Page 44 of Harmonic Pleasure (Mysterious Arts #6)

MONDAY AFTERNOON, AT THEBES

F arran let out a deep breath as soon as he came out of the portal.

He’d written ahead, and he could see Uncle Cadmus there with the pony cart as he moved to the side, to let Vega join him.

He hadn’t been sure if they’d need to walk, and honestly, he was also exhausted and his feet were definitely tender.

A moment later, Vega had her hand on his. “Your uncle?”

“Yes. Here, let me introduce you.” He took Vega’s case in his other hand and walked the twenty feet to the cart.

“Uncle Cadmus? This is Vega Beaumont. I’m sure Vivian’s told you a certain amount.

Vega, this is my Uncle Cadmus Michaels. The pony is Rex.

” Rex was a sturdy cob, well suited to the back and forth on mostly level ground.

Vega raised an eyebrow at that, but she didn’t dwell on the name, more suited for a dog than a pony, honestly.

“Magister Michaels, a pleasure to meet you. Farran has spoken so warmly about you.” She added, glancing at Farran, “Also, his Greek is excellent and made a fine impression on my aunts and uncles.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t expect anything less on that count.

A pleasure to meet you as well, after hearing about you.

Glad to bring the cart out, I gather you’ve had a day of it.

It’s about two miles.” Farran reached a hand to help Vega climb into the back, and then followed, and Uncle Cadmus set off at a comfortable trot.

“Have you had lunch yet? Or rather, if you have, do you have enough room to avoid disappointing Lena?”

“Not lunch.” Farran hadn’t been sure about that part. Vega had, fairly obviously, wanted to leave her family to talk over things without her. And they’d had food before the meeting. He wasn’t starving. “How, erm, extensive are Lena’s plans?”

“Well, she’s pulled out the jar of the best of last summer’s jam she hasn’t been letting us touch.

And she was going to set up the small dining room.

Soup and quiche, I believe, and something for pudding that involved the jam.

Though she might be planning a trifle for supper instead, that takes more warning than you gave us for luncheon.

” He glanced over “If that’s not a problem.

We weren’t sure if there’s anything you don’t eat. ”

It was a gently put way to ask. Vega laughed.

“Oh, not so much on my part. And I’m eager to try her cooking, please.

A lot of what I eat is takeaway or at the club, and it’s well cooked but not homey.

” She glanced over at Farran, and then added, “I have a change of clothes. We weren’t sure about our plans. ”

Farran immediately said, “Uncle, would it be a bother if we stayed tonight? For multiple reasons.”

Uncle Cadmus chuckled. “Never a bother, and I was hoping you’d say you could, both of you.

” He drove on, pointing out a few places of local interest before turning up the drive to the house.

Farran was waiting for Vega’s reaction as the front came into view.

She was delightful, as Farran had hoped she’d be.

Of course, now he’d seen Astralis, Thebes wasn’t terribly impressive.

Astralis had quite a lot more in the way of buildings, and also had been decidedly larger, even if he hadn’t seen most of it.

But Thebes was showing rather well right now, even if it were too early in the spring for much in the way of blooming flowers just yet.

Vega leaned against him, peering as the drive twisted and turned up to the doors.

Uncle Cadmus let them out at the front. “If you’re staying, why don’t you go sort out where to leave your things?

You know where everything is, Farran.” Farran did, of course, and he was amused that Uncle Cadmus was not making a point of inquiring where Vega stayed.

Farran offered her a hand out of the cart. As Uncle Cadmus drove off to stable the pony, he said, “You’re welcome to stay in my room, or there’s a guest room free in my hall. The residents are in the other wing, so it’s just me and Uncle Cadmus and Vivian there.”

Vega narrowed her eyes for a moment. “Yours, then. I’d like to see what you’re like at home, anyway.”

Farran couldn’t repress a grin, so he brought her upstairs, unlocking his room with a hand on the warding, and then letting her in.

“Bath through there, water closet on the left off the hall. Please make free with anywhere sensible to put things.” The room was entirely tidy.

Of course, he’d learned from early on that making more work for Lena wasn’t done.

Not least because if she had to spend more time cleaning, there was less time for baking.

But the room was cosy, in all the ways Farran liked, and the sunlight coming through the window warmed it all. Vega set her case out on one of the low tables, then took her time wandering around to get a sense of it. “No desk?”

“I go down to the library, usually, or there’s a room further down with a decent desk. Shall we?” He hesitated. “Lena signs. I’ll translate. It may just take a minute.”

“I know a little, but I’m not fluent,” Vega said, promptly.

“I’d appreciate that.” They went back downstairs, into a small room in the same wing, on the ground floor, where a meal was laid out.

Lena had, in fact, managed some baking. She was fussing about the last placement of a bit of decorative greenery on the plate.

Then she straightened up, her hands moving rapidly as she came over to hug Farran.

He laughed, then made the introductions, signing and speaking at the same time.

He was used to doing it, thankfully, because most of their residents didn’t sign, or at least not at speed.

“Lena, this is Vega Beaumont. She’ll be staying tonight.

Vega, this is Lena, our housekeeper, who keeps everything going. ” He added, then, “Vega is a singer.”

That produced a flurry of questions about what kind of singing, or rather what the physical things that went with the singing were.

Farran did his best to explain some of it.

Vega snorted and positioned herself, gesturing with one hand at where the illusions would go, the moves of a nightclub.

