Free Ten Little Wizards: A Lord Darcy Novel by Michael Kurland, Randall Garrett Page A

forward. “I suppose I should begin,” he said. “I have the responsibility of seeing to His Majesty’s physical safety from moment to moment—at the best of times a difficult task. His Majesty is not the sort of man who can be managed, but we do our best. We are closing off the royal apartments to everyone who has no need to be there. Every person entering has to be personally known to the guard and, if not a member of the royal family, must know the day’s password. I’m afraid they all think it’s rather silly, particularly since we are not telling them what it is for, but I can’t help that. The avoidance spells at all the doors are being strengthened.”
    “That is so,” Archbishop Maximilian said. “One of the best lock-and-key men in the sorcery business is here for the coronation. He happens to be the Papal Envoy, His Eminence, Cardinal Sabatini. Privacy and avoidance spells are his avocation.”
    “And very good he is at it,” Master Sean agreed. “With his spells on the doors, those with no business in the royal apartments won’t even realize that they’re passing the doors.”
    Sir Darryl nodded his agreement. “A pleasure to watch him work, Your Highness. Deft, sure touch. Simple, elegant spells. The better someone knows his subject, the easier he makes it look to outsiders. High technical skill indeed.”
    “Unfortunately,” Marquis Sherrinford said, “we have no way to assess the technical skills of our adversary. We must do more.”
    Coronel Lord Waybusch coughed. “I have drawn up a plan,” he said, “with the assistance of Lord Peter Whiss and Lord Darcy, and the advice of Sir Darryl Longuert, for the increased physical security and policing of the entire Castle Cristobel inner area.” He pulled a rolled-up paper from his boot and unrolled it on the table. “Now you understand, Your Highness, that this, of itself, cannot capture the, ah, Polish agent. It can, however, make it damned difficult for him to wander about.
    “This map of Castle Cristobel shows the revised plan. The Castle is, as you can see, actually made up of three ‘castles,’ interconnected and surrounded by a common great wall. The Arthur Keep, the oldest, contains the private quarter we are in, as well as the throne room, the ballroom, and most of the administrative offices. This has seven entrances, four of which can be closed off, and the other three guarded. We are also instituting a roving guard everywhere except the royal suites themselves.
    “Now the throne room itself is an unlikely point of attack, as Lord Darcy and Sir Darryl agree, but we are not taking any chances. As you can see by the map, the throne room can be entered by four doors, one in each wall. There are the Gallery of Kings and the Gallery of Queens on the sides, and the Great Hall in front, through the Doors of State. To the rear, there is a small door that connects to a private corridor. To the left it goes to an inner stair up to the royal quarters, and to the right it leads into what is now the Lord Chamberlain’s offices. Right across the corridor from the throne room is this door, which leads to a small antechamber and then to the ballroom.”
    Everyone leaned over the map and examined it with interest. Here was a tangible thing to look at, to make them feel that something was being accomplished. Everything’s under control , Lord Darcy said wryly to himself, we have a map.
    “This area is being closed off completely,” Coronel Lord Waybusch continued, indicating the corridor in back of the throne room. “The door to the Lord Chamberlain’s office will be sealed.”
    “But His Majesty uses that passage to go to the throne room from his apartments,” Marquis Sherrinford objected.
    “Special triplex locks are being put into the doors from the throne room and the ballroom. The locks will only open to three keys, and the keys are tuned—is that the right word, Sir Darryl?—tuned to the individuals holding them.”
    “That’s