and ask for Maytera Marble—”
Silk interrupted. “She’ll probably be in the cenoby. The front door’s on Silver Street, or you could go through the garden and knock at the back.”
“And tell her there’s going to be a funeral tomorrow. Have her get this man with the wagon for you. What’s his name, Patera?”
“Loach.”
“Get Loach and his wagon, or if he’s not available, get somebody else. You don’t know what happened to Orpine. A doctor’s looked at her, and she’s dead, and Patera here is going to take care of the funeral for us, and that’s all you know. Get the woman, too. I don’t think any of these sluts could face up to it.”
“Moorgrass,” Silk put in.
“Get her. You and the woman ride in the wagon so you can show this cully Loach where it is. If the woman has to have anything to work with, see that she brings it with her. Now get going.”
Musk nodded and hurried away.
“Meantime you can get back to your exorcism, Patera. Have you started yet?”
“No. I’d hardly arrived when this happened, and I want to find out a great deal more about the manifestations they have experienced here.” Silk paused, stroking his cheek. “I said that I’d just arrived, and that is true; but I’ve had time enough to make one mistake already. I told Orchid that I didn’t care what the devils—or perhaps I should say
The burly man grunted. “I can tell you. Mostly it’s breakin’ mirrors.”
“Really?” Silk leaned forward. “I would never have guessed it. What else?”
“Rippin’ up the girls’ clothes.”
The burly man looked toward Blood, who said, “Sometimes they’re not as friendly as we’d like them to be to the bucks. The girls aren’t, I mean. A couple times one’s talked crazy, and naturally the buck didn’t like it. Maybe it was just nerves, but the girls got hurt.”
“And we don’t like that,” the burly man said. “I got both those culls pretty good, but it’s bad for business.”
“You have no idea what may be doing this?”
“Devils. That’s what everybody says.” The burly man looked toward Blood again. “Jefe?”
“Ask Orchid,” Blood told Silk. “She’ll know. I only know what she tells me, and if an exorcism makes everybody feel better…” He shrugged.
Silk rose. “I’ll speak to Orchid if I can. I realize she’s upset, but I may be able to console her. That, too, is a part of my work. Eventually, I’d like a talk with Chenille as well. That’s the tall woman with the fiery hair, isn’t it? Chenille?”
Blood nodded. “She’s probably gone by now, but she’ll be back around dinner. Orchid’s got a walk-up upstairs over the big room out front.”
Chenille opened the door to Orchid’s rooms and showed Silk in. Still wearing the pink peignoir, Orchid was sitting on a wide green-velvet couch in the big sellaria, her hard, heavy face as composed as it had been when they had talked in the cramped office downstairs.
Chenille waved toward a chair. “Have a seat, Patera.” She herself sat down next to Orchid and put her arm around her shoulders. “He says Blood sent him up to talk to us. I said all right, but he’ll probably come back later if you’d rather.”
“I’m fine,” Orchid told her.
Looking at her, Silk could believe it; Chenille herself seemed more in need of solace.
“What do you want, Patera?” Orchid’s voice was harsher than he remembered. “If you’re here to tell me how she’s gone to Mainframe and all that, save it till later. If you still want somebody to show you around my place, Chenille can do it.”
There was a glass on the wall to the left of the couch. Silk was watching it nervously, but no floating face had yet appeared. “I’d like to speak with you in private for a few minutes, that’s all.”
To Chenille he added, “I was going to say that it would give you a chance to get dressed—so many of you here are not—but I see that you’re dressed already.”
“Go out,” Orchid said. And then, “It was nice of you to worry about me, Chenille. I won’t forget this.”
The tall girl rose, smoothing her skirt. “I was going to look for a new gown, before this happened.”
“I have to speak to you, too,” Silk told her, “and this should only take a few minutes. You can wait for me, if you prefer. Otherwise, I would appreciate it very much if you came to my manteion this evening.”
“I’ll be in my room.”
Silk nodded. “That will be better. Please pardon me for not rising; I injured my ankle last night.” He watched Chenille as she went out, waiting until she had closed the door behind her.
“Nice-looking, isn’t she?” Orchid said. “Only she’d bring in more if she wasn’t so tall. Maybe you like them that way. Or is it the hips?”
“What I like hardly matters.”
“Good hips, nice waist for a girl as big as she is, and the biggest boobs in the place. Sure you won’t change your mind?”
