Page 11 of Fiendish Delights
Oh. I swallowed.
Hugo broke eye contact first. ‘This room is usually off limits to anyone who’s not in the Primes. There’s a wealth of information in here and there’s a curated library towards the rear. You’re welcome to use any of the resources to help with your current hunt.’ He held up his hands. ‘I promise I won’t look over your shoulder. You can have privacy, if you like.’
Nothing in this room would help me get Nancy the doll back to Sophia. I smiled anyway, confused by the offer. ‘I appreciate that but everything’s under control.’
The Bone Zone door burst open and thudded loudly against the wall. ‘Duchess is going crazy again! You have to do something, Hugo!’ Becky, the chirpy blonde who was one of Hugo’s Primes, looked frantic. She glanced at me and blinked. ‘Daisy?’
I waved weakly. Hugo muttered something under his breath then took off at high speed and disappeared out of the door.
Becky stayed where she was. ‘Are you joining the Primes?’ she asked, her curiosity overcoming her troll-based anxiety.
‘No.’
‘But nobody is allowed in the Bone Zone unless they’re a Prime.’ She frowned. ‘Ever.’
‘I should probably leave then.’ I felt vaguely awkward. ‘Anyway, I need to see Duchess.’
Horror filled her face. ‘Why? That troll is bloody awful. The hoops we’ve had to go through to persuade her to let us use our own damned bridge – and she still causes problems!’
That sounded more like the Duchess I knew. I smiled faintly and hurried after Hugo.
I heard Duchess long before I saw her: there was a considerable amount of bellowing, crashing and breaking china. Otisand Hester were outside the garden room and their expressions filled with relief when they spotted me.
‘Even for a troll, she’s horrible!’ Hester said.
Otis agreed fervently. ‘Where were you?’ he asked. ‘What was Hugo doing?’
‘Trying to impress me.’
Hester was puzzled. ‘Why?’
‘Beats me.’ I shrugged. But there was still a fuzzy warm sensation in the pit of my stomach. ‘Stay here,’ I told them. ‘I’ll deal with Duchess.’
I drew a deep breath and entered the room. Hugo was in the far corner, holding up a chair as a shield. Duchess was standing on top of a table, her head brushing the ceiling. She appeared to be alternating jets of sticky troll phlegm with various china cups and dainty sandwich missiles. ‘You wet rag of an elf!’ she sneered at him. ‘You blue-eyed simpleton!’
‘What was that you said earlier, Hugo?’ I asked over the racket. ‘That you and Duchess are friendly now and that she finds you charming?’
He threw me a baleful glance, his earlier bonhomie no longer evident. Given the state of the room and the way Duchess was acting, I couldn’t really blame him.
‘You know this is all your fault,’ he grumbled, as a slice of cucumber smacked wetly onto his forehead. He dropped the chair, peeled it off his face and glared at the troll. ‘Either calm down or I will be forced to use magic against you, Duchess.’
‘I’d like to see you try, elf!’
‘Don’t you remember what happened last time?’
Duchess jumped off the table, landing with such force that even the stone walls around us seemed to shake. ‘Oh,’ she purred, ‘I remember, elf man. I remember it very well.’
I folded my arms and watched. Now that I had time to take in my surroundings more closely, there was a definitelingering scent of troll snot lurking beneath the floral air freshener, spilled tea and freshly baked pastries. Hugo had obviously had more trouble with Duchess than he’d been willing to admit. Yeah, I ought to have felt guilty about that but I only felt amused.
Duchess thumped her chest. ‘Come on, then! Come at me! Give me your best shot!’
Hugo gritted his teeth. ‘Duchess…’
‘You’re not man enough to take me on!’
I stifled a giggle. Unfortunately, Hugo noticed and sent me a quick glare. Then he muttered something under his breath and goosebumps rose across my skin when his magic started to stir. Uh-oh.
While I was tempted to see how far he was willing to go and what power he’d produce to quell Duchess, I needed her to be in a good mood if I was going to get hold of that toenail clipping. Shame.
