Coins and Daggers

by Patrice Hannah

The man snorted and Edwin made after him with the knife but Ulric stayed his friend’s movements. His own mind was swirling with disgust and rage that he could not even fathom what the hell was going on. “Of course not. My wife is so bloody righteous, she wouldn’t even end this damn search for the little wretch.” Dextrem ran his hand over his head and clutched his side. “I paid very pretty coins to Madame de Lucci for that girl and I will not stand the loss.”

  “Listen to me, you piece of shit!” Ulric grabbed him by the collar and growled in his face. “You are going to stand that loss and you are going to do it gladly, you hear me?”

  “Or what?”

  Ulric dropped his hands, took two steps back and glanced to his right. “Edwin?”

  “My pleasure.” Edwin shove his blade against Dextrem’s neck, the sharp edge a hair’s breadth from the skin of his throat. “Or else, I am going to wipe my blade against your pretty little throat. Your wife being righteous and all, I’m sure she would not like to be forced to bury a headless body.” Dextrem gulped visibly, his gaze focused on the blade at his throat. “Do we have an agreement?”

  The man glanced upwards and breathed through clenched teeth. “Yes.”

  “Tsk. I don’t think we heard that clearly, Dextrem,” Edwin said in a taunting voice. “Did you hear that, Ulric?”

  “Not a sound.” Ulric crossed his arms. “Perhaps you should press the blade a little closer and see.”

  “I said, yes, goddamn it! Yes!” Dextrem snapped, his gaze as wild as a deer’s during hunting season.

  “Weakling,” Edwin chuckled and stepped back.

  Ulric shook his head. “Now, I’m only going to ask one more time. Where is Madame de Lucci?”

  Dextrem rubbed a hand along his throat and huffed. “The harlot must be somewhere in Chastelle or thereabout.”

  Ulric’s blood immediately spiked to boiling temperature, all the feeling rushing from his hands as Edwin’s voice rang out, “Chastelle?”

  Snatching the blade from his friend’s hand, Ulric slapped the handle firmly against the side of Dextrem’s head. The man fell out cold against the wooden floor with a heavy thud. “Let’s tie him up.” Ripping the remaining sheets from the bed, Ulric made a firm knot around Dextrem’s feet while Edwin secured his hands and mouth. “If Madame de Lucci is in Chastelle then she bloody hell is nearer to Audelia than we are.”

  Edwin cursed. “Then we have to go. Now.”

  Ulric stumbled from the room, Edwin behind him, as they quickly fled the building. He had strong faith and trust that Gilgallon would protect Audelia well. But as he mounted his horse and sent Gray into a speedy gallop, the apprehension surging through his body felt very far from easing.

  Twenty-three

  The night was cool and silent, and in her bedchamber was a lone flame, the candle half burnt as she remained steadfast and determined to complete her reading. Audelia rubbed her right eye, blinked and flipped one of few remaining pages of the medicinal manuscript she had taken from the library. She knew she was half asleep already but so much knowledge...so many facts were now at her disposal and it almost felt as if she could not get enough.

  She had almost missed the knock on her door several moments later, for it had come so softly and only once. Glancing up, she looked in the direction of the door, catching the still shadow beneath it. The door came once again and she released a breath, relieved she had not been imagining things.

  “Is someone there?” she asked.

  “Uh, yes, Audelia. It is me. Lord Dextrem. Uncle Dextrem, if you will. May I come in?”

  Frowning slightly, she slid from beneath the covers and reached for the candle. Why was he here?“Just a moment.”

  Pulling on a robe over her nightgown, Audelia then opened the door to see His Lordship standing in the hall. In his hands was a tray bearing two steaming mugs of tea.

  “I...could not sleep,” he said, chuckling sadly. “And when I saw that you were up as well, I feared that something might be troubling you.”

  Audelia shook her head and smiled. “Not at all. I...I was just finishing up some reading.”

  Lord Dextrem stepped over the threshold and Audelia moved aside to let him pass, closing the door afterwards.

  “I’ve seen that you are very fond of reading. You spend most of your time in the library and when you’re not there, you are in here doing God knows what.” Lord Dextrem chuckled and placed the tray on a table opposite the bed. “You must know, Audelia, that we are family now and you need not be afraid to speak to me about anything. Or my wife, for that matter.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not afraid. Just slowly adjusting, is all.”

