Thieves World 3 – Shadows of Sanctuary by Asprin, Robert

‘You know me too well, don’t you, you naughty scamp! Smell it.’

Up went his close-snuggling brows again, and he brought the shell to his nose.

He rolled his eyes. ‘Aha! Perfume. A good one. Times are good for the only true

mage of Sanctuary, then.’

‘You know that is not my perfume,’ she said, not without a sideward turn of her

blue-tressed head to give him an arch look.

‘Now I know that,’ Shadowspawn said, jocular and easygoing and almost cute in

the sunlight, ‘because you tell me so. The walnut was given you by a well-off

girl wearing good perfume, then. Betwixt her breasts, I’ll bet, where she

bore this charming charm.’

She lifted a dimpled finger. ‘Ah! But that is the point. The scent on that charm

is not mine, and the girl who gave it me wore none at all.’ –

‘Oh Moonflower, pride of the S’danzo and of Sanctuary! By Ils if the P-G knew of

your genius, he’d not have that ugly old charlatan at court, but you, only you!

So. By the perfume you know that there was a third woman, who gave this and a

coin to another to give to you to give to me.’ He wagged his head. ‘What a game

of roundabout! But what makes you think this thing was given her by still

another, to begin with?’

‘I saw the coin,’ Moonflower said, all kittenish inside a body to block a door

or bring groans to a good steed.

‘It bore still another scent?’

Moonflower laughed. ‘Ah Hanse, Hanse. I know that. Soon you will know too,

surely, once you open the walnut shell. Surely it contains a message from

someone who wanted no one to know he sent it to you.’