Punch's Cousin, Chapter 260

“Here,” Mr. Punch whispered. “It’s gone dark.” He squinted as their internal waiting room became increasingly dim.


“It’s the medicine,” Julian replied quietly.

“That’s our chum, always thinkin’, he is.” Punch said proudly. “He stopped that Scaramouche, he did!”

“Did he?” Julian asked.

“Didn’t he?” Mr. Punch frowned. Though Julian couldn’t see Punch, he could sense his partner’s displeasure. “He ain’t yelpin’ and squallin’ no more.”

“That doesn’t mean that he’s been defeated,” Julian sighed.

“Indeed, I have not.” Scaramouche bellowed from a deep corner of the room.

“Bollocks!” Punch grunted.

“I concur,” Julian added crossly.

“Shut up, the two of you!” Scaramouche shouted. “I don’t belong in here with you! Who is out there living right now?”

“No one, Scaramouche.” Julian answered. “My body is resting.”

“Your body?” Scaramouche spat.

“Certainly! If not mine, who else’s?”

“Mine, to be sure!” Scaramouche said. “You two weren’t using it correctly!”

“Is that so?” Julian scowled in the darkness.

“If you had been, we’d not have suffered as we have!” Scaramouche growled.

“Oh, do settle down,” Julian grumbled. “I’ve grown weary of this.”

“That’s it,” Mr. Punch whooped. “You put him in his place, Master! Here, why don’t we just try to ignore him? How ‘bout it?”

Mr. Punch squinted as his question was met with silence.

Soon, the room began to fill with a blue light with which Mr. Punch was not familiar. As his eyes adjusted her looked around and found himself alone with Mr. Scaramouche. Julian was nowhere to be seen.

“We meet at last,” Scaramouche grinned wickedly. “And, now, you don’t have your timid little Duke to protect you.”

At that very moment, in his bedroom, Julian’s eyes fluttered open.

“Robert,” he whispered weakly.

“Thank God!” Robert said, rushing to the bedside. “Julian…I’ve missed you.”

Julian smiled. “I’ve missed you, too.”

Meanwhile, further up Royal Street, in Ulrika Rittenhouse’s bedroom, Arthur and Gerard watched in horror as the handle of the door jiggled once again.

“Miss Ulrika?” Odo repeated through the door.

“We gotta hide!” Gerard mouthed to Arthur as they heard Odo’s keys jingle.

Arthur shrugged as if to say, “Where?”

“I’m going to enter the room, Miss Ulrika,” Odo said as he unlocked the door.

Arthur and Gerard stood over Ulrika’s limp body, frozen in fear.

As Odo entered the room, he grinned a yellow smile.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Arthur said quickly.

“I think it is,” Odo laughed. “May I be of assistance?”



Did you miss Chapters 1-259? If so, you can read them here.