lordship."
"Very well. Let's go back up."
* * * * *
In the small office which Lord Darcy and his staff had been assignedwhile conducting the investigation, three men watched while a fourthconducted a demonstration on a table in the center of the room.
Master Sean O Lochlainn held up an intricately engraved gold buttonwith an Arabesque pattern and a diamond set in the center.
He looked at the other three. "Now, my lord, your Reverence, andcolleague Doctor, I call your attention to this button."
Dr. Pateley smiled and Father Bright looked stern. Lord Darcy merelystuffed tobacco--imported from the southern New England counties onthe Gulf--into a German-made porcelain pipe. He allowed Master Sean acertain amount of flamboyance; good sorcerers were hard to come by.
"Will you hold the robe, Dr. Pateley? Thank you. Now, stand back.That's it. Thank you. Now, I place the button on the table, a good tenfeet from the robe." Then he muttered something under his breath anddusted a bit of powder on the button. He made a few passes over itwith his hands, paused, and looked up at Father Bright. "If you will,Reverend Sir?"
Father Bright solemnly raised his right hand, and, as he made the Signof the Cross, said: "May this demonstration, O God, be in strictaccord with the truth, and may the Evil One not in any way deceive uswho are witnesses thereto. In the Name of the Father and of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
"Amen," the other three chorused.
Master Sean crossed himself, then muttered something under his breath.
The button leaped from the table, slammed itself against the robewhich Dr. Pateley held before him, and stuck there as though it hadbeen sewed on by an expert.
"Ha!" said Master Sean. "As I thought!" He gave the other three men abroad, beaming smile. "The two were definitely connected!"
Lord Darcy looked bored. "Time?" he asked.
"In a moment, my lord," Master Sean said apologetically. "In amoment." While the other three watched, the sorcerer went through morespells with the button and the robe, although none were quite sospectacular as the first demonstration. Finally, Master Sean said:"About eleven thirty last night they were torn apart, my lord. But Ishouldn't like to make it any more definite than to say betweeneleven and midnight. The speed with which it returned to its placeshows that it was ripped off very rapidly, however."
"Very good," said Lord Darcy. "Now the bullet, if you please."
"Yes, my lord. This will have to be a bit different." He took moreparaphernalia out of his large, symbol-decorated carpet bag. "The Lawof Contagion,
gently-born sirs, is a tricky thing to work with. If aman doesn't know how to handle it, he can get himself killed. We hadan apprentice o' the guild back in Cork who might have made a goodsorcerer in time. He had the talent--unfortunately, he didn't have thegood sense to go with it. According to the Law of Contagion any twoobjects which have ever been in contact with each other have anaffinity for each other which is directly proportional to the productof the degree of relevancy of the contact and the length of time theywere
The Eyes Have It Page 5
