The Clocks

Dinner that evening was unusually quiet. Miranda and Richard were mentally reviewing their proposal, while the young adults' minds were almost totally involved in running through various possibilities for the upcoming meeting. Stavros and Consuela, rather than engaging in their usual boisterous behavior, spent most of their time discussing privately what might have caused all the others to act so strangely.

As a consequence, there was very little conversation. To everyone's surprise, each came away from the meal with a new appreciation of the peace resulting from a quiet meal. None of them wanted it to be that way every night, but being quiet now and then, even if only as something different to do, seemed rather appealing.

As the others headed upstairs, the twins considered attempting to eavesdrop, but Mimi appeared and herded them off to finish their homework.

For the rest, the peaceful atmosphere of their dinner lasted until they were all seated in Miranda's now relatively spacious office. The young couples unconsciously scooted their chairs close together and held hands. Robert and Miranda exchanged a glance, smiled, and, with a sense of nostalgia, did the same.

As always Miranda began speaking directly to the point, "You all know what I do for the Duchess, and you also know that the incident with Avellino could have had disastrous consequences, both for The City and Italy as a whole. If those behind the incident were clever enough, they might even have been able to accomplish what nobody else has managed in the past 700 years. If confidence in the banking system were to be lost, The City might eventually collapse, thus negating one of the primary reasons for its existence -- to prevent invasion from the north.

"Since last fall, Robert has made sure that knowledge of what was attempted has reached every significant bank in the country."

She waved a hand in negation. "While the exact details were concealed, the other banks are now aware that outside interests desire to compromise our banking system. As the French, Spanish, and Greek bankers have as much to lose as we do should there be widespread trouble in Italy, their suspicions naturally focused on the Germans and their so-called "Holy Roman Empire." We all know that they covet eastern France and northern Italy and that destabilizing the banking system could be a major factor in making that possible.

Robert grinned at her. "I didn't even have to drop any hints. It's amazing how worried a banker gets when their money is threatened." He shrugged somewhat apologetically. "Though I can't honestly say that I'm any better. The thought terrifies me."

Miranda picked up the reins again, "It won't be long before they realize that any further attempts at the banks will be a waste of time. Perhaps they already have. Agents working for both Blair and Hiroshi have picked up signs of the Germans starting a propaganda campaign in the French and Italian territories bordering their Empire. They're hinting that the people living there would be much happier, and richer, if they were part of the Empire rather than of their respective nations.

"Given enough time, it might actually work, at least in causing some degree of unrest in the regions."

The children had by then all tightened their grips on their spouse's hands. Their eyes remained focused on Miranda with near laser-like intensity as she pressed on, "Obviously we need to nip that in the bud, just as we did with Avellino. The Germans may be overly-aggressive, but they are NOT stupid. Given that an extremely large geographical area is involved, anything overt that we do will likely be spotted immediately.

"However, Robert and I came up with a plan."

His snort drew the attention of everyone. "More like you came up with a plan, shoved it at me, and told me to fix the banking part so it will work along with what you already decided to do."

Miranda had the grace to look repentant, almost. "Well, yes. Be that as it may, this is where Mario and Genie come in."

She looked directly at them and saw, as expected, curiosity and determination. She nodded inwardly. From her study of history Genie was well aware of what an expansionist power could do to stability, and how many thousands would die as a result. As for Mario, his focus was more restricted. Even so, he was well aware of how generalized unrest could cause trade to collapse.

"Mario, you're far too intelligent not to have realized that The Company will no longer require your services. It has no way of understand that, after you've had a few months more training with Hiroshi, you could still outfight four or five bandits by yourself.

"Frankly, you have nothing in particular to do right now. Fortunately for all of us, you, and Genie, will be important to the success of our plan. It will require a great deal of traveling, but by Spring you should have completed your rehabilitation."

Mario nodded and Miranda added, "I imagine that Genie will probably be willing to accompany you. Our family believes in couples staying together if at all possible. As soon as her consciousness returns, I'm sure she'll agree."

Facing Genie she continued in a teasing tone, "Really dear. You're going to need much better control of your face if you're to be an agent. Right now you look just as covetous as you did the first time we ever took you to Fuki's. It was cute when you were four, but it's most unbecoming for an adult."

While the meaning of her mother's words initially failed to penetrate the nearly ecstatic state she'd attained when her mother mentioned traveling with Mario, the laughter of the rest of those in the room did. One of the things she hated more than anything was being embarrassed in public.

