Foul smelling patrons bustled past Marguerite. She drew in a deep breath, cataloguing the results. The Vapeur tent would smell tonight, but much less than Hirondelle. Now she was left to wait. Father Edgar’s key was a cold weight in her normally warm pockets. Marguerite shifted, removing the key from her pocket and rubbing it nervously. The priest should have shown by now, and while she had the upper hand with Andre at her side, she worried about his other companions. The last thing the circus needed was a bad reputation among underground scientists in addition to a rival.
A few circus goers glanced at her as they passed, noting her ashen smell and dusty garments. Even more raised eyebrows or stared openly as she crossed her arms and legs while leaning against an outlying post. Her lab coat was unbuttoned more than usual, and her lace collars were all lost in the fire, leaving her neck and chest bare down to her bodice. If she had worn pants that day, the looks would likely have been nastier. As it were, she wondered if advertising herself so boldly as the victim of Hirondelle’s violence was a wise move for the circus. Marguerite was not one to take kindly to this kind of public eye. Her show lived on the edge of the circus, and her best social skills were in scientific showmanship and flirtation. Her animals also produced enough fear and doubt about her science from viewers that she knew her animals ranked just as low as certain other shows offered by the circus, ones that usually involved fewer clothes and a male audience. For all that science was reputable, a woman’s science was not always nearly as welcome, and Marguerite knew both kinds of audiences all too well.
Tiny animal noises drew Marguerite’s gaze to Marie, approaching with the basket.
“They smell of the jar of stuff that you sent more than the other stuff, and I think a few might be somewhat tossed about since I ran back and the basket was bouncy, but none of them are missing or hurt… I think,” she said in a single breath. “I hope not, anyhow,” she muttered after taking another breath and offering the basket.
Marguerite took it. The animals did, in fact, smell of the meat drippings she placed in the jar, but the scent of the stink bombs was certainly less than she had expected, considering that they were the deliverers.
“Thank you, Marie.”
Marie nodded, then wound her way into the crowd. Marguerite watched until she was lost amidst the people, which did not take long.
“Pardon, mademoiselle, but would you be the circus woman?” Said a man in simple clothing. “I am Brother Zadok, sent by Father Edgar to retrieve a very precious key.”
Marguerite pursed her lips. The man certainly had the poise of a clergyman, but his dress and manor suggested otherwise. His thin beard and moustache, for instance, were far too clean for her liking, as were his fingernails, when he gestured.
“I was not expecting such an indirect exchange,” she said. Brother Zadok smiled and stepped well into her personal space.
“I am somewhat of your trade, Marguerite Dubois, though I do not look it.” He pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve, unfolding it to reveal a snake the size of a worm. He slipped the creature into her pocket, and tucked the key up his sleeve with the handkerchief before she could protest. “Father Edgar does not much care for the way in which you do business, though.”
“Please inform him that if he presented a more professional front to his business, he would find his customers less troublesome.” The animals shifted in her basket, and she felt the snake move to poke its head out of the pocket.
“Do stay in touch, Marguerite. My little friend will be enough to help you find me.”
Brother Zadok locked eyes with Marguerite before he joined the rush of people still entering the circus grounds. Marguerite felt a chill up her spine, instantly hating the irrational sensation of attraction and fear. She wanted to follow him, but the basket shifted again. The animals sensed her discomfort, and they were unaccustomed to the night’s unusual progression thus far. With reluctance, she returned to the animals’ temporary holding, and began her mental preparations for the night’s show.
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