'Whatever it is,' Gene said, 'it's coming this way. Pass the sugar, will you, Lord Peter?'
Thaxton handed him the pewter sugar bowl. 'Thank you.'
In a few moments the source was revealed. A belly dancer-an extremely shapely one-came shivering and shaking into the dining hall. Accompanying her were two musicians, a drummer and a piper, in vaguely Arabic dress.
They proceeded to put on a show. Everybody watched. The woman whirled and clanged her finger cymbals, slinking up to the men and undulating suggestively. She danced twice around the table and then began to writhe and twirl out of the room, followed by the musicians.
Linda watched with interest. 'She's really good,' was her comment to Gene.
'Uh, yeah.'
'Beautiful woman!' Dalton enthused.
'Uh, yeah,' Gene said.
'Very charming,' Thaxton observed.
'However do they do that-?' Dalton made motions in front of his stomach.
'Diaphragm exercises,' Thaxton said.
Before the first dancer-musician troupe got to the door, another entered and began to repeat the whole routine, threading their way through the ever-growing clot of broomwielding homunculi. The group at the table sat and watched this performance as well, though a little less appreciatively.
'Charming, absolutely charming,' Thaxton remarked. 'But you know, I'm beginning to get worried.'
'Housecleaning homunculi,' Dalton pondered, drumming the table with his long fingers. 'And belly dancers.' He thought about it a while.' Then he gave sigh. 'Frankly, I don't see the connection.
Gene said, 'Well, it's all so obvious, isn't it?'
Gene calmly drank his coffee as yet another distant drum drew nearer.
Deena said, 'Uh-oh.'
GAMING HALL
Jeremy Hochsteader was dressed in a parti-colored cotehardie (a longish tunic belted at the waist) in black and orange with matching tights: one leg per color. His orange Reebok cross-training shoes somehow looked appropriate.
He was sitting at a table playing a home video game and enjoying it. He had been invited to the party at Club Sheila of course, but he didn't like parties, so he'd put off going until it was too late.
No less than three homunculi had swept out the room already, but Jeremy hadn't paid them any mind, his attention fixed on wheels of fire and vicious turtles. But now he heard music; and though he didn't stop playing, he was beginning to grow aware that something might be going on. Maybe Sheila's party had spilled over into the castle.
Maybe it had. So what.
He kept playing, thumbing the buttons on the control device, jumping over pitfalls and leapfrogging monsters. The music grew louder but he still didn't care. He wished whoever was making it would go away.
The commotion entered the gaming hall but he still didn't turn around. There came quite a racket and Jeremy was beginning to get annoyed.
He stopped the game's action and looked toward the entrance.
'What the heck is this?'
Belly dancers? There were three of them, and with them a bunch of little guys playing weird instruments. The beauty of the women stunned him a bit before he began wondering if the castle was going nuts again. It did that periodically.
They danced around the hall and then circled him, clanging things in his face. He kind of liked looking at the women, but he thought the music sucked.
Presently the whole kit and caboodle bumped and ground their way out of the hall. The high-pitched flutes were the last to fade. But in their wake came the sounds of some other disturbance.
'Screwy,' Jeremy said.
But that was life in the castle. You never knew what was going to come jumping out of the woodwork… or the masonry, or whatever.
Melanie McDaniel came walking in carrying her lute. She was dressed in a troubadour's outfit: black velvet cap with a feather, black velvet doublet, silver-gray cloak, scarlet tights, and black shoes. It was her usual mode of dress for going about the castle; she had stopped into her room to change after the party.
'Have you been seeing the weird stuff?' she asked.
'Just saw it,' Jeremy said.
'There's more, all over.'
'Yeah? What's going on?'
'Nobody seems to know.'
'Any trouble?'
'Well, no, not trouble, really. It's just very bizarre.'
'So what else is new?' Jeremy turned back to his video game.
Melanie asked, 'Have you seen the little guys sweeping up?'
'Huh? What little guys?'
'Little buggers this tall'-she held her hand two or three feet above the floor-'in blue bib overalls. With brooms. They sweep up all over the place.'
Jeremy's memory was jogged. 'Oh. Yeah, I saw them. What are they all about?'
'Nobody knows that either.'
'Weird.'
'Uh-oh.'
Jeremy turned his head. 'What?'
More belly dancers entered. This time there were a good half dozen or more.
Disgusted, Jeremy threw down the control box and turned off the monitor. He swiveled around on the high stool, crossed his legs, and watched.
Melanie sat on the edge of the table and watched with him.
At length she commented, 'These women really can dance.'
'Say what?'
'I said… Never mind.'
This troupe didn't want to leave-or did it only seem that way because more dancers were coming in to take the place of the ones who left? It was hard to tell.
Finally Jeremy got up and said, 'Let's get the heck out of here.'
Melanie picked up her lute. 'I'm with you.'
They weaved their way to the archway and ducked out. The corridor was less crowded, but only by comparison. Gnomish sweepers swept by, and Jeremy wondered why he hadn't really noticed them before. They sure were weird looking. Vaguely familiar, too. Porky Pig? No, maybe…
'Oh, look.'
Jeremy looked left. A chorus line of colorfully costumed and gorgeous women was high-kicking its way down the corridor. All the dancers were long-legged and beautiful and all kicked head-high in precision lock step to the beat of the marching jazz band that followed them. The band was tearing off a show-stopping arrangement of 'I Got Rhythm.'
Jeremy was a tiny bit irked by all this. 'Hey. This is gettin' weird. I mean, really weird.'
'You mean weirder than usual.'
'Yeah.'
They stood well aside to let the chorus line pass, then began walking the other way as the band marched by in threes. Music echoed down the hallway.
