Maddening Minx

by Pearl Darling

  He patted his hands up and down the man’s body, pulling out the scimitar from the man’s belt and unearthing several knives in his boots and waistband. He threw the weapons far away to where the pistol had landed. Glancing backwards, Celine limped towards him, her black hair gleaming in the sunlight, her stockinged legs black with mud. He jerked as Mr. Khaffar grabbed him strongly by his wrist.

  “You have the right of it, and the wrong of it!” he gasped. “I tried to protect Celine by continuing to do business with the man that would have killed her. I had to keep up the pretense…of a hard man. He was never to know of her existence. I watched out for her. No one cared for Pablo Moreno, or that accountant that liked young girls on the side. But I couldn’t let it go, Pablo killed someone against my orders. So I punished Pablo. And you…no one knew who you were. You had no history, and yet Celine was obsessed with you. You were…are clearly a dangerous man. I thought she would be safer away from you, where I had left her originally. Little did I know that when I thought she was safe, in reality, her home was rotten at the core.”

  “You tried to get Edward away from me? My home was rotten?” Celine’s whisper reached Edward’s ears.

  It was followed by the loud thump of an arrow burying itself in Mr. Khaffar’s chest, and a loud curse from further into the woods.

  Celine gasped. “Mr. Khaffar!”

  Mr. Khaffar let out a gulping breath clutching at his stomach. “She…she was the one that was rotten. She was the one that Lydia thought would look after her child. Lydia was wrong.” His voice faded.

  Celine reached out beside Edward and touched the shaft of the arrow that had buried itself in Mr. Khaffar’s chest. “I’ve seen this arrow before.” She corrected herself. “Arrows like this. Oh gods! We don’t have much time before another arrow comes.”

  Edward nodded. Gunvald had warned him. There hadn’t been any time to warn Celine. “It’s Pithadora.” He put his arm out to Celine. “Quickly, we have to find shelter before she can rearm.”

  “Pithadora,” Celine said flatly, gazing down at Mr. Khaffar’s twitching body, unhearing to Edward’s pleas. “The bitch.”

  “Use me as a shield. My last wish for Lydia.” Mr. Khaffar’s eyes opened, a small trickle of red bubbled from his mouth as he spoke. “If you go back to your hole she will just wait till you come out—separate yourselves. She can’t shoot at two targets.”

  “She can if Gunvald is with her.” Celine choked.

  “He shouldn’t be. Gunvald is your friend,” Edward said urgently.

  Celine laughed softly. “Gunvald has not been my friend since he stole the note from Mr. Khaffar.”

  Mr. Khaffar raised a weak hand. “I still have the note—” he struggled. “No note was stolen from me.”

  Edward caught his breath and looked up into the trees. If the note had not been stolen, then…he started as the unmistakable curve of a bow twitched in the trees far away. “Down, Celine!” He pushed her to the ground, into the curve of Mr. Khaffar’s body and threw himself on top of her, tucking her body below his. Barely had he done so when the whistling of a fast moving object skimmed his ear and slammed into the ground by his head.

  “The note from Pedro Moreno is in my pocket, double pocket in my breeches,” Mr. Khaffar gasped against Edward’s body. “I cannot—reach it. I had to tell my business partner some of what was in it. I thought I could protect you…but it seems I have failed.”

  “How did Pithadora find out about the note?” Celine’s voice was urgent, she pushed against Edward, but he stayed above her immovable. There was no way he was going to let a mad woman kill her.

  Mr. Khaffar bubbled at the mouth, forcing out a laugh. “My business partner of course. She told me not an hour ago. Laughed at me. Pithadora is his sister.” He gasped and continued. “He was the one who stole the guns last month, using Jimmy Carandel, the armory foreman. Jimmy Carandel was always Pablo Moreno’s pet, and hence my business partner’s. He armed my men against me, the bastard. They left me struggling with your smoking jacket in Islington and came here, to Rochester Castle.”

  Edward stiffened. “Your business partner…who is he, Mr. Khaffar? Who is the man?”

  Mr. Khaffar stiffened as his chest arched. “Lord—Lord Colt—haven of cour—” His body slumped as his head fell to one side.

