Agent Chaplen lay wide awake in his bed, thinking of the Shadow Fox and the conversation he had overheard between the boy and Ben. He could not believe he had lost—against a mere boy, no less.
Sighing, He shifted to his side and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was in the gracious arms of sleep. However, his clever mind never stopped working.
Suddenly, he sat bolt upright in his bed. Robyn! Robyn was the Shadow Fox! No, it was crazy. But it all fit. R.R., Ben’s closeness to the Shadow Fox, Daniel Dale, how the Shadow Fox knew everything, her height, the Shadow Fox’s slight build, her first rescue was her father. And those black eyes. Those eyes that were always secretly laughing at him. She served him tea every day. She had cared for him when he was sick. He spoke about things in front of her all the time. He had thought she was silly, dense, and even stupid. But for these last days, he would have never known. Her guard had begun to slip. He had caught those eyes laughing at him. He had seen the Shadow Fox’s smile pull at her mouth on more than one occasion. And, the Shadow Fox had accidently called him “Mr. Chaplen.” Oh, it was so obvious! That was what he had been missing. The Shadow Fox was no dog-fox. The Shadow Fox was a vixen. The Shadow Fox was Robyn Rivers.
Smiling to himself, he drifted back to sleep.
~~~~~
The next morning, Chaplen woke up in a particularly cheerful mood. But no, he must hide it. Robyn would notice. She would suspect. No, he wanted to shock her that night. Surely, the cocky girl would go to the barn to bid him farewell. Oh, yes. That would be fun.
He strode down the stairs as stately as he could. He could hear Robyn singing in the kitchen. Sovay said something, and the two laughed. He pushed the door open, and Robyn smiled at him.
“Good morning, Mr. Chaplen.” She set his tea in the usual spot.
Sovay set breakfast on the table and sat down. Robyn poured them both a cup of coffee and sat down next to her cousin.
Sovay sipped hers cheerfully. “So, I heard you ran into a bit of trouble last night, Agent Chaplen.”
Naturally, Sovay was the green-feathered one. So, the two guards would have been Jacob Sumpters, and—He frowned thoughtfully. Jack Richards, perhaps? He knew the boy had told the Shadow Fox how Howe was planning to attack Dorchester Heights. So then who was the pan wielding one? Alice? Alice Sumpters? That person had acted quite feminine.
Sovay cleared her throat. “You alight, Agent?”
“Quite.” He sipped his tea. “I was just thinking of the Shadow Fox’s friend. You know, the one with the green feather?”
“Yes?” There was caution in both the girls’ eyes.
“I was wondering why the Shadow Fox keeps him around. He seems to be an idiot.”
Robyn choked on her coffee.
There was a clang as Sovay attempted to kick her cousin, but missed.
Someone pounded on the door. Robyn set down her cup with a sigh. “Now, who could that be?”
Sovay sipped her coffee. “Sounds like General Howe. Tell him to try that cannon barrage again. It seemed to work well the last few times.”
Chuckling, Robyn left the room. She swiftly returned, followed by General Howe. He sat down and gestured at the pot of coffee.
“Is that tea? Pour me some, lass.”
Smirking—but just barely, Chaplen could see it now he knew to look for it—the girl poured Howe a cup. He took a sip and choked.
“What is this?” He demanded.
“Coffee, sir.”
“But—“
“Begging your pardon, sir, but you did tell me to pour you some.”
Sovay and Chaplen both snickered into their cups.
“Tea, girl, pour me some tea.”
Once his tea was poured, and he had downed half of it, Howe said, “I am here to hear how your plan to capture the Shadow Fox failed.”
Chaplen had guessed as much. He sipped his tea calmly.
“How on earth did five boys defeat nine grown men?”
Chaplen held up a finger. “There were six, General, and a dog and a horse. Besides, one of them had a pan.”
Robyn and Sovay could barely hold in their laughter.
Howe frowned at them, then glared at Chaplen. “So that’s your excuse?”
Chaplen sipped his tea calmly.
Howe’s face reddened. “Next you will be telling me that you were defeated by a bunch of girls!”
Sovay choked on her tea, and Robyn kicked her.
“As soon as the winds turn favorable, we will leave this blasted town. I want the Shadow Fox swinging from the gallows by then.” Howe stood, nearly knocking over his chair.
“That’s rather disturbing, would you not agree?” Sovay asked Howe. “Besides,” she muttered, examining her fingers, “it’s the green feathered one you should be worried about.”
Robyn arched an eyebrow at her cousin.
Ignoring her, Sovay rose to her feet. “I’ll show you out, general.”
Agent Chaplen opened his newspaper and surreptitiously peered over the top of it at Robyn. She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and did not notice his gaze. He searched the left side of her face for the scar. It was there, he knew, probably under stage makeup.
She must have felt his eyes on her, because her black eyes flicked to his. It was too late to look away, so he kept his eyes fixed calmly on her face. For a brief second, he saw the Shadow Fox’s intelligence before it disappeared behind the mask. She dropped her eyes from his.
He closed the newspaper and leaned on the table. “How is your brother, Miss Rivers?”
She shrugged. “I am not sure where he is. I am told he is safe.”
As she poked guiltily at her coffee with her spoon, Chaplen recalled the day before. When Sovay had burst into his study, Robyn had been about to reveal herself as the Shadow Fox, he realized. Ben had been her one weakness.
Chaplen wondered where she was hiding him. He instinctively knew that Ben would refuse to leave his sister. He correctly guessed that Sovay and Ben were the only two who knew the Shadow Fox’s identity. Such an interesting family, this was.
Robyn stood and gathered up the dishes. Agent Chaplen watched her, still marveling that his arch enemy was a girl.
-----
On more chapter, guys!
Ahem. Yes, sorry for the unintentional hiatus last week. Last week was... ulg, I try not to remember it.
Anyway, I'll most likely post the last chapter sometime this week. Then, I'll go on a bit of a hiatus while I work on the new story. I'm pretty excited about the new story. It's more fantasy oriented with a little bit of steampunk. I think it's going to be fun. Once I get the review from my beta tester, I'll see about sticking it up here.
C.P., OUT!
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