FIVE
'Finn, how very good to see you. It's been some time, I fear.”
Finn turned at the familiar voice. An older man with thinning hair and kindly eyes stepped from the crowd and gripped Finn's hand. He, too, glanced at Letitia, but there was no lechery there, only a gentle smile.
“Lord Gherick, a pleasure,” said Finn. “Indeed, it has been a year or more.”
“Closer to two,” Gherick said. “I'm getting stouter, and you're getting slim. You must come and dine with me, we'll soon take care of that.”
“At your will, I'll do it, too.”
“Gherick, I didn't know you were here,” the Prince said, no little hint of irritation in his speech. “I thought you were going to the country for a while.”
“I did, sire. And, with your pleasure, I'm back again.”
“Yes, I see that you are… “
Though Finn knew full well the two were brothers, it was hard to see how one could be remotely kin to the next. Like air and water, they were, like fish and fowl. More, to the point, like night and the light of day.
Gherick, the Prince knew, was the only man among his various kinsmen-and kinswomen as well-who did not lust after his throne. Thus, he was wary of his brother, and had him watched at all times.
“I must apologize for this most unseemly interruption,” Gherick said, easily sensing his brother's ire. “We'll talk another time, my friend.”
“No, no, stay,” the Prince said. “You have been too long from me, brother. Your presence, and your counsel, is sorely missed in Fyxedia, and in the royal house itself.”
“It is gracious of you to say so, sire.” Gherick bowed, fully aware there was no one in the court, most especially Aghen Aghenfleck himself, who believed a word of drivel such as that.
“Well, then,” said the Prince, clasping his fingers in a knot above his chest, “we are here for an occasion, are we not? You have brought me a craft of your making, Master Finn. I believe the lovely Newlie person is clutching it to her, ah-to her breasts, is she not?”
“She is, sire. If you will permit…”
“No, no, no,” the Prince said, waving him away, “you may bring it to me yourself, my dear.”
Letitia had the good sense not to glance at Finn, not to hesitate at all. With a graceful step, she bowed and set the wooden cask in the Prince's hands. Somehow, Aghen Aghenfleck managed to brush his fingertips across hers.
“Open it, if you will, then. And set the contents on the table there.”
Letitia obeyed, opened the crafted lid and gently set Finn's work on the marbled table before the Prince.
Muttered whispers greeted the marvel. Courtiers crowded forward to get a better look, each one giving the illusion they were quite familiar with what there was to see. Each, however, holding smiles or frowns at bay, waiting for the Prince to lead the way.
The Prince, alone, did not move at all, but only studied the object with his eyes. Shifted his gaze from the left to the right, from the bottom to the top, then started all over again. He muttered and wheezed, cleared his throat, rolled his tongue about his cheek.
Finally, he said, without looking away, “I am astonished, Master Finn. Truly I am. It's a marvel, a wonder, a miracle of the age. I find that I am stunned, stupefied, awed at your genius, partially impressed. What, sir, exactly is it, then? You must tell me that?”
The Prince, then, let the hint of a smile escape his lips, enough to draw approval from the crowd.
“Why, it is a timepiece, sire,” Finn explained, with all the patience at his command. “A timepiece in the shape of a lizard, if you please. As you ordered, sire. The lizard, you will note, is rampant, upon its hind legs. In its right foreleg, it holds the banner of the House of Aghenfleck, and in its left, the pennant of Llowenkeef-Grymm. Its snout is agape to display its silver teeth and red-enameled tongue.
“Its eyes are set with emeralds, and each individual scale, on the body and the entire surface of the tail, is crafted of gold. The timepiece itself, as you see, is set in the belly of the lizard. The numbers are formed of rubies and sapphires, and the hands are carved of precious shell. The whole of the face is protected with the finest crystal glass. The delicate works, the tiny cogs and gears, the wires and the hummers and the wheels, are deftly packed inside.
“It is, I trust, as Your Grace intended it to be. Or, surely, as close as my poor talents can come to the vision you conveyed to me.”
“Hmmmmmph.” The Prince scratched his chin. “What do you think, Count?”
“Quite nice,” VanDork answered at once. “As Master Finn says, I believe he's caught at least a bit of Your Grace's creative drive, a flame of your inner fire-”
“Yes, indeed. Go sit somewhere. And do something about your breath.”
“I believe that simpering fool Llowenkeef will like it,” the Prince told Finn. “Fellow's daft about clocks. They say he's got clocks everywhere. Eats with clocks, goes to bed with clocks. At any rate, it's his bloody birthday, can't forget that.”
The Prince frowned. “How does the thing work, how does it go?”
“One sets the tail in motion, sire. It acts as a pendulum, swinging back and forth. Upon the hour, the jeweled eyes roll about, the snout opens, and it makes a, ah- crackly sort of sound. If Your Grace will allow-”
“No, do nothing of the sort. I abhor things that move or make any kind of sound.
“I will say, Finn, it's a pleasure to see you making a rather decent-looking lidert these days”
“Lizard, sire.”
“Yes, what I said. Not at all like that nasty creature you carry about. The one, you'll recall, that tried to bite my leg. I am still displeased about that.”
Finn showed no expression at all. Julia Jessica Slagg had, indeed, reacted to the Prince in much the same manner as nonmechanical creatures. In other words, she loathed His Grace on sight, and somewhat lost control. Finn had managed to stop her in time, and, thus, likely preserved his head.
“It was the most regrettable moment of my life, sire. A tiny mote of dust where none should be. It would never happen again in a hundred lifetimes, I hope Your Grace understands that.”
“Better not happen again,” the Prince muttered. “Best you confine yourself to liderts that do something useful, Finn. Like swabbing out muskets, grinding trash and such. Making things that tell the time, right?”
“I could not agree more, sire.”
“Good, good,” the Prince said, shaking his head so the plumes atop his hat swayed in the breeze. “One thing more, Finn, and I'll see you on your way. A thing of great import, a duty to your Prince. A-What, what the devil do you want, Count,” the Prince said, scowling at VanDork, “I'm quite busy here.”
“Your pardon, sire, indeed.” VanDork leaned close to the Prince's ear. In an instant, the Prince broke into a merry smile, stood up straight and threw his hands in the air.
“Here, all of you, come see. They're going to mush old Baffleton-Kreed!”
SIX
A volley of cheers rose from the royal sycophants. If Lord Gherick had not appeared at that moment, Finn was sure he and Letitia would have been trampled beneath the crowd.
“Quickly,” Gherick said, drawing the pair aside. “You'll be safe over here.”
“Safe from what?” Letitia asked, bewildered by the sudden turmoil in the hall.
Gherick didn't answer, but urged them on until they were up against the far wall.
Finn drew in a breath. In an instant, the great room was empty, for everyone there had followed the Prince to the gallery that overlooked the courtyard below.
“Can't we see too?” Letitia complained. “I didn't understand, dear. What is it they're going to do?”
“If I'm not mistaken,” Finn said, “it's something you very much want to miss.”
Gherick's expression told him he was right. The Prince's brother glanced at the ceiling with a sigh.
