“Isn’t it touching, really?” Ulrika grinned. “The Duke’s servants are so loyal.”
“I ain’t His Grace’s servant,” Marjani shook her head. “I’m his friend.”
“Have we progressed to that point?” Ulrika laughed. “Where an English nobleman and a…”
“Quiet, Ulrika,” Iolanthe interrupted. She turned to Marjani. “What do you want?”
“I’ve done told ya,” Marjani said plainly. “I brought ya a present for the new year.”
As Marjani spoke, they could hear the cathedral bells sounding midnight.
“How timely,” Ulrika chuckled. She swatted at Arthur. “Isn’t it timely?”
Arthur grunted. “Sure is.”
From her apron, Marjani removed a small polychrome sculpture.
“What is that trinket?” Iolanthe raised her eyebrows.
“It’s the Holy Mother.” Marjani smiled, walking forward and placing the figure of Mary on the table in front of Iolanthe. “She’s come to watch over you.”
“I don’t understand.” Iolanthe frowned.
“Miss Evangeline, you’re gonna need all the protection you can get this year.” Marjani grinned. “The Holy Mother will make sure that you done get everything that you deserve.”
Meanwhile, Cecil, Adrienne and Robert gathered in Mr. Punch’s room. Adrienne had retrieved Fuller from his crib and held the sleeping baby in her arms.
As the bells chimed, they all sat in silence.
“Happy New Year,” Mr. Punch whispered.
“I’m glad that we’re all together,” Adrienne said softly. “That’s all I want—my family gathered safely in one place.”
“And, we are.” Robert nodded. “All of us.”
“We’ll make it a good year,” Mr. Punch said, coughing slightly.
“Yes, we will.” Robert said.
“It’ll be a better year if we can put Iolanthe in her place.” Cecil grumbled.
“Let’s remove the hatred from our hearts for a few moments…just a few moments,” Adrienne said softly.
“Of course, my dear.” Cecil nodded.
“No point in…” Punch began, but his body was overcome with a coughing fit. He began sputtering and howled in pain.
“Julian?” Robert got up. “Punch?”
But, Mr. Punch couldn’t respond—the fit of coughing had overwhelmed him and his body began to thrash.
Toby rose up and jumped from the bed, barking wildly from concern.
“I was afraid of this,” Robert said, throwing the blankets off of Mr. Punch. “Cecil, I need your help!”
Did you miss Chapters 1-157? If so, you can read them here.
2 comments:
It's amazing how much physical, emotional and spiritual pain these folks can endure - especially Julian/Punch. Here's hoping he can sustain another crisis.
They are a sturdy lot, aren't they? All things considered, it's best for Julian to have a back-up personality since he seems to have to endure quite of bit of trouble. Thanks for reading!
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