Valour and Vanity by Mary Robinette Kowal Read Free Book Online

furrow between his brows and gave the slightest of head shakes.
    No. Well … she would discuss it with him in their chambers that evening, but for the moment she would stay with the same tale they had told her mother. “We were to visit Lord Byron, but … I am afraid he has left town unexpectedly.”
    He tilted his head to the side as if wondering about her hesitation. Jane saw with dismay that he had attributed it to something else. He thought she was hinting for an invitation to stay longer, and his next words proved her guess to be correct. “Ah—and you have nowhere to stay without him. Then you shall stay with me until he returns.”
    “Oh, we do not want to impose. That was not my meaning—” But, they did not, in fact, have anywhere to stay. “I only…”
    “It is only that you have already been so generous.” Vincent leaned forward with such a severe expression that Jane wished she could tell Signor Sanuto that he was not angry, only uncomfortable at accepting charity. “On that subject, I am afraid that I will need to ask for your help once more. You said you were with a bank. Might we make arrangements through that institution to reach my banker in London?”
    “I am only too happy to arrange a line of credit so that you are not in distressed circumstances.”
    “I had intended it as a means to repay you.”
    The signore demurred. “It is unnecessary.”
    Vincent set his jaw. “I cannot let this pass. You must accept something.”
    Signor Sanuto appeared ready to match Vincent in stubbornness, but finally shook his head with a sigh. “If you are truly troubled, then make a donation to Santa Maria degli Angeli in my name. It is to my faith that you owe your freedom, not my pocketbook, so that is the best way of repaying any debt.” He straightened his leg and winced with an audible gasp.
    “Sir! Are you hurt?” Jane reached for the bell to call someone to aid him. He had suffered just as much the day prior as they had, without the benefit of rest. It was thoughtless of her to make him play the host also.
    “I am well.” He held up one hand to stay her. The other hand rubbed his knee. “Apologies. It is an old wound from when the Republic fell to Napoleon. Fatigue sometimes causes it to seize, and I am afraid I twisted it at the bank today. They are doing some construction in my office, and I slipped on plaster. Felt the fool. But … I am getting old, and I am not so steady on my feet with this stick.”
    Jane could not forget how he had lost the other walking stick, in defence of her and her imprudent thoughts of resisting. Privately, she decided that they would not only make a very substantial contribution to his church, they would buy him a new walking stick besides.
    She rose, smiling. “Then, shall I entertain you? In the boat you had said you wished to see me work glamour. You have me now at your disposal.” She had seen a piano in the palazzo and could easily play a little to amuse him.
    His face lit up for a moment, and then he shook his head. “But you are tired. Yes, I would very much like to see your work, but my curiosity is not so insatiable as that.”
    “Then let us show you a tableau vivant. ” Vincent rose to stand beside Jane.
    She turned so her back was to Signor Sanuto and whispered, “Are you well enough?”
    “I have a headache, nothing more. See?” Vincent wove a Sphère Obscurcie so that they vanished from view. He followed it with a similar weave to mask their sound. Neither weave was as quick as his usual, but still fast enough to cause Signor Sanuto to jump in his chair and gasp. She never tired of the response from people witnessing Vincent’s technique for the first time. Most glamourists needed months of careful work to create a glamural detailed enough to mask anything, but with this simple weave, it was possible to vanish instantly. Small wonder that Wellington had taken advantage of it in the war against Napoleon.
    But while these illusions usually