  His Lordship looked at her for a long time, his gaze oddly unsettling and Audelia felt a shudder run up her spine. She had not forgotten his surprising kiss only a few days before and the fact that he was here, standing inside her bedroom at nighttime, troubled her deeply.

  “My wife tells me that you are interested in Medicine,” he said, taking a seat in the armchair nearer to the bed. “That you have aspirations of...learning the related skills.”

  Joy immediately replaced some of her anxiety and Audelia sat on the edge of her bed, smiling. “I do, Your Lordship. I’ve been reading about it just now.” She gestured to the manuscript on her pillow. “I am so fascinated by it all. Perhaps, if given the chance, I will be able to help people one day.”

  “That is a grand ambition, dear.” His Lordship reached for his tea and took a sip. “Surely, you must know that while you are under our care there is nothing that you cannot have.” He leaned forward in his chair and smiled. “Audelia, you are our ward now. And we have the resources and connections to grant you anything you wish.”

  “I know,” she said.

  Lord Dextrem nodded and handed the other mug to her. “Good. Because I want to ensure that you are comfortable here at all times. We both do. Lady Dextrem is also very fond of you and seeks to make you into the most cherished of young ladies.”

  Audelia smiled and sipped on the warm beverage. “Thank you, Sir. That truly means a lot to me.”

  Lord Dextrem nodded once more and eased to his feet, only to sit right next to her. Audelia jumped, stunned by the bold move and almost spilled her tea. She then felt his hand clamp over her wrist, taking the cup from her hand.

  “Do not be frightened, Audelia,” he whispered. “I do not mean to startle you but only to confide in you.”

  Her gaze flickered nervously between Lord Dextrem’s and his firm grip. “A-About what, Sir?”

  “About us.”

  The look in his eyes terrified Audelia and she pulled on her hand, only to be pulled up hard against His Lordship’s hard frame. She gasped, a thick lump of dread suddenly clogging her throat. “Us?”

  “Yes. Us. Do you not remember that...passionate kiss we shared, Audelia?”

  Oh, she remembered that kiss quite well but Audelia feared that they both had very different recollections of the incident. There had not been anything passionate about the moment and it most assuredly had not been shared. Lord Dextrem had accosted her in the sitting room and forced himself on her, taking a kiss that was never to be his and that which had left very horrible memories.

  “It was a mistake,” she uttered, shakily. “It should not have happened, milord.”

  “Nonsense.” He moved his face closer, so close his hot breath sent a rash of goosebumps crawling down Audelia’s neck. “What you’d experienced was a man’s kiss, Audelia. Had you ever been kissed before?”

  She hadn’t but she saw no reason to answer that. “You must release me. I beg it of you. Please, let me go.”

  “I don’t think I can do that, Audelia.” Lord Dextrem brushed his lips across her face and inhaled. “You smell so refreshing. So...innocent.”

  “Please.” Tears welled up into her eyes as she felt His Lordship’s hand moving up her side and to the underside of her left breast. “Please don’t do this.”

  Lord Dextrem released a pained groan, th
e tip of his tongue licking against her cheek. “Do not make a sound.” And her shove her down onto the bed, immediately using his weight to hold her down.

  “No. No!” Panic struck Audelia as the tears came streaming down her face. “Please! I’ll scream... I’ll scream. I promise I will.”

  His Lordship’s palm came slapping hard across her face and Audelia cringed at the burning pain at the side of her head. “I know you’re smarter than that, Audelia.” And he reached for the dagger in his waist, holding it firmly at her throat. “It’s amazing what us wealthy people can get away with, wench. Do not test me.”

  Audelia eyes cracked open, her heart racing as she rose from the horrible dream. The horrible memory. Glancing about the room, she held a hand over her heart, relieved that she still was, in fact, inside the library at Chastelle Manor. Rising from the sofa where she had apparently fallen asleep, she looked up to see Gilgallon still at the table, studying the chess pieces. They had been playing nearly three hours and she hardly remembered when she had fallen asleep...or how she had ended up over here.

