of the week, at most, I should imagine." A crafty gleam lit her eyes. If you need my help so much, sir, let us say triple my current wages for an entire quarter." He raised his brows. Triple your quarterly wages for a week's work?" She looked instantly uneasy, no doubt fearful that she had been too bold in her demands. Well, you did say that you needed my services, sir." True. You drive a hard bargain, Miss Greyson. Perhaps you ought to hear the requirements of your new position before you accept." To be honest, sir, I am not terribly particular at the moment. So long as you will guarantee to pay me three times what Lady Mayfield pays for the quarter and not require me to warm your bed, I will take the post." Done. Now then, all I shall demand of you, Miss Greyson, is that you comply with Lady Ames's requests to drink her special tea and play cards." She pursed her lips. Is it absolutely necessary to drink the tea?" Just a bit of it. Only enough to convince her that you have taken some." Emma sighed. This may sound impertinent, under the circum stances, but would you mind very much explaining what this is about?" He held her eyes very steadily. I have reason to believe that Miranda thinks she is performing some experiments on you with her potion." Experiments?" Emma's hand went to her stomach. She felt queasy all over again. That dreadful tea is some sort of poison?" I assure you, there is no reason to think that it will harm you." She narrowed her eyes. What, exactly, is it supposed to do to me?" According to the legend" Legend?" Nothing but occult nonsense, I promise you," he said quickly. I told you that I was searching for something that had been stolen. That object is an ancient volume from the Garden Temples of a distant
island called Vanzagara. It is known to the monks of the temples as the Book of Secrets." Vanzagara." Emma frowned. I have heard of it." I'm impressed. Not many people have." My grandmother was very fond of the study of geography." Yes, well, I am conducting my inquiries on behalf of the man who discovered Vanzagara several years ago. He is a very good friend of mine." I see." His name is Lorring. Ignatius Lorring. And he is dying." She searched his face and he knew that she sensed the quiet sorrow in him. The knowledge made him uneasy. He would have to be on guard against Emma's unusually perceptive nature, he thought. I'm sorry," she murmured. Lorring's last wish is to recover the stolen book and return it to the monks of Vanzagara." Edison hesitated. He feels guilty, you see." Why?" Because he is the one who discovered the isle and made it known in Europe. It is because of him that outsiders have traveled to Vanzagara. He feels that if it had not been for him, the isle might have remained isolated for many years. No thief would have gone there to steal its greatest treasure." Does he know who stole the book?" No. But there are rumors that the thief took the Book of Secrets to Italy and sold it to a man named Farrell Blue. The tales make sense because Blue was one of very few scholars who would have had even a remote chance of deciphering the old language in which the recipes are written." I notice that you refer to this Mister Blue in the past tense," Emma said warily. I assume there is a reason for that?" He died in a fire that consumed his villa in Rome." Not exactly an auspicious event. About this business of the occult, sir" As I said, utter rubbish. But according to the legend, the brew is supposed to enable one to predict the turn of a card. It is said it works by enhancing a woman's natural intuition."
A woman's intuition?" He nodded. According to the monks, it is effective only on women, and not on all women, at that. Only a very few females, those who already possess a high degree of natural intuition, are susceptible to its effects." Emina grimaced. Hence the need for experiments?" Yes." Edison clasped his hands behind his back. Apparently Miranda herself is not susceptible to the
island called Vanzagara. It is known to the monks of the temples as the Book of Secrets." Vanzagara." Emma frowned. I have heard of it." I'm impressed. Not many people have." My grandmother was very fond of the study of geography." Yes, well, I am conducting my inquiries on behalf of the man who discovered Vanzagara several years ago. He is a very good friend of mine." I see." His name is Lorring. Ignatius Lorring. And he is dying." She searched his face and he knew that she sensed the quiet sorrow in him. The knowledge made him uneasy. He would have to be on guard against Emma's unusually perceptive nature, he thought. I'm sorry," she murmured. Lorring's last wish is to recover the stolen book and return it to the monks of Vanzagara." Edison hesitated. He feels guilty, you see." Why?" Because he is the one who discovered the isle and made it known in Europe. It is because of him that outsiders have traveled to Vanzagara. He feels that if it had not been for him, the isle might have remained isolated for many years. No thief would have gone there to steal its greatest treasure." Does he know who stole the book?" No. But there are rumors that the thief took the Book of Secrets to Italy and sold it to a man named Farrell Blue. The tales make sense because Blue was one of very few scholars who would have had even a remote chance of deciphering the old language in which the recipes are written." I notice that you refer to this Mister Blue in the past tense," Emma said warily. I assume there is a reason for that?" He died in a fire that consumed his villa in Rome." Not exactly an auspicious event. About this business of the occult, sir" As I said, utter rubbish. But according to the legend, the brew is supposed to enable one to predict the turn of a card. It is said it works by enhancing a woman's natural intuition."
A woman's intuition?" He nodded. According to the monks, it is effective only on women, and not on all women, at that. Only a very few females, those who already possess a high degree of natural intuition, are susceptible to its effects." Emina grimaced. Hence the need for experiments?" Yes." Edison clasped his hands behind his back. Apparently Miranda herself is not susceptible to the
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