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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
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“Why in the name of God?”
“Because his career is ruined unless he gets a chance atthis, too.”
“Won’t he be a danger to you?”
“We’ll give him a charm to help bolster his psychic shields. If I think he’s too fragile for the duty, I’ll let you know and we’ll escort him out.”
“Why do you care what happens to one young uniformed cop?”
“Because he could have gone his whole career and not ever had anything like this happen to him, if he’d only stayed away from the faeries. The least we can try and do is minimize the damage.”
“I’ll make calls now, but you puzzle me, Princess Meredith. You’re almost too nice to be true.” He hung up.
I put the phone back in its cradle. Too nice to be true. My father had taught me to be nice first, because you can always be mean later, but once you’ve been mean to someone, they won’t believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice, until it’s time to stop being nice, then destroy them. I wondered if he’d taken his own advice that summer’s day, or if he’d hesitated because someone facing him had been his friend. I would have given a great deal to find the person in question, and ask him.
CHAPTER 6
THERE WAS ANOTHER PHONE CALL I WANTED TO MAKE. I LOOKED at Christine’s smiling, pleasant face, and said, “Can you wait outside for a moment, Christine?”
She blinked big blue eyes at me, but took a deep breath, stood up, rustled out her full skirts, and left without a word. I couldn’t tell if I’d offended her, but then she was always hard to read. That she could smile and smile through everything the queen did in front of her always made me wonder about her. Did she enjoy the queen’s little shows, or did she not know what else to do?
With Christine gone I was left with Doyle, Barinthus, and Usna. Frost, Galen, Hawthorne, and Adair were at the door to make sure we weren’t interrupted. Besides, the office just wasn’t large enough for all of us. Not comfortably anyway. I trusted everyone but Usna. I didn’t know him well enough to trust him.
“Usna, wait out in the hall,” I said.
He gave me a little smile, but he didn’t argue. He just hesitated by the door. “Do you want me to send someone else to take my place?”
I thought about it, and said, “Galen.”
He gave a little bow, then opened the door and told Galen to come in. Galen looked a question at me as he closed the door behind him.
“I’m going to call Gillett.”
Galen was shaking his head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Who is Gillett?” Barinthus asked.
“Why in the name of God?”
“Because his career is ruined unless he gets a chance atthis, too.”
“Won’t he be a danger to you?”
“We’ll give him a charm to help bolster his psychic shields. If I think he’s too fragile for the duty, I’ll let you know and we’ll escort him out.”
“Why do you care what happens to one young uniformed cop?”
“Because he could have gone his whole career and not ever had anything like this happen to him, if he’d only stayed away from the faeries. The least we can try and do is minimize the damage.”
“I’ll make calls now, but you puzzle me, Princess Meredith. You’re almost too nice to be true.” He hung up.
I put the phone back in its cradle. Too nice to be true. My father had taught me to be nice first, because you can always be mean later, but once you’ve been mean to someone, they won’t believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice, until it’s time to stop being nice, then destroy them. I wondered if he’d taken his own advice that summer’s day, or if he’d hesitated because someone facing him had been his friend. I would have given a great deal to find the person in question, and ask him.
CHAPTER 6
THERE WAS ANOTHER PHONE CALL I WANTED TO MAKE. I LOOKED at Christine’s smiling, pleasant face, and said, “Can you wait outside for a moment, Christine?”
She blinked big blue eyes at me, but took a deep breath, stood up, rustled out her full skirts, and left without a word. I couldn’t tell if I’d offended her, but then she was always hard to read. That she could smile and smile through everything the queen did in front of her always made me wonder about her. Did she enjoy the queen’s little shows, or did she not know what else to do?
With Christine gone I was left with Doyle, Barinthus, and Usna. Frost, Galen, Hawthorne, and Adair were at the door to make sure we weren’t interrupted. Besides, the office just wasn’t large enough for all of us. Not comfortably anyway. I trusted everyone but Usna. I didn’t know him well enough to trust him.
“Usna, wait out in the hall,” I said.
He gave me a little smile, but he didn’t argue. He just hesitated by the door. “Do you want me to send someone else to take my place?”
I thought about it, and said, “Galen.”
He gave a little bow, then opened the door and told Galen to come in. Galen looked a question at me as he closed the door behind him.
“I’m going to call Gillett.”
Galen was shaking his head. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Who is Gillett?” Barinthus asked.