Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix Read Free Book Online

French relation Henri de Vienne can certainly do so on her behalf!”
    “But I don’t think …” said Truthful, “I’m not sure … do you think I can be disguised as a man?”
    “Bah! The disguise itself is nothing,” replied Lady Badgery. “A little sorcery, a bandeau pulled tight . . . it is the behaviour that is most difficult . . . that is, according to accounts . . . or so I believe. You were brought up with the Newington-Lacy boys — played with them, talked to them — just pretend you are one of them. Any difficulties you may have can be explained away because you are French and destined to be a religious. Oh, this will be capital fun!”
    “But I’ve never been to France!” protested Truthful. “And I have no skill with glamour myself, and I will need clothes—”
    “Bah again!” cried Lady Badgery. “Henri probably only ever knew his family’s chateau and a few towns, which I shall describe to you. You shall say you never went to Paris due to your religious feelings, and a natural antipathy to Bonaparte’s regime! As for clothes, we shall take your measurements and order suitable garb, my dear. It is fortunate you are slim. And with regard to glamour, while my own poor bones are now too old to take a spell, I have not lost my expertise, nor thrown away my apparatus.”
    “Oh,” said Truthful, blushing. She had forgotten that her great-aunt was a famous glamouress, among her other magical accomplishments. “If you really think I can … and if it will help find the Emerald … I’ll do it.”
    “Excellent!” beamed Lady Badgery. “Now, where is the tea?”
    An hour later, to Truthful’s bewilderment, everything was settled for her to assume the identity of Henri de Vienne. For some of the time, at least. Lady Badgery had decided thatdespite Truthful’s late arrival the night before, many people would have heard she was in London, for as she said, servants talk. So Lady Truthful must be in residence, happily at the same time as her French cousin, ostensibly as a last ditch effort on the part of his father to expose him to the world before he committed himself to the Church. If word leaked out that the young Henri de Vienne was searching for the Newington Emerald, everyone would presume he was helping his unfortunate cousin, the Admiral being unwell.
    Her measurements being taken by Parkins, who showed surprising familiarity with male attire, orders had sped to Weston in Conduit Street for coats, Hoby (at the top of St James) for boots, and the finest linen to match. In all cases, the Countess attached a note giving detailed measurements and drawn outlines of Truthful’s feet and hands, all accompanied by the annotation that they were for her soon-to-arrive cousin, the overtly religious Chevalier de Vienne, who preferred not to be called upon for fitting, due to a reluctance to wear “finery”. The clothes were to be a present to the young man from the Countess, who hoped to remove him from his somber clerical garb, even suggesting that the young man had an unfortunate preference for that most awful of garments, the cassock.
    That story, said Lady Badgery, would be all over London within a week, and would explain both the lack of personal attendance from tailors, bootmakers and the like, and perhaps many other oddities as well.
    “In the meantime, my dear,” said Lady Badgery. “We must decide what is to be done with Lady Truthful. I had planned on giving a ball here for you, but perhaps that should be left for a little while . . . it would be difficult to explain even a monk-like cousin’s absence from my own ball if he is supposed to be staying here. However, I am sure there will be no shortage of invitations for you in any case. We must present you at Almack’s, of course. Fortunately, Lady Jersey will certainly provide you with vouchers. Doubtless she would do so for my sake alone, but she was also very fond of your father’s older brother.”
    “Oh, yes! Almacks!”