LORD GAGNOT THOUGHT THAT CHARLIE was one of the most sensible young men he had met in a long time. The young prince didn’t insist on any sort of ceremony, but rose from the throne when Gagnot came in, escorted him to a table that was piled high with accounting books and invoices, and invited Gagnot to pour himself a drink. Gagnot told him a few stories of riding and hunting on his estate, and found himself warming to this young man who listened so attentively and made appreciative comments. Gagnot found it admirable that Charlie was respectful to his elders, even when he outranked them socially. His Lordship paused in his storytelling to pour himself another whiskey, and that was when Charlie casually mentioned that he had passed Gagnot’s estate on his way into town, and what a lovely manor house he had.
“Yes, isn’t it? We just remodeled the whole thing. Added a new wing, too.”
“It’s quite impressive.”
“You must come to dinner so you can see the inside. I don’t know much about decorating, myself, but my wife did an excellent job picking out the new carpets and draperies. The furniture’s all heirloom, of course.”
“I understand Lady Gagnot likes to give lavish parties.”
“Oh yes. We both love to entertain. Wait until you see one of our parties. We’ll be sending you an invitation to the autumn ball.”
“Thank you. Of course,” said Charlie, smiling gently. “It did seem a rather large place to be supported on an estate of that size.”
“Hmm? Oh yes. Well it does take a bit of careful money management. But we know how to spend our money wisely. Lady Gagnot knows how to stretch a shellac.”
Charlie put his hand on one of the ledger books and casually slid it over. “The Council of Lords put you in charge of the public granaries, did they not?”
“Hmm? Oh yes. They asked me to take the job and I accepted. Just one of the many responsibilities I have taken on in the service of Damask.”
Charlie flipped the ledger book open. He compared an entry in it with an invoice. “And yet it seems that the inventories don’t match the amount of grain that was deposited for storage.”
“Uh, probably some clerical error. I’ll have it looked into.”
“Perhaps you should look into the granaries themselves, as I did this morning. They should be nearly full. Instead they are nearly empty.”
Gagnot put his glass aside and exhaled through puffed cheeks. “All right, Charlie, I can see where this is going. You want a cut of the action, right? Well, I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I just can’t do it. I’m paying too many kickbacks to the Council of Lords as it is.”
“You’re betraying your public trust. You’re stealing grain from the public warehouses, selling it to your cronies at rockbottom prices, and taking a kickback for letting them make enormous profits.”
“I’m not keeping the entire payoff.” Gagnot was growing exasperated. “That’s what I’m telling you. There are so many other nobles and government officials with their hands out that I’m just about losing money on the deal.” This was merely a negotiating ploy. Gagnot was really making a huge profit. He sat back in his chair and rested his hands over his ample belly. “I can give you a small cut now, maybe a bit more after the price increase.”
“What you’re doing is illegal.”
“It certainly is not, Your Highness. I’m authorized to dispose of surplus grain and set the price.”
“As well as immoral and unethical. The way the year is going, we’re going to need that grain to feed hungry people. And we’ll need it soon, Lord Gagnot. People will be suffering.”
“Suffering? I should say not, Prince Regent. They won’t be suffering. They’re commoners. They’re used to being hungry.”
“Oh yes,” said Charlie. “Now that you’ve explained it, I see what you mean. As long as the nobility has plenty to eat, there isn’t a problem. Excuse me, Lord Gagnot.” He closed the ledger books, got up and left the room, almost immediately encountering Oratorio in the hall. “Ah, Oratorio. Just the man I wanted to see.”
“And I wanted to see you, Sire,” said the young knight. He looked nervous. “It’s about the ghost. He appeared again. I took a message this time.”
“Not now, Oratorio. I don’t have time for ghosts. I’m going to see the wizards. But first I have a task for you. Lord Gagnot is in that room. Find a couple of guards and arrest him.”
Oratorio was starting to think that he could not see the Prince Regent without having to arrest someone. “Very good, Sire,” he said moodily. “The tower again?”
