Page 98 of The Best-Kept Secrets
All that meant he, as much as everyone else, had lost track of the date and was caught entirely unaware when Artemis announced that they would all be going out to gather greenery for Christmas boughs, wreaths, garlands, and such.
Time had gone so quickly. The house party was nearly over.
Dr. Wilstead seemed a little unsure of Nia’s participation in the outing but agreed that she could go along, provided she was bundled against the cold, not required to exert herself in any way, and vowed to be very forthright with the rest of the group regarding how she was feeling as the excursion went on.
Three of the estate wagons, each with a generous layer of straw laid inside, awaited them outside the doors of Fairfield. They were obviously very utilitarian vehicles, but the white horses pulling them would not have looked out of place at the front of a royal carriage. Duke had heard stories of the impressive horses bred at Ballycar before it was lost, but nothing could compare to the famous snow-white horses at Fairfield.
“Oh, Eve,” Nia whispered to her sister. “They are the most beautiful horses I’ve ever seen.”
“And you’ve not even seenmostof them,” Eve said. “An enormous stable full of pure-white horses.”
Duke stood at Eve’s side, where he tried to be whenever possible.
“Do you suppose I’ll feel well enough before our time at Fairfield ends to... to actually ride one?” Nia sounded hesitantly hopeful but also entirely exhausted.
“We’ll make certain of it,” Eve said.
But Nia didn’t look convinced. “We have no control over how long I will be ill.”
“I intend to threaten Colm if he attempts to send us away before you’ve had your dreamed-of ride,” Eve countered, earning a smile from her sister. “As everyone here now knows, I am more than capable of speaking my mind when I decide to.”
Duke set an arm around Eve’s middle, pulling her gently against his side. “If you do threaten him, let the Pack know. They’ll help you follow through on whatever consequences you deem necessary.”
“But Colm ispartof the Pack,” Eve said with a laugh.
Duke pretended to be caught unaware. “I knew I was forgetting an important detail.”
“Did you also forget that he’s your cousin?” Nia asked.
He dropped his mouth agape. “I have a cousin?”
Eve leaned a bit against him. “I love when you laugh.”
“I didn’t actually laugh.”
She smiled. Heavens, that dimple of hers. “You laugh with your eyes.”
There was an unexpected amount of revelation in that simple declaration. Duke was not one for laughing out loud often, but that didn’t mean he didn’t laughinwardlyquite regularly. And Eve had sorted that about him. He wasn’t certain anyone else ever had.
Duke pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I do hope I am placed in a different wagon than the two of you,” Nia said with a theatrical show of nausea.
Eve laughed again.
Duke drew her ever closer. “I love whenyoulaugh.”
“That is fortunate, because I laughoften.”
It was one of the many things he loved about her. She brightened every room she was in and lifted his spirits with ease.
“Friends.” Charlie’s voice echoed through the entryway. “Allow me to cut through the drudgery that inevitably accompanies festive activities to propose a ruthless competition. It is Christmas, after all.”
Artemis shook her head, barely hiding a smile.
“We depart as three teams, each in its own wagon, and vow to gather an assortment of Christmas greenery that will outshine that obtained by the other teams.” Charlie seldom looked as excited as he did when formulating a bit of entertainment. “Three wagons. Three teams. Only one winner.”
“What will the prize be for the winning team?” Newton asked.
