“I ain’t gonna let you nowhere near Miss Iolanthe,” Mala hissed like a cornered animal.
Ulrika thrust Mala against the wall of the plush hallway and pinned the woman with her arms.
Mala shrieked.
“Unhand my creature!” Iolanthe shouted as she came down the stairs.
Ulrika released Mala from her grip.
“Mala!” Iolanthe bellowed, “Go to your room and wait for me to call for you. On your way, send two of the boys to me.”
Mala nodded and skittered off.
“It isn’t very nice of you to be so rough with such a pitiful soul.” Iolanthe sighed as she descended the stairs.
“You? You’re going to tell me what’s ‘nice’?” Ulrika grunted. “Where’s Arthur?”
“Oh, you want your man back?” Iolanthe grinned.
“You know that I do!” Ulrika spat.
“That can be arranged,” Iolanthe laughed. “Did you bring what I asked for?”
“The diamond? No!”
“Well, then, clearly you don’t want your man back that badly.” Iolanthe shrugged. “Them’s the terms of the trade.”
“Where is he?” Ulrika shouted.
“Where’s the diamond?” Iolanthe chuckled.
“You’ll never get it.” Ulrika answered firmly.
“It’s a good thing, then, that your man has strong arms.” Iolanthe winked. “He’ll do well at sea.”
Ulrika raised her knife and lunged toward Iolanthe who howled with laughter, raising her leg and kicking the knife out of Ulrika’s hand.
“Girl, spilling my blood ain’t gonna get your man back. There’s only one way to do that. You just gotta decide what’s more important to you.”
Ulrika rubbed her hands together and squinted at Iolanthe.
“Stupid child,” Iolanthe grinned. “You stole somethin’ precious from me, and I took somethin’ precious from you. It’s only fair.”
“I’ll find him.” Ulrika growled.
“You could save yourself a lot of trouble if you’d just cooperate.” Iolanthe responded plainly.
“I loathe you,” Ulrika whispered.
“That’s not helpful.” Iolanthe smirked. “You thought you could get the better of ol’ Iolanthe. I don’t want you thinkin’ that you can. No one can. I always win.”
“You would think so.” Ulrika shook her head.
“I don’t just think it.” Iolanthe winked. “It’s true.”
“I’ll give you want you want,” Ulrika answered softly.
“I knew that you would.” Iolanthe laughed.
Meanwhile, Charles Van Eyck made his way into Julian’s room.
“Hullo,” Mr. Punch nodded. “Did Dr. Halifax tell you ‘bout your duties?”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Charles smiled.
“Good. When will you be startin’?”
“First thing tomorrow.” Charles said. “I’ll need to take my leave at my previous place of employment.”
Punch took a deep breath. “That’ll be fine. Here, this is me dog. His name is Toby. And, this is me puppet. His name is ‘Puppet.’”
“And, what’s your name?” Charles asked.
Mr. Punch smiled. “You been introduced to me already.”
“I was introduced to the Duke of Fallbridge.” Charles grinned. “But, I suspect that’s not who you are.”
“You’re perceptive.” Punch answered. “But, Barbara already told you ‘bout me, didn’t she? You know that sometimes I’m not always the same person.”
“You alluded to it yourself.”
“True.” Punch laughed.
“So, what do I call you?” Charles asked.
“Robert would say that it’s only right to address me as you would any man with a title. He’d say that you should call me, ‘Sir,’ and ‘Your Grace.’”
“What would you have me call you?”
“Mr. Punch. That’s me name.” Punch sighed. “Now, I got a question for you. You ain’t no Dutchman. Your name ain’t really ‘Van Eyck.’ What’s your real name? What did your mama call you?”
Did you miss Chapters 1-179? If so, you can read them here.
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