page65 (1/2)

She had no doubt that she still drove him a little bit mad But she seemed to drive everyone a little bit mad, so she decided not to attach too much importance to that

But he liked her And he respected her intelligence as well And if he was occasionally reluctant to demonstrate this as often as she would like…well, she had four brothers She had long since learned that it took a fully forht be s other than fabrics, perfumed soaps, and tea

She turned her head to look at the clock, which sat on the mantel over her small fireplace It was already past noon Gareth had promised that he would call on her this afternoon to see how she was faring with the note That probably didn’t mean before two, but technically it was the afternoon, and—

Her ears perked up Was that someone at the door? Her rooenerally hear when soot up and went to the , peeking out from behind the curtains to see if she could see anyone on the front step

Nothing

She went to the door and opened it just enough to listen

Nothing

She stepped into the hall, her heart pounding with anticipation Truly, there was no reason to be nervous, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Gareth, and the diamonds, and—

“Eh, Hyacinth, what’re you doing?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin

“Sorry,” said her brother Gregory, not sounding sorry at all He was standing behind her, or rather he had been, before she’d whirled around in surprise He looked slightly disheveled, his reddish brown hair windblown and cut just a touch too long

“Don’t do that,” she said, placing her hand over her heart, as if that ht possibly calm it down

He just crossed his arainst the wall “It’s what I do best,” he said with a grin

“Not so about,” Hyacinth returned

He ignored the insult, instead brushing an i coat “What has you skulking about?”