Winter of the Passion Flower (The de Vargas Family) Read online

  A shape shifter! Lorca, you will stoop to any level.

  Spinning around, she saw two more mice rise to their back legs as the trap closed around her. She spun back, throwing her right leg out in a strong kick, hitting Mr. Brixton on the chin, knocking him to the ground. The little man squealed as he hit the floor hard, rolled over to the dark corner, bouncing off the brick wall. She ran for the door as one of the other men lunged at her, grabbing her around the waist with furry hands.

  She bit. She slashed. She screamed. No holds barred, she fought dirty.

  Her life depended on it. Using her fingernails, she grunted with satisfaction as skin ripped beneath them. Her adversary released her as she ran for the road, pulling the scarab controller from her bag.

  Damnation. Her vehicle was gone.

  Turning swiftly, she saw three men heading toward her. Brixton brought up the rear, limping. As she looked at him, the little man raised a small ray gun, pointing it at her head and she dropped her papers, pulling her knife from her boot as she jumped to the left. She ducked and weaved, running for her life, grateful for the sturdy boots under her loose, flowing skirt. She pounded down the street past the Rattling Cat, egged on by the screaming of the dollymops. Light rays from Mr. Brixton’s gun bounced off the buildings around her and small clumps of brick rubble fell to the ground.

  “Run, sweetheart. Run!” The high-pitched excited squeals followed her as she ran. A string of curses sounded behind her as the two women stepped in front of her pursuers.

  “Fancy a bit of skirt, gentlemen?”

  The men pushed them aside roughly, running after Indigo as the women cheered her on. The delay gave her enough time to get around the corner to the next street. She turned her head from side to side, searching for a hiding place. The top of a massive oak tree rose behind the houses in the laneway at the end of the street. Running to the end of the street, Indigo crouched behind the steam pump on the footpath, watching the men come around the corner. They looked up and down the street, and exchanged a few words before they split up and began searching down the short alleyways. Waiting until the three men were all out of sight, Indigo sprinted for the corner, throwing the scarab controller over a garden fence as she ran past. Heart pounding and dry-mouthed, she swung up onto the lowest branch of the tree, quickly pulling herself up the branches, thanking her stars for her childhood tree climbing exploits with Sofia. She laid flat on the widest branch near the top, hidden amongst the foliage, tucking her loose skirt beneath her legs and the footsteps of her pursuers pounded on the macadam under the tree as they neared the end of the street. Brixton gave a triumphant cry as he spotted the scarab controller in the garden. Pushing open the front gate with a loud clanging noise, he pounded on the front door of the house, demanding entry in the name of Duke Lorca in his little squeaky voice.

  “Bugger off, or I will send for the constabulary.” A querulous old voice berated them. They argued loudly about which way to go before moving away and their words faded, but Indigo suspected one of them stayed close, lingering quietly in a garden at the end of the street, not far from the base of her hiding place.

  She closed her eyes and stayed still and silent, the cold hard branch pressing against her back as she thought up horrific payback for Leopold Lorca. Minutes passed and their voices floated up to her as the three men headed back to the township. She smiled with grim satisfaction at the frustration she could hear.

  “You can tell the duke we lost her, Brixton. I’m not going to”

  “Where did she go?” Indigo recognized Brixton’s voice.

  “We’ll tell him she’s a witch,” the other man replied. Indigo bit her lips to stop herself laughing aloud.

  Fools. They were not the brightest of henchmen, shape shifters or not.

  “The duke is going to be extremely displeased.” Brixton’s voice wavered and he sounded close to tears. Indigo smiled to herself, imaging Lorca’s displeasure as their voices faded away. She lay back on the branch, looking at the stars in the cloudless sky above as she waited for rescue.

  * * * *

  At the same time as Indigo entered the Market Hall, the captain was on the suspension bridge to Duke Lorca’s castle. Zane clung grimly to the rope as the bridge swayed precariously beneath him above the massive drop to the wild sea below. Duke Lorca watched him through the monocular device on the parapet and spoke to the man standing next to him as they laughed together, watching Captain Dogooder fight his way across the swaying bridge.

