"Patricia C. Wrede - Magician 1 - Mairelon the Magicia" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wrede Patricia C)

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Kirn looked up Mairelon was standing next to the chest,
on the opposite side of the wagon. He had removed his cloak
and hat; without them, he seemed both shorter and younger
than he had appeared on stage. His expression held none of
the anger and annoyance Kirn expected; instead, there was a
gleam of something very like interest or amusement. She be-
gan to hope she would come around from this, after all.

Beside Mairelon stood the droopy man- He, too, had re-
moved his hat, and his grey and black hair was plastered flat
against his head He alternated sour glares at Kim with ner-
vous looks directed at Mairelon, and he was chewing continu-
ously on one end of his mustache.

Kim looked back at Mairelon, "Proper knowin' one, ain't
you?" she said in her best boyish tone,

"As far as you are concerned, not nearly so knowing as I
would like to be," Mairelon replied affably.
"You going to call the nabbing culls?"
"That depends on how much you are willing to tell me."
"I got no reason to keep quiet," K.im said frankly. If the toff
who'd hired her had been more open, she might have felt
some obligation to keep her mouth shut, but not even an out-
and-outer would expect her to protect an employer who'd
withheld crucial knowledge about a job. Especially when she
hadn't been too keen on it in the first place.

"Then perhaps you would explain just what you were doing
in my wagon," Mairelon said.

"Lookin' about," Kim said promptly.
The droopy man snorted through the damp ends of his
mustache. "Stealing, more likely,"

"Quiet, Hunch," Mairelon said He looked from Kim to
the open cupboard with a speculative gleam. "Just looking?"
"That's right," Kim said firmly. "Just lookin' about."
The magician's eyes narrowed, and Kim wondered whether

12

her reply had been too forceful for the boy she was pretend-
ing to be. it was too late to change it now, though.