Leximandra Reports, and other tales Read Free Page B

groped her way through,
keeping close to the wall. Night-eyes she might have, but even she
needed some measure of light to see; it would never do to stumble
here and alert someone to her presence.
    The soft murmur
of words spoken in low tones caught her attention and she stopped.
To her left was a door she had almost missed. It stood slightly
ajar; the voices were certainly coming from beyond it. She pushed
lightly against it, hoping fervently that it wouldn’t creak. A few
more inches of space was enough: she put her eye to the
gap.
    Her immediate
instinct was to back away again.
    Idiot, she told herself. This is what you came for!
    She was looking
at a sumptuous sitting room, softly lit with flickering glass
light-globes hovering in corners and near the ceiling. Lady
Glostrum was present, wearing a glorious off-shoulder gown of deep
red velvet. Her pure white hair was uncharacteristically loose.
Despite this state of partial undress, her ladyship had
company.
    Her guest’s
picture had been displayed on the city bulletin boards last week;
in fact several pictures had flashed past as part of a scrolling
display of foreign officials gathering in the capital. Lexi
couldn’t remember his name, but she knew his handsome face: he was
the ambassador for Ullarn.
    The realm of
Ullarn was situated to the east and south. It was notoriously
inhospitable territory, and the realm’s government was habitually
suspicious. Few were suffered to visit, not even on official
business. Instead they sent ambassadors and delegates out ,
and those ambassadors were - at least by report - prickly,
stiff-necked, self-important people. Difficult to deal
with.
    Lady Glostrum
seemed to be dealing with this one rather well. The ambassador was
sitting on a low divan, his face in profile. Her ladyship was
seated in his lap; as Lexi watched, she bent to kiss
him.
    Well, this would
certainly thrill Brysold.
    Lexi brought the
Depictioner up and trained it on my lady and her unorthodox guest.
She tensed, knowing that she would have to activate the device and
then get out, quickly. The flash of light would instantly give away
her presence. Her hands shook and she muffed the first attempt to
take the picture.
    Calm down,
stupid .
    Curses upon it
all. How she hated this kind of work.
    Her ladyship was
talking, but she wasn’t speaking the official language of Glour.
Lexi guessed that she was speaking Ullarni. The ambassador said
something in reply as Lexi stood, trying to pull herself
together.
    Her finger
tensed on the activation button. Light blazed, and she shut her
eyes until it passed. Lexi held the thing still, knowing it
required at least ten seconds to create a good image.
    Lady Glostrum
and the ambassador were instantly alert, both staring directly at
Lexi with the Depictioner in her hand. Stored on that device was a
picture that would scandalise the realm of Glour when it came out.
Lexi backed away, trying to secure her device one-armed so she
could run without dropping it.
    The Ullarni
ambassador was trying to rise, but her ladyship maintained her seat
in his lap, holding him down, speaking rapidly. Lexi wished she
could understand the words, but she didn’t wait to see more. When
the Depictioner was safely stored under her good arm, she turned
and fled.
    Lexi was halfway
across the drawing-room when Lady Glostrum’s slightly deep,
cultured voice spoke a single word. ‘Stop.’
    She had no
particular intention of stopping, but the authority in her
ladyship’s tone was hard to resist. Lexi’s pace slowed before she
knew what she was doing; the delay was enough; a hand gripped her
shoulder and forced her to turn. Trembling with fear - would she be
arrested, thrown into prison? - Lexi made herself look up into Lady
Glostrum’s face.
    Her ladyship
surveyed Lexi silently, taking in the device clutched under one arm
and the absence of the opposite limb. Her face - as beautiful in
person as people said - was impassive. Lexi couldn’t even tell if
she