  CHAPTER 39

  Celine reached out a hand and prodded the body next to her. No gasp exhaled, nor did it react with indignation. Mr. Khaffar had died a death in a similar way to the way he lived his life. Violently.

  She shivered. Mr. Khaffar, the obvious villain, with so many motives to harm them, hadn’t been the person to fear. Pithadora had been the person to look out for, a woman with no seeming motive. And Lord Colthaven…he had been but yards from her. He had lunged for her for god’s sake. Why hadn’t she put it together?

  “I shouldn’t have trapped Khaffar.” Edward’s voice shook. “He could have got away.”

  Celine reached a blind hand up to where she knew his face was. “No he couldn’t. Khaffar wasn’t looking behind him. He would still have stood where he was. And you heard Pithadora. She missed.”

  “She can’t shoot through trees.” Edward’s body moved upwards, quickly. “I’m going to have to carry you.”

  “She’ll move faster than us.”

  “Perhaps. But until she hits us with an arrow, we want her as close as possible. She can’t let the arrows fly then.”

  Celine widened her eyes as Edward barely gasped as he picked her up from the ground. “Take a deep breath,” his deep voice said. He kissed her quickly on her brow.

  And ran towards where Celine had last seen Pithadora.

  For the first five minutes the arrows came thick and fast, some close, others further away as Celine closed her eyes and Edward swept them back into the forest, away from the clearing.

  “How fitting—” Edward gasped, “that I should be escaping through the forest again. Life does seem to turn full circle.”

  Celine shivered. “Are we within reach yet?”

  “Not quite.” Edward slowed briefly behind a tree, and swallowed audibly. “Another minute and we’ll be upon her. She’s not moving.”

  “She’s standing her ground.” Wait for the men to come to you, dear. The escaping fish is not the easiest to catch. Celine caught her breath and tried to put her hand up against Edward’s hard body. “She’s trying to reel us in.” Too late Celine wriggled in Edward’s arms. “It’s another trap. It’s not just Pithadora…”

  Edward stopped with a jerk as he stumbled over an object.

  Celine cried, the wind knocked out of her as they fell to the ground. She gazed at the sky as the unsmiling face of a former friend blocked the view.

  “Ah. My lady and her lover,” Gunvald sneered in a mocking voice. “Pithadora and I wondered when you were going to work out how to evade the arrows. Pithadora said you would be quick, I said you would be slow, but then I forgot about lover boy here.” He kicked out at Edward who grunted as Gunvald’s toe caught him in the belly. “A man that can pass himself off as a mere accountant whilst being able to jump from a moving coach is a very sharp man indeed.”

  “Gunvald, dear boy, do stop acting like Othello.” Pithadora’s voice was low, as if she was looking for an alluring tone but badly missing it.

  “Yes, Pithadora dear.” The sweetness in Gunvald’s voice was sickening. “I am just so pleased that this is all falling as we planned.” He nudged Edward’s body with his foot again.

  Celine put a knee beneath her body and pushed up from the ground panting. “Gunvald, you said you were my friend—”

  Gunvald’s laugh echoed around the forest as he held out a hand. Celine looked up as Pithadora drew another arrow to her bow and let it hang in one hand. She walked spritely to Gunvald’s side and took his hand, her chest heaving.

  “You never did think did you, Celine, that your rejection of the gorgeous Gunvald would affect him so strongly? You pro
bably thought you were doing the kind thing, wrapped up as you were with this piece of filth.” Pithadora pushed her own boot into Edward’s unmoving side.

  “Edward?” Celine placed a tentative hand on Edward’s body. It did not move, or speak. But still he was warm beneath her fingers, and just perceptibly, his chest moved.

  “Don’t ignore me when I’m speaking to you, Celine, you little trollop.” Pithadora lashed out with her foot, catching Celine on the shoulder. Celine fell back to the ground.

  “Hmm.” Gunvald said, gazing at Celine’s chest. “Just where I always wanted her.”

  Pithadora smiled. “Don’t worry, Gunvald. I’ll give you plenty of that later.”

  Celine choked as Pithadora lifted her eyelashes and lasciviously gazed at Gunvald.

