The Stranger - Max Frei [103]
“First of all, I came a half hour early. Second, Melifaro was atoning for his sins.”
“I know all that. And third?”
“And third, I’m ready to do it all again in your company.”
“What, exactly?”
“Go to the Glutton.”
“You won’t burst at the seams, Sir Max?”
“No way.”
“I’m too lazy to go anywhere. Let’s have them bring something over here. Sit down. I’m going to gossip.”
“For you, Sir, I’m prepared even for that.”
“Ha! He’s prepared. You’re the main character of this story. Do you know what Lady Melamori has been up to? I just found out today. When did you last see her?”
“Two days ago. Melifaro and I went to visit her. If you’re talking about that, Juffin, you can rest assured—everything was all above-board and proper. Too much so for my taste.”
“I see. I could have predicted the outcome of that visit without the help of clairvoyants—even twelve years before your birth. That’s not what I’m asking. Did you see her after that?”
“No. True, Melamori sent me a call several times. She inquired about my health and asked about my mood. Very sweet of her. I was touched.”
“By the way, how have you been feeling all this time?”
“You mean after my incarceration in the death cell? I haven’t spat any poison, at least, if that’s what you want to know.”
“What I want to know is something I’ll figure out for myself. Give me more details.”
“There’s nothing in particular to tell. Right afterward I felt I was in tip-top shape. My mood was good. Even too good. I felt cheerful, without any grounds for it, as though someone were tickling me. I wanted to laugh apropos of nothing. So I wandered around the house giggling like an idiot—children would say ‘I was feeling punchy.’”
“And that’s all?”
“Well, yes. Isn’t that enough?”
“Because of you, Sir Max, I have to be surprised so often it’s almost indecent,” said Juffin.
I couldn’t quite tell whether he was praising me or mocking me.
“So what happened? Tell me now—I’m on pins and needles!”
“Well, sit for a while without the pins and needles, and I’ll chew my food,” Sir Juffin snapped, biting off nearly half of the Glutton Pie, specialty of the house, which had just arrived.
He was really as eager to talk as I was to hear, and he began talking with his mouth full.
“The First and Last Lady of the Secret Investigative Force, Melamori, decided to test whether you were indeed worthy of her adoration.”
“I know one good way to test it,” I murmured. “If she doubts whether I am at her service any time of day or night, let her try me. You can tell her that.”
“Oh, Max, come on. Lady Melamori is a very serious woman. She has her methods. That’s why our cruel huntress has decided to shadow you.”
“What! Has she lost her mind?”
“No, I wouldn’t put it that way. She’s always been like that.”
“Are you sure that she’s on my trail? I feel absolutely fine.”
“Exactly. You feel wonderful. How did you put it—you feel ‘punchy’?”
I didn’t know what to think anymore. Lady Melamori on my trail! Unbelievable. But what usually happens to people in such cases? Deep depression at the very least. That’s the job of the Master of Pursuit—that’s why she’s hired. But I’m a rare bird. The queen of my heart is hot on my trail, and I feel nothing at all. Just a bit giddy. I’m a callous, insensitive pig. A monster. I hate myself.
There was another reason for my distress.
“And I thought she was asking because she was really worried. That she thought I was sick, since I wasn’t at work. And that she couldn’t wait until I turned up at the House by the Bridge again. But it was just her idea of an experiment. How humiliating.”
“Don’t worry,” said Juffin. “The old gal was interrogating you with the best of intentions—according to her own lights. If you had betrayed any sign of suffering, she would immediately have stopped. And she would have been completely happy. You see, for Melamori, her dangerous gift is a question of honor and fate. It’s the only thing she really has. Don’t worry. All our boys have had