The Stranger - Max Frei [210]
“Where did you think you were going, Max?” he asked gaily. “We’re here. Open your eyes now if you don’t believe me.”
I looked around. We were standing in the middle of the thick undergrowth of an ancient overgrown garden.
“Good day, Juffin. How’s the earth treating you, you old fox?”
A vibrant voice resonated from behind my back. I shuddered and turned around. The voice was coming from someone who resembled the fairytale ideal of a grandmother: a shortish, plump lady with silver hair and a benevolent smile, and cheeks graced charming dimples.
“What a fine boy, Juffin!” she said, looking me up and down with undisguised admiration. “Are you Sir Max, dear? Welcome!”
The old lady embraced me with unexpected affection. I felt I had returned home after a long absence.
“This is Lady Sotofa Xanemer, Max,” the chief said. “She’s the most frightening creature in the Universe, so be on your guard.”
“No more frightening than you are, Juffin,” Lady Sotofa laughed. “Let’s go, gentlemen. You and Nuflin have some problems on your hands, Juffin. That’s for sure. And you must come with me and have something to eat, my dear,” she added for my benefit.
“What a good idea,” Juffin said drily.
“No matter what, you’re always ready to eat,” she remarked to Juffin. “I know you. But I love you all the same. Where have you been lately? You stopped visiting me. Maybe you think you bore me? Well, listen here, you old coot. You are tiresome, but my heart goes its own way, and it’s always glad to see you. And one must listen to one’s heart.”
Lady Sotofa scurried ahead, showing us the way and looking back now and then with a comical expression to illustrate her running commentary. Her little hands gestured wildly, her looxi fluttered in the breeze, and her dimples became ever more pronounced. I simply couldn’t credit her with great magical powers, however hard I tried.
Finally we arrived at a cozy garden pavilion that seemed to serve as Lady Sotofa’s office. There we were greeted by another sweet lady, somewhat younger than Lady Sotofa. With age she promised to become an exact replica of her elder associate. She already had the soft plumpness and the charming dimples.
“Oh, Sotofa! You’re always entertaining men! Don’t you want to take a rest?”
Her laughter rang out like tinkling bells.
“Of course I entertain them, Reniva. Don’t you remember? We agreed that I’d bring the menfolk around, but you would feed them. Now scoot! Off to the kitchen with you! The silly youngsters that pass as our chefs will never be able to cook as well as you can.”
“Are you suggesting that the food should be tasty?” Lady Reniva asked, arching her brows. “I thought men didn’t care what they ate as long as it filled their bellies. Fine, I’ll feed your swains, but you’ll have to reckon with them in the meantime.”
She disappeared behind a partition, and the three of us were alone.
“Well, Sir Max, were you frightened?” Lady Sotofa giggled. “Did you think that this daft Juffin had brought you here to see some crazy old biddies? You don’t have to reply. I can see in your eyes that that’s what you thought. Well, give me your fist. Come on, come on—don’t be timid.”
I stared at Juffin in confusion. He looked at me sternly, and nodded. I extended my sweaty left hand to Sotofa, the one in which Mr. Agon, the no-good Tasherian merchant, had been languishing for the last dozen hours. The merry old lady stroked my fingers cautiously, lingered a moment, frowned, and then broke into a smile again, displaying her enchanting dimples.
“Easy as pie, Juffin! I’m surprised you didn’t manage to do it.”
“You know I could have,” the Venerable Head of the Secret Investigative Force muttered. “It’s just that everything comes to you so naturally.”
Lady Sotofa shook her head reproachfully and applied a sudden sharp pressure at the