“Don’t you?” Iolanthe rose from Ulrika’s bed and walked past Arthur to Gerard, pressing her body against the man’s chest. She purred in his ear. “Have you got the diamond, Gerry?”
Gerard squeaked and looked at Arthur who grimaced at him.
Iolanthe wrapped her arms around Gerard’s waist.
“I won’t be angry, if you tell me the truth,” Iolanthe cooed, running her fingers up and down Gerard’s back.
“I ain’t got it, Miss.” Gerard whispered.
“But, Arthur does?” Iolanthe hissed in his ear.
“Yes, Miss.” Gerard grunted.
“Gerry!” Arthur spat.
“You’ve done well, Gerry.” Iolanthe withdrew herself from the man who shifted his weight uncomfortably.
“You can see that the man’s simple, Iolanthe.” Arthur said quickly.
“I ain’t!” Gerard growled.
“No, he ain’t.” Iolanthe chuckled. “He’s smarter than you, Arthur.”
“Just give the lady the diamond, Artie.” Gerard urged, “And, then we can get the Hell out of here. We can go somewhere else. We got lots of places we can go.”
“No.” Arthur replied curtly. “Listen, Iolanthe, this ain’t your diamond any more than it’s mine or was it Ulrika’s.”
“Your point?” Iolanthe raised her eyebrows.
“See, Artie promised to give it back to the Duke of Fallbridge.” Gerard replied.
“Did he?” Iolanthe laughed.
Arthur sighed.
“Well, ‘Artie,’ I’d hate for you to break your promise to the Duke though I must say I’m surprised by your sudden loyalty to your brother-in-law—the very same man you’ve tried on several occasions to kill.”
“It ain’t charity nor kindness, Miss.” Gerard said. “His Grace is gonna help us.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Arthur snapped.
“I don’t know, Artie, she just makes me want to talk.” Gerard answered nervously.
“Among other things.” Iolanthe teased.
“I’m gonna keep this promise, Iolanthe.” Arthur said defensively.
“Oh, I think you should. I won’t prevent you.”
“You won’t?” Arthur said suspiciously, raising one eyebrow.
“Of course not. I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Why not?” Arthur grumbled.
“Now, now, “Artie,’” Iolanthe said mockingly. “Can’t you conceive of the fact that I’ve changed? Perhaps my time in prison has had a sobering effect on me.”
“Not likely.” Arthur chuckled.
“Well, then, perhaps I have promises of my own to keep.” Iolanthe hissed.
“That’s more like it.” Arthur frowned.
“Now, run off and give your treasure to His Grace, the Duke of Fallbridge. I’m sure he’ll be most pleased to have it back.” Iolanthe wiggled a gloved finger at Arthur.
“What ‘bout her?” Gerard pointed to Ulrika.
“Leave her to me.” Iolanthe grinned. “I have everything under control. I always do and I don’t want you thinkin’ that I don’t.”
Meanwhile, in their bedroom in the borrowed house on Royal Street, Julian sighed as he settled back onto the bed. “I’m groggy.”
“You’ve been given a strong sedative.” Robert said gently.
“Thank you for that.” Julian nodded. “You gave me a chance to sort things out.”
“Julian, I’m proud of you.” Robert beamed.
“For?” Julian tilted his head to one side.
“For your bravery.”
“Hardly.” Julian shook his head.
“Really? My dear Julian, for the first time since I’ve known you, you just expressed true genuine emotion beyond your usual pleasant disposition. You’re learning to feel again. That takes true bravery.”
“I’ve never considered it in those terms before.” Julian smiled slightly.
“Of course you haven’t.” Robert nodded. “You’re too modest.” Robert grinned as Julian’s eyelids grew heavy.
“Sleep now.” Robert said.
“We’ve so much to do.” Julian replied.
“It can wait for half an hour.” Robert answered. “I’d like to check on Fuller anyway. And, I’ve got to see about Marjani, my brother and your sister. Then, we’ll deal with Adrienne and little Colin.”
“A brief nap would be helpful.” Julian yawned.
“Rest.” Robert stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll come for you shortly.”
“Thank you,” Julian lay back in the bed.
Julian shut his eyes and sighed. Within minutes, his body slept as he returned to the little, hidden room inside of himself.
There, he saw Mr. Punch sitting on the floor holding what appeared to be a puppet.
“Dear Punch,” Julian said heartily. “However did you get a puppet in here?”
“Ain’t a puppet, Master!” Punch said cheerfully. “It’s Mr. Scaramouche!” Punch held the figure up by its collar and it wiggled and squirmed like a puppy.
“I say,” Julian’s eyes widened. “It is. How…”
“You done it, Master.” Mr. Punch laughed. “Now, what should we do with him?”
Did you miss Chapters 1-262? If so, you can read them here.
2 comments:
It's nice to see Julian "owning" his own emotions. Great imagery in the internal room, Mr. Punch holding a squirming Scaramouch is priceless. Julian, and, or Mr. Punch are going to need all their strength with Iolanthe out for revenge.
Thank you, Darcy. It's always nice to "see" you. Perhaps, in the future, Scaramouche might just be the tool they need to battle Iolanthe. Fire with fire, after all.
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