Fighting off the urge to hide her face, Genie sat up straight, glared at her mother, then stuck out her tongue. After that she composed herself and looked at Miranda attentively, acting as if nothing at all had happened.

Robert and Miranda shared a quick glance then nodded minutely. Their little girl was growing up. Given that what they planned was going to be more than moderately dangerous, it boded well for her survival.

Miranda took up her interrupted narrative, "What we need is someone moving along the border areas to observe what is happening and to report back if the Germans make any significant efforts so we can move to negate them. It needs to be someone with a good reason to be there, and, preferably, as few people as possible. We want to avoid having any observers from the other side spotting a known agent moving around. Obviously a merchant would have a good reason to be there, and they'd easily be able to disguise their movements in the general flow of others doing business."

Holding up a hand to forestall Mario from speaking, she went on, "Of course we need to have said merchant making a profit. Regularly selling merchandise at an obvious loss would be a serious red flag, which means that they need to be selling something that is easily portable, desirable everywhere, and, ideally, with prices appropriate for everyone from peasants to nobles."

All four of the children made the connection immediately. Remarkably, even Genie kept her mouth closed and continued to listen. It seemed that Akane's efforts at school to get her to think at least for a moment before she spoke were working.

Miranda nodded. "Indeed. That's why you have the books in your rooms. Selling them will be an excellent cover, but that's only part of the plan."

Hearing that, all four again had slightly puzzled looks.

Manda smiled. Good. It wouldn't do for them to figure out everything she was plotting. If they did, it would mean she was getting senile and needed to be replaced. "I learned something the other day when I was at Pat Garibaldi's with the twins. Customers in bookstores talk about an incredible number of things. It's almost as bad as what adults will let drop when they're around children. Some of the things I heard they really should have kept private."

Mario raised a hand. "So, in addition to selling books, you want us to dredge up whatever useful information we can get from the owners of the stores. But what about in towns that don't have bookstores? Probably 8 out of 10 don't."

Miranda smiled at him. Such a good boy he was. "That will be up to you. If you find a town on a busy road, even if it's on the small side, find a local merchant looking to increase their profits. If you offer good terms they'll probably jump at the chance to add selling books to their business."

She tapped her cheek with her fan. "If there are any nobles nearby, and there usually should be, you can stay a few extra days under the pretext of 'helping the new store get set up properly'. Then dig into what kinds of books the nobles want. Even if they're for show, they'll want something."

Turning to Sara after noticing the worsening scowl on her face, Manda smiled sympathetically. "Not to worry dear one. Genie and Mario can make sure that the nobles that just want to show off get fancy bindings on not very important works."

Genie asked, "Ah, Mother, to do that will require an extremely large number of books. I doubt that we can carry anywhere near that number with us."

She turned to Mario. "Just how many pack mules can the two of us manage without getting exhausted?"

He nodded absently while thinking. "No matter what, we'll need about two others as helpers." He waved a hand. "That won't be a problem. I know how to find reliable people. Even so, we're looking at a maximum of eight pack mules. That won't be nearly enough unless we return here every month or so, and that would be woefully inefficient, severely restrict our range, and make us stick out like a sore thumb."

Miranda nodded again. "Indeed. Fortunately there's a solution. I probably don't need to say it, but being thorough matters. Making assumptions can get you killed. Therefore, I want all of you to take to your graves what you're about to see and hear."

Seeing their gestures of agreement, she murmured, "Mimi, will you join us if you're free, please?"

Suddenly, Mimi was standing in the middle of the room. "Yes Madam, I am."

She made her way to a chair that had appeared at the side of the room and took a seat.

Miranda surveyed the others. Good. They were only mildly surprised. She cleared her throat to regain everyone's attention. "You have just seen your answer. If you need a book that you don't have with you, Mimi will bring it to you, wherever you are.

"If you're going to be in a town that already has a bookstore, we'll arrange for you to have, hmmm.... Mario, do you think that having about 2/3 of what the owner wants each time you arrive would be too obvious?"

He extended a hand and rocked it back and forth. That would probably work out. We should probably alternate between half and 3/4. Having the same amount each time would eventually draw unwanted attention.

"But how are we going to know what they want in advance?"

Miranda smiled, looking rather like a predator about to strike its prey. "We have a secret weapon, if Mimi agrees."

Turning to Mimi she asked, "Do you think that those two imps are mature enough to handle it?"

