The trail they followed did not, at the moment, appear to head in the direction of the bonfire, but that did not mean it would not shift its bearing on the far side of the next bend.
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Mairelon said with his most charming smile, and, turning, he headed for the bonfire.
After a moment’s hesitation, Kim followed. Sticking with Mairelon was certainly safer than trying to continue after the coach alone and in the dark, and she was decidedly uninterested in going back to the camp and explaining all this to Hunch without Mairelon’s support. Besides, she was at least as curious about the bonfire as she was about the coach and Mairelon’s interest in it.
The fire was farther away than it looked; it took ten minutes of brisk walking to reach the foot of the short, steep hill with the fire on top. Kim was a little surprised at the way the hill poked up out of the flat ground, butshe supposed that things were different in the country than in London. The hill was bare of trees except for a single large trunk at the top, clearly visible in the firelight, and the grassy slope had been recently scythed.
Several young men stood around the fire in the positions of people waiting for something and rather bored with doing so. One was staring down the far side of the hill; three others squatted over a game of dice, while two more watched and contributed unrequested advice; another drank surreptitiously from a pocket flask. Their voices carried clearly to the edge of the forest.
“Meredith’s late again,” the man with the flask commented.
“So’s Robert,” one of the others said. “Maybe they’ve got better things to do on a cold, damp night like this.”
“What, in the country?” said the man next to him.
“No main,” said one of the dicers. “Throw again.”
“It’s Robert’s turn to bring the girls,” a fifth man spoke up. “He’ll probably come along with them.”
“I told you he had something better to do!”
“Eight for a main,” announced the second of the gamblers. “Shoot again.”
“Robert’s coach is just turning in at the lodge,” said the man who was watching the far side of the hill. “He’ll be here in a minute or two. I hope he has sense enough to leave the rest of his party there. We don’t need any bits of muslin giggling over the ceremony.”
“Good, that’s everyone but Meredith,” said the man with the flask. “We can start without him.”
“Not tonight,” the watcher said without turning.
“Burn it, Jon, are you going to make us stand here all night?” the man with the flask expostulated. “Meredith may not even come! He’s missed meetings before.”
“Two guineas on the fader’s point,” said one of the dicers coolly.
“If you don’t like it, Austen, finish your flask and go,” the watcher said. “But remember that you swore an oath—”
“I didn’t know it was going to mean standing out in a cold wind in the middle of the night, scorching my boots at a great stupid fire while you prose on at me!” Austen said in tones of deep indignation.
“If your boots are scorching, you’ve only yourself to blame,” said a cheerful voice, and a new figure climbed over the far edge of the hill and into the firelight. His arms were full of something that strongly resembled a very large bundle of laundry. “You don’t see anyone else standing close enough to the fire for ashes to fall on his coat, do you?”
“Ashes!” Austen leaped backward, brushing at his cloak. He peered closely at his garments, then gave the newcomer a reproachful look. “Burn it, Robert, if that’s your idea of a joke—”
“Don’t get in a stew about it,” Robert advised him. “Here, take your robe before I drop the lot of them in the mud.”
This thinly veiled warning caught the attention of the rest of the group, and for the next few minutes they crowded around the newcomer, laughing and shoving and tugging at the bundle in his arms. Kim
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Mairelon said with his most charming smile, and, turning, he headed for the bonfire.
After a moment’s hesitation, Kim followed. Sticking with Mairelon was certainly safer than trying to continue after the coach alone and in the dark, and she was decidedly uninterested in going back to the camp and explaining all this to Hunch without Mairelon’s support. Besides, she was at least as curious about the bonfire as she was about the coach and Mairelon’s interest in it.
The fire was farther away than it looked; it took ten minutes of brisk walking to reach the foot of the short, steep hill with the fire on top. Kim was a little surprised at the way the hill poked up out of the flat ground, butshe supposed that things were different in the country than in London. The hill was bare of trees except for a single large trunk at the top, clearly visible in the firelight, and the grassy slope had been recently scythed.
Several young men stood around the fire in the positions of people waiting for something and rather bored with doing so. One was staring down the far side of the hill; three others squatted over a game of dice, while two more watched and contributed unrequested advice; another drank surreptitiously from a pocket flask. Their voices carried clearly to the edge of the forest.
“Meredith’s late again,” the man with the flask commented.
“So’s Robert,” one of the others said. “Maybe they’ve got better things to do on a cold, damp night like this.”
“What, in the country?” said the man next to him.
“No main,” said one of the dicers. “Throw again.”
“It’s Robert’s turn to bring the girls,” a fifth man spoke up. “He’ll probably come along with them.”
“I told you he had something better to do!”
“Eight for a main,” announced the second of the gamblers. “Shoot again.”
“Robert’s coach is just turning in at the lodge,” said the man who was watching the far side of the hill. “He’ll be here in a minute or two. I hope he has sense enough to leave the rest of his party there. We don’t need any bits of muslin giggling over the ceremony.”
“Good, that’s everyone but Meredith,” said the man with the flask. “We can start without him.”
“Not tonight,” the watcher said without turning.
“Burn it, Jon, are you going to make us stand here all night?” the man with the flask expostulated. “Meredith may not even come! He’s missed meetings before.”
“Two guineas on the fader’s point,” said one of the dicers coolly.
“If you don’t like it, Austen, finish your flask and go,” the watcher said. “But remember that you swore an oath—”
“I didn’t know it was going to mean standing out in a cold wind in the middle of the night, scorching my boots at a great stupid fire while you prose on at me!” Austen said in tones of deep indignation.
“If your boots are scorching, you’ve only yourself to blame,” said a cheerful voice, and a new figure climbed over the far edge of the hill and into the firelight. His arms were full of something that strongly resembled a very large bundle of laundry. “You don’t see anyone else standing close enough to the fire for ashes to fall on his coat, do you?”
“Ashes!” Austen leaped backward, brushing at his cloak. He peered closely at his garments, then gave the newcomer a reproachful look. “Burn it, Robert, if that’s your idea of a joke—”
“Don’t get in a stew about it,” Robert advised him. “Here, take your robe before I drop the lot of them in the mud.”
This thinly veiled warning caught the attention of the rest of the group, and for the next few minutes they crowded around the newcomer, laughing and shoving and tugging at the bundle in his arms. Kim
Similar Books
