Magicians of Caprona - Diana Wynne Jones [61]
“Look at this!” cried the lady. “They’ve been here! It’s like a mouse nest!”
Silks rustled as the Duchess hurried over. “Curse it!” she said. “Not long ago too! I can smell them even through the cigars. Quick! They can’t be far away. They must have got out before the room was cleaned.”
The drawer rumbled in, bringing dusty darkness with it. There was a flurry of silks as the two women hurried away up the steps to the room with the armchairs, and the quiet, firm clap of the door closing.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” Angelica whispered.
“No,” said Tonino. He was sure the Duchess had not guessed where they were. But they were shut in this room now, by the sound, and he had no idea how they would get the door open.
All the same, even a shut room was great open spaces compared with the narrow slit at the back of the drawers. Angelica and Tonino pushed and squeezed and forced themselves through the narrow daylight slit, and finally crawled out on the top of a writing desk. Before their eyes had got used to the light, Tonino stubbed his toe on a vast pen like a telegraph pole and then tripped over a paper knife like an ivory plank. Angelica bumped into a china ornament standing at the back of the desk. It swayed. She swayed. She flung her arms around it. When her eyes stopped watering, she found she was hugging a china Mr. Punch, nose, red nightgown and all, about the same height as she was. There was a china Judy standing at the other end of the desk.
“We can’t get away from these things!” she said.
The desk was covered in smooth red leather, very easy on the feet, and held a huge white blotter, which was even more comfortable to walk on. A chair with a matching red seat stood in front of the desk. Tonino saw they could easily jump down onto it. Even more easily, they could climb down the handles of the drawers. On the other hand, the piano the maid had dusted stood right beside the desk, and the window was around the corner from the piano. To reach the window was only a long stride from the piano. Though the window was shut, it had quite an easy-looking catch, if only they could reach it.
“Look!” said Angelica, pointing disgustedly.
A whole row of Punch and Judys stood along the top of the piano. Two were puppets on stands, very old and valuable by the look of them; two more were actually made of gold; and two others were rather arty clay models, which made Punch look like a leering ordinary man and Judy uncomfortably like the Duchess. And the music which was open on the piano was headed Arnolfini—Punch and Judy Suite.
“I think this is the Duke’s study,” said Angelica. And both of them got the giggles.
Still giggling, Tonino stepped onto the piano and started to walk to the window. Do—ti—so—fa, went the piano.
“Come back!” Angelica laughed.
Tonino came back—fa—so—ti—do—nearly in hysterics.
The door of the room opened and someone hurried down the steps. Angelica and Tonino could think of nothing better to do than stand stiffly where they were, hoping to be taken for more Punch and Judys. And, luckily, the man who came in was busy and worried. He slapped a pile of papers on the desk, without so much as glancing at the two new puppets, and hurried out again, gently closing the door behind him.
“Phew!” said Angelica.
They walked around to the front of the papers and looked at them curiously. The top one said:
Report of Campaign at 08.00 hours. Summary: Troops advancing on all fronts to repel invasion. Heavy Artillery and Reservists moving up in support. Pisan front reports heavy losses. Fleet sighted—Pisan?—steaming for mouth of Voltava.
“We’re at war!” said Tonino. “Why?”
“Because the Duchess has got us, of course,” said Angelica. “And our families daren’t make war-spells. Tonino, we must get out. We must tell