They may have been more personal, but they were no kinder. Eva was torn between amusement and a growing dread. Her various cousins and second cousins each received gifts that were useful, but also pointed out a key character flaw or failure. Humphrey, for example, had been boasting to Eva over dinner about his plan …
They stopped for the night in the next village, even though it was barely afternoon and the castle could be seen on a hill in the middle distance. Oren said they needed time to prepare. His version of preparing was to take a pint of ale into the garden behind the inn and snooze. Mara …
Home to him, maybe. She knew nothing about it. “What’s your house like?” “I’m a single man in apprenticeship, or was until yesterday, no call to set up my own place. Matthew and Sarah have a good-sized home with a second bedroom. That’s where I’ve been living, and we’ll live together this winter.” Eleanor took …
Tessa stared back at the three people staring at her. “What?” “We can’t change her look completely; people would notice and comment.” Max was ignoring her, sort of. Bel nodded. “Yeah, right, we need to enhance it. Dial it up.” Juno was frowning. “But do we dial it up by going outrageous, or high class?” …
The hard bread she’d just swallowed turned to stone in her stomach. “He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He was bluffing. Who’s going to take on the business so he can retire to the Scattered Isles? Sebastian isn’t capable.” Cadan stared at the straight, tree lined road ahead and said nothing. Eleanor tried to breathe. “You don’t …
I was off to the castle again today, a little follow-up tidying and a chat with the ghost. There had been strange lights in the sky last night, and largely from over that way, and I thought it prudent to investigate. I made my way through the forest. The creatures were twitchy, staying out of …
Rai slipped into the main hall of the temple, all but unnoticed among the crowd gathered to hear this week’s sermon from the High Priestess. It was the usual drivel; service to the church, service to the crown, a humble life is a holy life, so work hard and give all your money to me. …
In the bustle of room allocations and Aunt Sarah’s complaints, Eva found herself separated from the rest of the group she’d arrived with. Even her parents had been sent up a different set of stairs to the ones she now climbed, following a smiling young woman with an accent like music. The woman opened a …
Kit opened yet another door and ushered Eva into a room far too large to feel as cosy as it did. It was a lovely mix of a sitting room, library and study, with comfortable chairs and a sofa tucked around a fireplace at one end, bookshelves covering the back and side walls and a …
She gaped at him. “I will deal with my hair inside, by the fire, while my boots dry. And this isn’t my cloak.” He continued to only take note of one part of what she’d said. “It’s going to rain, and neither of your pretty capes are waterproof.” She eyed him suspiciously, then shuffled to …
The DNA of Stories 