The Blackhope Enigma

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Book: Read The Blackhope Enigma for Free Online
Authors: Teresa Flavin
figure stepped into the clearing and Dean recognized the face he thought he had seen among the ferns. It belonged to a barefoot boy of about his age. He had shaggy dark hair and wore a loose shirt covered by an embroidered vest. His baggy trousers were bound at the waist by a red cloth, like a pirate’s.
    “D-don’t hurt us!” Dean stammered.
    “Young sir, I have no intention of hurting you!” Hugo was horrified. “Heavens, that is the last thing we should wish to do. You have found Arcadia — and so few have of late. May I ask who you are?”
    “I’m Sunniva Forrest,” said Sunni as calmly as she could. “This is my stepbrother, Dean Rivers. We’re here by mistake, and we’re looking for the way out.”
    Hugo looked surprised. “Sunniva,” he said thoughtfully. “That is an unusual name.”
    Sunni rolled her eyes ever so slightly. “My mother was Norwegian,” she replied.
    “Well,” said Hugo, “I have not heard of anyone arriving here by mistake before. It is a difficult task to guess the password. Yet despite your youth, you have cracked it.”
    He paused for a moment. “Or perhaps you are the accomplices of some great personage, sent ahead to survey this place? You would not be the first.” He nodded at Inko. “There is no sense in lingering here. Come, we will take you to the palace for a meal. We can speak freely once we are there.”
    Sunni remained where she was. She studied the man for signs of a shifty look or a fake smile. But his gaze was straightforward and his geniality seemed genuine.
    “How do we know we can trust you?” she asked.
    “I might ask the same of you,” answered Hugo. “Let me put it this way. Of all those you are likely to meet here, we are the least threat to you. And if we leave you in this glade, your safety cannot be guaranteed.”
    “How is it not safe here? Who is —?”
    “I will explain everything at the palace,” interrupted Hugo. “I offer you my word as a gentleman that you will not be harmed.”
    Sunni and Dean exchanged a glance and a hesitant nod. “Don’t let them split us up,” she whispered as they moved away from the tree and followed Hugo.
    “This way,” said Hugo, leading them deeper into the grove of trees, with Inko bringing up the rear. “It is not far.” As they thrashed past overgrown greenery, he called out in a jolly voice, “By Jove, it has been some time since anyone found his way in. In fact, I believe I was the last one until now.”
    “But why are you still here?” Sunni asked. “Don’t you know how to get out?”
    “Ah.” Hugo paused. “That is rather a good question. And one that I have not yet answered definitively.”
    “You’re stuck in here, too?” asked Dean.
    “Hmm . . . stuck. Not exactly the word I would use, but, yes, this is where I have ended up.”
    “Since when?” Sunni felt a growing sense of apprehension. She could hear the smile in Hugo’s voice when he answered: “Since the 20th of September, 1859.”

L orimer Bell turned off the news and put his head in his hands. Now Blaise had disappeared, too, even after he had warned him to stay away from Blackhope Tower. Maybe he should have told his student everything he knew. Or thought he knew.
    The computer on his desk beeped to say he had a new message. Lorimer frowned at the sender’s name and opened the message.
    It read:
I see some of your lambs have wandered into our pasture. See you soon. Angus
.
    Beneath it was a scanned newspaper article with a photo of a well-built man in a cluttered artist’s studio.
    Paris, January 16
    T HE R ETURN OF A NGUS B ELL
    International art forger Angus Bell is now using his original family name, Bellini, but can he change his infamous reputation as easily after five years in prison?
    He thinks he can, and his accountant would probably agree. Bellini’s first exhibition since he was released from prison has sold out within a week. The show, at Mimi St. Pierre’s stylish gallery, is the talk of Paris.
    But

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