They were not meant to wound. Not really. They were careless, tossed into the room like loose change.
Marcus’s smile stayed in place because it always did.
‘Ah, well,’ he said, reaching for Rupert’s lead. ‘Years of practice.’
Behind him, the towel Rowan had been folding went still.
Mrs Fenwick did not seem to notice. ‘I suppose it’s part of the service, isn’t it? The little performance. Dogs, jokes, sparkle. It must work wonders with the customers.’
Marcus opened his mouth.
No joke arrived.
Rowan placed the folded towel on the counter with careful precision.
‘It isn’t a performance,’ he said.
Mrs Fenwick blinked, turning towards him. ‘Sorry?’
Rowan’s expression was calm, but something in his voice had changed. It was low. Controlled. Absolute.
‘He’s kind,’ Rowan said. ‘There’s a difference.’
The parlour went very quiet.
Marcus felt the words hit somewhere beneath his ribs.
Mrs Fenwick gave a small, awkward laugh. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘Most people don’t,’ Rowan said.
That was all.
No drama. No raised voice. No grand declaration.
Just Rowan standing there in Ruff to Regal, defending something Marcus had spent years pretending did not need defending.
Marcus looked down at Rupert, who had stopped growling and was now sniffing Marcus’s shoe.
For once, Marcus had no joke ready.
Chapter nine
Lifting his wrist, Marcus checked out the time. His watch showed nine o’clock. It would be dark within the hour. Swirling his pint of lager to catch the froth from the sides of the glass, he downed the remainder in one gulp and placed the glass down on the bar.
‘You off already, mate?’ asked Nile, as he stepped forward to collect it.
‘Yes, I’m booked onto Veronica’s ghost tour.’
Nile laughed and looked at Leanne. ‘See Leanne. If Marcus is doing it alone, it can’t be that scary.’
Marcus didn’t want to broadcast the fact that he actually wasn’t doing the tour on his own, so he played along. ‘Shall I tell you about it next time I’m in, Leanne?’
Leanne did a mock grimace. ‘If you don’t mind, Marcus. Only, Nile has been trying to get me to go on it with him since Veronica started up her new business, but I don’t like scary films or anything like that.’
Marcus nodded and smiled warmly at Leanne. ‘I’m sure it won’t be as macabre as you think. I’m guessing Veronica is just laying it on thick with the history here.’
Nile sidled up to Leanne and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.’
