Page 53 of The Best-Kept Secrets
Artemis looked utterly baffled. What was happening?
Eve turned to Duke, hoping he might have some explanation, but he wasn’t standing near her any longer and wasn’t looking at her.
“Mercito all of you wonderful Huntresses.” Mme Fortier stepped away from Artemis as she looked over the group with obvious gratitude. But gratitude for what? No one else seemed to have any better idea than Eve did.
M. Fortier spoke next. “I can tell all of you, we did not see another carriage on the road this morning, meaning the arrival you are awaiting is not likely to reach Fairfield immediately.”
With a huzzah, Charlie declared, “To the drawing room, friends!” then rushed in that direction as if storming a fortified city.
“He is very like his father was,” Mme Fortier said.
Charlie stopped his forward march, spun around, and bowed deeply to the Fortiers before resuming his energetic exit.
With a smile that was somehow both amused and sad, M. Fortier said, “So very like him.”
The Pack and Huntresses followed Charlie’s path. Eve helped Nia stand, and Colm quickly saw to the chair Nia had been using. Duke passed by on his way to the drawing room.
“I can only imagine what mischief Charlie will get into this next fortnight,” Eve said to Duke.
“We’ll soon find out, I suppose.” The response was not unfriendly, but he kept going rather than walking with her as she had fully expected him to.
“Is Duke upset with you?” Nia asked as they slowly walked toward the drawing room.
“I don’t know.” In her confusion, that was all Eve could manage to say. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Twenty
Artemis was waiting for Eveand Nia just inside the drawing room when they arrived. She hooked her arm through Nia’s. “If that horrid doctor had said you could not participate in this house party,” Artemis said as she walked with Nia to the sofa, where space had been left for her to sit and rest, “I would have declared him my mortal enemy and vanquished him with all possible haste.”
“What a relief that you aren’t to be excluded, Nia,” Daria said.
“Especially for Dr. Wilstead,” was Toss’s dry remark.
“What shall we do while we wait for Lisette?” Artemis asked.
“A game,” Charlie said in an immediate and enthusiastic suggestion.
“One we can play sitting down,” Eve requested, earning a smile of gratitude from Nia.
“We’d need to move the chairs into more of a circle,” Ellie, one of the Huntresses, said, “but we could play short answer.”
The group quickly took up the suggestion and adjusted the furniture as needed. Artemis remained seated beside Nia. It was like seeing a glimpse of the Season Nia would have without Eve. She wouldn’t be alone. She wouldn’t be neglected. That did Eve’s heart a great deal of good.
As everyone took seats to begin the game, Eve was able to sit beside Duke. After days of sitting next to him in the carriage, it was an arrangement she found comfortingly familiar. And as it always did, her heart flipped about at being near him.
Nia was chosen to begin the game. She turned to Artemis, seated on her right, and asked, “Who is your favorite Huntress?”
Laughter and grins popped up. The answers given could not be more than one syllable; that was one of the rules of the game. And of the Huntresses, only Rose and Eve had one-syllable names. Which would Artemis choose?
She proved more clever than that and answered, “All.”
Her response was booed, but only on account of “all” being a very useful answer in this game, and according to another of the rules, it could now not be given by anyone else.
Artemis turned to Charlie, who had predictably sat beside his wife. “Who is your favorite member of the Pack?”
Four Pack members had single-syllable names, but Eve didn’t think Charlie would simply pick one of them.
Giving Artemis a triumphant look, he answered, “None.”
