A Matter of Magic Read Online Free PDF Page A

identifiable by their clothes—carters, bricklayers, a butcher, one or two costermongers, a swayer. A nondescript man in a shabby coat slouched in and crept to the far corner of the table as if he expected to be thrown out. Kim sipped at her ale, wondering unhappily whether she should risk attracting attention by asking questions.
    The door opened again, and another collection of solid men in rough-spun wool and grimy linen entered. In their wake came a tall man made even taller by his top hat. He wore a voluminous cape that made it impossible to tell whether he was fat or slim, but the white-gloved hand pressing a handkerchief to his lips was impossible to mistake. Famble-cheats and a top hat, Kim thought disgustedly, in a place like this. He was the one she was waiting for, all right. She straightened, trying to look taller so that he would see her.
    The toff surveyed the room disdainfully, then made his way among the tables and stopped beside Kim. “I trust your presence means you have succeeded, boy,” he said.
    “I done what you asked,” Kim said.
    “Good. I suggest we conduct the remainder of our business in one of the private rooms in back.”
    “You want everyone here knowin’ you got business with me?” Kim asked without moving.
    The toff’s face darkened in anger, but after a moment he shook his head. “No, I suppose not.”
    “Then you’d better set down afore everyone here ends up lookin’ at you,” Kim advised.
    The man’s lips pressed together, but he recognized the wisdom of Kim’s statement. He seated himself on the bench across from her, setting his hat carefully on the table. The publican, a fat man in a dirty apron, came over at once, and the toff accepted, with some reluctance, a mug of beer. As the publican left, the toff leaned forward. “You said you’d done as I asked. You found the bowl, then? You have a list of what is in Mairelon’s wagon?”
    “What would the likes of me be doing makin’ lists?” Kim said sarcastically.
    The man looked startled. “I had anticipated—”
    “You wanted a list, you should of hired a schoolmaster,” Kim informed him. “I can tell you what I saw in that magic-cove’s wagon, but that’s all.”
    The man’s eyes narrowed. “In that case, perhaps five pounds is more than the information is worth to me.”
    “In that case, you ain’t getting no information at all,” Kim said, mimicking his tone.
    “Come, now, I think you are unreasonable. Shall we say, three pounds?”
    Kim spat. “I done what you said, and you never said nothing about no list. Five pounds and that’s flat.”
    “Oh, very well. Did you find the bowl?”
    “I ain’t saying nothin’ until I get what you promised.”
    The toff argued, but Kim remained firm. Eventually he agreed, and unwillingly counted out the five pounds in notes and coin. Kim made a show of re-counting it, her fingers lingering over each coin in spite of herself. She had never had so much money at once in all her life, and every silver shilling and half crown meant another day or week of food and possible safety. She stowed the money safely in the inner pockets of her jacket, feeling highly pleased with both herself and Mairelon. If it hadn’t been for the magician’s urging, she might have passed up an easy mark.
    “Satisfied?” the man said angrily. “All right, then, tell me what you found.”
    Kim smiled inwardly and launched into a detailed and exhaustive description of the interior of the magician’s wagon. She noticed the anticipation on her listener’s face when she talked of the pots and pans in Mairelon’s cupboard, and carefully saved the information that they were all made of iron for the end of the sentence. She got a perverse satisfaction out of seeing the flash of disappointment on the toff’s face.
    The man got more and more impatient as she went along. Finally she mentioned the locked chest. The toff sat up. “Locked?”
    “Yes.” Kim paused. “But I got in.”
    The man