Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“I might take that advice,” she mumbled.
I hoped she would.
We left the breakfast room, walked down the hall, through the foyer and out the front door.
As expected, my Peugeot was there.
Not expected, Battle and Temperance were there too, with Bartholomew…and Chastity.
Whereas Prudence was in a gray number that looked like the sweater version of Princess Leia’s outfit on the Death Star (complete with full sleeves and dangling hood at the back), a pair of flowy white pants that had slits up the sides (even if her sweater went to her knees, so it could be a dress), and the big-toe-separated Mary Janes, Chastity was in a long, pale-pink pleated skirt and a punch-pink sweater set, complete with a strand pearls.
She had a cute pair of unblemished white Keds on her feet.
She was also wearing a beige, felt fedora pulled low over her brow with her splendiferous mass of blonde frizz poofing out from under it.
She did not look like she was going on a day jaunt to visit a spiritual mecca adjacent to where one of the biggest musical festivals in the world was held, doing this wearing a super cute outfit that, from what I could tell, was totally her.
She looked like she’d finally come to terms with her fate right before being led to the gallows.
I was uncertain about this, and when I say that, I mean…very.
But I wasn’t certain who to talk to about it.
Prudence seemed to be hanging in, but I didn’t want to give her any excuse to cry off.
Battle had decided I didn’t exist.
Chastity was out, for obvious reasons.
So it would have to be Temperance.
That decision was made for all of two seconds, even if I hadn’t quite decided how I’d pull off a chat with Temperance when everyone was hanging around, when Prudence and I hit the bottom of the steps and Battle prowled to me.
Yes.
Prowled.
He then took my hand and dragged (yes…dragged) me to the back of the Peugeot and then some.
When we stopped, he turned into me.
I’d just tipped back my head to look at him, and, I didn’t know, maybe ask him what the hell with the whole dragging me somewhere business, when he asked, “You’ll look after them?”
“Um…”
“You’ll look after them.” This time, it was a demand.
So I guessed I was going to be talking to Battle about this.
I set about doing that.
“Am I missing something here?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw before he lied, “No.”
A thought occurred to me.
“Do we need security or something?”
His brows shot down. “Definitely no. Why would you ask that?”
“Because you all are super, crazy, stupid rich?”
“We take pains,” he stated. “No one knows who either of them is.”
I’d lived that nightmare.
Forsooth, it would have been good to know how gorgeous he was before his looks made me faint right in front of him.
“It kind of gives it away when we drive out of a massive heritage estate, one you all happen to live in,” I pointed out.
He took a moment.
And only then did he admit, “Chastity has been staying close to home for a while too.”
And there it was.
“How long of a while?” I asked suspiciously.
“Three years.”
I felt my eyes get big, and I snapped, kinda loudly, “What the hell is going on?”
He took my hand again and dragged me farther away.
When he was done dragging me, he faced me and bit off, “Keep your voice down.”
“What’s going on?” I whisper-snapped this time.
“It’s not my story to share. Just that Chassie is…dealing with a few things.”
Dealing with a few things?
For three years?
My gaze drifted to the Peugeot to see both Temperance and Prudence seemed to be smothering Chastity as they helped her into the back seat of the car.
Yes, even Temperance was doing this.
I went back to Battle.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“She will be.”
“Is there something I should know?”
“Just be gentle with her.”
“With you acting all hinky, and me about to set out on a girls’ trip one of the girls on the trip isn’t all that fired up about, and you all casting me as the ringleader, that doesn’t give me much to go on, Your Grace,” I pointed out the obvious, and I did it sarcastically.
But I said the wrong thing, I knew, when I was being dragged again.
This time we went a long, loooooooong way, turning onto a path that took us down the side of the house.
Only when we were out of sight of his sisters did he stop me again.
And when he faced me this time, he did it right in my space.
So in my space, I had to tip my head way, way back to catch his eyes, and when I did, he was all I could see.
“What did I say about calling me that?” he asked, his purr silken and sinister.
“You’re being weird!” I defended hotly.
“I’m simply requesting you have a care with my sister.”