Modern Magick

Toil and Trouble: 5

'You talk a good talk, Ves,' Val said, arranging herself upon the side of my enemies without a trace of apology. 'It's one of your talents.'

'Lucky me,' I muttered.

I looked at Indira, in case she wanted to join in with the stone-throwing. But she stared back at me with big, guarded eyes and said nothing at all.

She looked, to my horror, as though she were more frightened of me than the rest of us were of Milady-in-anger.

I set that problem aside.

'Fine,' I said, magnificently gracious. 'Your poor, beleaguered Ves will sally forth and take a few bullets while the rest of you... what?'

'Review security,' said Rob.

'Figure out what in the world to do with Bill,' Val put in.

I looked at Jay, who shrugged. 'I'll come with you.'

'What? Voluntarily?'

'Why not?'

I narrowed my eyes. 'You've seen how hard everybody else worked to get out of this.'

'Except you.'

'I've been betrayed by my own troops, sent forth as sacrificial victim—'

'But with backup.'

I smiled, rather touched. 'That's kind. So kind I'd even give you that toast back, if I hadn't already eaten it.'

Jay wrinkled his nose. 'Er, no need to go to extraordinary lengths.'

In the event, Milady wasn't even angry. But she was extremely alarmed, which was far worse.

'Tell me everything,' she ordered, when Nell and Jay and I had trailed into her tower-top room and stood lined up on the carpet like a row of naughty children.

We did, though not in any coherent fashion. Milady listened to our fragmented account of the previous day's happenings in a taut silence that I found excessively uncomfortable. When we arrived at the developments of the morning, and held up the newspaper for her perusal, the air practically vibrated with tension.

When at last we stopped talking over each other, interpolating corrections upon each other's narratives and generally confusing everything, Milady went so long without speaking that I began to wonder whether we'd lost her altogether.

At last, she spoke, and though her words emerged in her usual crisp fashion, and with every appearance of total composure, I could hear a note of something else lying behind them; something like fear. 'While I appreciate Rob's confidence in the elusiveness of this house, and his no doubt excellent efforts to assure our security within it, I must disagree with his conclusions. You are quite right, Jay: those with a strong enough motive to find us will surely contrive a way. That goes for reporters, and some other, rather more unsavoury characters as well. It is my conviction that this troublesome book must be taken out of the House at once, and conveyed to a safer spot.'

That caused a little stir. I exchanged a foreboding look with Jay, who looked as worried as I felt.

'Jay, as our Waymaster, you are able to carry the book farther and faster than anybody else. I encourage you to choose a destination entirely at random; that way, it will be harder for others to guess the book's location, and all but impossible for anyone to follow in any timely fashion. Do not linger at any henges. Take Ves with you; she is a woman of significant resources and will be able to resolve any difficulties that arise.

'Nell, it falls to you to make a suitable announcement. By all means, confirm the find; it is too late to hope to deceive anyone on that score. Don't try to play down either its significance or potential. What I want you to do is to mention, as casually as you can, that the book is no longer at Home. I am not at all concerned what excuse you come up with to explain its removal, provided only that it is unexceptionable. The more mundane, the better. I would not have anybody coming here expecting to find that book, nor do I wish it to be known that we are expecting exactly such an attempt.'