Page 19 of Harmonic Pleasure (Mysterious Arts #6)
“No. I mean, I do believe that curses are possible. And that cursed objects certainly are, since I believe the evidence of my own eyes and hands. But do I think large pieces of urban infrastructure are? No. Not like people talk about, anyway. And while I would entirely believe Cleopatra’s Needle might prefer her native bedrock as a foundation, it would take a fair bit of work to anchor a curse on that. Don’t you think?”
“Wait, you’ve handled cursed objects?” That was Vega’s first thought. Then she managed a nod. “The rest of it is good logic, I suppose.”
“Some people have exceedingly odd ideas about what to do with their art. Or what to make into art.” Farran said, his voice decidedly neutral.
“We don’t handle those sorts of items, but sometimes they turn up in an estate, and someone has to figure them out.
The magical part is usually one of the Penelopes.
They like the puzzle, and they are much better set up to undo it safely.
Our part is talking about the object itself, and how much it mattered to the curse.
” He hesitated, then added, “I might tell a few stories, sometime, when we’re better - more comfortable with that.
” It was a tentative gesture at something beyond a purely business interaction.
“I’d like that. I mean. Hearing you talk about how you handle it.” She laughed, a little nervous now. “All right. So we should wander by those, but it’s probably not that.”
“Exactly. And then there’s figuring out what might have been disturbed or changed recently.
There are closed Tube stations, for example, maybe someone got into a side tunnel and found something.
Or that’s the point at which we might start criss-crossing the City, as deliberately as we can manage given the way the streets actually go. ”
“All right. That’s sensible. Is there anyone we ought to be consulting about, um? Where to look, or historical maps, or something like that?” Vega had not kept track of the Research Society for some years, other than vaguely remembering there had been something unpleasant there recently.
Farran, thankfully, gave her the information she couldn’t recall.
“Were you around in the spring of 1926?” She shook her head no.
She’d been in France most all of that year.
“There was a dreadful mess with the Research Society. More sensible people are running things now, but they’re still stretched thin.
Also, none of them quite have the right focus for this, I think, though I’ll double check the directory just in case.
You might know how they are, people get into tiny specialities.
Carved horn buttons of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, but absolutely not the eighteenth.
Books by a particular printer. That sort of thing.
There’s the other part, where it might alert someone who’d be interested for the wrong reasons. ”
“Like Mister Thomas Vandermeer.”
“That is an entirely distinct problem, hopefully, but yes. I am not sure what to do about him, but that’s why a plan that starts with us wandering around Greenwich seems sensible.
If he turns up, we can be significantly more suspicious, or something like that.
” Farran sounded dubious. “I don’t suppose your family had any thoughts about what he’s after? ”
“Not many.” Vega thought back to the conversation in the library.
“But one of my aunts was wondering about, you know how there’s quiet discussion about making sure the Great War was the war to end all wars.
But just in case, maybe it’s good to remind people of that?
New weapons and tools and all that. An amplifier would be relevant, surely, for a number of magical things. ”
Farran grimaced. “I suppose. Or there’s still a lot of America to be developed and bought up, in terms of sheer land mass. It could be a purely mercantile desire. I suppose we shouldn’t waste too much time about why he might want the thing, but focus on how to find it first.”
“I’ll talk to my family about how to manage some of that.
They were already thinking about the problem.
” Vega glanced up and saw the clock. “Goodness. We’ve gone well beyond tea.
I’m sure you want your evening, and I need to do a few more of my vocal warmups, or tomorrow will not please the listener. ”
“Of course.” Farran stood up, then bent to gather up his various papers. “I’ll write in a couple of days, when I have a timeline for the piece and ideas of where to go in Greenwich.”
“Excellent.” Vega waited until he had all his things, walking him not just to her door but downstairs and out to the street. When she closed the door behind him, her landlady appeared from the parlour.
“I hope Farran visiting wasn’t a bother, Mistress.
” It never hurt to be polite, and while this set of lodgings was too prim for Vega’s preferences, they were otherwise far better than many places she’d lived.
The food was excellent and not stodgy, the other lodgers were interesting.
More importantly, the sound charms were good enough that Vega didn’t wake anyone coming home, and they didn’t wake her being cheerful in the morning.
“Consulting for you, then?” Vega nodded once and the older woman coughed. “Well. I will say he was polite. Didn’t track mud in, either.”
He’d spoken not only fondly about the family home, but about the housekeeper, so that didn’t surprise her.
Not that she’d say so here. “He seems considerate, indeed, and I’m glad he could come here.
A bit more privacy for a consultation of some delicacy.
He may be by to meet me in the future, but I’ll let you know if there’s anything that might affect anyone here. ”
“Mmm. Yes.” Her landlady looked her up and down. “You are also considerate, I’ll give you that. I’ll have something set out for breakfast for you tomorrow. Have a good night.” That was a firm dismissal, and Vega had her own things to do, so she nodded, murmured the same, and went back to her rooms.