Page 2 of The Best-Kept Secrets
That was the name the Huntresses’ closest friends used, a group of gentlemen their same age who had, of late, become ever more intertwined with them.
have worked quite painstakingly—or painfully, depending on one’s view of the matter—to bring this about. The previously decided-upon dates remain the same, but they, at last, have secureda location: Fairfield, the Greenberry family’s estate in Surrey.
“Colm said his parents might be willing to host the gathering,” Eve said.
Nia nodded. “And it’s near enough to London that Ellie and Daria should be able to make the journey.”
Finding a way for all the Huntresses and all the Pack to gather was growing more complicated as their individual lives took them in countless directions.
Duke is to meet you in Dunleary, which I am assured is not far from Dublin. He, and an appropriate chaperone, will bring you two to Fairfield for the gathering. As the Pack did vow to make this feasible for everyone, the travel arrangements and expenses have been seen to, though I have not yet managed to wheedle out of myCharlie exactly how the Pack managed that.
For now, I will be content knowing that all my Huntresses will be together again, and I will save my energy for planning ways we can amiably torture the Pack.
All my love to you both.
Yours, etc.,
Artemis Jonquil
Eve sighed with delight. “We get to see everyone again.”
“Which one is Duke?” Mother asked from the worktable.
“The quiet one who always seems angry,” Nia said.
Mother’s brow pulled in concern. “Will you not be miserable making so long a journey with a gentleman who’s always angry?”
“He alwaysseemsangry,” Eve repeated with emphasis. “’Tisn’t true though. And if it further puts your mind at ease, Duke’s given name is actually Dubhán.”
Mother perked up on the instant. “He’s Irish, is he?”
Eve and Nia nodded in unison.
“That must be the reason he’s the one accompanying you to Surrey. He’d be departing from Dublin as it is.”
That was not actually entirely true. Duke’s familywasIrish, and Eve thought she’d heard that he was born in Ireland, but he’d lived most of his life in England, where his family now made their home. But perhaps he was in Ireland visiting members of his extended family.
“Who do you suppose the ‘appropriate chaperone’ will prove to be?” Nia asked.
“Perhaps his mother,” Eve guessed. “Or Charlie’s. She would be lovely to make a journey with.”
“If not on this excursion, perhaps on the next.” Nia smiled, as clearly delighted with the idea as Eve was. “At the very least, we will see her in London next Season.”
Charlie and Artemis were married. There was practically no way anyone among the Huntresses or the Pack could entirely avoid members of either of their extended families.
“We have such larks in London.” Eve grinned at the memory of a few of those adventures.
Mother dropped the last of the fish chowder ingredients into the pot over the fire, set the heavy lid over it, then turned back to them. “Have you a minute, Eve?”
“Of course.” She walked with her mother out of the kitchen.
Edmund and Scuff ran past as the two women walked down the corridor. The boys were taller than either of their sisters, lanky, and so full of good-natured devilment.
“What are the two of you up to?” Mother asked.
In perfect singsong unison, the boys answered, “Nothing,” and continued on their way.
“Strikes fear into the heart, that does,” Eve said, grinning as she watched them go.