  “If you didn’t wish to speak to him urgently, I would take great pleasure in dropping the bridge and watching her brother fall onto the rocks.”

  “He is not her brother, you fool.”

  The duke’s jaw dropped as he lowered the telescope, glaring at the comptroller general. “Don’t you…how dare…” Leopold spluttered.

  “Captain Dogooder is my man and I have summoned him to report on what he has found. Her crew is in the lockup and he has infiltrated her business. I suspect, knowing the captain and his reputation with the ladies, he may also have infiltrated Madame Vargas.” He laughed loudly at his own joke. “However, I suspect there is more to Madame Vargas than we have seen. We shall see whether the Captain can be trusted or not. I have information from the laboratory and we shall see if Captain Dogooder lives up to his name”

  The duke spluttered and stammered as he searched for words.

  “Enough, man. Captain Dogooder will be at the door in a moment. If you want her space at the Great Exhibition, you will do as I say.” His steely gaze left the duke speechless. A peremptory knocking heralded the arrival of a manservant who bowed to the duke.

  “Your Grace, a Captain Thoreau is here asking for an audience with you.”

  “He may enter,” said the duke, pulling himself up straight and retrieving some of his dignity.

  The captain sauntered through the door and stood looking at the two men awaiting him. His face was expressionless and he bowed to the duke before nodding at his employer. “Your Grace. Sir.”

  “Good evening, Captain. I hope you have much to report?” asked the comptroller.

  The duke led them to a large table covered with parchments. The comptroller pulled an ornate timepiece from his pocket to check the time. “Madame de Vargas will be with us shortly. Duke Lorca has kindly arranged her accommodation in his dungeon.” He smiled in anticipation of her arrest looking across at the captain as if to gauge his reaction. “Now, please tell me what information you have gathered over the past two days.”

  “Madame de Vargas is importing flowers to develop in her conservatory. She is determined to replicate many tropical environments in her tourist biomes. Despite her outstanding looks and her hard demeanor, Madame is not very clever. The man known as Mr. Grimoult, who is her manservant, is the organizer of the enterprise. Madame de Vargas merely provides the wealth and the exotic persona.”

  The comptroller looked hard at him. “Captain, did you see any sign of a laboratory in the manor house or in the biomes?”

  “No, sir. Madame Vargas took me on extensive tours of the whole complex over the past two days. There is no laboratory there. She would have been vain enough to brag about it. I only saw conservatories for propagation.”

  The comptroller looked across at the duke, nodding, and the beady eyes of Duke Lorca glistened. Zane looked up, with surprise on his face, as Lorca’s face started to shrink and disappear. The large rat jumped onto Zane’s arm, sinking his sharp incisors into the captain’s wrist. The comptroller smiled at the duke as Zane slumped in the chair.

  “Now, we will await the arrival of Madame Vargas. I shall get the truth. It is obvious this man has sold himself to that woman.” said the comptroller general. “I shall enjoy this very much.”

  * * * *

  Indigo was still lying on the hard branch at the top of the tree. The town had bedded down for the night, cottages gradually dimming their lights until eventually the whole town was in darkness. She had been entertained for a short time when
one of the dollymops looked after the needs of a sailor with great enthusiasm and much giggling at the base of the tree. As midnight approached, her limbs had become unbearably stiff as the cold seeped through her clothing, but she did not move in case a mouse or man remained on watch below.

  “Duke Lorca, you are a dead man,” Indigo promised silently.

  A carriage cruised slowly through the streets of the town. Looking down, she recognized one of the vehicles from her manor driving along the cobbled street. She carefully climbed down from the tree and waited for Mr. Grimoult to stop the vehicle beside her.

  “Not a successful meeting, I presume, Madame?” he commented.

  “No, Mr. Grimoult, and the curs have also taken my scarab.” She climbed into the old fashioned steam-powered carriage. “They shall pay for that as well.”

  Fog surrounded them as the vehicle slowly made its way above the country lanes toward the manor. Mrs. Grimoult met them in the foyer, wringing her hands before she locked each of the cogs on the massive door behind them.

