Alice stood in the shadows just outside her home. In truth, she was scared stiff being alone, outside, and in the dark. Her thoughts drifted to her comfortable bed indoors. She shivered and pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders. Only for her brother would she be doing this. She had seen him come tearing in the stable to get a horse. She had been overjoyed to see him, but he had left with a hurried excuse—something about rescuing somebody. She had elected to wait for his return. She loved her brother, and had been furious when Chaplen had come knocking on their door, claiming he was the Shadow Fox. However, it had been her father who had made her the angriest. He had said that maybe a night in prison would knock the rebel ideas from his head. She frowned at the memory. She had almost announced herself a rebel, too, right then and there. She chuckled. That sounded like something Robyn would do. She wondered what had gotten into the other girl. They had never really been friends, but they had tolerated each other. Robyn had always seemed somewhat smart—not about the important things, like fashion, hair, and the handsomest lads in Boston—but now she seemed dense. Well, she reasoned, more dense than normal. For her not to know the events in Boston was most unusual. What had happened to Robyn?
Alice was shaken from her revelries by the sound of hoof beats. Her first thought it was some thief come to take her things or her person, but then she saw the horses were two, and the riders were four. Then she thought it was a gang come to murder her.
However, her fears were stayed when the voice of her brother called, “Alice! What in the name of the stars are you doing out in the cold?”
“Waiting for you, dear brother,” she replied, teeth chattering.
Laughing, Jacob leaped down and enveloped her into a hug.
She looked over his shoulder with a frown. “So which one of you is the Shadow Fox?”
A small boy dressed as a redcoat slid off of the black horse and bowed. “At your service my lady.”
She stepped toward him and tried to slap him, but he shifted out of the way just in time. “You-you-you’re the reason my brother was in jail! He could have hung because of you!”
She balled her fists and stomped her foot. Jacob stepped in front of her. “Calm down, Alice! He saved my life! No one can say I’m the Shadow Fox, now.”
“Still.” She glared at him, and to her surprise, his shoulders slumped.
“I know, Alice. It is my fault.”
She blinked in surprise. That was the last thing she was expecting. “Well, um-“ He looked so pitiful, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. “It’s alright.” She patted him gently on the shoulder.
“We should go,” one of the pirates said.
“Right.” The Shadow Fox waved at the other pirate. “Master Green Feather, jump up behind the good Captain on Midnight. I’ll meet you both back at the barn.” And with that, he melted into the shadows as the black horse wheeled around and galloped off.
~~~~~
Sovay’s eyes drifted slowly to the left, then back to the right. She blew a strand of red-blonde hair from her eyes in the most jaded fashion a person could possibly manage. Eying the pacing figure before her with much boredom, she said, “Robyn, that cloak really does not match your skirts.”
Her cousin gave her a peeved look. “Black goes with everything.”
“The cloak is the wrong kind of material to go with the skirt. Plus, a dark, melodramatic cloak does not mesh with an everyday gown. It’s like wearing a satin cape with muddy work clothes to a ball.”
“I’m not planning on leaving the attic, Sovay, so I don’t think anyone will be offended by my appearance.” She shot a withering glance at her cousin. “And it’s not melodramatic.”
“What am I, chopped liver? I am most offended by your appearance. And it is.”
Closing her eyes, Robyn pinched the bridge of her nose, which caused a giggle fit to emanate from her cousin. With arms folded across her chest, she frowned at the girl giggling on her bed. Toe tapping, she waited until Sovay was finished to hear the cause of the laughter.
“You looked quite like Chaplen when you did that. A cloaked, skirted, shorter Chaplen.”
Robyn returned to pacing.
“Why are you wearing the cloak anyway?”
“It helps me think.” Truth be told, Robyn had no idea why she was pacing around her attic room in her cloak. It simply felt better to pace with long black fabric swishing at one’s heels.
Sovay nodded with mock understanding. “Right,” she commented, drawing out the word for far longer than Robyn thought she needed to.
“Look, Chaplen has my sword. You are not helping me figure out how to get it back by commenting on my choice of fashion.”
“It’s just a sword, Robyn. You can get—“
“No, it’s not just a sword! Grandfather had that made especially for me! It has the emblem of a fox on it, and,” she paused, looked out the window and chewed her lip. “my initials.”