That was a lovely trick of making it real— Lena’s eyes lit up with it— as Uncle Cadmus and Vivian came in.

Farran finished the sentence he was signing and then turned. “Vivian, we’ve had a busy morning.”

“So I gather.” Her voice was amused, rather than acerbic, that was good.

He kept signing, but Vivian said amiably, “Let me take that over, so you can eat.” She picked up, her fingers moving with the same slight slowness at the end of her fingers that flavoured her signing compared to the crispness of Lena’s.

Vega tilted her head at it, not asking, but Farran said, “Vivian learned her signing underwater, mostly. I’m guessing that’s not as relevant for your family.”

“No. We do less than some lines between the stars needing darkness, and the fact you can’t see them well underwater.

Distortions.” She managed to spell out the last word nimbly enough, and Lena beamed at her.

Once everyone had food who wanted it, Farran settled into explaining how they’d spent their previous night, and Vega summarised the conversation with her family, touching briefly on the complexity with Vandermeer.

She didn’t highlight the artefact, just that the charm she’d used hadn’t worked as expected.

Vivian was visibly relieved that the piece was in safe hands, but then she paused in her signing, as if she needed to think.

Uncle Cadmus picked it up, so Farran could continue to enjoy the meal.

When Vivian spoke, she began by saying, “As to Vandermeer, I’ve passed along what you told me to someone in the Guard who’ll handle it delicately.

I will follow up on the other matters with a note to your family, Vega, though it may be tomorrow.

I’d like to confirm a few details first.” She tapped one finger on the table.

“I have some connections to those with an intelligence service background, and one of those sources finally suggested some interesting information about Mister Vandermeer.”

Farran blinked. “International concerns?”

“Yes, and no. I can lay out the specifics. But the summary comes out to the fact that it’s possible he was sent over here to get the piece— or something like it— with an eye to amplification of magical devices.

You both know, I suspect, that there are concerns about a buildup of munitions.

The Americans are lagging us in several areas, or it’s always possible Vandermeer is working for some other country.

It’s a tricky thing to confirm, obviously. ”

That was an understatement of the first order. “And? What does that have to do with Vandermeer?”

“We’ve some inklings of parties in the United States who might be assisting with such research. Or who might be interested in an item that allowed for, shall we say, controlled magical amplification?”

Farran wondered if Vega would realise that the signing was continuing fluidly, that Uncle Cadmus knew the relevant language, and so did Lena.

She was following, however, so when Vivian paused, Vega had a question.

“So, rather than Vandermeer being a relatively run-of-the-mill treasure seeker, he might have been looking for this item in particular? Or something that does what it does, at least?”

Vivian nodded. “It’s possible he had a talisman on his person that was leading him either towards it, or towards someone who might be a lever.

One theory I’ve heard, given one of the people who might be interested, suggests he might have taken a potion to enhance his own magic.

And that you, being a Cousin, might be more sensitive to the effects.

The person I’m wondering about wouldn’t have taken that into consideration. ”

“You have someone specific in mind?” Vega ventured the question.

“Someone who left Albion several years ago, tried in absentia and exiled. This attempt was not to return, whatever it was, but to give the person leverage, I suspect. The problem is proving it. Or doing anything about it.”

“Has Vandermeer done anything that has consequence? Mostly, from our point of view...” Vega glanced at Farran, “He’s shown up and been creepy, as you say. Not just me, though, now I think about it. Or Farran, who might be biassed. But the owner of the club. Or your friend, Farran?”

“Maddie.” Farran said promptly. “That’s an interesting question, actually. She didn’t care for him, of course, being a woman of taste. But she didn’t describe him as creepy.”

“In Maddie’s case, though I will ask her, I should see her tomorrow, it may be that he did not stand out amongst other men of that general age and class in relation to her.” Vivian said, a bit briskly. “There is a certain amount of background annoyance, sometimes.”

Vega snorted at that, amused. “Yes. I don’t think I would have noticed in Vandermeer’s case if I’d met him at the club, initially.

It was more audible, being out on the bridge, or at the Tower.

Fewer magical people around, too, the other things stood out more.

And he was directly focused on me, for whatever reason. That makes a difference.”

“I’ll think about whether there’s any way to test that further. I can make some inquiries, but I think it’s possible we might arrange for Mister Vandermeer to have just enough annoyances that he goes home. Especially when there is nothing he can find.”

“My aunts and uncles have that part well in hand, yes,” Vega said, promptly. “Though I believe if you wanted to examine it properly, they could arrange that.”

Vivian nodded. “Let us see if we can encourage the man to find his way home across the ocean, then. I’ll let you know if I learn anything further. You should let me know— and another person, I’ll write in the journals— if he turns up again.”

Vega nodded, then cleared her throat. “Not tonight. I’m off tonight.”

“And I was going to show you Thebes,” Farran said, firmly and warmly. Then he picked up the signing again as he went on. “Lena, supper tonight and breakfast tomorrow? I’ll need to get back to work by mid-morning.”

Vega hadn’t even given much thought to that part of it, but she would not argue with Farran about his schedule in front of his family.

He was a grown man and could presumably sort it out.

That was the thing. He’d been reliable about managing himself from the start.

He was like the performers she liked, the ones who hit their marks, who were ready on time, no dashing on stage last thing.

Now, she said, “The food has been delicious. You might show me around more when we’ve finished the tea? ”