Page 70 of Tattered Huntress
‘Friendly rivals,’ I corrected. ‘There’s a difference.’
He was silent for a moment. ‘If you say so.’
‘I just did.’ I bit my tongue and grimaced. I was in danger of becoming a very sore loser. ‘Sorry.’
‘You’re as competitive as I am.’ Hugo sounded as if he approved. ‘You know, if you weren’t so caught up in spider’s silk, you’d have done a whole lot better. It messes with your brain.’
Tell that to six brownies, two goblins, a leprechaun, a troll and a damned unicorn. I counted to ten in my head before replying as pleasantly as I could, ‘Whatever the reason, you can rest easy knowing that I’m out of your hair for good now.’
‘Sure. Because I’m going to be standing opposite Humphrey Bridger at noon tomorrow when the location of the gold is revealed. Going up against him is like taking candy from a baby. At least you provided some decent competition.’ He actually sounded like he meant it.
I softened a little. ‘Humphrey and Eleanor might surprise you. They got this far.’
‘As if.’ Hugo paused. ‘Listen, Daisy, I wanted to ask you if?—’
The cubicle curtain was pulled back and a white-coated woman with a friendly face smiled in at me. ‘I’m Doctor Flanagan.’
‘Gotta go,’ I interrupted. ‘It’s been nice knowing you and all that.’
‘Wait. Daisy, I?—’
I ended the call. That would probably be the last time I’dspeak to Hugo Pemberville, although no doubt I’d see his irritatingly handsome face onThe One Showagain before too long.
I ignored the odd tug in my chest and sheepishly held out my left hand for Dr Flanagan. I needed to get fixed up; I didn’t like the odds of finding a new job in the real world with only one hand.
When I walkedout of the hospital with my hand dressed in pristine white bandages and a bucketload of painkillers that I didn’t need yet, the sky was darkening and the first threads of night were making their way across the country.
The prospect of riding the motorbike with only one hand didn’t fill me with joy. I’d managed on the way here, but now that I was covered in bandages it wouldn’t be easy. I could hardly leave the bike here, though; I had to get it back to Jamila in Derby at some point soon.
I nibbled my bottom lip and considered. Perhaps if I pitched my tent somewhere for the night, I’d be able to remove some of the bandages tomorrow morning. That would make things easier.
As soon as I said as much to the brownies, they started bickering again. ‘This is all your fault,’ Hester complained to her brother yet again. ‘If it weren’t for you, Daisy would be on her way to becoming rich. She could afford a hotel.’
‘We both decided to cross the salt and attack the pavilion, Hester,’ Otis snapped. ‘I didn’t make the decision alone.’
‘You’re a nincompoop.’
‘Am not!’
‘You are! If you hadn’t been so afraid to steal a teeny-weeny little key, we wouldn’t have been delayed. You’re a pathetic excuse for a brownie.’
I glared at her. ‘Stop bullying your brother, Hester. We’ve been through all this before.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Bullying? I’m not bullying him! I’m merely stating facts!’
I glanced at Otis, who was flitting from side to side by my shoulder. To be fair, he didn’t look intimidated by Hester, merely exasperated. I frowned at him. Then an odd thought tugged at me and I took a step back. Hmm.
‘Am I bullying you, Otis?’ Hester demanded, in a tone of voice that was aggressive enough to answer the question.
‘You’re certainly annoying me, Hester,’ he replied.
Hester turned to me. ‘See? I’m not bullying him, I’m only annoying him. And I’m allowed to do that because I’m his sister – it’s myjobto annoy him. He annoysmeoften enough!’
When I didn’t say anything, Hester jabbed my nose. ‘Daisy? Did you hear me?’
‘Leave her alone,’ Otis said. ‘She’s busy working out how she’ll ride a motorbike all the way back to Edinburgh when she’s only got one hand.’
My tongue darted out and wet my lips. ‘We’re not going to Edinburgh,’ I said slowly. ‘Not yet.’