  “Good.” Gunvald’s voice was flat, emotionless.

  Celine shivered. “Why do you want to kill me, Pithadora, what have I ever done to you?”

  “Nothing, you boring little slut. Why can’t you get over your obsession with this thing about you and your actions? It’s not about you—it’s about who you are.” Pithadora kicked out, missing Celine by inches.

  Instinctively Celine curled inwards on herself. “But I have no idea who I am!”

  “Slut daughter of another slut that married my brother and gave birth to two craven children whose real father has thwarted my brother at every turn.”

  “Your brother, Lord Colthaven.” The puzzle suddenly started to begin to fall into place. “You said the Melinno Society was founded by a benefactor. By a man, a peer. It was your brother wasn’t it…” Celine gasped. “And it was nothing to do with who watches the watchers.”

  “Of course not. My brother, Lord Colthaven, wanted to know everything about Lord Granwich’s movements. What better way than by taking over a secretive society and making them work to his advantage? Only Lord Anglethorpe’s father ever found out what we were up to. Bloody Lydia got Coutts to send him a note five years after her death, telling him to go and check on you. She sent her distinctive amethyst ring as proof that she was the one sending the note.”

  “And he checked on me. And so you killed him.”

  “Of course. He guessed immediately you were Granwich’s child. Despite Lydia’s strong looks, you have Granwich’s features. He wanted to take you away. My money would have stopped.”

  “But you didn’t kill him, someone else did,” Celine said slowly.

  Pithadora bared her teeth. “If you want a job done, it is always better off doing yourself. The silly fool killed old Anglethorpe very nicely indeed, but still didn’t get the note that he’d brought with him. By the time he got back to the body, a crowd had gathered and scavengers had made off with everything.”

  “And those scavengers gave the note to the Viper, who then tried to sell it to Lady Guthrie, but in the end, running for his life, he had to pass it to his assistant Pedro Moreno, who in turn gave it, along with the list of court spies, to Mr. Khaffar.” Celine shook her head. Gods. It all became so much clearer.

  Gunvald lifted his free hand and tenderly stroked Pithadora’s cheek. Celine watched, a sickness roiling in her stomach as Pithadora blinked and raised her head towards his.

  “Ah, to feel the love of a man again. It has been too long.”

  Celine took a shuddering breath. “Why did you hide from society, Pithadora? You could have been rich, Lord Colthaven’s sister, you could have done so much more.”

  “I’m his sister alright. His illegitimate sister. I had one chance at making it in society, but instead I was raped by a young Lord Stanton, a friend of my brother’s on my very first outing.” The lady’s voice shook. “I had a son, red haired like my brother, or red haired like some of the Stantons. No matter, they took him away from me.”

  “Bloody hell…Edgar Stanton!” Celine swallowed, the bile collecting in her throat. “Your son was Edgar Stanton.”

  Pithadora jutted her chin out. “My son was perfect in every way.”

  “He was a thief and a murderer,” Celine said flatly.

  Pithadora shrugged. “Some family traits are hard to get away from,” she said proudly. “Of course the fool became too tangled up in everything. My brute of a brother told Lady Guthrie to use him, and use him she did. I couldn’t protect him!”

  “You could have done. You could have left the Melinno Society!”

  “I couldn’t have anybody recognize me,” Pithadora jutted her chin out proudly. “And you were doing such a good job at spying on Granwich’s cronies. People in my family know how to look after themselves.”

  “What is the obsession with Granwich?” Celine cried.

  Pithadora stared at Celine, her eyes, as unblinking as ever, her hands curling around the unloosed arrow in her bow.

  “Lydia left my brother high and dry.”

  “I know.”

  “No, I really don’t think you understand. Lydia took all of the money, all of the money that she brought with her as a dowry that would have set the Colthaven fortunes to rights. She took it and hid it and then she died.”

  “How much money?”

  “One hundred thousand pounds. One hundred thousand pounds that would have allowed me to live with my brother and be well provided for, dowered perhaps, make a happy marriage of my own.”

  Celine gasped. One hundred thousand pounds. That was enough to buy large swathes of land in London. “How do you know she hid it?”

