by Guy Antibes
“Of course,” the woman asked.
“Back to our question, who do you work for? Is it a faction or the owners of this house?”
The woman kept her mouth shut.
“What is her name, Oscar?”
The butler pulled a folded slip of paper from a pocket. “She must be Amelee Orgone, the chief maid.”
“That is your name?” Lorton asked.
“I won’t tell you anything,” the woman said.
“Let her go,” Lin said.
Lorton narrowed his eyes. “But she is stealing information.”
“Just what information has she stolen?” Lin said. “None from us.” She turned to the maid. “You just lost your job, and we will give you a negative reference. We suspect you of stealing, but we won’t say what. Now leave here and do not return, or you will regret it. Some Corandians may be stupid, but we aren’t that kind of Corandians.”
“I will escort her out,” Lorton said.
“With Oscar,” Lin said.
Jack used his Battlebone to trace the hidden passage. There were a few of them in the walls. Penny used her object to see if there were any others. The passages led to a storage alcove by the furnace room.
Lorton and Jack examined all the passages and found six hidden doors and at least ten peepholes. They reassembled in the sitting room. Penny sat at the table with large sheets of paper.
“Tell me what you have seen on all the floors,” she said.
Once the schematic of the hidden passages, the listening rooms, and the peepholes was documented, Jack suspected there were more that he had missed.
“Now what?” Lorton asked Lin.
“I am partial to closing the passageways and the listening rooms. We can lock the doors to keep servants out. I don’t want anyone listening in on me,” Lin said.
“I disagree,” Sera said. “We should keep the passageways open so we can get to the listening rooms. A few modifications can keep the servants in check, like bricking the furnace entrance and locking the doors that you found from the outside. If we control the access, we can use the spy devices for ourselves.”
Penny grinned. “How devious, Sera.”
Willet Barton’s niece curtseyed to Penny. “I will help with the modifications. I am the most transparent person among us, so I volunteer to manage the spying in the house. I’ve done enough surveillance for my uncle to know how it should be done…discreetly.”
“I can install suitable latches,” Oscar said. “That will be my contribution. I’m not without expertise in securing a premises.”
“Good,” Lin said. “I will leave it to both of you. I think we should all spend some time in the passages to make sure we catch all the peepholes and secret doors. It won’t be acceptable to have anyone but us doing the spying in this house.
Jack heard clanking from the tiled block heater in the room. “Downstairs! I think our servants have returned.”
Jack took Penny’s hand and teleported to the basement. Two men had already begun to pound on the furnace. Jack pulled out the wand he kept in his boot.
“Stop,” He said quietly.
“What? How did you get down here?” the biggest of the two men said. He spoke as if he had been hired for his brawn and not his smarts.
“It isn’t your business. We have let this house, and we won’t have you destroy it.”
The silent one threw a sledgehammer at Penny, hitting her in the shoulder. She went down, but the thug went down right after. Jack had put wizard bolts into both thighs.
“And what will you do?” Jack said to the big man.
He looked at his companion, writhing in pain beside him. The man dropped to his knees. “Ask for forgiveness,” he said.
Perhaps he wasn’t so dumb after all, Jack thought.
“Who do you work for?”
“Don’t tell him!” The injured man said through clenched teeth.
“And what will you be doing this winter if you can’t walk, Horace?” The big man looked at Jack. “We work for the Double P.”
“The owners of this house?”
“They are sympathizers, but are Royalists,” the big man said.
“We will verify what you said,” Jack said.
He heard a scuffle before Lorton rushed into the room.
“We were hired by the WWS. Get me some help,” the injured man named Horace said.
Jack’s head spun. He was only more confused.
He heard Penny get to her feet behind him. “I will heal him,” she said, massaging her shoulder.
“But I injured you!” Horace said.
“I am a certified healer,” Penny said. “We can talk about how we feel after you are out of danger. Jack can get a little liberal with his wizard bolts.”
“I can help,” Sera said.
They both worked on the thug. He wasn’t happy with the additional pain that magical healing generated, but he soon stood, examining the two holes in his leather trousers.
“How did you get down here?” Lin asked.
“Tell me what faction you are,” Horace asked.
“We are unaffiliated. We arrived with Lord Floury, who claims to be a Royalist. We have no political relationship with the man who was merely a traveling companion as we journeyed from Boxwood in Corand. We would have shared that information with anyone who chooses to know. My presence in Bristone is no secret. I have come to winter here for the novelty. I didn’t expect so much of it, so soon.” Lin said with a grim smile. “For your information, we are not fools. If the factions leave us alone, we will leave them alone. When spring arrives, I will return to Corand. It is as simple as that. You can tell whoever really hired you, that we have no alliances. If we continue to be treated to sabotage and spying by any group, that could change. Do I make myself clear?”
“Clear as a cold winter’s day to me,” the big man said. “Let’s go while we can, Horace.”
The two men left by the secret door. Oscar examined the entrance. “Perhaps my expertise will be needed here too.”
Chapter Fourteen
~
W hen Oscar had dealt with all the secret passages, Lin insisted they go through the townhouse one more time. Another door was found leading from the pantry. Which necessitated another round of examination.
