Page 9 of Skullduggery
Hester stretched out a hand to touch the envelope then thought better of it and pulled back. ‘Who is it from?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t recognise the handwriting.’ I continued to look at it as if I were watching a bomb. The only way to defuse this explosive would be to pick up the envelope, open it and read the contents. I slowly returned Gladys to her sheath.
‘Do it,’ Hester whispered. ‘Open the envelope.’
For once Otis agreed. ‘You have to.’
I gazed at it for another moment. This was ridiculous: there was no reason to be afraid of a letter – unless it was a gas bill catching up with me from my little flat in Edinburgh. I allowed myself a tiny smile at the thought, then yielded to the inevitable, scooped up the envelope and ripped it open.
I removed the single sheet of paper and marched towards the unshuttered window where I could read it properly. Thebrownies came with me, flying so close to my face that I felt the tips of their wings brushing against my cheeks.
‘Read it aloud,’ Otis urged.
I swallowed and unfolded the paper.
‘Dearest Daisy,’ I read. ‘I am certain that you will be surprised to receive this missive. I sincerely hope that you will carefully consider its contents. From what I already know of you, I am sure that you will give it your appropriate attention, regardless of whatever inane comments those two irritating brownies by your side may be making.’
Hester gasped. ‘How insulting!’
Otis hushed her and I continued.
‘The tragedy of Lady Rose Assigney is immense. She was a wonderful person who displayed great maturity despite her youth. She possessed excellent mastery of the magical elements and had an aptitude for water magic that was uncommon even amongst her supposedly talented peers. More than that, she was a warm, trusting young woman. Her heart was too easily led astray and her head did not lend itself to logic, but her faults were outweighed by her virtues. She was a braver woman than I realised. Rose was only ever a high elf, but she had the potential to be much, much more.’
It was Otis’s turn to interrupt. ‘That doesn’t make sense,’ he said. ‘How could she be more than a high elf?’
‘Shh! Let Daisy finish!’ Hester snapped.
‘The mystery of her disappearance deserves your full attention. I know you will be disinclined to do what I say because that is always the way with children and their parents. However, I urge you to investigate what happened to Rosie because the rewards will far outweigh the risks. I can assure you, my dear Daisy, that you can trust me in this.’
I paused.‘With great love, A.’
‘A?’ Hester asked.
My shoulders sagged and nausea rose unbidden in the pit ofmy belly. ‘Athair.’ My fiendish alleged birth father had written this and left it here for me to find. And now I had even more questions than before.
I didn’t run backto Pemberville Castle – I didn’t even jog; I walked slowly, my arms hanging heavily by my sides as my mind turned over and over. For once both brownies were sensitive to my mood and lapsed into silence.
My limbs were aching, my fatigue persisted and my various minor wounds from my training sessions were pulsating with pain, but none of those were bothering me. I had far more important things to worry about.
It was noon by the time I emerged from the woods on Hugo’s side of the boundary wall. The sun was high and any lingering morning mist had long since dissipated. I gazed towards the familiar turrets of Pemberville Castle and spotted Hugo’s battered Jeep parked close to the old moat bridge, next to another car. He had returned, but I couldn’t decide whether that was a good thing or not. I could have done with some more time alone before I spoke to him and revealed what I’d discovered.
Fuck it. I sighed, reached into my pocket and extracted two spider’s silk pills. When the muted buzz they provided disappointed me, I swallowed a third one – and I didn’t let myself feel guilty about it. Not even when my ears rang with the buzz of drug-induced tinnitus and my heart rate fluttered worryingly. I told myself that, given the circumstances, I was holding together admirably.
I pushed away the temptation to delay and trudged the rest of the way to the castle entrance. I didn’t even manage to getclose to the front gate, though; Duchess was already on full alert.
She bounded out from beneath the bridge, planted her massive bare feet on the cobblestones, placed her hands on her hips and fixed me with a narrow glare. ‘Password,’ she demanded.
I wasn’t in the mood for her troll games. ‘Is this necessary? You know who I am, Duchess. In fact, you’re living here because of me. Just let me pass.’
She gave a wide-mouthed cackle. ‘Well, somebody is in a bad mood this morning. What’s wrong, girlie? Is the sexual frustration getting to you? You should let Lord Snoot Face shag you and be done with it.’
‘Lord Snoot Face?’
Duchess raised her massive shoulders in a shrug. ‘If the shoe fits…’
I sighed. Hester giggled. ‘I like it! What’s my nickname?’ she asked.
‘Grumpy Goth,’ Duchess answered without missing a beat. She pointed at Otis. ‘And Goody Two Shoes.’