  “You still won’t beat me,” she said.

  The guard looked up sharply but returned his gaze to the board a second later. “Show off.”

  Audelia giggled. “How long have I been sleeping?”

  “Possibly a hour now.”

  “Oh. Uh...Gilgallon?”

  “Miss Rolfen?”

  “I know Bryce--er, His Lordship said I am not to leave the house but I fear that I feel a bit...dreary and in need of a bit of fresh air.”

  “His Lordship would not like if his command is disobeyed, Miss.”

  “I know. But you will be with me all the time. Just a hour. Please.”

  Gilgallon glanced at her a moment and sighed. Perhaps one hour would not hurt. “One hour,” he told her. “No more.”

  “Of course. I would like to pay Olearia a visit too.”

  “Who?”

  “The young mare in the east stable.”

  “Oh. Well. Let’s go then. The sooner we go, the sooner we are to return back to the house.”

  Audelia rose from her seat, smiling, and left the room with Gilgallon hot on her heels. At least the guard was loyal to his lord. She hadn’t seen such lengths of loyalty before arriving at Chastelle Manor and she supposed such fidelity much be something great to behold, and more especially to the one receiving it.“How long have you been under His Lordship’s employ, Gilgallon?” she asked as they reached the end of the foyer.

  The guard glanced at her briefly, holding the front door open for her to pass. “A very long time, Miss. Back in the days of the late Lord Chastelle.”

  “I hear he was a well-loved man,” she said, moving down the steps and along the side of the gardens.

  “Lord Viktor St. Rosso was not well-loved for nothing, Miss. He was respectable, kind...approachable.”

  Audelia nodded. “I suppose His Lordship must be pleased to have had a father such as that.”

  Gilgallon eyed Audelia a while, kicking a side a couple rocks from the path. “His Lordship is a good man also. He may... He might have lost his way for a while but he’s a good man, Miss. I am as loyal to him as much as I had been loyal to his father.”

  Smiling to herself, Audelia chuckled when they reached the stable. Inside, they met up with Brutus, the jovial stable man.

  “Brutus.” Gilgallon nodded to the man and looked around the stable. “I see you’ve managed to move the rest of the mares.”

  Running a hand over his rounded belly, Brutus spat a piece of straw from the corner of his mouth and grinned. “Yes, I did. Look at them beauties now.”

  Audelia moved forward, looking at the freshly painted stalls, low gentle neighs coming from behind them. “How many are in here now?”

  “Just eight, Miss.” Brutus rest his hands on his hips and chuckled. “Nine more to go.”

  “Amazing.” Moving slowly along the long aisle between the stalls. Audelia smiled when the mares came forward in their stalls, their heads protruding from the stall doors. “They’re beautiful.” It wasn’t until she’d reached the sixth stall on the right that she recognized Olearia. “You moved her?”

  Brutus cleared his throat and grinned. “I sure did.” He pointed to a black mare who inhabited the second stall on the left. “Had a little girl fight going on with this one here.”

  A loud crushing sound followed by a horse’s whinny came from a distance and all three turned to glance at the door. Audelia moved forward quickly. “What was that?”

  “Sounds like a carriage. I’m not certain” Gilgallon said, holding his hand up to still her. “Stay here with Brutus while I take a look.”

  “Maybe His Lordship has returned,” she said, eager to see Ulric if he had. Eager to see that he had returned in one piece and unhurt.

  “His Lordship had not taken a carriage, Miss Rolfen. Stay here and do not move a muscle.”

  Audelia frowned as she watched Gilgallon leave the stable house, a strange twinge lodging itself at the back of her head. She paced back and forth along the aisle for a while, nibbling on her nails as she did so. She glanced up to find Brutus watching her, a questioning look on his face. Deciding to ignore the man, she paced some more and then threw up her hands with impatience.

  “Perhaps, I should go see for myself.”

  Brutus’ laughter rumbled deeply. “Take it easy, will you Miss? Gilgallon hasn’t been gone for five minutes.”

  “You go take a look then.”

  Scratching the back of his head, Brutus screwed up his face in a child-like manner and shuffled his feet.

