Page 15 of The Affair of the Mysterious Letter
He looked downcast. “I was only going to ask if you wanted to visit a coffeehouse. There’s a lovely place by the docks in Khel where they serve these honeyed pastries.”
I had not quite expected the conversation to take this turn.Obviously I had been for coffee with gentlemen before, the beverage being relatively unknown in my homeland and therefore not proscribed. But, by some quirk of either my culture or my character, I had little facility in identifying when an invitation might be forthcoming. On this occasion, I cannot deny I was flattered, but nevertheless I baulked. “That is very kind of you, but I must decline.”
“Oh.” The young man removed his glasses, buffed them against his sleeve, and put them on again. “I suppose it would be a bit awkward what with your nation hating everything I stand for. Probably I should have thought of that earlier. It’s just you seemed so nice, even though you were scuttling around the ballroom like a confused octopus.”
“I beg your pardon, I was not scuttling. And I’m not sure octopuses scuttle.”
He thought about this for a second and then perked up visibly. “Well, if you weren’t scuttling and octopuses don’t scuttle, then you were, in fact, scuttling like an octopus.”
That hurt my head a little but I was eventually forced to concede the logic of it.
“Anyway,” continued the necromancer, “Blingfeather’s Manual of Etiquetteis a bit silent on how to deal with somebody who tells you their god won’t let them speak to you at a party. But it’s probably polite to leave you alone.”
In truth I was a little conflicted. The theological position on this matter was clear but, notwithstanding his terrifying servant, the gentleman was not without his charms. “Um. Yes. That’s probably appropriate.”
He bobbed a hurried bow and offered me a small square of ivory-coloured card. “In case you change your mind,” he said. “Or need financial advice.” Before I could reply, he pivoted and hurried away into the crowd.
The card read:Mr. Jeremiah Donne. Money Changers and Sin Eaters. The Ossuary Bank.Although I anticipated little need to contact the gentleman, I stored the article about my person and continued my sweep of the perimeter.
Finally, by utter happenstance, the crowd shifted at exactly the right moment and in exactly the right configuration to grant me a clear view of Miss Viola dancing a waltz with a lady I took to be her fiancée. They made a handsome couple, though Miss Viola was the more striking of the two with her Carcosan eyes and auburn hair. Miss Beck, however, complemented her well, having something of the quality of an Athran rose, her fair skin a little blushed and lightly freckled.
I fear that even with my long exposure to Khelathran social mores I found the waltz a rather shocking dance, necessitating as it did such an intimacy between the partners. Nevertheless they moved gracefully together and appeared to possess a comfort with each other that I momentarily envied. Miss Viola had a lightness about her that I had not observed on her visit to 221b Martyrs Walk, a certain ease of manner that made her look, for want of a less bald term, happy. I was then aware of a growing sense of shame at my intrusion and, discomforted by my mission, ducked behind a gentleman in a green waistcoat.
From here I was uncertain as to what I should do next. While Ms. Haas’s instructions had been specific, I could see little to be gained by continuing to spy on the two ladies. Certainly, there seemed no strife between them and it would have been most improbable that Miss Beck would suddenly break off in the middle of a dance and exposit an item of useful information that I could report to my companion.
It was at this juncture that, despite my best attempts to remain unobtrusive, I was approached by a shaven-headed woman whose eyes and mouth were filled with roiling celestial fire. She wore a gowntrimmed with rich ermine and cockatrice scales, indicating that she was almost certainly a representative of the Ubiquitous Company of Skinners.
“Care to dance the next?” She held out a hand. Her expression was difficult to read owing to the strange illumination of the star-white not-flames that emanated from within her.
“Thank you, but I have not the character nor the practice.”
Her smile cast her features briefly into shadow. “You should acquire them. Without dancing, these balls are all business.”
“I’m just here looking for a friend.”
“As you wish.” She dropped a neat curtsy and left in search of a more suitable partner.
I returned my attention to the crowd and realised I had lost all sight of Miss Viola. Then an arm slipped through mine and I found myself being manoeuvred deftly into one of the more discreet corners of the hall. My manoeuvrer, as the astute reader may already have surmised, was none other than the lady herself.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Miss Cora Beck
“What are youdoing here?” she demanded, with no trace of her former sanguinity. “And, more to the point, what’s she doing here?”
I was beginning to recognise in both Ms. Haas and Miss Viola that the one would adopt a particular tone when speaking of the other. Thus I was in no doubt as to the identity of the “she” to whom my interlocutor alluded. “Ms. Haas felt it best to eliminate your fiancée and her associates from our enquiries.”
“Well, she can go home. It’s not Cora, and I will not have her ruin the very thing I am trying to protect.”
“I’m sure Ms. Haas will do nothing to jeopardise your happiness.”
“She has no interest in happiness, mine or anybody else’s.” Her gaze flicked nervously over her shoulder. “Please leave, Mr. Wyndham. This isn’t helping me. It’s just some game of Shaharazad’s.”
Despite the fact that Ms. Haas had told me quite explicitly that she considered the opportunity to discomfort Miss Viola a positive benefit of this course of action, I nonetheless found it difficult to believe that she could truly be so callous. “I find it difficult to believe,” I said, “that she could truly be so callous.”
“Then you’re an even bigger fool than you look.”
“I do not believe it foolish to see the best in people.” With as much politeness as I could manage, I extricated myself from her hold.“And while your faith in Miss Beck is commendable, might she not have enemies or even allies who would not wish to see her married to you?”
