William absent-mindedly pressed a button on the Dis-organizer.
'Wheeewheedle the truth has got its boots on...'
'You don't get on very well with your father, is tha--' Sacharissa began.
'What am I supposed to do?' said William. That's his favourite saying. He says it proves how gullible people are. Those men had the run of our house. He's in this up to his neck!'
'Yes, but perhaps he just did it as a favour to some other--'
'If my father is involved in anything, he'll be the leader,' said William flatly. 'If you don't know that you don't know the de Wordes. We don't join any team if we can't be captain.'
'But it'd be a bit silly, wouldn't it, to let them use your own house--'
'No, just very, very arrogant,' said William. 'We've always been privileged, you see. Privilege just means "private law". That's exactly what it means. He just doesn't believe the ordinary laws apply to him. He doesn't really believe they can touch him, and if they do he'll just shout until they go away. That's the de Worde tradition, and we're good at it. Shout at people, get your own way, ignore the rules. It's the de Worde way. Up until me, obviously.'
Sacharissa was careful not to let her expression change.
'And I didn't expect this,' William finished, turning the box over and over in his hands.
'You said you wanted to get at the truth, didn't you?'
'Yes, but not this! I... must have got something wrong. I must have. I must have. Even my father couldn't be this... this stupid. I've got to find out what's really been happening.'
'You're not going to see him, are you?' said Sacharissa.
'Yes. By now he'll know it's over.'
'Then you ought to take someone with you!'
'No!' snapped William. 'Look, you don't know what my father's friends are like. They are brought up to give orders, they know that they're on the right side because if they are on it then it must be the right side, by definition, and when they feel threatened they are bare-knuckle fighters, except that they never take their gloves off. They are thugs. Thugs and bullies, bullies, and the worst kind of bully, because they aren 't cowards and if you stand up to them they only hit you harder. They grew up in a world where, if you were enough trouble, they could have you... disappeared. You think places like the Shades are bad? Then you don't know what goes on in Park Lane! And my father is one of the worst. But I'm family. We... care about family. So I'll be all right. You stay here and help them get the paper out, will you? Half a truth is better than nothing,' he added bitterly.
'Vot vas all zat about?' said Otto, coming up as William strode out of the room.
'Oh, he's... he's off to see his father,' said Sacharissa, still taken aback. 'Who is not a nice man, apparently. He was very... heated about him. Very upset.'
"scuse me,' said a voice. The girl turned, but there was no one behind her.
Now the invisible speaker sighed. 'No, down here,' it said. She looked down at the malformed pink poodle.
'Let's not mess around, eh?' it said. 'Yeah, yeah, dogs can't talk. Got it in one, well done. So maybe you've got some strange ment'l power. That's that sorted out, then. I couldn't help overhearin', 'cos I was listenin'. The lad's heading into trouble, right? I can smell trouble--'
'Are you some kind of verevolf?' said Otto.
'Yeah, right, I get very hairy every full moon,' said the dog dis-missively. 'Imagine how much that interferes with my social life. Now, look--'
'But surely dogs can't talk--' Sacharissa began.
'Oh dear oh dear oh dear,' said Gaspode. 'Did I say I was talking?'
'Well, not in so many words--'
'Right. Wonderful thing, phenomenology. Now, I just seen a hundred dollars walk out the door and I want to see it walk back, right? Lord de Worde is as nasty a piece of work as you'll find in this town.'
'You know nobility?' said Sacharissa.
'A cat can look at a king, right? That's legal.'
'I suppose so--'