  “We have more bad news, Madame. The captain has not returned. As you instructed, I followed him and he made his way to Castle Lorcathian. I also observed the conveyance of the comptroller general enter from the ocean into the castle earlier today.”

  Indigo pondered Mrs. Grimoult’s news. “Do you think we need a second rescue for the night? Or have I trusted too well?”

  “Madame, I believe Captain Dogooder is solid. I have no doubt he is a loyal servant. Your captain will not betray us,” said Mr. Grimoult.

  “All right then, Mr. Grimoult. I will change and we will embark on another rescue mission. Would you please prepare the air capsule?” She strode through the manor house, heading for her rooms.

  Shortly after, Indigo emerged from her dressing room dressed in her aviator’s suit, her black hair confined under a tight helmet, making her unrecognizable. Dials covered the sides of the helmet, with a small mouthpiece extending from a flap on the front chin piece. She carried a small ray gun, agreeing with Mr. Grimoult’s assessment of the situation.

  Rescue may prove difficult.

  “Are you sure you are up to this, Madame?” Mrs. Grimoult held her hands together tightly.

  “Molly.” Indigo bent to the housekeeper to reassure her. “If you remember, I spent half my childhood up a tree with Sofia. It takes more than one night in a tree to give me the vapors.”

  She had told Mr. Grimoult of the shape shifting earlier that night, but she did not want to worry the little housekeeper any further.

  “Time to leave.” Indigo headed for the vehicle storage room on the lower level of the manor house. She stepped up the ramp to a compact air capsule with Mr. Grimoult close behind. He closed the door up as Indigo hit the keyboard of a small analytical engine mounted next to the controls. A small map of the duke’s house appeared on the screen and she scanned each room with a click of the optical device. All was quiet, with no sign of activity.

  “Are you certain the captain entered the castle, Mr. Grimoult?”

  “Yes, Madame. Mrs. Grimoult followed him. The castle has been under observation since he arrived. He has not left, by road, air or sea. Your captain is still in there.”

  “There must be a room we do not have access to via the time viewer. Would you please position the ship in the air space on the western side of the castle?”

  A loud hiss of steam sounded and pushed the ship upward vertically, and they exited the building through an opening in the large tower on the ocean side of them manor. The air capsule crossed the open fields between the manor and the castle. With another hiss it turned toward the ocean before hovering high above the western wall of Castle Lorcathian. Indigo entered their coordinates into the machine and grunted with satisfaction.

  “Found him. He is in the dungeon, but it will be difficult to access him there. I need a diversion.”

  Anger filled her as the figures on the screen moved. The comptroller moved closer to Zane, who was strapped to a chair, straining at the leather that confined his arms and legs.

  “Not much longer, my sweet.” Indigo murmured. “Leave him alone, you cowards.”

  The duke appeared on the screen, advancing toward the captain with a large magnet in his hand. Lorca moved it in and out of Zane’s vision.

  “Fuck, what are they doing now?” Indigo cursed soundly as Zane’s head slumped and his eyes closed. The comptroller walked across, speaking to him and she saw Zane’s lips move in response. She understood and reacted instantly. Turning to Mr. Grimoult, she spoke urgently. “We must move quickly. Drop me onto the parapet and create a diversion on the lower level on the eastern side.” As she spoke, Indigo looped a rappelling rope around her suit, tying a double figure eight fisherman’s knot under her breasts. She attached the ray gun to her belt and Mr. Grimoult secured the other end of the rope to a large brass hook on the opening of the airship. Before Mr. Grimoult could acknowledge her request, Indigo jumped, landing on the parapet thirty feet below.

  Holding the airship steady until the rope detached, Mr. Grimoult then steered it to the far side of the castle. Within seconds, Indigo heard a loud crash followed by the ominous braying of the fog horn on the air capsule as it sent a continuous beam of sound down into the castle. She smiled grimly, pulling herself through a narrow opening in the castle wall.

  They had always worked well together. She would trust Mr. Grimoult with her life.

