Skulduggery Pleasant- Daughter Of Darkness

ROSELYN AND STEPHANIE

*Hi all, thank you so much for reading! this is my first fanfic so I hope you all like it, I would really appreciate all your support and comments! :) thank you all, hope you enjoy this book*

It was at her uncle Gordon's funeral, Where Roselyn and her little sister Stephanie had first caught sight of the gentleman in the tan overcoat.

He was standing under the shade of a large tree, away from the crowd, the coat buttoned up all the way despite the warmth of the afternoon. A scarf was wrapped around the lower half of his face and even from her position on the far side of the grave, Roselyn and her little sister Stephanie could make out the wild and frizzy hair that escaped from the wide brimmed hat he wore low over his gigantic sunglasses. They watched him, intrigued by his appearance.

And then, like he knew he was being observed, he turned and walked back through the rows of headstones, and disappeared from sight.

After the service, Roselyn and her sister Stephanie and their parents travelled back to their dead uncles house, over a humpbacked bridge and along a narrow road that carved its way through thick woodland. The gates were heavy and grand and stood open, welcoming them into the estate. The grounds were vast and the old house itself was ridiculously big.

Roselyn stood, watching, listening ,to all the people making small conversation. Some complimenting the house. others talking about the will in hushed voices. Gordon wasn't a man who inspired, or even demonstrated, any great affection, so no one could predict who would inherit his substantial fortune. Roselyn could see her fathers other brother, a horrible man called Fergus, who she didn't like, nodding sadly and speaking somberly and pocketing the silverware when he thought no one was looking.

Roselyn rolled her eyes at the man, crossing her arms. Roselyn watched as Beryl walked passed her. Beryl drifted through the crowd, deep in unconvincing grief, prying for gossip and digging for scandal. Her daughters did their best to ignore Roselyn and Stephanie. Carol and Crystal were twins, Fifteen years old, the same age as Roselyn, three years older then Stephanie, they were just as sour and vindictive as their parents. Whereas Stephanie was black-haired, tall, slim and strong, and Roselyn being dark brown-haired, blue eyed, pale, short, but slim and strong, they were bottle-blonde, stumpy and dressed in clothes that made them bulge in all the wrong places, apart from Stephanie's brown eyes, no one would guess they were related, Well, Stephanie anyway, Roselyn was adopted by Desmond and Melissa Edgley when she was three years old, so she didn't look anything like them.

Roselyn knew Stephanie liked that no one could tell they were related to the twins, it was the only thing the sisters liked about them. Crystal glared at Roselyn with a snare, "Really?" Roselyn asked, arching her brow. Crystal just carried on glaring at her. Roselyn shook her head, walking away from the horrible sisters.

Gordon had been a good uncle, Arrogant and irresponsible, yes, but also childish and enormous fun, with light in his eyes, a glint of mischief. When everyone else was taking him seriously, Roselyn and Stephanie were privy to the winks and the nods and the half-smiles that he would shoot their way when they weren't looking.

Even as children they felt they understood him better than most. They liked his intelligence and wit, and the way he didn't care what people thought of him, He'd been a good uncle to have, He'd taught them a lot.

Roselyn knew that her adoptive mother and Gordon had briefly dated ("courted", her mother had called it), but when Gordon had introduced her to his younger brother, it was love at first sight, Gordon liked to grumble that he had never got more than a peck on the cheek, but he had stepped aside graciously, and had quite happily gone on to have numerous torrid affairs with numerous beautiful women. He used to say that it had almost been a fair trade, but that he suspected he had lost out.

Roselyn climbed the staircase, Stephanie beside her, as she pushed open the door to Gordons study and stepped in, her sister following her in, Roselyn looked around the room, shelves loaded with books where everywhere, there were so many things in this room, it felt cramped, turning around Roselyn walked towards the desk, touching the chair softly, it saddened her to think how Gordon had died here, right in this very chair, Alive one minute, Gone the next. And then a velvety smooth voice startled her making her jump around. noticing that Stephanie, too, had been started by the voice.

"At least he died doing what he loved."

Surprised to see the man from the funeral in the overcoat and hat standing in the doorway. The scarf was still wrapped, the sunglasses still on, the fuzzy hair still poking out. His hands were gloved.

"Erm, yes, I guess so" Roselyn said quietly, Stephanie shuffling closer to her sister.

"You're some of his nieces then?" the man asked them. "You're not stealing anything, You're not breaking anything, so I'd guess your Roselyn and Stephanie."

Roselyn nodded and took the opportunity to look at him more closely. She couldn't see even the tiniest bit of his face beneath the scarf and sunglasses.

"were you a friend of his?" Stephanie asked

"I was," he answered with a move of his head. This slight movement made her realize that the rest of his body was unnaturally still. "I've known him for years, met him outside a bar in New York when I was over there, back when he had just published his first novel."

Roselyn couldn't see anything behind the glasses - they were black as pitch. "are you a writer too?" Roselyn spoke up. "Me? No, I wouldn't know where to start. But I got to live out my writer fantasies through Gordon."

"you had writer fantasies?" Stephanie asked. "Doesn't everyone?" he replied. "I don't know, I don't think so she said. "Oh, then that would make me seem kind of odd wouldn't it?" "I mean" Roselyn answered, "It would help?". Roselyn responded, with a shrug.

"Gordon used to talk about you two all the time, boast about his little nieces. He was and indivisual of character, your uncle. It seems that you are too."

"You say that like you know us Stephanie said. "Strong-willed, intelligent, sharp-tongued, doesn't suffer fools gladly... remind you of anyone?"

"Yes, Gordon," Stephanie said. "Interesting" said the man, "Because those words are the exact words he used to describe you two." His gloved fingers dipped into his waistcoat and brought out an ornate pocket watch on a delicate gold chain.

"Good luck in whatever you decide to do with your lives."

"Er.. Thank you. you too? I guess?" Roselyn said a little dumbly, "yeah, You too" Stephanie said. Roselyn felt the man smile, though she could see no mouth, and he turned from the doorway and left them there. Roselyn found she couldn't take her eyes off where he had been. Who was this man? She hadn't even got his name.

She crossed the door and stepped out, wondering how he had vanished so quickly. "Jeez" Roselyn said to herself, hurrying down the stairs, with her sister hot on her heels, when she reached the large hall without seeing him. she opened the front door just as a big black car turned out on to the road. They watched him drive away, stayed there for a few moments, then reluctantly re-joined their extended family in the living room, just in time to see Fergus slip a silver ashtray into his breast pocket