Mairelon the Magician Read online

  chest locked. Her lips tightened, and she reached into her

  pocket for the stiff bit of wire she always carried.

  The lock was a good one, and the overhanging wood that

  concealed it made her work more difficult. Two more verses

  of "Darlin' Jenny" went by while she twisted the wire back

  and forth, coaxing the tumblers into position. She was about

  to abandon her efforts when she heard a faint click and the

  lid of the chest popped up a quarter of an inch.

  Kim straightened in relief and pocketed the wire She took

  hold of the chest's lid and lifted, forcing herself to move

  slowly in case the hinges squealed. Then she held it in posi-

  tion with one hand and bent over to peer inside,

  Piles of brightly colored silks met her eyes. Beside them

  were slotted wooden boxes, a bundle of tiny Chinese lan-

  terns, several mirrors, a glass tube with a painted paper

  cover, a top hat, and several decks of playing cards, all ar-

  ranged neatly and precisely according to some order Kirn

  could not fathom. A few she recognized as props from Mair-

  elon's first show; none of them looked at all like the bowl the

  gentry cove had gone on about. As she started to close the

  lid, she saw a swatch of black velvet sticking out from under a

  stack of neatly folded silk handkerchiefs. One last try, she

  thought, and brushed the silks aside.

  Her hand closed on something hard and heavy, wrapped in

  velvet- Then there was a violent, soundless explosion and Kirn

  was Hung backward against the cupboards on the other side of

  the wagon- Through a haze of violet light, she saw the lid of

  the trunk slowly close itself. Purple spots danced before her

  eyes, then spread out to cover her entire field of vision. Her

  last coherent thought, as the purple deepened into black un-

  consciousness, was an angry curse directed at the toff waiting

  for her in the public house. Five pounds wasn't anywhere near

  enough pay for snooping on a real magician.

  10-

  TWO

  Kim awoke all at once. She was propped

  against something hard, in a semi-sitting

  position, and she could feel cord around her

  wrists and ankles. She heard voices above her and forced her-.

  self to be still, feigning unconsciousness. This was nol, appar-

  ently, expected, after a moment, she heard a worried voice

  say, '"Adn't 'e oughter be waking?"

  "He is awake," said the voice of Mairelon the Magician-

  "He's just pretending. Come on, child, you might as well ad-

  mit it. You'll have to open your eyes sooner or later"

  Kirn sighed and capitulated- She gave a hasty look around

  as she opened her eyes, in the faint hope of discovering a

  way out of her predicament. She was propped against the row

  of cupboards; one of the doors was open, presumably jarred

  free when she had been thrown against them. The cord that

  tied her looked regrettably sturdy, and the knots were un-

  familiar tangles- After one glance, she abandoned any

  thought of slipping free while her captors' attention was else-

  where.

  "Quite so," said Mairelon.

  11

  Kirn looked up Mairelon was standing next to the chest,

  on the opposite side of the wagon. He had removed his cloak

  and hat; without them, he seemed both shorter and younger

  than he had appeared on stage. His expression held none of

  the anger and annoyance Kirn expected; instead, there was a

  gleam of something very like interest or amusement. She be-

  gan to hope she would come around from this, after all.

  Beside Mairelon stood the droopy man- He, too, had re-

  moved his hat, and his grey and black hair was plastered flat

  against his head He alternated sour glares at Kim with ner-

  vous looks directed at Mairelon, and he was chewing continu-

  ously on one end of his mustache.

  Kim looked back at Mairelon, "Proper knowin' one, ain't

  you?" she said in her best boyish tone,

  "As far as you are concerned, not nearly so knowing as I

  would like to be," Mairelon replied affably.

  "You going to call the nabbing culls?"

  "That depends on how much you are willing to tell me."

  "I got no reason to keep quiet," K.im said frankly. If the toff

  who'd hired her had been more open, she might have felt

  some obligation to keep her mouth shut, but not even an out-

  and-outer would expect her to protect an employer who'd

  withheld crucial knowledge about a job. Especially when she

  hadn't been too keen on it in the first place.

  "Then perhaps you would explain just what you were doing

  in my wagon," Mairelon said.

  "Lookin' about," Kim said promptly.

  The droopy man snorted through the damp ends of his

  mustache. "Stealing, more likely,"

  "Quiet, Hunch," Mairelon said He looked from Kim to

  the open cupboard with a speculative gleam. "Just looking?"

  "That's right," Kim said firmly. "Just lookin' about."

  The magician's eyes narrowed, and Kim wondered whether

  12

  her reply had been too forceful for the boy she was pretend-

  ing to be. it was too late to change it now, though.

