“Tell me all aboutDev.”
“Well,” Beatrix began, her mouth gone suddenly dry, “he’s handsome.”
“Indeed.”
“And very successful.”
Artemis nodded, consideringly, and looked in no way satisfied by Beatrix’s answers. When she opened her mouth surely to pursue the matter of Mr. Blake Deverill further, a cacophonous splashing sound tore through the air.
Beatrix, at last, noticed her surroundings.
Their ramble into the woods had led them to the little pond.
A delighted laugh escaped Artemis as she took in the sight of Bathsheba enjoying a swim. “Oh, what a lovely folly. Let’s explore, shall we?”
“No!” shouted Beatrix.
Artemis shot her a bemused glance.
“There’s a…” Beatrix searched her mind for something—anything—that would prevent them from entering the folly. She wouldn’t be able to bear it, given…yesterday. “There’s a… wild beehive.”
Really, she should sound more affrighted than relieved.
Disinclined to argue the point, Artemis shrugged and whistled to Bathsheba, indicating they would keep walking.
Even as she strolled with her friend, Beatrix waited.
The interrogation was far from over.
It wasn’t a minute before Artemis returned to the subject. “Now, tell me aboutDev.” When Beatrix opened her mouth to reply, her friend held up a staying hand. “And not what anyone can see with their own eyes and hear from any old gossip hound.” Her gaze bored into the side of Beatrix’s face. “Who is he, really? And why are you engaged to the man?”
The truth lifted its head and presented itself as an option.
After all, Artemis was her dearest friend.
No.
If she spoke one truth, it might lead to another, deeper truth…then another yet deeper.
“He’s not really a devil, of course.”
A surface truth.
A safe truth.
Artemis held her tongue and waited for more.
“He’s very…” Oh, Dev wasverya lot of things… “Sweet.”
A truth a little less safe—one that teetered on the edge of dangerous. The sort of truth that could be a falling domino, if she wasn’t careful.
Artemis’s brow gathered. “Blake Deverill issweet?”
“He is, actually.” For some reason, she continued. “And thoughtful. Loyal, too.”
Artemis snorted. “He would make an excellent dog.”
Beatrix laughed. She couldn’t help it, even as the thread of tension pulled tauter within her.
