Page 63 of The Dark Hiss of Magic
She waved an airy hand. ‘I’m not going to tell you that.’
His eyes glittered with annoyance. ‘You declined because you couldn’t help her. Right?’
‘Wrong.’ She eyed him over her empty glass. ‘I knew exactly how to achieve what she wanted, I just didn’t want to do it.’
‘How?’ he demanded. ‘How would you have done it?’
This conversation was veering in directions that didn’t interest me. ‘If we could get back to the matter of this silphium…’
Neither of them looked at me. The sommelier appeared, smiled at us all and started refilling our glasses. I said thank you; Mallory and MacTire didn’t even glance at him.
‘It’s the annual Wolf Ball next month,’ Mallory said.
‘So?’
‘You’re attending the ball with your beta wolf, Samantha, as your date,’ she told him.
Wow. How did she know that? I sneaked a peek at MacTire. His expression was controlled but I reckoned he was as surprised as I was at her insider information.
‘When you arrive at the steps of the Grand Hotel, it would be an easy matter to distract Samantha. While she’s busy, my potential client would appear dressed in blue because it’s your favourite colour. I’d also advise her to wear a natural perfume based on roses because that would grab your attention. Thenshe’d make her approach. I didn’t iron out all the details because I didn’t take her on as a client, but I expect it would have been something along the lines of a little drama where she helped an elderly guest in front of you so she appeared both strong and compassionate.’ She shrugged. ‘But I’m only conjecturing.’
‘It wouldn’t have worked,’ MacTire said.
Mallory grinned. ‘I beg to differ. It definitely would have worked – up to a point, at least. Even my wiliest machinations can only go so far.’ She took another sip of wine. ‘There would at least have been consensual sexual congress. Beyond that, I can’t say.’
Alexander MacTire was open-mouthed, and so was I. The only difference between us was that I believed Mallory could have pulled it off whereas MacTire remained more sceptical.
‘Okay-dokey,’ I said, more loudly than I’d intended. ‘About that silphium…’
Mallory shook herself and gave a small tinkling laugh. ‘Yes, of course. Sorry, Kit. We can go elsewhere to discuss it privately, if you wish?’
MacTire had already heard most of it, plus he clearly knew more about silphium than I did. He could stay. He might even be able to add something to the conversation – if he could shake off his preoccupation with Mallory’s revelations.
‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘Go on.’
‘Alright. Silphium is also called laserwort. It was well known in Roman times and was originally grown in the North African city of Cyrene, which is in modern-day Libya – although it’s nothing more now than a collection of archaeological ruins.’
‘I’ve never heard of it,’ I said.
‘Julius Caesar and Pliny the Younger both mentioned silphium,’ MacTire said. At my look, his lip curled. ‘I was forced tolearn Latin when I was a kid. My father told me it would be useful, but this is the first time I’ve ever found that to be true.’
‘I feel the same way about algebra,’ Mallory told him. She was probably well aware that Alexander MacTire’s father had been a brutal, violent bastard. ‘What else do you know about it?’
He toyed with the stem of his wine glass. ‘Not much. It was potent and was believed to be literally worth its weight in gold, but it was over-harvested and became extinct two thousand years ago.’
Mallory nodded. ‘According to historical reports, the last stalk was given to Emperor Nero around AD54.’ She turned to me. ‘It was a remedy for both mental illness and physical complaints, an effective aphrodisiac and a seasoning for food. It was also used as a perfume. In its potent form, its resin could be a magical enhancement but nobody knows for sure how powerful it was. It’s not been seen for two millennia.’
‘Then why is it a hot topic for the witches’ council?’
‘Because,’ Mallory said in a low voice, ‘ten days ago a witch passed them a sample of some fresh silphium leaves.’
I sucked in a breath. ‘This witch. Was he called Simon Campbell, by any chance?’
‘Yes,’ she answered, her cool, clever eyes watching me. ‘That was indeed his name.’
We finishedthe bottle of wine and declined dessert, although from Mallory’s expression she would happily have ordered every sweet on the menu then asked for second helpings.
‘All this silphium stuff is serious business,’ I said. ‘At least three people may have been murdered because of it – andalthough the killer has been caught, he’s a highly placed witch who sits on the council.’
