"Look, de Nêche," said Stark, "you come in early tomorrow morning prepared to spend the whole day answering questions about the mundane plane, and I'll give you your spells and props and all for twenty-five hundred. At that the Guild would probably kick me out if they heard."
It still hurt, but Nash did not feel he could ask for much more of a reduction.
Back at the castle, Nash found that a large fraction of the harem had already left. Their places had been taken by numbers of husbands and friends who had come to fetch them, but who planned to spend that night at the castle.
"It looks as if all of them would be out of here by tomorrow night," Alicia told him."Five of them are going to marry natives."
"Say, that's fast work," said Nash."When have any of them had a chance to get that intimate with the local boys?"
"I haven't the least idea."
"What are you going to do?"
She puffed at her corncob."Don't know that, either. What are your plans, Prosper?"
"Let's walk over toward the monastery," he said. When they were out of earshot of the castle, with a cold wind whipping their cloaks, he told her: "I'm going to... uh... borrow the Shamir from Tukiphat."
"Borrow? Does Tuky know about it?"
"No, ma'am, and I don't want him to, either. So don't spread it, please—"
She burst out laughing."So you're the man who was so persnickety about stealing Arslan's loot!"
"This is different."
"Oh, yeah? That's what they all say. How different?"
"It's a matter of saving my—"
"Yes, yes, go on!"
"It's a long story, and you may not believe it."
She blew smoke in his face."You poor dope, of course I believe you! Tell Alicia."
He told her about his usurped mundane body.
"I see," she said in a more serious tone than usual."I thought you'd changed from the chevalier I knew. For one thing, he never knew nor cared where his next dollar was coming from."
"Uh-huh. I'm sorry to steal your gallant friend and give you a glorified bookkeeper in his place—" She shot out a hand and tweaked his aristocratic beak."Not a bit of it! I like you better this way. You're kind and foresighted and conscientious—"
"Oh, sure, I've got all the dull virtues."
"But that's not so, Prosper! They may be dull on your plane, but here they're something extraordinary! We have all the arrogant, rapacious gallants we need. Of course," she added sardonically, "you are planning a robbery; it's stealing and you know it—"
"Well," he said uncomfortably, "I don't like it, but Bechard has me by the short hair—"
"Don't be silly! Of course you'll go through with it. As far as I know the gem hasn't been put to practical use since King Solomon dressed the stones of his temple by touching them with it. Just how are you going to work it?"
"I've got to find a couple of assistants—"
"Oh, wonderful! I'll be one of them—"
"What? But you're a woman—"
"You bet I am; so what? Don't you think I could help—"
"Sure, but this is likely to be dangerous—"
"What of it? Of course I'm going along! No use trying to go back to my old job while the Aryans—"
"But I can't expose you—"
"Stuff and nonsense! You'll take me, or I'll do some exposing!"
"You probably would, at that."
"Thought that would hold you." She glided close and smiled maliciously up at him from her small inferiority of stature.
"Some day," said Nash darkly, "you're going to waggle that perfect torso in my direction once too often, and then... OUCH!"
"Heh, heh, heh, think you could catch me if I didn't want you too?" She danced just out of his reach."Come on, let's see you try!"
Prosper tried; he flopped, clanked, and fluttered heavily after her back to the castle door. She gained easily and slipped inside the door. As Nash panted in after her, she grabbed him and fastened her rich lips on his—
When the skyrockets in Nash's head stopped exploding, he heard a roar of laughter from the company assembled for the first call to dinner. Nash reeled, crossed his eyes, pushed his hat back, and sat down on the floor."Where am I?" he cooed.
The company applauded the act. A couple of stalwarts, one in trapper's fringed buckskin and the other in Wall Street's spats and carnation, hauled him- up. Somebody pressed a snort of brandy on him, and the dinner got off to a rare convivial start. An astonishing lot of liquor had arrived with the girls' protectors. As Nash responded to toast after toast from these, he was forced to admit that he was grateful for at least one of his astral body's characteristics. Jean-Prospère de Nêche, it transpired, had a really phenomenal liver for liquor.
Chapter XIII.
Later, Prosper Nash and Alicia sat side by side on the floor of his room before a small wood fire. They did not talk much, but now and then they kissed.
She said, looking into the flames, "Are you still set on going back to your own plane, Prosper?"
"I dassen't not."
"I suppose so. But I wish now I hadn't urged you to go ahead with your plan."
The kisses got longer and longer. She was, Nash thought, waiting for some sort of declaration.
Well—what could he say? Anything would be wrong. He'd soon be taking both his soul and the chevalier's body away, probably for good. No doubt Bechard would give him back his mundane body in exchange for the astral one.
But this couldn't go on all night. His pulse was racing now.
He took a long look to fix her in his mind. Then he kissed her once more, briefly and gently, and rose."I'm going out," he said. At her look of pain he added: "I think it's the right thing, dear."
"Always trying to do the right thing—but I suppose if you weren't, I wouldn't—" she broke off, staring into the fire.
Out in the cold November dark, Nash jumped a foot at being confronted by a hooded, menacing figure.
"Hey! Easy with the club, m'sieur! I'm de Nêche!"
"Oh, I beg your pardon. I thought you were one of the local lechers."
Nash laughed."It's Benedict, isn't it?"
"Yes. Did you decide your watchdogs needed reinforcements?"
"Couldn't sleep. Mind if I walk with you?"
"Not in the least. By the way, the abbot asked me to tell you—if you're through with our bedding, we could use it."
"Sure, you can have it all tomorrow. We're pulling out."
"We would not inconvenience you, least of all for our own advantage. But we're taking in a bunch of refugees from Manhattan."
"What's been happening there?" asked Nash.
"Heh, a worldly man... beg pardon... like you asking for news from a monk! Haven't you read the papers?"
"Haven't seen one in days. No time."
The monk explained: "Last Monday the city's Lenin regiment mutinied—revolted. They left their place in the line, marched down to the City Hall, and seized it. They shot several members of the administration and staff; all they could catch, the rest having escaped just before the mutineers arrived."
"Gosh! What happened then?"
"The Lenins issued proclamations to the rest of the troops, saying that Historical Necessity had taken charge of the city, which was now a workers' and peasants' republic; that the loyal troops should obey the Lenins and fight like fiends against the Aryans— But you know their style."
"Think I do," agreed Nash."Go on."
"Of course the loyal troops did nothing of the kind. The Aryans and Romans got wind of treachery among the city's forces and attacked the loyal troops. The Home Guardists stood them off for some hours. Then they gradually learned that their own command had been destroyed by their so-called comrades, and they became discouraged and fled the field. The Aryans, meeting no further resistance, marched down and attacked the Lenins around City Hall. The Lenins fought fiercely, and the last I heard they were still sending out manifestoes calling on the masses to rise, and blaming the disaster on the Private and corporals and the civilian officers of the city, saying they were secretly in league with the Aryans, and so on. As if the people could do anything now that the Aryans control all Manhattan."