“Let’s start with the refugees. There are many places in the realm to hide such creatures.”
“They feel safe here.”
“They poop on the pages.” He says this as if it’s the worst crime ever. I guess to a fancy librarian, it might be.
“I’ll hold an etiquette meeting this very turn. Next.”
“I have a list of unacceptable behaviors.”
I open my mouth to demand it, and a piece of parchment floats down onto my stomach.
“Paperwork in the bedchamber is not sexy,” Theo grumbles, tugging me closer.
“Is there anywhere it’s sexy?”
“Marriage.”
I blink and turn my head to stare into his pretty green eyes, and he winks at me. I can’t decide if he’s teasing or proposing to me. I need my sister to decipher this behavior.
“No need to wonder, Daphne. I’d wed you this turn if you’d let me.”
“I do believe the other Stirling brothers would have issues with that,” the All Knowing advises.
I’ve never heard of a wedding where a maiden marries not one, but four suitors. Then again, I don’t need to hear about it when I can write it. I shake my head and lift the parchment to scan it. It’s long. I flick it over. And double sided. Goodness me.
Charming has cluttered the bathing chambers with seven different hair gels. “Is there a limit on hair gel?”
“Less than seven,” the All Knowing rumbles.
Unattended tea sets are hosting something called a “forbidden brunch.” My lips twitch at the issue with sentient china.
“Aren’t moving ladders in a library commonplace?” I check, not seeing the issue.
“It’s not the movement, it’s the fact someone has spelled them to shout ‘whee’whenever they’re used.”
Theo snatches the list from my hands and yanks the sheet over our heads. “Someone else can deal with a betting pool on which cursed book will bite someone next.”
I didn’t even see that one.
“I’m still here,” the All Knowing says, “and I’m not leaving.”
I kiss Theo one last time. “A revolution cannot be spun from a bed.”
“How do you know? Have you tried?”
“Well, no. This is my first time.”
The door creaks, and I pull the sheet down to find the other three Stirlings piling into the room with a range of amusement on their faces.
Nash’s eyes harden as he scans my shoulder. “What did you do?”
Theo sighs. “I didn’t mean to, brother, but the pull is like nothing I’ve experienced before. You know I’d never hurt her.”
Hart shifts as if he’s readying himself to dive between his brothers if they start a fight, which, by the matching little growls they are throwing at each other, is a heartbeat away.
Nash takes a step closer, and Theo stiffens at my side. I leap to my feet and point at Nash in warning. “Stop. I asked him to do it. You know he wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Jealous, brother?” Theo drawls.