“The Barsteel,” said Charlie, referring to Damask’s infamous prison. He continued on his way. Oratorio went off to collect another pair of guards. No sooner had Charlie rounded the corner than Packard and Gregory stepped out of the shadows. This did not seem odd to Oratorio. Packard and Gregory were men who spent a lot of time standing in shadows. He bowed to them and they, in turn, fell in step with him.
“Ah, Oratorio,” Gregory said. “Going to arrest another one, eh? Our prince regent has been busy this morning.”
“I afraid so. Lord Gagnot this time. To the Barsteel.”
“The Barsteel? Is Charlie aware that it has been out of use for years? In fact, I believe the bottom level is being leased to a coffee shop.”
“He’s filling it up again. There are still cells on the upper levels. And it wasn’t totally out of use. The Marquis de Sadness is being held there.”
Gregory knit his brows. “I can’t place him, although the name sounds familiar. The Marquis de Sadness?”
“Oh, you know him,” said Packard. “He wrote those kinky books. You know, the ones where he said he derived erotic pleasure from making women unhappy.”
“Oh, right. Throwing his socks on the floor, leaving the toilet seat up, belching at the dinner table.”
“Sometimes he waited until Friday afternoon to ask a women on a date, totally upsetting her plans for the weekend.”
“A very cruel man,” confirmed Oratorio. “Well, he’ll have some company now.
“Excuse us, Oratorio,” said Packard. He put his hand on Gregory’s shoulder and the two men fell back a few steps so they could talk quietly. “Did Gagnot give us our cut from those grain sales?”
“Oh yes. He’s paid up with us.”
“Excellent.” Packard joined back up with Oratorio. “The Barsteel, eh? Well, I’m sure if the Prince feels that way, there must be a good reason.”
“It’s not for me to say, sir.”
“Oh, come now, Oratorio.” Packard gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Your father and I are old friends. Gregory and I have known you since you were a baby. You can speak freely around us.”
“Well…yes,” Oratorio conceded. He remembered that he was talking to the two men who had put the prince in power. “Charlie is just starting his rule. It’s really too early to judge. He seems to want to crack down on corruption, which I guess isn’t a bad thing.”
“And Lady Catherine?”
“I suppose he has some reason for arresting her, even though I can’t think what it could be. People are pretty upset about that.”
“When matters of state become as confusing as this,” said Gregory, “I often ask myself what the old king would have done. But I suppose you know that better than any of us, eh Oratorio?”
“Sir?”
“Well, the rumor is that you saw his ghost on the ramparts last night.”
“It wasn’t just me,” said Oratorio defensively. “Lots of guys have seen it.”
“They say it spoke to you.”
“It gave me a message for Prince Charlie.”
“What was the message?”
“It was a confidential message, sir. For Prince Charlie.”
“Of course, of course. And what did our Prince say when he received it?”
“I haven’t had a chance to give it to him. He has been busy.”
“We’ll be having lunch with the Prince today,” said Packard. “It would be no trouble to deliver the message for you.”
It was not an unreasonable offer, Oratorio considered. Either of the King’s brothers could have taken the throne. There were any number of family members they could have chosen. So clearly they weren’t trying to grab power for themselves. They had put Charlie into power, in fact. Oratorio had grown up in an atmosphere of court intrigue, but for once there was no reason to suspect subterfuge. Nonetheless…
He stopped and faced the two elderly men. “I’m sorry,” he said truthfully, “but it’s just not the kind of message that can be passed along.”
“It’s up to you then,” said Packard heartily, dropping his hand from the knight’s shoulder. “We won’t detain you any longer, Oratorio. Come and see us if you ever want to talk.” He and Gregory slowed their pace and let Oratorio get out of earshot again.
“I don’t like it,” said Gregory. “We didn’t figure on the King coming back as a ghost. Who knows what he has to say? I went up there myself at night trying to spot him. Didn’t see a thing.”
“Considering the circumstances, I really don’t think either of us want to meet him again.”
“I don’t want Charlie to meet him, either. He could undermine Charlie’s trust in us.”
“Maybe. He could also tell Charlie his secret. That would save us a lot of effort.”
“We’ll find it,” said Gregory. “We have time. There are only so many places it can be.