Quentin’s eyes goggled as his head swiveled back and forth between Viv and Jacob.
“Tommy is teasing,” Viv said quickly. “Er… somewhat teasing. Jacob is indeed romancing me—”
Quentin grabbed his chest and flailed against the carriage squab.
“—but I will be spending the night with you, of course. Youremain my highest priority. I doubt you’ve eaten or slept well since you’ve been gone. Why don’t we take tonight to relax at home? We’ll settle down on our own, then tomorrow afternoon—”
“Cousin, are youbammingme?” This time, Quentin’s clasped hands bounced in supplication. “After a month stuck inside a pantry, I find myself making friends with real Wynchesters. I don’t plan to sleep at all, lest I miss a single minute of it!”
Viv reached for his hands. “But I thought we could—”
Quentin grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her toward Jacob. “I’m willing to postpone further conversation with this Wynchester if the two of you have somewhere you’d rather be.” He turned to Tommy. “I can’t wait to hear every bit of the plan to rescue me. Did my clue help?”
Viv blinked. “What was your clue?”
Quentin held up his thumb proudly. “They tried to use another finger, but I made the print using the one with the scar.”
Jacob raised his brows, impressed. “That was your idea?”
Viv arched one of her own. “You faint at the sight of blood.”
“Which gave me time to come up with the plan,” Quentin confirmed happily. “They’d pricked my index finger, so as soon as I regained consciousness, I smeared the blood onto my scarred thumb and pressed it onto the paper.”
“Thatwasa good clue,” Tommy said admiringly. “Well done.”
Quentin looked like he might explode into feathers.
“And yes, it gave us the break we needed,” Jacob added. “My family wouldn’t have known the significance, but your cousin put it together instantly.”
“She’s the smartest woman in the world,” Quentin said proudly. “Except maybe for Philippa Wynchester. Will I get to meet her, too?”
“You can attend one of her reading circles if you like,” Tommy said. “I’ll help you with your disguise.”
“Oh! And Graham? Can I meet him, too? I’ve collected so much intelligence for him over the years. Even more in the past few weeks. You wouldn’t believe the things people say when they don’t remember there’s someone locked on the other side of the pantry door! For example—”
Viv and Jacob exchanged slow grins as Quentin prattled on happily to Tommy.
Although Viv had at first believed the best thing was for her and Quentin to have quiet time together tonight in the comfort and safety of their home, he did not want or need her hovering over him like a mama bird. Her cousin seemed to think her celebratory night would be better spent in Jacob’s arms.
Viv wasn’t used to taking Quentin’s advice, but for once maybe her cousin was right.
There was a first time for everything.
32
Before he could whisk Vivian away in an attempt to enact his master plan, Jacob introduced her cousin to the rest of the Wynchester family and gave Quentin a tour of the barn.
Or tried to. Quentin wouldn’t step one foot across the threshold into an enclosed area containing wildcats and venomous serpents. His own attempts at training pets had taught him wild animals were not his forte.
“You see how I ended up with the tarantula and the badger,” Vivian murmured.
“Tarantula, I could understand,” Jacob whispered back. “But badgers aren’t venomous.”
“Rufus gets quite peevish if his meals aren’t served as quickly as he’d like.”
“Don’t we all?” Jacob answered with a grin, then turned to Quentin. “Speaking of food, I hear there are fresh pies and cakes inside. Shall we?”
All the others were gathered inside the sitting room. Quentin made Vivian point out which was “her” chair, and begged to have one assigned to him, too, if only for the night. Everyone was happy to play along.