The bell at the front door jangled while Jack was examining the cloakroom. He opened the door to see Ari smiling. He held a basket of fruit.
“A housewarming present,” the wizard said. Jack let him in and shut the door.
Jack said, “How did you know we had moved?”
“I checked the inn,” Ari said. “What has happened?”
Jack took him into the first-floor sitting room listening closet and showed him. “The place is full of observation devices.” He told him about their experience the day they moved in.
“You do fast work. How did you find all the passages?” Ari asked.
“The Battlebone, of course. It has multiple uses.”
Ari nodded. “I can see that.”
Lin walked into the room. “I heard the bell. You found us easily enough.”
“It isn’t a secret and less of one than I had thought when I rang the bell. Jack has told me of all the excitement.”
“Is Bristone going to be like this the entire time we are here?” Lin asked.
“I imagine so. If you are diligent, you can prevent others from using whatever you discovered. Built-in spying isn’t the only kind you have to deal with,” Ari said.
“I am more comfortable with the human kind,” Lin said.
Ari tapped his wrist. “There is non-human kind, as well. None of you should take off your wrist bands, even to bathe. That would be my advice if you wish to maintain your vigilance,” Ari said.
Lin’s hand went to her other wrist. “I see. The non-human kind can spy on us all the time?”
Ari shrugged. “Who knows what the non-human kind can do, but I suspect she can.”
“What was the truth about the saboteurs?” Jack
asked.
“Either Double P or WWS. They are the bluntest and most violent of the four factions. If blackmail is involved, the Double P is more likely the culprit. The two men were most likely hired. Would you like me to do a little checking?” Ari asked.
“If you would. Don’t compromise yourself.”
Ari smiled. “I’ve developed a non-compromising personality in Antibeaux. The factions aren’t as aggressive in Chancey, but they make mischief enough. Why don’t you show me around?”
“Are you still sure you don’t want to stay here?”
“My non-compromising personality still counsels me to stay with my friend,” Ari said.
Jack started the tour by taking Ari through the passages. They emerged into the ballroom through one of the hidden doors. Jack waggled the key in front of Ari’s eyes. “Oscar installed locks that work on both sides of the doors.” He said.
“Locks can be picked,” Ari said.
“But the main entrance in the furnace room is blocked with a triple layer of brick, and the servant-accessed doors have been nailed shut. It would be just as easy to take a hammer and pound your way through,” Jack said.
“Just like a thief could break any window if he or she chose to gain entrance in the first place.”
“If there weren’t grills bolted to every external window. A powerful magician could also teleport through a door,” Jack said.
Both of them laughed. “No place is completely secure,” Jack said.
“As long as you realize that. Basic steps will stop most intruders,” Ari said.
“That is what Lorton explained.” Jack continued the tour.
“Do you want to leave out the back entrance?” Jack said when they were finished.
“If someone is watching the front, they are likely watching the rear. If I need to evade detection, I can always teleport, right?”
Jack nodded and let Ari out.
Lorton walked out of the sitting room. “Do you think it was wise to show him the passages?”
“If he is allied with the spies, he will already know how to exploit our measures. Besides, he can teleport his way in. We are defenseless against his intrusion,” Jack said.
“But we aren’t defenseless,” Lorton said.
“No, we aren’t.” Jack still trusted Ari, but without knowing how powerful he really was. He had to admit, trusting Ari was putting their faith in the unknown. At least he had reminded them to wear their bracelets, but what if he was an agent of Yvessa? She might use the bracelets to track them.
Jack laughed.
“What is so funny,” Lorton said.
“It is easy to get too paranoid,” Jack said.
“Welcome to my world.”
~
The property agent showed up the next day.
“I understand you made some modifications to the property,” he said once Lin, Lorton, and Jack met him in the sitting room.
“And who told you that?”
The man blushed. “Former servants.”
“Right, the same people who attempted to disable the furnace with the intent of freezing us out, and the same people who we caught listening in on our conversations. We bricked up the entrance to the secret passages that the servants used to eavesdrop on the occupants. If you wish, we will remove the blockage when we leave Bristone,” Lin said. “We also installed locks on the secret doors. It is not a pleasant thought to be killed in the middle of the night. Don’t you agree?”
“Well, I…”
Lorton spoke, “I have thoroughly read the contract, and unless Antibeaux has significantly different interpretations of its laws, we can make reasonable modifications to the townhouse.”
“I, uh—" The agent stammered.
Lin gave the man a devilish smile. “We won’t expose your little game while we are here,” she said. “But we do like the place, and we intend to keep it. As you must know from the former servants, we have teeth and are willing to bite.”
The agent nodded. “This is quite irregular.”
Jack stood up. “And this house is quite irregular, but we like it, so you may leave. We will hold you responsible for any actions by former servants. Do you understand?”
The agent stood up. “I think I do. Enjoy the property.”
“We will have to find out whose tool he is,” Lorton said.
They received another visitor. Lord Floury was shown in the same sitting room.
