Silver Glass

Chapter III: Something Wrong Somewhere

You think that a wall as solid as the earth separates civilisation from barbarism. I tell you the division is a thread, a sheet of glass. A touch here, a push there, and you bring back the reign of Satan. -- John Buchan, The Power House

Yo-han awoke with a presentiment of disaster. He went down to breakfast feeling like he was on the way to his own funeral. Miss Patton was already in the dining room, reading over a contract and absently stirring her porridge. She said good morning without looking up.

Normally Yo-han needed at least five spoonfuls of sugar to be able to eat porridge. Today he finished the bowl without even noticing the taste. He went over the events of the last two nights from every possible angle. It was like trying to complete a jigsaw when half the pieces were from a different puzzle.

Abruptly he asked, "Miss Patton, is it normal for a valet to use his employer's personal name?"

Miss Patton stared at him as if he'd sprouted wings. "No, of course not."

"What if it happened?"

"The valet would be dismissed on the spot." Miss Patton looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and resignation. "What is this all about, Mr. Seo?"

He was about to answer when the doorbell rang. The butler passed the breakfast room door on his way to greet the visitor. They heard muffled voices. The front door closed. The butler reappeared in the doorway with a letter in hand.

"For Mr. Su," he said solemnly. Unlike Miss Patton he still hadn't grasped how to pronounce Yo-han's surname.

Neither had the letter-writer, obviously. Yo-han couldn't help smiling wryly when he saw it was addressed to "Mr. See". Every time he thought foreigners had run out of ways to mispronounce and misspell his name, he was proved wrong.

He opened the envelope and scanned the letter. His eyebrows shot up.

"Have you any plans for this evening, Miss Patton?"

She raised her eyebrows too. "Not particularly. Why?"

"We've both been invited to dine with the Viscount." He handed her the letter and waited to hear what she thought of it.

Miss Patton read parts of it aloud. "Lord Kilskeery invites you to dinner tonight... may bring a guest if you wish... Pay special attention to Lady Kilskeery... Good grief! What does it mean?"

Yo-han poured himself another cup of tea. "I suspect it means Mr. Lennox wants me to judge for myself if his wife is trying to murder him."

What a pity it was too early to have heard anything from the chemist. He would have given a great deal to have solid proof to present to Mr. Lennox.

Miss Patton frowned at the letter. "It doesn't mention me."

"No, but it says I can bring a guest. You are the obvious choice. You have faced a murder before, and you're a woman. Mrs. Lennox would be more likely to behave naturally in front of you. Anyway, the alternative would be to bring either your sister or Király. Neither would be much help in an investigation."

"You forget that I was fooled by a murderer," Miss Patton said quietly. Not bitterly, not even with much emotion. She almost seemed wistful.

For a minute they were both silent. Leopold Colman's presence was felt so strongly that he might as well have been sitting at the table.

"I'm sure Mrs. Lennox won't be so convincing," Yo-han said. "For one thing she's not an actress."

~~~~