  “Because she told my brother before he killed her. He only managed to keep the estate afloat by selling off the secrets that Melinno gathered to Belgium, France, anyone that would take them.”

  Celine surged to her feet. “He killed my mother!”

  “Listen to you. You find out she was your mother five minutes ago and now you are outraged on her behalf.”

  Celine fought the urge to bury her face in her hands. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Can’t and won’t.” Pithadora’s hand itched on the bow quiver, her finger shaking. “You see, you and your blasted brother are the only clues to the whereabouts of the fortune. Why do you think I let you live? You were my insurance policy. I never told Colthaven about your connection to Lydia. Unfortunately you were finding out too much bloody information.” Pithadora laughed. “Colthaven didn’t realize that it was me that was guiding you, feeding you clues. I’ve so enjoyed watching him torment himself as the War Office has got closer and closer to uncovering who he is.”

  “Major Coxon-Williams is dead…missing.”

  Pithadora nodded. “Don’t I know it. My brother nearly threw a shoe raging about it. The bandits he sent after him in Bisbal were meant to get the information from him, instead they managed to half kill the man without finding out anything and then lose him.”

  “Lord Colthaven was the one to try and kill my brother too?”

  “Of course! Why should he want either of you to live? Bastard children of his wife from his enemy.”

  “I don’t have any information that will help you find Lydia’s fortune.”

  “I know that now.” Pithadora raised her bow and aimed her arrow at Celine’s chest. “I care that your existence cost me twenty-five years shut away in the East End of London when I should have been moonlighting at balls and musicales. Colthaven will never know I killed you. When he found out who you were, he so looked forward to enjoying your charms, just as he enjoyed your mother’s.”

  “But Mr. Khaffar said Lydia asked him to take me to you. You!” Celine cried.

  “Dear Saint Lydia. Always trying to do the best by people. She thought she was being so kind to me when I came back into society. She remembered my come out. Recognized me in my disguise as a courtesan. Refused to treat me as one. I hated her for it.” Pithadora drew a shuddering breath. “She thought it was a kindness, but it was pity. No one pities me. It led to people recognizing who I was, who I had been. No one would even touch me as a courtesan. I entered the Melinno Society as a laundress for god’s
sake, the only people that would take me in.”

  Celine could not stop her stomach heaving. “I still don’t understand why she sent me to you.”

  “I’m sure she felt guilty for her role in my downfall. She was always just too nice. Just like you and the bloody things you do for the people around you.”

  “That still doesn’t explain why she would send you her child.”

  “She sent me five hundred pounds. Five hundred pounds to look after you for twenty-five years. I sent the bloody ledger with you! The last of the money came in last week.” Pithadora smiled. “That money financed the Melinno Society and rebuilt my brother’s fortune. And when we find Lydia’s treasure, I’ll be able to emerge once again, and everyone will take note of me.”

  “Five hundred pounds is a fortune, why couldn’t you have been content with that?” Celine sobbed. “Pithadora, you have known me for twenty or more years. What information could I possibly have had about the whereabouts of the fortune?”

  “I don’t know. Now that I know you know nothing, I don’t care anymore. And if you don’t know the whereabouts of the fortune, it won’t matter that you are dead.” The smile that spread across Pithadora’s face would have shamed a crocodile.

  Celine gasped as Pithadora’s hand squeezed on the trigger. She closed her eyes and screamed as Edward surged up from the ground in front of her. “No! Edward!”

  But instead of the dull thump and thunk of the arrow as it pierced either of them, a short sharp click and a gasp resounded through the suddenly still burnt forest.

  Celine looked into Edward’s face that had fallen near hers. He blew a lock of hair away from his eyes with a puff of air and shook his head. He grasped her hand tightly for a second and then drew away from her, pulling his weight off her body.

  Celine looked upwards.

  Pithadora lay in Gunvald’s arms, staring up at his face. “I thought—you loved me,” she gasped. Her hands still held tightly to the bow and arrow, but now, the arrow was unlatched from the string and stood straight up from her chest, where a soft red bloomed. Gunvald’s hand held the bow tightly at the front where the arrow would have shot from.