Chapter 40

JULY 8TH IN TRELLECH

M onday after lunch, Vitus was working on some simple talismanic cufflinks, the kind meant to help someone present themselves to their best advantage. They were popular as an item. On the owner’s side, they were an affordable touch of magic, or a considerate gift for a man the purchaser was fond of. On the maker’s side, unlike some pieces, people often wanted a range of colours. Make one set that someone liked, and they’d come back for pairs to match whatever they wore. Or, depending on the design, a range of needs - a set for eloquence, a set for clear thought, and so on.

Other talisman makers found them a challenge because of the small size and the need for precision. Even Niobe preferred other forms, given the choice. But Vitus rather liked the complexity of it. First, in finding two stones that matched or in some cases cutting and shaping two appropriate pieces from a single stone. Then it was a matter of arranging the talismanic inscription where it would be hidden, doing the enchantments to bring it to life, and setting the stones. Fiddly, detailed, even finicky, but rewarding to do right.

He heard the bell from the front door ring, and Niobe went to see who it was. She came back looking bemused a minute later. “Magistra Landry to see you, Vitus. She asked for a few minutes’ conversation. I showed her to the office.”

They rarely used Niobe’s office, only for the sort of formal consultation and negotiation that needed privacy or a lack of interruptions. Otherwise, they conducted business in the front room at the counter. Niobe picked up her tea and nodded. “I’ll be out front. Let me know if you need me to step in.”

Vitus coughed. “Erm. Yes.” He paused in the small water closet under the stairs to wash and dry his hands and check that he looked presentable. Then Vitus went off to the office, inclining his head as he closed the door behind him. “Magistra Landry.”

Magistra Landry was in full and imposing mourning dress. Of course she was. She had left the veil down over her face, and she had a walking stick with her of ebony wood with a pattern traced or embellished in copper around the handle. Vitus sidled around to sit in the chair behind the desk without stumbling or turning his back on her. Once he sat, he cleared his throat. “I hope the carnelian piece suited your needs? Alexander knew what was wanted. I was impressed by his knowledge for someone not in our field or a related one.”

He thought something in that might have amused her, just slightly, though it had the quality of a cat amused by a mouse it was about to pounce on. Even if he couldn’t see her face, the intent came through clear as day. “It did suit, and you were accurate about its quality.” She considered for a moment. “Alexander has departed on his Grand Tour, and I am tending to various necessary pieces of business.”

Vitus assumed, quite reasonably, that she had some reason for turning up here, and without an appointment. It was a bad idea to turn away a potential customer, and a worse one to anger someone whose scope for magic was powerful but not well known. He had a well-developed sense of self-preservation, as Niobe put it, as well as a growing sense of proper development of his professional reputation. “A talisman, magistra?” He wasn’t sure if that was what she meant, but it was a neutral enough inquiry given where they were.

“Tell me, when we spoke some weeks ago, you were looking for your own quarters. May I ask if you have found a flat that meets your needs?”

It was an odd question in several dimensions. If it were a stone, it would be an irregular mass, a bit of copper or some other metal rather than an orderly crystal. Her memory must be phenomenal. It had been an ordinary conversation, small talk, and she had had a great many other conversations and more important things since. He took a breath. That was always a good idea when meeting an unexpected question or statement. “I am still looking, magistra.”

“Ah.” She did not expand on the question or the reason for the question. Of course she didn’t.

Vitus struggled to figure out what else to ask about. She had already mentioned Alexander, but in a manner that did not encourage further conversation along that line. He was curious about their funeral customs, but it didn’t seem the sort of thing one could ask about politely, certainly not without an opening. And the part he’d kept thinking about - Thessaly feeling it was a ritualised duel - certainly wasn’t the sort of thing he could come out with on his own. Instead, he folded his hands in his lap and waited.

He thought she might well wait him out, but after he’d counted to forty-three, she inclined her head. “You might do me a favour, then.” He thought she would not expand on that cryptic statement, but then she went on just before he could bring himself to ask. “And you have a question. Ask me that first.”

Vitus swallowed hard. He was not deft enough to dance around who he’d been talking to, and revealing that he’d been talking to Thessaly would indicate all sorts of things. On the other hand, lying to Magistra Landry seemed an entirely disastrous idea. He cleared his throat. “Mistress Lytton-Powell is by way of becoming a friend. After the funeral,” no need to specify which one, “she mentioned it seemed to her much like a ritualised duel. I am curious about your customs. They are not familiar to me, but I hope they brought you - and Alexander - some comfort.”

Before she answered, she lifted the corners of the veil, folding back the near-opaque fabric to show her face. “Not comfort alone, but yes. I am glad we could give Philip the proper rites, can continue to do so. We could not do the same for my husband years ago.” Then she placed her hands back in her lap. “When you speak to Thessaly again, please convey my appreciation of her insight. She is correct on that point.”

Magistra Landry spoke politely and precisely, but Vitus was clear it was an order and that she would somehow know if he failed to do so. He nodded. “Of course, Magistra. When I have the opportunity again.”

Her nod this time was rather like patting a dog on the head in praise, but it was a fraction less terrifying to contemplate. “The customs we use go back millennia, and we are a people who value the power and weight of our rituals and obligations. And, how shall we say,” For the first time, he remembered that English surely was not her first language. There was that slight hint of feeling for words and her accent and rhythm shifting. “A ritual drama enacted. Yes, that is the word I want. The library here in Trellech might have something about it.”