  "That accounts for the cupboards, i think," Mairelon said

  after a moment, "How did you—"

  "You don't never believe 'im, do you?" the droopy man de-

  manded-

  "Hunch" Refrain from interrupting, if you please."

  "And let you get yourself in a mort o' trouble from believ-

  ing things you 'adn't ought to?" Hunch said indignantly. "I

  won't never!"

  Mairelon gave his henchman an exasperated look 'Then

  you can go outside until I'm done."

  Hunch's face took on a grim expression "Nay."

  "It's that or be silent."

  The two men's eyes locked briefly; Hunch's fell. "Aye,

  then, I'll 'old my peace."

  "Good." Mairelon turned back to Kim, who had been

  watching this exchange with great interest- "As I was saying, I

  think you've explained the cupboards. The chest is another

  matter- How did you open it?"

  "Picked the lock."

  "I find that a little difficult to believe. It's not a simple

  mechanism."

  "Didn't have to be," Kim said, allowing herself to bristle at

  the implied reflection on her skill.

  Mairelon raised an eyebrow. "Well, we'll leave that for the

  moment. Just why were you, er, looking about in my wagon?"

  "A gentry cove at the Dog and Bull said he'd pay five

  pounds to know what you had in here. Said he had a bet on

  it"

  "Did he," Mairelon and Hunch exchanged glances.

  "He thought he'd gammoned me proper," Kim said. She

  took a perverse pleasure in betraying the toff who'd gotten

  13

  her into this. "But if it was just a bet, why'd he let me talk

  him up to five pounds? And why was he so nattered over that

  wicher-bubber?"

  "Wicher-bubber?" Mairelon said, looking startled, and not

  altogether pleased. "You mean a silver bowl?"

  "That's what I said. The toff wanted me to look for it."

  "Did he ask
you to steal it?" Mairelon demanded, his ex-

  pression tense.

  "No, but I ain't saying he wouldn't of been right pleased if

  I'd a nicked it for him."

  There'" Hunch said- "What was I telling you? 'E's a thief."

  "Look, cully, if i was a sharper, would I be telling you

  straight out?" Kirn said, exasperated. "All I said was, I'd keep

  an eye out for it, and that's truth!"

  "So all you agreed to do was come in, look around, and let

  him know whether you saw this bowl?" Mairelon said.

  "That's it," Kirn said. Hunch snorted, and she glared at

  him- "There wouldn't be no harm done, after all; just lookin'

  about. But he ought to of said somethin' about you being a

  real magician with fancy locks and exploding chests."

  "What did this toff of yours look like?"

  "A real swell. Top hat, and gloves better'n the ones Jamie

  sells, and a silk cravat." Kirn shook her head in wonder that

  was only partly simulated. "A top hat, at the Dog and Bull."

  "What color was his hair?"

  "Muddy. Thin, too."

  "His hair or himself?"

  "Both."

  Mairelon nodded, as if he had expected that answer- "And

  did he give you something to make it easier for you to get in

  here? And into my chest?"

  "No, and I wouldn't of took it if he'd offered. I ain't no

  flat"

  14

  "Then suppose you show me how you managed it," Mair-

  elon said,

  Kirn nodded, and the magician reached for the rope that

  bound her hands. Hunch made a strangling noise, Mairelon

  paused and looked at him with an expression of innocent in-

  quiry.

  "You're never letting 'im go?" Hunch said, plainly appalled

  by the idea "You got no idea what 'e's up to!"

  "I think the two of us can handle her."

  Hunch bit down hard on the right side of his mustache.

  "Her?"

  "Oh, you didn't realize?" Mairelon said. He turned back to

  Kirn while Hunch was still gaping mutely, and gave one of

  the loops of cord a sharp tug. The knot slid apart as though

  someone had greased the rope, leaving Kirn's hands free. She

  blinked, then darted a hand forward and yanked on the cord

  that held her ankles-

  Nothing happened. "There's a trick to it, of course," Mair-

  elon said blandly. "I'll show you, if you like, when you've

  finished your own demonstration."

  Kim looked up in disbelief. Mairelon was smiling in what

  appeared to be genuine amusement. "You will?"

  "Yes When you're finished," he added pointedly- Hunch

  scowled ferociously at his masters back, but did not dare

  voice any more criticism,

  "All right, all right," Kim said She reached into her

  pocket, pulled out the bit of wire, and set to work. She was

  fairly sure by this time that the magician would not turn her

  over to the constables, but instead of reassuring her, the

  knowledge made her even more uneasy. Why did he hesitate?

