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Lady Maccon narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, and gave her sister a look and the time to contemplate what she had just said

Felicity sputtered "You ed! Here! In town? How unspeakably shameful!" She turned to ith her sister back down the stairs "May I see?"

Lady Maccon wondered if she did not prefer the cuttingly nasty Felicity of previous incarnations

"No, you otten into you of late? You are not at all yourself"

"Is it so unlikely that I should wish to iray shawl draped over her sister’s faded dress "Yes Yes, it is"

Felicity huffed in annoyance "I e for supper"

Lady Maccon looked her up and down, e a lip curl that was, quite frankly, reh not too often, there came an indication that they were, indeed, related "Yes, I do believe you led her shoulders and e shaken off, and proceeded back up to the best bedroom, which she had, naturally, commandeered as her own

Lady Maccon waddled on down, one careful stair at a tily annoyed by her own inability to move with any kind of alacrity Really this is simply too ridiculous! I’m trapped by my own body She attained the main hall only to find that the door to the back parlor was locked and shaking Professor Lyall and two clavigers were eith masculine concern

"Why aren’t you at supper?" demanded Lady Maccon ione to substantial lengths to provide"

Everyone stilled and looked at her

"Go on, go eat," she said to thes

Professor Lyall raised a quizzical brow at her

Lady Maccon lowered her voice "Biffy wouldn’t want anyone to see"

"Ah" Then the Beta, obedient to hisroo the door behind him

Lady Maccon let herself into the back parlor Which was an absolute mess Lord Maccon, now a ht, even in lupine forer, lankier animal Biffy’s fur was a deep chocolate color, much the same as his hair, except for his stomach and up to the ruff, which was oxblood His eyes were yellow and crazed

Lord Maccon barked at his wife authoritatively Lord Maccon was always barking at his wife, the for not one jot

Alexia dis tone "Yes, yes, but you must admit I can be quite useful under such circumstances as these, even in rowled in evident annoyance

Biffy caught Lady Maccon’s scent and turned instinctively to hurl himself at her, a new threat The earl twisted to place his own body in the way The slighter wolf charged full tilt into his Alpha Biffy reeled, shaking his head and whining Lord Maccon feinted toward hiainst the now mostly destroyed chaise

"Oh, Conall, look at this room!" Lady Maccon was displeased The place was in chaos--furniture overturned, drapes shredded, and one of the cook’s precious journals had been bitten into and slobbered all over

"Oh, doesn’t that just take the biscuit! That’s evidence, that is" Alexia’s hand was to her breast in distress "Oh, dear, I suppose I ought to have kept it with me" She couldn’t really bla She toddled her way toward hiloves

Biffy continued to snap and slather in her direction, growling in uncontrollable rage, the cursed monster of folklore made flesh and fur before her

Alexia tsked at him "Really, Biffy, must you?" Then she used her best Lady Maccon voice "Behave! What kind of conduct is this for a gentle tone sunk in Biffyfrenzy Some measure of sense entered his yellow eyes Lord Maccon seized the opportunity and charged, cla him down to the floor by sheer superiority of mass

Lady Maccon approached and looked down at the tableau "It’s no good, Conall I can’t bend down to touch hi over"

Her husband let out a snort of amusement Then, with a casual flick of his head, he hurled the young wolf upward A surprised Biffy landed on his back on the chaise lounge, scrarabbed his tail He jerked in surprise, enough to overbalance her so that she fell with an oof onto the chaise next to him In that same instant, the power of her preternatural touch forced him back into human form Even as Biffy’s tail retreated, Alexia reached for a paith her other hand

In very short order, a naked Biffy lay sprawled in a e with his foot firrasped by his mistress Since contact with Alexia made him mortal, with all the physical responses such a state entailed, it was not unsurprising to find hi criht, rasp and noted, with scientific detachment, that his blush went all the way down Rerowl drew her attention back to him He, too, was back in his hu at him He’s bare"

"So are you, husband"

"Yes, well, you can look at me all you like"

"Yes, well Oh" Lady Maccon clutched suddenly at her stomach with her free hand

Conall’ssolicitude "Alexia! Are you ailing? Oh, you shouldna hae coerous You fell"

Biffy sat up, also concerned He tried to extract his ankle, but Lady Maccon refused to let go "My lady, what is wrong?"