  Removing the ray gun from her belt, she moved silently through the maze of corridors winding down to the dungeon. Footsteps pounded above her, confirming the majority of the inhabitants of the castle were making their way to the eastern parapet to find the source of the commotion Mr. Grimoult was creating with the air horn. Indigo flattened herself against the wall and peered around the corner as the duke stepped onto the parapet. Creeping along, she quietly closed the door behind him and drew the bolt.

  Making her way down to the lower level, she paused and listened at each closed door. The captain’s voice came from behind the second last door. She listened, smiling as the comptroller said angrily, “I don’t care about a fucking tattoo, man. Now tell me, what is she producing? We know she has a laboratory in her manor. Why did you lie?”

  She grinned as Zane muttered sleepily. “The tattoo, I get the tattoo.”

  A sharp slapping sound of skin on skin hastened her entry. Opening the door, Indigo held the ray gun in front of her, entering the room silently. Zane and the comptroller were alone. She flinched as he slapped Zane across the face once more, calling over his shoulder. “Leopold, where are your instruments of torture?”

  Indigo slipped up behind him, placed the gun at the side of his neck, speaking quietly. “Will this do, sir?”

  His knees buckled and the comptroller put up no resistance, he was a man of words and administration, not of action and obviously a coward as well.

  “Untie him.” She pushed the gun onto his neck. “Now.”

  With shaking hands, the comptroller undid the shackles holding Zane to the chair.

  “Now lift him out.” Indigo pushed the gun harder into the soft skin, beneath his ear. A slight hesitation and she touched the trigger lightly. As the smell of his burning flesh wafted across the room, the comptroller cooperated instantly. After a moment, Zane stood beside her, looking at her with a silly grin on his face. In a low voice, she continued and pointed to the chair. “Now, sit yourself down, and bind your feet and one hand.”

  Finally satisfied the comptroller was secure, Indigo put the gun in her belt, quickly binding his other hand. A loud banging and cries of rage filtered through the narrow window from the parapet above and Indigo turned to Zane.

  “They have discovered they are trapped outside.”

  The captain looked at her, his eyes unfocused “The tattoo.”

  Realizing the mesmerizer still had the captain enthralled, Indigo looked around for the magnet. Finding it on the table, she smiled at Zane, and passed it quickly from side to side in front of his eyes. He
woke instantly, looking at her, the confusion fading almost immediately. Reaching across to him, Indigo kissed him swiftly on the mouth.

  “The tattoo, Captain?” Laughing, she grabbed his hand. “Come quickly, follow me.”

  Winding their way down to the water level via a circular staircase, they discovered the exit door at the base was locked. Footsteps clattered down the stairs behind them and Zane gently pushed Indigo to the side of the stairway. Before she could blast the door open with her ray gun, he flicked open the chronometer, twirling the large cog in the centre. There was a loud click and it swung open.

  “I want one of those.” Indigo grinned up at him.

  “I want an air suit like yours,” Zane replied with a smile.

  The comptroller’s submersible floated in the entry bay. The door to the ocean was open, ready for the boat to depart. They jumped on board and Leopold appeared on the dock just as the craft roared through the opening out into the rough water. Indigo took great pleasure in taking shots at the duke with her ray gun before pulling the cover closed prior to submersing in the comptroller’s ship.

  “One for each hour I lay in on that hard branch, Leopold.” She laughed with delight as the duke jumped and danced to avoid the rays zinging around his short legs. Zane hit the cog on the chronometer once more and the steam powered door slammed closed. Indigo watched the duke disappear from sight, his little legs still jumping and twitching.

  Chapter 6

  The efforts of the duke and his henchman to end Indigo’s preparation for the Great Exhibition failed and they did not attempt to interfere with her enterprise again. A very satisfactory debrief after Indigo rescued the captain from Castle Lorcathian set the scene for a most productive relationship between Indigo and the captain, much to the delight of her manservant and housekeeper.

  In the months leading up to the Great Exhibition of 1851, Mr. Grimoult designed and constructed an innovative contraption to float behind the dirigible. It consisted of a series of trays that transformed into a display case. Zane assisted the little man in loading the products, before they finally sealed the container ready for flight as they prepared for their departure to London.