The Magician's Diary: Glass and Steele, #4 by C.J. Archer

Author:C.J. Archer [Archer, C.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: C.J. Archer

Chapter 11

I groaned. Matt placed a hand on my shoulder and shot Oscar an accusatory glare.

Oscar looked smug. "Good. Let's have it out with Abercrombie. Will you stay, India?"

"No," Matt said before I could decide whether I wanted to or not.

"He'll see us leaving," I said to Matt. "We might as well hear what he says and reassure him I had nothing to do with the article."

His jaw hardened. He didn't look at all pleased with my suggestion but he didn't urge me to go.

Mr. Gibbons, however, wished us well. "I may not be involved in the Mapmaker's Guild anymore," he said to Oscar, "but neither I nor my daughter want a part in this. Do not mention my family's name. Is that understood?"

Oscar nodded. "Of course. Thank you for stopping by."

Mr. Gibbons pushed past Mr. Abercrombie and left. The second gentleman, the reporter named Mr. Force, entered behind Abercrombie but remained near the door and allowed Abercrombie to say his piece first.

Abercrombie only had eyes for me. They were hard and filled with disgust. "I knew you would be behind this, Miss Steele."

"You're mistaken," I said. "I came here to tell Mr. Barratt that I do not approve of his article."

Abercrombie's oiled mustache twitched in glistening outrage. "I am not a fool, Miss Steele. Your words were all through that article."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"India had nothing to do with this," Matt snarled. "We're here for the same reason you are—to warn Barratt against writing anything further." He glanced past Abercrombie to the other journalist and nodded a greeting. I suspected Matt wanted to say more but didn't trust the stranger.

"You are mistaken, Mr. Glass," Mr Abercrombie said. The pinched lips beneath the mustache contorted into an odd smile. "I don't want to warn Mr. Barratt against writing further articles about magic. I want to encourage him to write more.

"More?" I prompted, knowing I was taking the bait he dangled in front of me.

"He's a laughing stock, Miss Steele. This newspaper is already seen as a second rate sensationalist rag, and Barratt's article plunges new depths."

"I say!" Mr. Baggley protested.

"So write more, Mr. Barratt," Mr. Abercrombie said. "Write more of the same and bring your paper into even further disrepute. I dare you."

Was his plan to simply hope the public would dismiss Oscar's claims as ridiculous? It didn't seem like a good plan to me. Londoners believed all sorts of outrageous claims newspapers made purely because they thought if someone published it, it must be true. A recent report of a mermaid sighting in the Thames being a case in point. Many Londoners still swore they could hear mermaids singing on a clear evening down by the river.

"My paper is neither second rate nor sensationalist," Mr. Baggley said, crossing his arms. "Oscar can back up every claim he made in that article. Can't you, Oscar?"

"Indeed," Oscar said.

Mr. Force from The City Review stepped into the room. He was slender and not much taller than me, with an air of confidence and smugness about him that reminded me of Oscar, although they looked nothing alike.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.