Bronwyn blinked, looking back as the beast tore through the front hall, nails scrabbling on the tiles, nearly toppling a footman in the process before racing out of view.
Stunned, she looked back at Katrina, who was still poised in the carriage door, her face a mask of horror.
“Oh, dear,” Katrina said faintly.
“What the blazes is wrong with Mouse?”
Before her friend could answer, a great commotion went up from the interior of the carriage behind her. A footman, poised to help Katrina down, barely had time to catch her as she was jostled from behind. And then Nelly and Eliza tumbled out to the gravel drive.
“Mouse!” Nelly cried, running after the dog, her tangled hair streaming behind her. “Hello, Bronwyn,” she chirped with a grin, not breaking stride as she tore into the house in hot pursuit of the animal.
“Nelly, it is my turn to ride Mouse,” Eliza called out, hurrying after her sister, not bothering with greeting Bronwyn at all.
Bronwyn, feeling as if she had just narrowly escaped a whirling tornado, looked back to Katrina. Her friend gave her a sickly smile.
“Lady Tesh thought it would be best if Mouse accompanied the girls back to Caulnedy. She…er, she apparently wanted, as she put it,some peace and quiet in her house.”
“Oh,” Bronwyn managed weakly.
Just then Regina appeared. She descended from the carriage without a word, approaching Bronwyn and sinking into a curtsy.
“Your Grace.”
Bronwyn was stunned by the coldness to her tone. She had not had much interaction with the girl; Regina tended to blend into the background, a result of her sisters’ boisterous energy, and Bronwyn hadn’t had time alone with her.
Recalling what Ash had told her of what the girl had been through and how much she had suffered, Bronwyn gave her a gentle smile. “Please call me Bronwyn.”
“It would not be proper, Your Grace,” Regina replied before, raising her chin, she marched into the house.
At a loss, and strangely hurt, Bronwyn could only stare after her.
“Don’t mind her,” Katrina murmured as she came up beside her, linking arms with her. “I’m sure she doesn’t mean any harm.”
Which, to Bronwyn, seemed highly unlikely. Regina had stared at her with what appeared to be deep loathing, as if her aim had been to hurt Bronwyn.
But Katrina was forever looking for the good in others, and Bronwyn doubted she could persuade her friend to see life differently if she tried. Which she most certainly did not. There were too many cynics in the world already, herself included.
She heaved a sigh and guided Katrina inside, trying to ignore the sounds of shouting and banging that echoed back at them from deep in the house. “Was it truly that bad?”
Katrina patted her arm. “Don’t worry yourself on that score,” she said with false brightness that didn’t fool Bronwyn one bit. “We’ve more important things to discuss. Such as your new status as a married woman. What is it like?”
Bronwyn couldn’t help how violently her face heated, no doubt a raging blush staining her cheeks. “It’s been…very enlightening.”
Katrina’s cornflower-blue eyes lit up like lanterns as she leaned closer to Bronwyn. “Is it everything the books say it is?” she whispered.
Bronwyn, mortified down to her toes, nevertheless could not lie. Though she was tempted to, especially when thinking of that incredible incident at the Elven Pools two days before. She cleared her throat, looking about for prying ears, before whispering back, “Even more so.”
Katrina gasped. “You must tell me. But no!” she exclaimed before Bronwyn could answer her—which she most certainly wasnotgoing to do. “You must wait until our next meeting. You can tell all of us at once. I know the others will be equally curious. Especially as your new husband seems to be a most virile specimen.”
Before Bronwyn could choke out a refusal to such a horrifying proposition, the virile specimen in question appeared, descending the stairs.
Katrina squeaked at the sight of him before dipping into a deep curtsy. “Your Grace.”
“Miss Denby,” he said warmly as he approached them. “Please call me Ash. But how lovely to see you again. I pray my wards were no trouble.”
In answer, a great cacophony arose from somewhere in the house, growing louder by the second. Suddenly Mouse burst into the front hall, tongue lolling, drool flying. He skidded to a stop when he saw Ash, his ears perking up with interest. And then, with a look Bronwyn knew only too well, he started off at a gallop for him.
“What in the blazes—” was all Ash managed before Mouse’s giant snout found its target: Ash’s nether regions.