Page 38 of Charmless

“Are you mad? Do you want to see me chained up in the Dismal Dungeons?”

“It would not come to that. Commander Crushington told me he only wants to question you.”

“Oh, aye, with a barbed whip applied to my back and a hot spike shoved up my arse.”

“Horatio would never do anything like that. He is a fair?—”

“Horatio?”Mal interrupted. “You are calling him Horatio now?” He leaned forward so he could peer into my face. “Never tell me you have been kissing and flirting with The Crusher again.”

Shrinking away from him, I tried not to blush. I dreaded telling Mal that my feelings for Horatio had deepened well beyond flirting. I knew Mal was not going to take it well, but now was not the time to get into all of that.

“Horatio Crushington has been kind to my family,” I said. “He helped me to save Amy from disgrace the night of the ball, so I consider him to be a friend.”

“A friend! He’s a frapping Scutcheon Commander, Ella.”

“But he is not a swaggering bully like some of the others. Horatio is an honorable man.”

“Which makes him even worse to deal with because he is not susceptible to an honest bribe. He is rigid and duty bound when it comes to upholding the most petty and unreasonable laws. Crushington is the king’s loyal henchmen through and through and you are a fool if you ever let yourself believe otherwise.”

Our voices had become heated, drawing attention to us again. We were shushed on all sides. Florian looked annoyed by the disturbance, but he only sang louder. Horatio, on the other hand, had stiffened to attention and was slowly making his way in our direction. Mal noticed this as well.

“Frap!” He growled. “I must get out of here. We will continue this discussion later.”

“Fine!” I snapped. “I will meet you at the back of your shop.”

“No, you need to stay out of the Bottoms. Delphine is furious with you, too.”

“I know that. I crossed paths with her when I was looking for you and she threatened to curse me with boils or a mustache.”

“Don’t worry about that. She’d have to force a potion down your throat. I am certain she can’t just hurl curses out of thin air.”

“Just like you were certain that the prince would never remember me from the ball. Pardon me if I am not reassured.” I cut off the rest of my retort. Horatio was maneuvering his way closer, with a grim look on his face.

“I’ll come to you soon,” Mal whispered in my ear.

He squeezed my hand before trying to melt into the crowd, but we were hemmed in on all sides. Unless Mal wanted to draw more attention by shoving people out of the way, his progress was slow.

Horatio however approached at an alarming rate. He barked out a terse command. “Out of the way!”

The crowd fell back clearing a path for him. To make matters worse, someone else in the crowd must have recognized Mal. A shrill voice shouted. “Thief! Stop that villain.”

The prince's song faltered to silence and the musicians cut off in mid-note. Confusion and consternation erupted through the crowd. Some of the ladies began to shriek.

I could not see if Mal had managed to get away, but Horatio was closing in fast.

After an agony of indecision, I did the only thing I could. I hurled myself at Horatio, flinging my arms about his neck. It was like colliding with a stone wall. I stumbled and would have fallen if Horatio had not caught me. He held me for a moment and our eyes met, mine apologetic, his stern and accusing.

Before Horatio could set me out of his way, the prince descended upon us shouting, “What do you think you are doing, Commander? Unhand my beloved at once.”

Florian was flushed with anger, but Horatio ignored him as he scanned the crowd, looking for Mal. To my relief, there was no sign of my friend.

I turned to the prince, anxious to defuse his fury with Horatio.

“This was entirely my fault,” I said. “I stumbled into the commander's way.”

“Only because the man was charging like a bee stung bull. What is the meaning of this commander? How dare you interrupt my performance!”

I watched Horatio struggle to swallow his frustration at Mal’s escape. He bowed to the prince.