About an hour into all the measurements, Lisa happened to pick up the
surcoat, planning to try it out herself.  Weighing it in her hands, she
frowned heavily.  Kezia caught her eye, and quietly nodded in the direction
of the kitchen.

"I need a bit of a break," Kezia announced.  "Diane, do you want to try it
on next?  I'm going to grab some more coffee and cookies for us."

Hastily, Lisa added "I'll give you a hand... No, no, two of us are enough
for this little job.  You guys carry on drooling over that chain mail -
while we still have it."

Once in the relative privacy of the kitchen, Lisa asked "How much do you
know about medieval chain mail, Kez?"

Her fellow cousin grinned evilly.  "You're talking to someone who majored in
European history - at an English school - who reads history books for
pleasure, and who *never* misses a history programme on tv!  How does:
enough to know that a suit of chain mail like that one should weigh about
30-40 pounds, sound...?"

Lisa grinned back, equally evilly.  "My sentiments exactly, my dear Watson!
All that effort we went to get it back - and it's a copy!"

One quick phone call was enough to establish that No, Sara may be a Merc,
but no she hadn't copied it, let alone accidentally swopped the original
over for the copy - the surcoat in their common room was the same one
Katrinka had handed to Kyer out of the loft's window ten days earlier.....

Lisa and Kezia looked at each other....  Time to be a little cousinly....
<VEG>

That evening...

Having checked that Katrinka was due to attend the evening's festivities at
the Fods mansion, Kezia had a package to take with her that evening, one
which consisted merely of a plain cardboard  box labelled 'Private and
Personal:  For Katrinka of the Knighties'.

On arrival at the mansion, Kezia enlisted the help of the CotK's resident
Knighties and Lisa, who'd been to the loft earlier in the war, in
identifying the leader of the Knighties.  Smiling cheerfully and in blissful
ignorance of certain actions that had taken place or that where about to
take place, Sunny introduced Kezia and Katrinka to each other.

"Katrinka, we have like to return this to you, with many thanks for loaning
it to us for study purposes,"  Kezia explained cryptically, as she handed
over the fairly heavy box.

Katrinka grinned, as did those of her fellow Knighties who were aware that
she'd substituted a copy for the real thing.  "Glad to be of assistance.
Did it help with your studies?" she asked, in her most innocent fashion.

Kezia glanced sideways at her compatriots as she replied "Let's just say -
it was an education....!"  Changing her expression and tone to downright
perky, she continued  "Did you know that chain mail armour weighed 30-40
pounds, and that by the time they added the padded undercoat, the gloves,
helmet, sword, shield, and so on, those medieval knights were carrying about
an extra 60 pounds of weight on them?"

By the time she'd completed her little patter, said in her most innocent and
naive tone (aided and abetted by her high-pitched, very young sounding
voice - normally Kez cursed it, but it did have its' moments!), Katrinka was
staring at her with narrowed eyes.  Glancing around at the other CotK
faction members, her suspicions were further roused when she caught Lisa
stiffling a giggle.

"By the way,"  Lisa added, also putting on her best
'butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth' expression.  "We wanted to show our
appreciation for the loan, so we made sure we cleaned it up for you
afterwards!  That silver polish left it so bright and sparkly I'd suggest
you don't open the box here, or members of a certain rodent-loving faction
will be, um, acquiring it...."

Katrinka glared at the cousinly pair, just about ready to explode.  Kezia
decided to get in first.

"Fair's fair - you promised to loan Kyer the real thing, and you cheated on
your promise!  We haven't even told everyone else involved  - and do you
*really* want certain persons to find out it was all over a copy?  Besides,
a few hours rubbing down will soon get it back the way it was....  We even
included instructions on how to achieve the desired result for you.  We're
even, now!"

Katrinka paused to consider what might happen if everyone who's lives had
been affected by the loan of the surcoat found out it was only a modern
replica, and decided that a few hours rubbing it down was a small price to
pay for their silence.  Electing to do the dignified thing, she swept past
the CotK members without another word....

Lisa and Kezia politely (well, it was a party, after all!) waited till all
the Knighties had followed their leader to another part of the room, and
then high-fived each other delightedly.  Finally, one of their friends spoke
up.

"Do you mind explaining what that was all about?"

"Later," chuckled Kezia.  "Much later!  Okay, everyone, we're here to party,
so.... let's go party!  hmmm.... Wonder if the Fods stock Malibu, lemon soda
and Ribena - I'm just in the mood for a Caribbean Undercurrent."

"A what?  And did she mention the dreaded Ribena?"  sputtered Nicole.

"Yup!  I'm a Brit - grew up on the stuff - diluted of course!"

"So what's a Caribbean Under-thingy?" asked Nicole.

"One measure Malibu, one measure Ribena, in a tall tumbler.  Ice and a
slice, then fill 'er up with lemon soda.  Nice mixture of sweet and tart,
and not so alcoholic that you can only afford to drink one a night....
Besides - it's a very pretty colour!  Now, where's the bar, ladies?"