All I Ever Needed Read Free

standing at the forefront.
    Trying first one door, then another, finding each one locked in turn, they hurriedly made their way down the hall in search of the very thing that would give them respite. Pendrake and Harte were startled to find they could not enter their own rooms. "Now what do we do?" Harte demanded. Bent awkwardly at the waist, his legs pressed tightly together, he gripped a brass handle to yet another door that would not open to him.
    Pendrake's bowels rumbled uncomfortably. It was the only reply he could make, and it echoed so loudly inside his body that he was certain the others could hear it. They might have, but their own bowels were engaged in similar activity. At the end of the hall, the sound of so much digestive thunder gave the Compass Club their first unrestrained smile since East had been accosted that morning. Their patience had been borne out.
    Barlough saw them first. His manner changed immediately as he strove for some measure of dignity. He walked stiff-legged, his buttocks clenched tightly. "You!" he said, patently astonished by East's presence in the private quarters of the Society's residence. "What are you doing here?"
    East merely smiled.
    Barlough looked at the others. "All of you! Out! You're blocking my way."
    "Oh?" East asked as Pendrake and Harte came up behind Barlough. "And which way is that?"
    Harte groaned softly and clutched his stomach. "The water closet," he managed. "It's the last door on the left."
    "Is that so? I didn't realize." He stepped aside, and the rest of the Compass Club followed suit.
    Pendrake lunged at the door, shouldering it when it resisted his first efforts to open. Since there was no lock, the only explanation for its refusal to open was that it was barricaded on the other side. Swinging around, Pendrake stared at the four young intruders. "What have you done to it?" He didn't wait for a reply. He fairly screamed at Barlough, "They've stoppered the door! We can't get in!"
    Barlough's fair complexion was reddening now, and there was a faint sheen to his brow and upper lip. The restraint he was placing on his body's natural functions was beginning to show. He stared pointedly at Gabriel. "What is it you want?"
    "The toll, if you please."
    Barlough gritted his teeth but he persisted. "Name it."
    "Sign this." From behind his back Gabriel produced a neatly drawn-up treaty. "Would you like to read it or shall I?"
    Afraid that Gabriel would draw out each word of the document until the Bishops were writhing in pain or soiled themselves, Barlough grabbed it out of his hands just as he had the parcel. It was in that moment that he realized what Gabriel's intent had been all along. "The scones," he said.
    "And the biscuits," Gabriel said helpfully. It was clearly a struggle for Barlough to talk now. "And the sweet raisin muffins."
    "You poisoned us."
    "Oh, no. Nothing like that. That is, there are no lasting effects." He spared a glance for Pendrake and Harte. "At least I hope not. I was most particular on that account."
    Harte groaned again. His knees buckled a fraction, but he didn't drop to the floor. "Do something, Barlough, or I swear I shall explode on the spot!"
    Barlough's thinking was not so foggy at this point that he disbelieved his friend. He felt as if he might explode himself. The humiliation of it would drive him from the school.
    He would be the first archbishop of the Society to leave disgraced. Holding up the treaty that Gabriel had carefully penned, he read through it quickly.
    "You don't intend I should sign it in blood, do you?" Barlough asked.
    Gabriel grinned. It certainly had occurred to him. Without a word, he produced a quill and inkpot and placed them on the sill below the window.
    Barlough dipped the quill and centered the paper carefully on the sill for his signature. He scribbled it quickly and passed it back to Gabriel who formed his letters with deliberation. It was then duly witnessed by all those present.
    "The door," Barlough said.