  “Just calm down, will you?” He then kicked at a heap of straw next to him and settled down on it, patting his stomach. “The man should be back any time now.”

  Audelia almost growled with frustration. Shooting the stable man a glare or two, she resumed her pacing again, her hand checking for the dagger at her waist. Tapping her feet restlessly, she glanced between the napping man and the door, her heart thudding with worry and a twitch of fear. On tip toes, Audelia slowly eased towards the door and peeked outside. Nothing seemed amiss so she edged outside, her hand on the handle of her dagger as she moved along the side of the stable house and rounded a corner. Someone immediately stepped in her direct path and Audelia had almost mistaken him for Gilgallon, had she not jerked her head up in time.

  Gasping, she immediately drew her dagger and pointed it at the strange man. “Who are you?”

  “Let us not make this any harder than it needs to be, shall we?” The man’s thick speech reached her ears, a smug grin on his face.

  Audelia swallowed tightly, darting a glance around them but saw no one. Dear God, where was Gilgallon? “Did the Madame send you?”

  The stranger chuckled and reached out for her but Audelia swung, her blade slitting a deep bloody wound across the man’s cheek. “Bloody bitch!”

  Twenty-four

  Something strong and sharp smelling reached deep up inside her nostrils, dragging Audelia from a foggy state of unconsciousness. Immediately, the pain in her head registered and she groaned, rolling over onto her back. She did not open her eyes immediately in fear that she might very well be dead already and awaiting the Devil himself.

  Something brushed against her bare ankle and she jumped up, shifting across a dusty ash floor. Where was she? Wincing, Audelia glanced up...and up, her gaze connecting with the wide open sky. Blinking, she groaned as a pain shot up her leg left and she dragged herself up in a sitting position, her back against a cold wall. The last thing she could remember was running into a strange man just outside the stable house. She’d swung her dagger and cut him. But all she knew was that something had come crashing down on her head after that and now... Now, she was here. And she had no idea where here was.

  Trying not to panic, she mentally sent a beseeching prayer, hoping that Ulric was alright and keeping her fingers crossed that he would find her.

  Footsteps came heavily nearby, grinding on what sounded like pebbles
. Audelia shot to her feet despite the soreness piercing through her leg. In a moment or two, she was face to face with her apparent abductor. A very familiar face that did not come surprising at all.

  “Miss Rolfen,” the woman said. “How are you feeling?”

  Skin now prickling with raw disdain, Audelia inched backwards. “Madame de Lucci. What do you want?”

  Chuckling, she stepped forward, thick layers of silk sweeping against the floor. “I should think that was quite obvious. You see, Miss Rolfen--Audelia, I admired you so much. I craved your spirit...your great ambitions but a woman must also earn her bread.”

  “You told me that the Dextrems adored me.”

  “Oh, but they do. Lady Dextrem was quite fascinated with you. You were like...a daughter she could never have. But you must realize that even the wealthy have their share of problems and would do anything to fix them.”

  Hot burning tears pricked at Audelia’s eyes. “He...raped me.”

  “Oh, hush, girl!” the Madame hissed. “Lord Dextrem merely sampled from what was already his.”

  “I am not his property!” Audelia spat, almost gagging with disgust.

  “But you are.” Madame smiled a sneering smile and inclined her head. “You are. You see, Audelia, you are bought and paid for and Lord Dextrem is well entitled to use...his merchandise.”

  “Bryce will find me. You won’t get away with--”

  “Ah, ‘Bryce’ is it now?” Madame de Lucci laughed and clasped her hands. “Well done, Miss Rolfen. Well done. I see you’ve become Lord Chastelle’s whore.”

  “I’m not his whore.” Her heart thundered as she spoke, a twinge of doubt that she did not want to welcome, now reaching inside her mind. “He...he cares about me.”

  “Does he now? The reclusive lord has confessed an affection for you, has he? I hardly think so. You see, I know Ulric St. Rosso quite well enough to gladly reject that notion.”

  Audelia swallowed, her glare piercing through the woman who had once encouraged her dreams. The woman whom she had grown to respect, the very woman who had earned her trust. Madame de Lucci was a conniving immoral fiend and Audelia wished for nothing but mercy on her black soul.