  She watched Mairelon surreptitiously as she wiggled the

  wire. He didn't look particularly impressive, but he was no

  flat, that was certain. He was no ordinary street magician,

  15

  either, not with the inside of his wagon done up like a gentry

  ken. Not to mention that thing in the chest that had blown

  Kim halfway across the room.

  The memory slowed her fingers. True, she'd actually been

  poking around in the chest when the spelt or whatever it was

  had gone off, but Mairelon could easily have changed it while

  she was unconscious. She had no desire to repeat the perfor-

  mance-

  Hunch shifted impatiently. "She ain't going to get it, not

  with just that bit o' wire,"

  "Give over," Kim snarled, and twisted her wrist Again she

  heard the faint click, and the lid of the chest rose frac-

  tionally, Kim lifted it open and looked triumphantly at

  Hunch,

  "Impressive," Mairelon said. He looked at Kim thought'

  fully, and the gleam of interest was back. "I didn't think any-

  one but old Schapp-Mussener himself could open that chest

  without the key."

  "It's a knack," Kim said modestly -

  "It's a talent, and a very impressive talent, too." The gleam

  became more pronounced. "I don't suppose—"

  "Master Richard!" Hunch interrupted.

  "Mmmm?"

  "You ain't a-going to do nothing dreadful now, are you?"

  Hunch said in a severe tone

  "No, no, of course not," Mairelon said absently, still look-

  ing at Kim.

  "Good," Hunch said, much relieved,

  "I was just going to ask our guest here—-what is your name,

  by the way?"

  "Kim."

  "Kim- I was just going to ask Kim here if she would like to

  come with us when we leave London."

  16

  Hunch bit both ends of his mustache at once. "You ain't

  never going to bring her along!"

  "Why not?" Mairelon said in a reasonable tone, "It might be

  useful to have someone along who's familiar with ... things

  A lot has happened in the past four years."

  "You want me to come with you, after I snuck in here and

  blew things around?" Kim said incredulously. "You're bosky'"

  Hunch started to nod agreement, then caught himself and

  glared at Kim. "You can't do it, Master Richard! She's a thief'"

  "I ain't!"

  "Stop it, both of you." Mairelon's voice was firm. He

  looked at Hunch. "I don't think Kim is a thief, though it's

  plain that she's had some of the training. Not that it matters."

  "It do too matter! What are you going to do with 'er?"

  "She could help with the act," Mairelon said- "She seems a

  handy sort of person."

  Hunch snorted. "Ain't that what you said about that Frog

  'oo sherried off with ten guineas and your best coat?"

  "Yes, well, he was a little too handy I think Kim will do

  much better."

  "At what?"

  "She could make a very useful assistant eventually. Pro-

  vided, of course, that she would be willing to come along?"

  Mairelon looked questioningly at Kim,

  "You ain't gammoning me?" Kim said suspiciously.

  "No."

  The single word was more convincing than Mairelon's

  speeches had been, but Kim still hesitated What did he ex-

  pect to get out of hauling her along with him? From the lux-

  urious interior of the wagon, it was plain that Mairelon could

  afford the company of the best of the fashionable impures, if

  what he wanted was a doxy He had no reason to pick a

  grubby imitation boy out of the market instead. And he

  17

  wasn't the sort who preferred boys, Kim had learned long ago

  to spot and avoid them So what did he wanP

  "You ain't unfastened me yet," she pointed out at last

  "An oversight " Mairelon bent and tugged at the cord that

  fastened Kim's ankles Again the rope slid apart, and Mair-

  elon straightened with a flourish "Now, what do you say^"

  "You'd really show me how to do that^" Kim asked, her

  mind whirling If she could learn a few of Mairelon's tricks,

  she mig
ht be able to get steady work at one of the Covent

  Garden theaters—real work, the sort that required more than

  a low-cut dress and a willingness to do whatever might be

  asked She could earn enough to eat regular and sleep warm

  without looking over her shoulder for watchmen or con-

  stables or Bow Street Runners, she could stop being afraid of

  Dan Laverham and his like, she could—she forced herself to

  cut that train of thought short, before the hope grew too

  strong, and waited for Mairelon's answer

  "That and quite a bit more," Mairelon said. "How else

  could you be any help in the act?"

  "She don't look like she'll be much 'elp anyways," Hunch

  muttered "Nobody's a-going to pay to watch a grimy tittle

  thief"

  "Call me that once more, cully, and—"

  "Enough " Mairelon's voice was quiet, but Kim found her-

  self swallowing her words faster than she ever had for Mother

  Tibb's angry screeching "Stop provoking her, Hunch "

  "If you can't see what's under your nose—"

  "Oh, she doesn't look like much now, but I think you'll be

  surprised at how well she cleans up "