Page 40 of The Best-Kept Secrets
Duke’s mother beamed. His father looked undeniably proud.
Her voice still a little too quiet, Nia asked Artemis, “Where is Lisette?”
“She is expected tomorrow,” Artemis said, studying Nia with a hint of concern, though she didn’t press the matter. “Lisette’s was the longest journey, and we can only hope she did not have to contend with any troublesome bridges.”
“‘A troublesome bridge’ is actually a rather fitting description of the Channel,” Eve said.
Artemis smiled ever more broadly. “It is good to have the two of you here. You always keep things lively.”
Lively. When the Season rolled around again, the Huntresses would be in London enjoying the liveliness of it all. And Eve would be at Tulleyloch, gaining an aching familiarity with loneliness.
Chapter Sixteen
“Of course you may stayas long as you need.” Aunt Penelope was doing an admirable job hiding her frustration.
Grandmother was making no such effort. “I notice you did not say we werewelcometo stay.”
Aunt Penelope took a single breath, something Duke had seen her do when keeping her temper in check. “The omission of that word was not intentional nor is there a message in it.”
“Yet you did omit it,” Father said, arms folded across his chest.
Through tight teeth, Aunt Penelope muttered, “Liam.”
The family confrontation was occurring in a sitting room out of sightand, Duke hoped, out of earshot of the others in the house.
“The house is quite full at the moment and will be chaotic for at least a fortnight,” Aunt Penelope said. “You might find that uncomfortable if you are in the midst of it overly long, so you needn’t feel obligated to endure it. That is all I was attempting to say.”
“Then, why didn’t you?” Grandmother’s offended sniff was not one of Duke’s favorite sounds, yet it was one of the most familiar.
“I did say that.” Aunt Penelope spoke slowly and precisely.
Good heavens, they were going to murder each other in the middle of a Huntresses and Pack house party. This gathering would be legendary in all the wrong ways.
He would have to step in and steer the Seymours away from disastrous waters again. And he would have to do it here, at Fairfield, where he’d been imagining creating a haven for himself.
But before he spoke, an unexpected sight in the window he was facing caught his attention.
The Pack.
Undertaking a theatrical reenactment of something.
Toss stood stiffly with his arms at his side, while Newton and Charlie pretended to punch him. Scott strutted about, occasionally taking a jab at the others as he passed. Fennel and Tobias, with an absurd lack of synchronicity, pointed alternately at the group gathered outside the window and at Duke. Colm stood a bit to the side, laughing at them all.
Duke shook his head at their absurdity but was inwardly grateful for it. The Pack’s antics over the years had formed most of his absolute favorite memories.
Charlie threw his hands up in a dramatic show of annoyance that Artemis herself would have been hard-pressed to match. Then the Pack began all over again with a performance assuredly meant to be identical to the first but falling apart even more quickly. They dissolved into laughter on the other side of the glass.
They were entertainingly ludicrous.
Charlie held his hands up to the others, signaling that they should stop their efforts. He then stepped right up to the window, so close he could have leaned forward and pressed his face to the glass and, looking directly at Duke, pointed at himself and the rest of the Pack, then pointed at Duke. He held up his fists in a pugilistic stance, pretending to jab his fists at an imaginary foe. Then, still holding Duke’s gaze, he used two fingers on his left hand to mimic the movement of walking.
“How ridiculous is he likely to get if we pretend we didn’t understand that?” Uncle Niles had apparently been watching.
Duke answered his whispered question with a whisper of his own. “He excels at being ridiculous.”
“Which either pleases or annoys his brother-in-law. The Duke of Kielder is very fond of the wordridiculous.” Uncle Niles glanced over at the family group eyeing each other tensely. “We should sneak out while they’re distracted.”
“You would abandon Aunt Penelope?” Duke asked, still keeping his voice low.