~~~~~
Directly below the two girls, Agent Chaplen was studying the sword in question. He had inspected the balance. It was perfect. The handle was long enough for two hands if one held onto the pommel, but the blade was light enough for one hand, as he had seen demonstrated. The blade fascinated him. It was long, slender and double bladed. It reminded him of a lighter, smaller version of the Scottish claymore. He flourished it in one hand, spinning it around. He smiled, circling the desk and sinking back into the chair. It was a beautiful weapon, and its owner was skilled with it. He ran his fingers over the insignia of a leaping fox on the ricassso. It appeared to be made especially for him. Just above the hilt on the blade were the letters “R. R.” He smiled slightly to himself. The little fox’s name, no doubt. There were many people in Boston with a first name beginning in “R.” Richard and Robert were very popular names. The last name was the key. He steepled his fingers and pressed his two index fingers to his lips. What names began with the letter “R?” He sighed. “Rivers” did. It was a pity there was no possible way it could be one of the Rivers.
He frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was missing something. There was just one piece of the puzzle missing, but it was the piece that made everything else clear. He sighed in frustration. Something was nudging him in the dark recesses of his mind, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t bring it to the light of the forefront.
A knock on the door interrupted his musings. “Enter.”
Ben stepped in, carrying firewood. The agent smiled as he knelt to place his load on the fire. “Tell me, boy, do the letters ‘R. R.’ mean to you?”
He watched with satisfaction as the boy’s shoulders tightened and he briefly stopped placing wood on the fire. However, he quickly returned to his work. Once he was finished, Ben stood and dusted himself off. Turning to the agent, he eyed him warily.
“Those are his initials, are they not?”
Ben managed a laugh that didn’t sound the least bit genuine. “What put that into your head?”
Chaplen tilted the sword so Ben could see it.
The boy snorted. “He got it from someone else.”
The man smiled. “You are a terrible liar, Benjamin.” He lay the blade back down on his desk and leaned forward on his elbows, remembering something. “His first name, is it ‘Robert?’”
“No, it is not.”
To his surprise, he detected no lie in the boy’s voice. He thought he had heard Ben shout the beginning of the name “Robert” when the Shadow Fox had attempted to reclaim his sword. He sighed as Ben left. He had been almost certain. He put his head in his arms. He was so close, yet so far. In a fit of frustration, he growled darkly into his arms.
A squeak from one of the floorboards caused him to raise his head. Robyn stood before him holding a tray filled with all the necessities afternoon tea required and a newspaper. The quirked eyebrow returned to its original position almost immediately and her expression changed to one of concern. The change was almost unnoticeable-he had blinked, he would have missed it. It puzzled him for all of two seconds, then he dismissed it.
“Are you ill Mr. Chaplen?”
Ignoring the incorrect title, he shook his head. “No, Miss Rivers, I am quite well.” Quickly changing the subject, he asked, “Is that my tea?”
“Aye, sir.”
He eyed her thoughtfully. “You don’t usually bring my tea up to my room.”
“No, sir, but I thought you might enjoy it up here today.”
She smiled so disarmingly that he ignored the strangeness of it and made room for the tray. He was so busy preparing room that he did not notice her eyes flick to the sword still resting on the desk. Her eyes moved to rest on him, the concern gone out of her eyes. The Shadow Fox’s smirk slid across her face as she realized what had caused the growl.
“There.” He looked up, and the smirk was gone—replaced by the disarming smile. However, she still didn’t make direct eye contact. “Thank you, Miss Rivers.”
She curtsied slightly. “You are more than welcome.”
Slipping out of the room, Robyn smiled to herself. “Oh no, Agent. Thank you .”
-----
Psssh. Sovay. She does not understand the helpfulness of thinking with a cloak on. She really reminds me of some one I know and love very dearly...
Anyway, sorry this is late! Last week murdered me. And now *shifty eyes* some one is trying to get me! No, seriously. My campus is doing this thing where you get some one's name and you have to tag them. However, some one also has your name. Day 1, and nearly all my friends are out. Yikes! When my friend got tagged, I nearly bolted. It's rather terrifying.
Well, I'm off to do homework, soccer practice, and survive...
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