Page 64 of To Break the Rules

Once her story was done, she sat and stared at the floor for a moment, before gathering her courage and meeting Matilda’s eyes.

“I… I always knew you were full of secrets,” Matilda murmured, obviously taken aback by the story. “But I never imagined….”

She stopped, and Aashini could not read her expression as a variety of emotions seemed to chase over her lovely features. Finally, however, there was one she recognised well enough.

Anger.

Aashini held her breath, feeling her heart ache at what must be to come.

“That… that bastard!”

She widened her eyes. Matilda rarely cursed, and never with such… such venom.

“My word, Lucia… no, I beg your pardon, Aashini—goodness, I shall have trouble remembering that—but really. He deserves to hang. Terrorising a little girl and… and if he’d found you? Oh! Oh, my dear.”

To her astonishment, Aashini was hauled into a fierce hug as Matilda clung to her.

“Don’t you worry, though. Now Lord Cavendish will protect you, as will the Peculiar Ladies. We’ll all support you, Luc—Aashini, you know we will. Oh, just wait until Nate hears about this…! But… but why are you crying?”

In fact, Aashini wasn’t certain if she was crying or laughing, but either way the tears wouldn’t stop. The relief of it was too immense, too overwhelming. She knew that Matilda could not speak for all the young women in their group, but that she assumed they would feel as she did, gave Aashini hope. On top of that… Matilda knew, and she was still her friend.

“Oh, now stop that,” Matilda said, appalled. “You can’t get married all red-eyed and puffy. Stop it, I say. At once!”

At her obvious panic and indignation, tears turned to laughter and it took some time before either of them was calm enough to hold a sensible conversation.

Once sanity had been resumed, Matilda guided her back to the dressing table and set about repairing the damage they’d done with their hugging and crying.

“There, good as new,” she said, with a contented smile as Aashini looked back at Matilda for the first time with no secrets between them.

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me,” Matilda said with a wry smile. “Friends who can put up with me are scarce. I’m not letting go of you now. Besides, I have you down for two months in the autumn when I’m a batty old maid. I figure if I visit you all on rotation, you’ll not get too sick of me.”

“What are you wittering about?” Aashini said, laughing and shaking her head and feeling so happy she might just burst from it. “You have Mr Burton dancing attendance on you for one thing. He’d propose if you so much as lifted a finger to encourage him. I hardly think you’ll end an old maid.”

She watched as Matilda smiled at her, and found she was not entirely convinced by it.

“True,” Matilda said, suddenly in motion and heading for the door. “Now, I must finish getting ready. The carriage will be here soon.”

Aashini watched her friend go, feeling concerned for her and knowing she wasn’t the only one who’d been keeping secrets, or at least… not telling the complete truth.

***

“Well, I can see where my wife has inherited her beauty from,” Silas said, grinning with mischief as he handed Dharani down from the carriage. “And such a lovely sari, too.”

Naturally it was the one he’d given her as a gift, and he took it as an excellent sign that she was wearing it.

The old woman huffed, concentrating on getting to solid ground before glaring up at him. “I knew you were trouble the moment I set eyes on you,” she grumbled, though Silas wasn’t fooled, there was no hiding her delight and—he suspected—her enjoyment at having someone new to bicker with.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Silas said easily. “That’s why you liked me so much.”

“Hmph,” she said, breathless as he supported her up the steps to his home. “I can’t deny it though. I always had a soft spot for a troublemaker.”

Silas chuckled. “Oh, I think we shall get along famously.”

“So long as you always agree with me and do as I say, things should go smoothly enough,” Dharani allowed, giving him a wicked grin.

“So long as you understand I will agree… and then I’ll do whatever the devil I like, yes, I should think so,” Silas countered.

The old woman paused, narrowing his eyes at him.