Page 88 of The Best of Friends
“That, my dear Daria, is because we are exceptionally amazing people.”
“We.” She smiled as she repeated the word. “In my family, I never truly felt part ofwe.”
“We, we, we.” He winked at her. “I’ll say it as often as you need to hear it.”
Daria turned her head enough to press a light kiss on his cheek.
“Enough of that, you two.” Artemis stood in the doorway of the music room, hands on hips. “We’ve tallied your points, and everyone is simply dying of curiosity.”
“You’ve not told anyone yet?” Daria asked.
Artemis shook her head. “We’re waiting for you, so there’s no time forl’amour.”
Toss kept Daria’s hand in his as they walked to the drawing room. She would miss him when he returned to Cambridge, and waiting until his studies were completed and his place in the world of music was established would be excruciating. But he loved her. He wanted her in his life. It was a reassurance and a promise that soothed the heartache their separation would cause.
Artemis joined Charlie where he stood in the midst of the drawing room. All the others sat or stood facing them.
“Up here with me, Toss,” Charlie called out. “You and I are to represent the gentlemen’s interest in this matter.”
Daria took her place next to Artemis. “And we are the representatives of the Huntresses, I suppose.”
Artemis dipped her head. “It has been an epic battle, I must admit.”
“Tell us the results of this epic battle,” Eve called out. “Torturing us seems unnecessary.”
“But it’s such fun,” Charlie said with a grin.
“Before the tally,” Fennel said, “we should tell them the name we’ve fashioned for ourselves—provided Scott does not write with any objections.”
Daria looked at Toss, surprised to hear he and his friends had chosen a name at last. He smiled back at her, a sight she would never tire of.
“What have you decided on?” Artemis watched Charlie with wide-eyed curiosity.
“I suppose that means I am being designated the spokesman for our soon-to-have-a-name group of exceptional gentlemen?”
“Is that what you’ve settled on, then?” Eve asked. “‘Group of Exceptional Gentlemen?’”
“That would befartoo obvious a choice,” Duke answered.
Poor Tobias stood a bit apart, looking downcast and miserable. Daria tried to catch his eye, wishing to offer a smile or some other gesture of reassurance. It was no more his fault than hers that their parents were not the sort of people they ought to be. But he didn’t look her way.
“We decided that as our paths seem unavoidably entwined with those of the Huntresses, we would do well to choose a name that compliments yours.”
“An excellent idea,” Artemis said.
“So we have chosen to be known henceforth and forever as the Pack.”
A grin immediately appeared on Artemis’s face. “As in a pack of hunting dogs?”
“Precisely.” Charlie dipped his head a little in her direction.
The Pack.Daria liked it. And judging by the sparkle of amusement in Toss’s eyes, so did he.
All around the room, the Huntresses expressed their approval, and the gentlemen—thePack—preened a bit at having settled on such an ingenious solution to their lack of a collective name.
“Time for the point totals.” Artemis set a hand briefly on Charlie’s arm.
To the gathered group, he said, “Artie and I have checked our list again and again. We are certain we have remembered everything.”
