Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [101]
“You will pretend to speak for spirits? But what will you say?”
“Come, now, Virginia, how hard can it be to speak for the dead and the dying? Mediums and séance-givers do it all the time. I will convey last messages to loved ones, perhaps a plea for justice in the event we stumble across a genuine murder victim, that sort of thing.”
“Has it occurred to you that if you claim to speak for someone who is in the process of being murdered the client and very likely the police will expect the victim to name the murderer?”
“There are ways to finesse that angle,” Leybrook said.
“How can you do that?”
“Mysterious clues from the dead will work nicely,” Gilmore said.
“What sort of clues?”
“Search for the blue door,” Gilmore intoned in a deep, melodramatic voice. “Listen for the hound at midnight. Read what is written on the stone at the bottom of the pond.” He waved one hand in a dismissing gesture, and his voice returned to normal. “There are endless possibilities when it comes to clues from beyond the grave.”
“I see.”
“We will split the consulting fees sixty-forty,” Gilmore added smoothly.
“I assume I’m the one who will receive the forty percent?”
“Correct.”
“Under the terms of our current agreement I retain seventy-five percent of the fees that I charge,” Virginia said.
“Any loss in profit to you under the new arrangement will be more than compensated for by an increase in business and in our fees.”
“How very generous of you.”
“Together we will not only make a great deal of money, we will take the reputation and the influence of this Institute to new heights.” Gilmore’s eyes hardened. He was suddenly very intense. “We will attract a greater number of true talents to work here, and not just those who would never be welcome in Arcane. I believe we have the potential to draw members from the Society itself.”
“Do you really believe that?” Virginia asked.
“Yes. There are rumblings within Arcane. Not all of the members are happy with the new direction the organization is taking. Some are chafing under the limits that the Joneses have begun to set on the kind of research that will be condoned by the Society in the future. Furthermore, the establishment of Jones & Jones has created a great deal of resentment both within and outside of Arcane. Many feel that the Society has no right to police the rest of us.”
She had always understood that Gilmore viewed Arcane as competition, but now she realized that his hostility toward the Society involved something more than business, something very personal.
“Mr. Leybrook, rest assured that I wish you well in your efforts to create an alternative to Arcane, but I cannot accept your offer to enhance my readings. I am not interested in going into a consulting partnership of the sort that you are describing.”
“You wish to bargain for a higher percentage of the fees?”
“I am not trying to negotiate with you, sir. I am telling you that I intend to build my business my way. I do not want to deceive my clients, even if it means larger fees.”
“It’s Sweetwater, isn’t it?” Gilmore surged up out of the chair and stalked to the window. He looked down at the street. “He is the reason you are turning down my offer. He has seduced you.”
“The nature of my association with Mr. Sweetwater is none of your business.”
“Do not bother to deny it.” Gilmore shot her a scathing look. “I sensed the energy around the two of you last night. I suspect everyone at the reception did.” His mouth twisted. “Hell, even nontalents can pick up on those sorts of currents.”
Virginia could feel the heat rising in her face. She was very glad that Gilmore was watching the scene outside the window.
“What an extraordinarily ill-mannered and inappropriate thing to say,” she said in her coldest accents. She was careful to keep her voice low, because she knew that Matt, with his hunter-talent hearing, was probably listening. “I have no intention of discussing my personal affairs with you, Mr. Leybrook. I will thank you to leave my office immediately.”
Gilmore turned away from the window