Mimi nodded. "Without a doubt. Besides, it will use up some of their excess energy. They will probably be more tractable, at least some of the time."

"Thank you Mimi. Would you please summon them?"

Mimi made a gesture with her left hand. By the time she put it down, Stavros and Consuela were standing in the middle of the room.

They spun in a circle, after which desperation was their primary expression. "We didn't do it." "Whatever it is, it wasn't us." "We've been good, at least for the past few days." "We're telling the truth!"

What the twins beheld was shocked looks on everyone's faces, except for Mimi and Miranda, who looked like cats who'd just been given a special treat. The rest had all, at least sort of, not been surprised when Mimi had blinked in, but they hadn't expected that she'd be able to move others as well.

Mimi stood, slowly and carefully. She also looked very tired. She moved to the twins and stroked their heads. "Be at peace. You're not in trouble. At least not this time."

They looked at her for reassurance anyway, and seeing it, calmed quickly.

Mimi resumed her seat and gestured for the twins to sit on the floor at either side of her.

Miranda resumed, "Genie and Mario will have written out their itinerary before they leave The City. On days when the twins here have completed their homework to Mimi's satisfaction, they will visit larger towns which we know have bookstores, or which 'ought' to have them. We can check with Pat Garibaldi before you leave and get a list from her of those she already knows."

Miranda thought for a moment. "No, that's not a good idea. We should go straight to the source. We'll ask O'Malley. I suspect that they know where every bookstore in Europe is."

Seeing the others' dubious expressions, she lifted her hand. "Don't ask me why. I don't know myself. But, I believe that it's true nonetheless."

Taking a sip of water, she added, "They'll establish themselves as local children with a thirst for books."

Looking at the twins with an expression of mixed pride and exasperation, she continued, "That part shouldn't be hard. The hard part will be teaching them how to survey the store to see what any given bookseller is obviously lacking, how to extract from the owner the names of books they wish they had, and how to do it without drawing suspicion.

She glowered at them. "I expect that they'll have mastered those skills before Mario and Genie leave."

The children needed no prompting to complete her sentence in their minds with the words, "They'd better."

"When they return from each foray they'll write out a list. After that, we can work at obtaining whatever we need and then get the books to Genie and Mario once they're settled into whatever inn they'll be staying at. The next day, when our 'traveling merchants' visit the bookstore, they can show the owner a few 'samples' of what they have available. If one or two are books that they're most in need of, well, serendipity happens now and then, right?"

She smiled at the twins. "As payment for your work, you may keep whatever books you buy while you're establishing yourselves as locals, as long as the price is reasonable. No more sneaking expensive titles into the pile."

Mimi barely managed to grab each of the twins by an ankle as they flew upward. She dragged them back down before they could go any higher, pushed on their heads till they were properly seated again, and said, "Sit! Stay!"

Paolo had by then recovered from his initial, and the second, and third shocks of the evening and asked, "That sounds good and all that, but how are they going to get to all those towns. I mean, it's not all that surprising that Mimi's 'talent' is being able to move herself from here to there. Though I must say that the distance you're talking about is almost overwhelming.

"But what about the twins? From what the Bishop has taught me about magic, and the range of its effects, it seems unlikely that Mimi would be able to carry the weight of other people for any distance. As a matter of fact, it looks like just bringing the twins here was difficult for her."

Mimi looked to Miranda who nodded back after which Mimi stood and gestured for the children to follow her. They walked to the middle of the room, whereupon Mimi told Conseula and Stavros, "You may leave now. Take your baths and get ready for bed. You still have school tomorrow."

As they headed toward the door Mimi stopped them. "You may use the other way."

They looked at her doubtfully but also with some excitement.

Mimi nodded seriously. "It is allowable, BUT only when either your mother or I grant you permission. You may not EVER convince yourselves that 'just this once should be OK'. Be assured that if you disobey us, I WILL know and you will remember your punishment for a VERY long time.

"So, now that you're properly terrified, go ahead and show everyone what you can do. Just do like I've taught you and look at your destination first to make sure nobody else is there or will be able to see you when you arrive."

She smiled at the twins. "Go on now. Either your mother or I will come read with you later."

They smiled back. Even though they could read at a level far beyond their age, they still enjoyed cuddling with someone they loved while they did so.

Taking each other's hands they blinked to the bathing room. As they washed and then soaked afterwards, they chatted excitedly in "twin" about what they'd just heard and what it implied.