“No,” I said, taking another bite of beef and bread. “More likely it was that brothel where I sprained my back. I was drunk that night-“
“You remember!” she cried. “It was a part-time job. I used to break horses during the day.”
“I give up,” I said, and I poured more wine.
The really irritating thing was that there was something damnably familiar about her. But from her appearance and her behavior, I guessed her age at about seventeen. This pretty much precluded our paths ever having crossed.
“Did Benedict teach you your fencing?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What is he to you?”
“My lover, of course,” she replied. “He keeps me in jewels and furs-and he fences with me.” She laughed again.
I continued to study her face. Yes, it was possible. . .. “I am hurt,” I said, finally.
“Why?” she asked.
“Benedict didn’t give me a cigar.”
“Cigar?”
“You are his daughter, aren’t you?”
She reddened, but she shook her head. “No,” she said. “But you are getting close.”
“Granddaughter?” I said. “Well… sort of.”
“I am afraid that I do not understand.”
“Grandfather is what he likes me to call him. Actually, though, he was my grandmother’s father.”
“I see. Are there any others at home like you?”
“No, I am the only one.”
“What of your mother-and your grandmother?”
“Dead, both of them.”
“How did they die?”
“Violently. Both times it happened while he was back in Amber. I believe that is why he has not returned there for a long while now. He does not like to leave me unprotected-even though he knows that I can take care of myself. You know that I can, too, don’t you?”
I nodded. It explained several things, one of them being why he was Protector here. He had to keep her somewhere, and he certainly would not want to take her back to Amber. He would not even want her existence known to the rest of us. She could be made into an easy armlock. And it would be out of keeping to make me aware of her so readily.
So, “I do not believe that you are supposed to be here,” I said, “and I feel that Benedict would be quite angry if he knew that you were.”
“You are just the same as he isl I am an adult, damn it!”
“Have you heard me deny it? You are supposed to be someplace else, though, aren’t you?”
She filled her mouth instead of answering. So I did, too. After several uncomfortable minutes of chewing, I decided to start on a fresh subject. “How did you recognize me?” I asked. She swallowed, took a drink of wine, grinned. “From your picture, of course,” she said.
“What picture?”
“On the card,” she said. “We used to play with them when I was very small. I learned all my relatives that way. You and Eric are the other good swordsmen, I knew that. That is why I-“
“You have a set of the Trumps?” I interrupted.
“No,” she said, pouting. “He wouldn’t give me a set -and I know he has several, too.”
“Really? Where does he keep them?”
She narrowed her eyes, focusing them on my own. Damn! I hadn’t meant to sound that eager.
But, “He has a set with him most of the time,” she said, “and I have no idea where he keeps the others. Why? Won’t he let you see them?”
“I haven’t asked him,” I told her. “Do you understand their significance?”
“There were certain things I was not allowed to do when I was near them. I gather that they have a special use, but he never told me what it is. They are quite important, aren’t they?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so. He is always so careful with them. Do you have a set?”
“Yes, but it’s out on loan just now.”
“I see. And you would like to use them for something complicated and sinister.”
I shrugged.
“I would like to use them, but for very dull, uncomplicated purposes.”
“Such as?” I shook my head.
“If Benedict does not want you to know their function yet, I am not about to tell you.”