Page 60 of Skullduggery
Several more seconds passed then, to my surprise, the front door opened.
We couldn’t see Lady Rose from our hiding spot. She obviously wasn’t planning to go beyond the house walls because that would mean stepping across the magical blood ward.
She must have known that we were still there because when she spoke, it was obvious that she wasn’t only addressing Hugo’s parents. ‘I don’t want anybody here,’ she said. ‘You must all leave immediately. This is my land and you don’t belong, no matter who you are pretending to be.’
Hugo’s dad was obviously astonished. ‘We’re not pretending be anyone.’
His wife’s voice was softer. ‘You know us, Rose. You know who we are.’
‘Where’s the boy?’ she snapped.
‘You mean Hugo? He’s at home. It’s time for his afternoon nap.’
Lady Rose snorted. ‘Because he’s a toddler?’
‘Well, yes.’
Lord Pemberville was staring at her with an expression that I knew well; it was the same expression Hugo displayed when he was talking to Duchess and his frustration was getting the better of him. ‘You don’t look very well, Rose. Why don’t you come out for some fresh air?’
‘You’d like that a lot, wouldn’t you?’ Her voice dripped with sarcasm. ‘You’d love it if I left my house right now.’ She spoke more loudly. ‘I’m not going anywhere! You hear me? I’m staying right here and there’s nothing you can do about it! Get into your time machine and fuck off!’
‘Time machine?’ Lord Pemberville shook his head. ‘What’s wrong with you?’
My mouth was dry; all this felt like my fault. If I hadn’t forced my way inside and spoken to Rose, she wouldn’t be so frightened; she certainly wouldn’t be babbling about time machines and giving the distinct impression that she was crazy.
‘Oh Rose.’ Hugo’s mum sighed unhappily. ‘Why don’t we call your doctor and get him to pop by again?’
Lady Rose roared and followed up with a blast of fire magic that she directed at the couple’s feet. ‘Fuckoff!’ she screamed. ‘Fuck off! All of you!’
Lord Pemberville was already hauling his wife towards the car. ‘We’ll do that,’ he said. ‘But you need help, Rose. You know you do.’
‘Get out of here and don’t ever come back!’ she shouted. ‘Leave!’
Lady Pemberville wasn’t giving up. She pulled away from her husband and spread out her hands in an entreaty. ‘You know our phone number. If you need anything, or if you want to talk, all you have to do is call. We’re only around the corner. We can help.’
‘Nobody can help me!’
‘Rose—’
There was another rush of magic. She invoked air this time, sending a surge that was strong enough to lift the Pembervilles’ car a foot into the air. ‘Leave,’ she said, ‘before I do something I might regret.’
The car slammed down to the ground and Hugo’s parentsjumped aside to avoid being crushed by it. Lady Pemberville stared at Rose with a mixture of fear and concern. Her husband glared and muttered something, then they climbed into the vehicle. The engine spluttered into life, the wheels skidded on the gravel and, with a high-pitched squeal, the car left with the white-faced couple inside it.
As they were driving away, Rose raised her voice again. ‘The rest of you need to fuck off, too!’ She heaved the door shut and silence reigned again.
‘Well,’ Hester whispered, ‘your mum and dad didn’t help her, but they didn’t kill her.’
A muscle ticked in Hugo’s jaw; there was relief in his eyes but something else was flickering there too. ‘They should have done more. She’s obviously on the edge – she needs help.’
I thought of my spider’s silk addiction: it was incredibly hard to help people who didn’t want to be helped. ‘We’ll find a way to help her.’
He stared at me balefully. ‘How exactly will we do that?’
As I sighed and pushed back my hair, I registered the clammy sweat on my forehead. I didn’t have a clue. ‘Er…’
Otis shot up into the air. ‘Somebody else is coming.’
I turned towards the driveway. He was right; yet another vehicle was trundling towards the mansion. For a recluse, Lady Rose certainly received a lot of visitors.
