the lands and oceans. In fact, by the time the journey finally came to its end, I admittedly was an exhausted little Imp. And as much as I was a fan of the furry smart guys, I was getting tired of heaving around the large trunk they were kept in. Not Percival though… never Percival.
Now this thinking had also led me to look back on what usually happened when I questioned Pan too much on the shady decisions he made. And let’s just say that the bastard had a brutal backhand, and the more years that went by the less patient he was with my questions.
Which was why I decided the next time he would do something like that, no matter how good he was with his tongue, I was kicking him back. Yes, and I would do so in such a way that his favourite appendage most likely wouldn’t be classed as much use for filling holes for quite some time. Alas, my hope was that it would turn a rather angry shade of purple before swelling, and not in a good way, before eventually falling off.
Oh, indeed these last few days had given me a lot of cause for thought and after a deeper, more meaningful conversation with Percival, I decided that Pan was going to have to go. That I would aid him in what this last job of his may be, and then take my dues and find myself a new situation. Find myself a nice country estate to work at. A fine idea if ever I created one. It be true that my skills of baking bread weren’t exactly up to par, but even I had to admit my needlework was to be envied by most.
By the Gods, I was finally going to make it on my own.
Yes, good plan, Pipper.
Of course, like most plans I made, it kind of fell to pieces the moment I arrived in London, where Pan met me and started manhandling me off the carriage. Pan, it couldn’t be denied, was a handsome man. Which was unfortunate, as together with his talented tongue… it made him all the more harder to leave. But there was something else about him that seemed to be able to captivate all he came in contact with. It was those pale gold eyes that burned yellow when angry. A pair that were deep set and framed by dark, thick slashes of prominent brows. Those high cut cheekbones that created shadows at the sides of his face, matching his slim nose, pointed chin and dark, long curly hair.
He wore a dark grey slashed doublet, a wide reticella lace collar and cuffs, complete with a black broadbrimmed hat. Oh, and those all-important farting crackers, a term I had invented to describe breeches that had caught on and was now widely used… a proud moment for me as I liked to think of myself as somewhat of a wordsmith.
“What took you so long?” he snapped, and practically dragged me out of the carriage as the coachman was unstrapping my trunk, and one that admittedly was starting to smell a bit. I yanked my arm from his hold and looked up at him, with my hand to my hip between the cream doublet and the skirt that fringed it.
“I have been travelling for months and that's the first thing you say to me!” I snapped back, and the moment I saw that evil gleam in his eyes, I knew if we hadn't been out in public I would currently be suffering from a sore cheek… and be grinding my teeth to hold myself back from kicking this man to the ground. Of course, Pan wasn't without his powers, in fact, he was pretty much the original snake charmer, for he was never found without pipes tucked away in his pocket.
Honestly, I was pretty sure that he had put some sort of spell on me when I had started to argue about taking on this job in the first place. Because before I knew anything else, I was on a ship heading out of Britannia and on my way to the Middle East. Well, now that I was back and he had taken possession of my cargo, I felt a huge weight lift from my mind. It had been like a mental veil had been shrouded around me this entire time. I even found myself shaking my body as if I was trying to rid myself of the lingering remains