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As a direct result, Prirapes and she’d no practical example of what love was like Aunt Ivy lamented her loss with no less a coh Ivy returned to colour after the appropriate period of , not even the death of a beloved spouse, couldBut she refused to talk of her husband, enedy of his loss

Rue was as sympathetic as she could be to the fact that Pri herself for life to so This Plonks would have no idea what a prize he’d garnered and would likely squirrel Prianisational talents and interest in adventure Besides which, Rue was tolerably certain that Primrose’s real affections lay elsewhere

She prodded "And what about Tasherit?"

Prim went still "What about her?"

"Have you told her of your engagement?"

"Not yet"

"Ah"

"What do you ht not be overly happy about it"

"Really, Rue, why should a werelioness care what I do with my future?"

If Pri to force reality upon her Rue had been raised by Lord Akelda taste Primrose had been raised by Ivy Tunstell and thus understood hats She would never accept being wholly outside society’s purview

Tasherit had a rough road ahead of her If she decides to take it She was a cat; shesunbeah esteem is all I should think she, like all of us, would like to entleman before you marry him"

Prim blanched "She would eat him alive"

Rue pretended not to hear "Have you told your brother?"

"Yes, silly blighter He laughed atparty"

Rue sed down a s how a fewthatladies resurfaced, the workers had gone and The Spotted Custard seeinal pristine state as possible Decklings scurried about Deckhands luator splendour, holding court over Footnote and Virgil

Virgil had returned so recently from his errand that they were in time to watch him hand over the fated pah it rapidly, searching for a specific article

"It isn’t here!" He reached the end and discarded the now-insulting document petulantly

His valet was appropriately sympathetic

Footnote made a little mur-rup noise of enquiry

"My point exactly! Where is it?"

Rue and Primrose trundled up