“I was walking by and wanted to welcome you to Bristone,” Lord Floury said. “I heard there was some unpleasantness regarding the house.”
Jack showed him the stinky closet and the listening room. “There are other stations in the house, just like this,” he said. “The agent that you referred didn’t mention this feature. We have blocked off the basement entrance to a set of passages that lead to these rooms and have installed locks on the hidden doors.”
“I must say you move fast once you get moving. All houses in Bristone have a hidden passage or two, but this is on a much grander scale than anything I have seen.”
Lin leaned forward. “Who owns the house. Do you know?”
“A young Double P couple. They always rent the house out during the winter. I’m surprised one of the agents was letting it.”
After a smile, Lin said, “I won’t let my imagination run wild, but do you think they were unaware of the spying?”
Floury shrugged. “They might have, but I wouldn’t expect anything this elaborate from them. At my house, we aren’t that desperate for that kind of information.”
“So, the WWS or the Double P insinuate their people into the couple’s service?”
Floury looked defensive, but he nodded. “That would be my guess. I assume you sacked all the servants.”
“We did,” Lorton said. “We have a different agent procuring others.”
That was the first of hiring new servants that Jack had heard. Was Oscar leading that effort?
“I think that is a wise move. I will spread the word that you have taken care of your problems without going into details. Please accept my apology for all this. I hope you negotiated a good rate.”
“I did,” Lin said. “Thank you so much for visiting us.”
“My invitation to dinner still stands. Actually, I came over to invite the four of you, I include your bodyguard, Lady Kanlinn, to dine with us seven hours in the afternoon tomorrow night.”
Lin gave Floury a broad smile. “We would be more than pleased.”
“Tomorrow night, then. I will include a few of my Royalist friends.”
“That would make it better,” Lin said.
Jack watched Lorton show Floury out of the sitting room. Lin and Penny remained with him.
“Can we trust him?” Penny said, who had been reading in a corner until the agent and Floury arrived.
“The property agent?” Jack asked.
“No! Lord Floury,” Penny said.
“More so than the man who let this house to us. What I am wondering, Lorton, is who is finding us servants?” Jack asked.
“I thought we might ask Ari to help,” Lorton said unexpectedly. “I’d like to test the man, and he has friends in the city who can check the backgrounds of our servants better than we can.”
“It might be nice to ask him,” Jack said.
“Is he coming today?” Lin asked.
Jack nodded. “I will make sure he does,” he said, leaving the room and contacting Ari via telepathy. We need new servants. Can your friend help us with that? Hopefully not politically aligned and willing to work under Oscar?
I thought you might, Ari said. How many do you need?
Jack described what Lin had mentioned, six or seven, including two men who would tend the furnace.
I will have ten people to be interviewed by Oscar tomorrow. They won’t be uniformed.
That isn’t my problem, Jack said.
I can come today, but I think I can serve you better if I am given the day to help my friends find the right people. I will h
ave everyone there after breakfast tomorrow, Ari said.
Jack felt the link break.
“Oscar will have about ten people to interview tomorrow after breakfast,” Jack said, walking into the sitting room. “We can pick from those if they are promising. I specifically asked for politically neutral servants.”
“There isn’t such a thing, Jack,” Lin said, “but there are servants who can behave as if they are politically neutral. I will help Oscar do the interviews. Sometimes he is turned by a pretty face.” She framed her face with her hands and gave Jack a smile.
“We will have to cook for ourselves today,” Lorton said.
“Oscar is competent at cooking for six. We can live for a day,” Lin looked back at Sera. “You will survive, won’t you, Sera?”
She smiled. “I can as long as Penny or I don’t do the cooking. I’m thinking of the next few days as rest until I begin my secret passage patrol duties.”
Penny rose from her chair. “I will wander around our townhouse for one more check from top to bottom,” she said. “Jack, would you like to accompany me?”
“For a bit,” Jack said. “I’d like to spend some time outside.”
“Then we will wander inside and then outside. Perhaps Sera would like to join us?”
Penny’s friend brightened up. “Sera would.”
They went up to the attic, which was the sixth floor, an area Oscar had inspected. The front part of the roof was slanted inward, making the headroom much smaller than the footprint of the floor. Fixed windows acted like skylights in the front, but the back had a lower ceiling and walls that went straight up to the roof. There were only two rooms built underneath the mostly flat roof, the rest of the space was given up as storage. Jack had expected cobwebs and ankle-deep dust, but the servants had kept everything reasonably clean.
While Penny and Sera looked through the old furniture, Jack found a ladder leading up to the roof. The trapdoor leading upwards was unlocked. That must have happened after Oscar had done his inspection. He would be able to exercise his locksmithing expertise yet again. Jack stepped out onto the roof. There was a slight pitch to the roof leading to the back where Jack noticed large drainpipes. The generous gutter had a wire mesh laid over its length.
The adjacent buildings were much the same with heights varying as much as two feet. Jack walked across the roof, looking for other trap doors, but didn’t find any. The windows were barred. He went back to the attic and tested each window. It didn’t appear the servants were interested in invading the house through the windows, but the open trapdoor would have been enough.