Pierre Pevel - By The Alchemist in the Shadows Page 0,41

footsteps to fade away in the distance.

Once calm was restored to the deserted bedchamber, Scylla's eyes sparkled and the padlock opened with a click. C'harybdis immediately pushed the little door open with a clawed foot. The twins escaped from their cage and swooped up the chimney flue. They emerged into the sunlight in a puff of soot that went unnoticed below and which — even had it been seen — would have had no clear cause. For although they were not invisible the two dragonnets had become translucent, looking as if they were made of a very pure water that barely disturbed the passage of light.

After some joyful and expert aerial acrobatics, Scylla called her brother back to their duties and they sped off towards Paris together.

2

At the Hotel de l'Epervier, they were waiting for La Fargue.

The Blades were gathered in the garden, in the shade of the chestnut tree, around the weather-bleached old table whose legs were tangled in the tall weeds. Agnes and Marciac were playing draughts while Ballardieu watched the game, sucking on his unlit clay pipe. Saint-Lucq, sitting casually nearby, as impassive as ever behind his red spectacles, juggled with a dagger. And Almades, leaning back against the tree trunk with his arms crossed, simply waited. Leprat was missing, and lor good reason: he had orders not to leave La Renardiere where La Donna was due to return early in the afternoon, under close guard. Glasses of wine and a bowl of juicy fruit attracted buzzing insects to the table, standing in the dappled sunlight which filtered through the chestnut tree's leaves.

La Fargue finally arrived. He took a seat — turning a chair until its back was against the table, and straddling it — and they all listened to his words closely.

'Here's what it's all about,' he began. 'You know that since she gave herself up La Donna has been interrogated in secret at Le Chatelet every morning, by the Paris provost's lieutenant lor civil affairs.'

'Monsieur de Laffemas,' Agnes noted.

'Laffemas, yes. He is both honest and tenacious. He can be difficult at times, but he's hardly the monster that some people claim. In any case, he's smart and not easily fooled. In short, he seemed to be the perfect man to worm information out of La Donna—'

'But?' Marciac interrupted.

'But La Donna is causing problems. Without her smile ever faltering, she deceives, lies, and evades him. Days have passed without her saying very much about what she has done or learned since she began her career as a spy.'

'And concerning the plot?' asked Saint-Lucq.

'On that subject,' the old gentleman answered, 'she hasn't even pretended to respond. She simply repeats, over and over, that the cardinal knows the price of that information. Laffe-mas has tried to learn a little more with indirect questions and falsely innocent allusions to the matter, but in vain. So far, La Donna has always seen straight through Laffemas's game and she's played her own cards marvellously.'

'She's a crafty bitch,' the half-blood said. 'But then, no one succeeds in her line of work by being an imbecile—'

'Or ugly,' added Marciac. 'Is she as beautiful as they say? Could I relieve Leprat? He must be getting bored out there, all alone at La Renardiere—'

Agnes gave a ringing laugh, and Saint-Lucq smiled at the crudeness of this manoeuvre.

'Out of the question,' said La Fargue with absolute seriousness.

'But—'

'I said no.'

'All right!'

The Gascon shrugged his shoulders and, sulking a little, poured himself a glass of wine. The young baronne de Vaudreuil gave him a sympathetic pat on the back.

Then she declared:

'On this point at least, La Donna has never been mysterious: she has always said that she will reveal the details of the plot against the king in exchange for the cardinal's protection. But she's still waiting to receive that protection. How can we reproach her for remaining silent on the subject?

What could she possibly hope to gain by speaking before she obtains her guarantees? She's not an idiot—'

'But that's where the shoe pinches,' said La Fargue.

'How's that?' asked Ballardieu in his loud voice, frowning.

'The cardinal cannot give La Donna his protection while she's considered to be a criminal, which is what she will

continue to be until she's acquitted of the crimes she's been convicted of. Or until the king pardons her.'

'But we're taking about La Donna!' Agnes exclaimed. 'Clearing the name of the adventuress would require a rehabilitation trial that would be a parody of justice!'

'And for that same reason, the king cannot pardon her with the