Miss Landon and Aubranael

Part 28

Well now, a fine mess was goin' on there! How long do ye think it took for word to spread in Tilby that sommat weren't right? Not long, no! Not long at all. An' they all came to find me, Mr. Balligumph. Expected me to have all the answers, they did. Course, I had no answers at all for 'em—not then, not yet. But we had a merry little band put together in a trice, an' then there was no stoppin' us!

The first thing we had to do was warn Mr. Aubranael. Good soul, he is—like him very much. Couldn't leave him labourin' under a misapprehension, like, could we?

Aubranael was in the midst of an argument with Grunewald when the note arrived.

'Just for a few days!' he was saying imploringly.

'Not even for five minutes!' Grunewald snapped in reply.

'Why not?'

'Because there has been quite enough masquerading going on already.'

Aubranael scorned that. 'I cannot believe that you would advise sense and caution instead of drama and adventure and chaos. Do not try to fool me!'

Grunewald gave a cat-like grin. 'Quite true; I cannot deny that I am hugely enjoying this mess we have made. It is thoroughly diverting. I have not felt bored for at least twenty-four hours.'

'So!' said Aubranael. 'By all means, help me to prolong the charade. With this face, I will soon be forced to give up the adventure and return to Aylfenhame, and everything will be over.'

Grunewald examined him with pursed lips and calculating eyes, but still shook his head. 'You do not realise, perhaps, that you have already enjoyed far more of my favour than I am in the habit of giving out. You are already a very long way in debt to me.' He smiled again.

That smile combined with the word "debt" worried Aubranael somewhat, especially if he was a being of considerable eminence. Abruptly the uncertainty about Grunewald's true nature and position began to irritate him enormously, and he could not help himself from saying:

'Are you then the Goblin King? I wish you would tell me the truth.'

'I am sure you do,' said Grunewald comfortably. 'But I do not see why you require repeated confirmation when your own eyes, ears and wits have given you plenty already.'

That was as close to a straight 'yes' as he was likely to receive, Aubranael thought with some sourness. But it was enough. His insides thrilled with a stab of fear: he was in debt to the Goblin King. Deeply in debt.

Somebody ought to have warned him! He had entered into this peculiar arrangement of theirs without any expectation of how deeply and dangerously he was involving himself. What might so eminent a personage as the Goblin King require of him in future?

'Nonetheless,' he said with an admirable attempt at calm, 'I must still entreat this one further boon of you.'

Grunewald's face hardened, all trace of friendliness disappearing. 'No. And it is not out of a mere contrary determination to be disobliging, as you may feel; nor do I speak out of any desire to shield you from further entanglement with me and my affairs. It is a matter of instinct.'

'Instinct?' Aubranael repeated faintly.

'Yes, and my instincts are without flaw. Naturally.'

'So your instincts direct you to deny my request?'

'Precisely.' Obviously growing bored with the conversation, Grunewald threw himself into the most comfortable chair in the room, lay back, and closed his eyes.