Vitus nodded. “I appreciate that, Magistra.” Then he sucked in his breath, working his way to bravery. “You said I might do you a favour?” He didn’t offer to do it, he wasn’t foolish like that. He’d been trained out of it, but especially with anyone who wielded word and magic this competently.

“Philip’s flat.” Now the words came out sharp and edged. “His landlord refuses to break the lease. I have matters to attend to. I do not wish to be bothered with remembering to deal with it, month in and month out. If you would take over the lease, it would allow me to turn my full attention to other concerns.”

Vitus felt himself go pale, just for a moment. “I had not expected, I— pardon. May I ask the particulars?”

“Oh, I do not expect you to take it unseen. And if it eases you, I can assure you my son did not die there.” Vitus had read the newspaper coverage. His body had certainly been found there. She named the monthly price and noted that the lease would renew the following March. Next, she listed off what was included and what was not, in clearly enunciated words. He scribbled down the numbers and notes as she went. It was on the higher end of what he thought he could afford. But if the groundwork had already been done for the kind of warding he’d need, that would be a savings.

Then she paused before continuing, her voice deepening a hair. It wasn’t softer. Soft was not a word that would apply to her, but more familiar. “I will remove his personal items, and whatever of the furniture you do not want to keep. You are welcome to whatever books on his shelves are duplicates of the family library. You have seen the sitting room. There is a workroom and a small bedroom, along with a bathing room and kitchen. Meals can be had from a woman in the flats next door, or there are various eating establishments nearby. And it is the proper sort of place for your stage of business.”

Vitus sucked in a breath. “Philip told you I asked him a little how he had chosen it then.” She inclined her head, but said nothing. “If I may look at it, especially with an eye to the protective enchantments for our work. If it is agreeable, I would ask Niobe to join us.”

“Magistra Hall? Certainly. Would tomorrow afternoon suit? Or I suppose you will need to ask her. Tomorrow or Wednesday. I would like until the fifteenth to move what is coming to my home, but I would pay August’s rent for you, in turn.”

It was an especially generous offer, and that made Vitus suspicious. Or certainly wary. He wasn’t entirely sure if suspicious were the proper term. Finally, he had to say something. “I am certainly interested in looking, Magistra.”

“Good.” She waved a hand. “And if you take it on, if you find some small thing that the movers missed, I can trust you will return it to me. That would not be true of many.”

That put a somewhat different picture on it, and Vitus relaxed. It showed, because she snorted, almost amused, though there was nothing like a smile on her face. “You worry there is some unspoken cost, like one of your fairy tales. Grimm, Perrault, something of the kind.”

“I try to be a sensible man, literate in the tales we tell about what is dangerous and what is safe— safer.” He changed the last word at the last moment, and it got him an approving nod. “Something magical, Magistra, or some other item?”

“Paper slips behind furniture or into odd places so easily. Or small things. There is a ring Philip often wore I have not found. A copper band with a central turquoise, and lapis lazuli inlaid on either side. It had no particular meaning, except of course that all things such as we wear have meaning.” That, on the other hand, was a deft nod to Vitus’s own work and profession. Then she tilted her head. “You find it easier to know I have some particular wish, there? That you know I seek something in making this offer to you?”

“Oh, yes, magistra.” Vitus didn’t hide his more active relief. He tried to figure out a way to put this, the way a Fox would put it, rather than his own straightforward Salmon. Then he gave up and said what was in his mind and his heart. “It is much less confusing, magistra, to know you have ulterior motives. Or rather, I assumed you did, but to have an idea of them.”

She was silent for a good thirty seconds before she nodded once. “Philip enjoyed his conversations with you. You treated him with due respect for his skill. I would rather you benefit than some other.” Then she rose and lowered the veil over her face again, hanging in perfect flowing folds, not that any piece of her clothing would dare disobey. “You may escort me out and confirm when you will see the flat with Magistra Hall.”

“Of course.” He stood as she did, a bit hurriedly, then moved around the desk and her chair to get the door. Niobe was willing enough - even without explanation - to agree to see the flat the next day, and they made the arrangements. Vitus waited at the door, watching Magistra Landry until she reached the end of the courtyard alley, then turned into the main street.

When he came back inside, Niobe had gone back to the workshop, and Vitus set the warding on the door. He automatically made more tea, bringing it back with him, his head spinning. Niobe looked up at him, then silently went to go pour a glass of the medicinal brandy from the decanter in her office, putting it in front of him. “Will you take it?”

“Probably.” He knew he would, unless it had some irredeemable defect. “The light is excellent, the space agreeable. The rent is in the range I was hoping for, if at the high end. And - I do not think she is someone I wish to anger.”

Niobe shook her head. “No. She is the sort whose attention cuts. Better to have her think well of you.” She considered. “No more work for you this afternoon. You can focus on looking at the warding specifications and what we need to know about the walls and foundation and all. I think you should be fine, given that neighbourhood, but we’ll want the details handy.”

“Yes’m.” Vitus let out a breath, and set the larger and more complex problems aside for the moment as best he could.