The Enchantment Read Online Free Page B

allowed himself to look up, he found her looking directly at him. There was an intensity about her gaze that made him feel uncomfortable—as though she held his limp against him, or, more accurately, as though she saw it as a moral failing rather than a physical one. "Are you all right?" she asked in a clipped, matter-of-fact voice.
    "Fine."
    She looked about to say something. He leaned forward, eager to hear what a woman like her would say about someone else's pain.
    "Good. Then let's get on with it."
    He frowned, easing back into the chair. "With what?"
    "What else?" she responded sharply. "What do people like you always want from people like me?
    Money."
    Larence's heart stopped dead, then kicked into a gallop. "Money?" he whispered. It was something he hadn't considered, not even for an instant. That she would help him. "You mean you're considering funding my expedition?"
    "Someone at this party has to, and after your . . . detailed presentation, no one else is willing."

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    Kristin Hannah
    "Or awake."
    Her lips didn't so much as twitch upward. "Yes. So, as much as I abhor parting with money, I must. I owe a debt to Michael—and to Columbia, for that matter. He's counting on me."
    Larence leaned forward. "As am I, Miss Hatter. Myself and all the world."
    A quick rolling of her eyes relayed her opinion of that. "How much do you need?"
    "Ten thousand dollars."
    She flinched. "And for that amount, you'll get what?"
    He was momentarily taken aback. "Get?"
    "What is it you're looking for? Gold, silver, jewels, what?"
    Cibola as he'd always imagined it filled his mind. He saw the buildings and streets and artwork of a civilization long gone. It was a sight he'd dreamed of seeing for half his life. Even as a boy, he'd known somehow that it was his destiny to find the lost city; his recompense from God for being a cripple.
    Finding Cibola would make him, for one bright and shining moment, whole.
    But what kind of answer was that? He studied Em-maline's flawlessly beautiful, emotionless face, searched her exquisite, ice-cold eyes. She'd never understand an answer like that.
    So he gave the second-best answer. The one he'd given to hundreds of his students, the one everyone in the world understood and accepted. "Knowledge."
    She snorted. "You must be joking."
    "Joking? Why would I—"
    "Will there be gold in the city?"
    He frowned. "I believe so, but that's unimportant compared to—"
    THE ENCHANTMENT
    25
    "Silver?"
    "Almost certainly, but again—" "Treasures?"
    "Undoubtably, but Miss Hatter—" "Fine." She pulled a leather-bound ledger from the top drawer, and opened it slowly. "Eight thousand dollars, was it?" "Ten."

    She grimaced. "Oh, yes." Carefully extracting her scrolled silver black pen from its holder, she wrote out the check. Long, tense moments passed as the ink dried. With a quickly suppressed shudder, she handed him the check. Larence's fingers shook as he took the piece of paper from her. She had just handed him the key to unlock his greatest dreams. Words of gratitude flooded his mind and clogged in his throat. All he could do was stare at her in awe.
    She flipped open a small sterling silver box and took out a crisp, white card. "Here's my calling card.
    Send me a telegram when you find the city. I'll take half." Confused, he looked down at the card in his hand, then across the desk at her. "Half?" "Of what you find in Ciburra." Larence's blood froze. "I don't understand. ..." She studied him with unconcealed disgust. It was obvious she considered him only slightly smarter than the stuffed owl perched in the library's corner. "And just what is it you don't understand?"
    "About you wanting half of what I find. The treasures of Cibola belong to the world, not any one person.
    They need to be showcased in museums—"
    "That's what you'll do with your half. My half, I'll sell to the highest bidder."
    "Sell!" He could hear the horror in his voice, feel it 26
    Kristin Hannah
    violating his soul. He felt the check