CHAPTER 32
The Knave of Hearts opened the front door of his opulent home and bade Mary Ann and Carlos to enter. He made no effort to hide his amusement at finding them half naked and rutting like rabbits in his front garden.
Standing at six and half feet, he was a formidable man in his late forties. He had a heart shaped eye-patch on his left eye that did little to cover the expansive scarring on his face. Manipulative, crafty, and calm, the Knave of Hearts waited for the two trespassers to state their business.
Mary Ann sat ramrod straight on the settee. Carlos was but an arm’s length away and neither one looked at the other.
“We are searching for the White Pawn,” Mary Ann began.
“Haven’t see the princess,” the Knave of Hearts replied.
She gritted her teeth, “I wasn’t accusing you. We were told that you might have seen the Hatter recently.”
He nodded, “I have.”
“Was he acting like his normal self?”
The Knave of Hearts smiled, it was ruthless and about as friendly as a Cobra. “The Hatter is insane, so if you are asking if he acted in an irrational manner, I would say the answer would have to be, yes. But was it out of the ordinary for him, no.”
Carlos interjected, “Was the March Hare with him?”
The Knave of Hearts paused, “Yes, they are usually found in each other’s company.”
“Were you aware that the March Hare was brutally murdered yesterday morning?” Carlos continued.
For the first time the Knave of Hearts looked surprised, “Are you certain?”
Mary Ann nodded, “We suspect that the Hatter might have something to do with the murder and perhaps the kidnapping of the White Pawn.”
The Knave of Hearts wrinkled his brow, “Why would the Hatter kill the March Hare? There is no incentive and I would think it would destroy the man. Hatter might be insane, but I would never think he could be capable of murder.”
Mary Ann sighed, “I was of the same opinion.”
The Knave of Hearts leaned forward, “Are you sure this isn’t a ruse made up by the White Court? They could be trying insight a war on my queen.”
Carlos swallowed his comments on what he thought of the Red Queen. Pissing off the Knave of Hearts wouldn’t get him anywhere.
“Where was the last place you saw the Hatter?” Mary Ann asked.
“He was coming from The Glass House. I asked if there was something I could do to help him because it was unusual for him to be in this area. The March Hare was determined to get away without speaking to me, but the Hatter smiled and fed me some nonsense about cakes and tea parties running out of time. I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about but then I rarely do. The March Hare fumed at Hatter and fairly dragged him off before I could question the man further.”
“Did you ever discover why they were in The Glass House?” Carlos stroked his chin, “It is strange that the two of them would journey this far for something as trivial as tea.”
“Who is running The Glass House these days?” Mary Ann asked.
The Knave of Hearts looked at her askance, “Are you serious?”
She frowned and would have stomped her foot if she were standing.
“I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise!” she retorted hotly.
The Knave of Hearts looked like the cat who had eaten the canary.
“My dear girl, you should know, it is your brother who is taking care of The Glass House these days. Although, I have seen the Red Queen come and go a few times.”
The color drained from Mary Ann’s face, “But that is impossible. My brother works for the White Court.”
If anything, the Knave of Hearts looked even more delighted at Mary Ann’s distress.
“It would appear that you haven’t any need to speak with me, dear girl. But perhaps you ought to have a heart to heart with Harrison, the White Rabbit?”
Carlos helped Mary Ann to stand and thanked the Knave of Hearts for his time. As they walked away from his home Mary Ann clutched his arm. Her pallor was somewhat alarming to Carlos.
“Why would Harry be here? I don’t understand.”
Carlos didn’t know what to tell her. Harry had never seemed like an overly strong individual to Carlos. Was it possible that the man had been lured back to the Red Court? Carlos feared the answer was yes. The hurt and agony in Mary Ann’s eyes kept him from saying anything.
Carlos feared the Mary Ann had already come to the same conclusion.
The retreated back to the dirigible and were surprised when Jolly reported that no one had returned from The Glass House.
This was reason alone to panic. Mary Ann wanted to set of that instant, but Carlos had insisted that they wait for news. When night fell they knew that Jay, Mouse, Alice, and Lory were not returning. Arming themselves, Mary Ann and Carlos decided to use the darkness to sneak inside The Glass House.
They had gotten about fifteen steps from the dirigible when a sardonic voice greeted them once again.
“Isn’t it interesting that I am always finding you two in the strangest of circumstances?”
Carlos whipped around shoving Mary Ann behind him, “We don’t want any trouble.”
The Knave of Hearts grinned, “I welcome trouble, but that is not what I am here for. The Red Queen has a need of more players for her game and I happened to know where there were two available subjects.”
“I refuse!” Mary Ann shouted at him from over Carlos’ shoulder.
Carlos blew out a defeated breath. He knew that when the Red Queen summoned you, no was not an answer that she accepted. It would be yes or off with their heads. A part of him wanted to defy the evil queen. But he wasn’t about to allow Mary Ann to lose her head.
The Knave of Hearts cocked a brow, “What are you waiting for?”
Carlos turned and grabbed Mary Ann by the elbow, “We have to go. She will kill us if we don’t.”
“Then I would rather die,” Mary Ann spouted loudly.
The Knave of Hearts let out a low chuckle, “Listen to your boyfriend, sweetheart, and you might just survive.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Mary Ann raged.
But the moment the words left her mouth she regretted them. Was Carlos her boyfriend? The word seemed trivial compared to what she felt for him. He was more than just a boyfriend. She was coming to care for him, possibly love him.
One glance at his face and she knew that he had taken what she had said the wrong way.
“That’s not what I meant,” Mary Ann tried to salvage what was left of the conversation.
Carlos dropped her arm like it was a hot coal, “I think you made your feelings perfectly clear.”
He began to march toward The Glass House, his longer legs taking twice the distance that her shorter ones did.
“Wait,” she stumbled to keep up, “You don’t understand. I care about you Carlos!”
He whipped around, his eyes cold and menacing, “I have no use for your pity, Dame Mary Ann. You had your fun and a few thoughtless fucks. That was all it was, nothing more.”
But it had been more, so much more to her. Tears gathered in her eyes, but he had already turned away and didn’t see them. Mary Ann wiped them angrily away as she stomped after Carlos on the path to The Glass House.
They had just entered the gate when the front door opened.
Harry’s eyes widened, and he clutched the door, “Mary Ann? What are you doing here?”
She marched right up to her brother and punched him right in the nose. Her hand hurt and her heart smarted, but it was worth it all the same. Tipping her head up she walked past her shocked brother and into the beautiful house covered with glass and mirrors.
Just as she was beginning to feel sick at all of the emotion swirling in her gut, a new voice reached her.
“More players! Perfect!”