"Ho ho, have you seen this morning's paper?"
Lady Abigail took a sip of lavender tea with a smug look on her face.
"Oh yes, hmf hmf. Quite the scandal. I'm shocked, to say the least," I replied, reaching for my own cup (steaming jasmine with a touch of honey).
"Tee hee, it's quite unbelievable indeed," Abigail nodded.
"Why the h[omitted]l are you two laughing like that?" Wolf appeared in the doorway of my parlor.
"What do you mean, heh heh." I raised my fan in front of my mouth like a proper shy noble lady. "We're just discussing the latest gossip over some tea." I turned back to Lady Abigail and added, "Please don't mind his language, he can be a bit uncouth."
"Good morning, Marquess Wulfstan," Abigail greeted him. "Hoo hoo, isn't it just a fabulous day?"
Wolf glanced through the window at the gray stormy skies and rolled his eyes. "Just wonderful, My Lady," he snorted.
"Wonderful indeed, ha ha."
Abigail and I made eye contact over the tops of our teacups and burst into laughter. Not the polite chuckles of earlier, but loud knee-slapping laughing.
"That stupid Viscount!" Lady Abigail choked out between giggles. "I wish I could have seen his face when the constable and his men came for him early this morning!"
"No doubt even more hideous than usual," I joined her in jeering.
Suddenly, Abigail's eyes went dark. "That son of a [omitted][omitted] was so [omitted][omitted] [omitted]. I hope he [omitted] and [omitted] [omitted] his [omitted] [omitted]."
I blinked. This was my first time hearing a person who could out-curse Wolf. Honestly, I was incredibly impressed.
"I couldn't agree more," Wolf rubbed his chin, nodding his approval at Lady Abigail's.. colorful depiction.
The two of them—recognizing each other as kindred spirits—began cursing Viscount Winthrop together. Blood was shooting out of my ears from the vulgar language by the time Marissa swooped in to save me.
"Pardon me, Miss Customer," my maid smiled politely, rapping her knuckles on the doorframe. "I need to attend to Lady Opal now, if you don't mind."
"Oh, of course!" Lady Abigail rose to her feet, stopping to take my hand in hers. "I can't thank you enough, Opal. You've truly saved my life."
"It's what I do," I smiled. "So you can keep doing what you do best."
"Yes! And I will do so!" Abigail clenched her fist triumphantly. "If you ever need a dress, come to me, and I will make you the best-dressed woman in all of the kingdom!"
After that, Marissa guided Lady Abigail out of the parlor (and straight to the desk to make her final payment) while Wolf eagerly took over 'tending to me'.
"I can do it myself," I insisted, snatching the ointment from his hands as he peeled the bandages off my cheek.
The wound left from Viscount Winthrop's slap certainly wasn't anything serious, but Wolf and Marissa both enjoyed fussing over me. (Though I suspect the latter was mostly concerned with the expenses of calling in a doctor cutting into her holiday bonus. Not to mention how an unsightly scar could harm business going forward.)
Wolf wrestled the ointment back from me immediately. "Hold still, Jer," he demanded, tipping my chin to get a better view of my cheek. He growled as he inspected the wound. "I should have killed that man."
"But then Lady Abigail would have never been able to salvage her reputation and position, so my job would have been an utter failure," I sighed, closing my eyes as Wolf's fingers worked the cool ointment over my cheek. "Then word would get out and my business would go under and-"
"Yeah, yeah I get it. I didn't kill him, did I?" Wolf huffed. In spite of his tone, he continued to rub my face gently.
"This feels like the old days," I chuckled, suddenly being reminded of a Young Master Wulfstan clumsily smearing ointment on my neck while he sniffled trying to hold back tears. "You were so cute back then."
"I'm still cute."
I opened my eyes to find Wolf's emerald gaze fixated on me. When he was young, those green eyes had seemed like giant saucers on his face, but he'd grown into them wonderfully. The other soft boyish features of his youth had sharpened as well.
As I studied him, Wolf frowned. "I'm still cute."
"Yes? .. ah yes! Of course you are!" I averted his gaze as I reached to pat his head. Though his language had become coarser and his body bigger, he was still the same in some ways.
To my surprise, however, Wolf avoided my pat and caught my wrist instead, still gazing at me and frowning.
"What's wrong?" I tried to pull free, but Wolf's grip wouldn't budge. "You're cute! The cutest in the whole world!"
Goodness, just what would it take to placate this giant manchild?!
"Ahem!" Marissa cleared her throat loudly, announcing her presence. "Is 'the cutest in the whole world' done patching up My Lady's face yet or do I need to do it myself?"
Reluctantly, Wolf released me and picked up the bandages instead. What was it that had this brute so worked up anyway?
"Careful," Marissa warned as she observed him applying the white gauze to my face and securing it. "And move it a little more to the left."
Wolf clicked his tongue, but obeyed. "I know what I'm doing," he grumbled under his breath.
"I'm just saying that it has to heal perfectly. And fast," my maid crossed her arms. "Take a look at this, My Lady."
She placed an envelope on the coffee table in front of me and cleared away the medical supplies. The envelope was black, which made the scarlet red seal even more striking. Wolf instantly reached for it, but Marissa slapped the back of his hand.
While my brutish lackey was pouting, I snatched up the envelope and tore it open. My mouth gaped as I skimmed the letter inside. It was short, to the point, and signed by-
"Count Graye…" I murmured, glancing up at the concerned faces of my two companions.
"He's invited me to a ball hosted at his estate."