"I did not ask you to read the cards for me," Childermass snapped. He placed a hand on Vinculus's shoulderblade and pressed downward, to better examine the markings there.

"The cards told me to read them," Vinculus asserted, wriggling snake-like and propping himself on one elbow.

"And what else do the cards tell you, if I may ask?"

Vinculus passed him a card. Blotted as it was, it was more legible than the King's Letters.

"The Valet de Coupe," he said aloud. Vinculus flashed a hawkish smile over his shoulder.

"The cards say to go and fetch me some wine."