AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And not just the loss of her body—though that was delectable. He missed her bold wit and her almost feral sense of humor. Her birdlike movements and her incisive observations.
He missedher.
His fingers closed around a piece of paper and a single feather.
He held the feather beneath his nose and allowed himself to draw in the scent of her. Fresh air and wild roses, and as soft as the delicate down of her core. Sitting up, he cleaned his spectacles and then unfolded the parchment. Scrawled on the back of the Ball’s schedule in looping, flowing script that belied the charred stick that must have been used in place of a quill and ink. Indeed, the style perfectly mirrored the author and her note:
Dearest Theo,
I wish I could keep you and I fear that if I linger in this glade, I will try. That would end very badly for both of us: as you are penniless and I will lose my inheritance if I take someone without fortune. And then where would we be? We both have sisters depending on us, and we both must act in their best interests.
So instead, I shall sneak away in the dawn.
I pray you will not hold the cowardice against me.
Please believe me when I say that this was the single most enjoyable evening I’ve ever known. I shall treasure it, and you, for the rest of my life. And yes, if I am ever in need of an attorney, you may trust that you’ll find me at your door.
Yours,
Enid
p.s. Assuming they allow me back at the Ball, I promise to keep an eye on your sister. Subtly, of course. I suspect she is well in Roth’s care, but you may rest easy knowing I’ll ensure that remains the case.
p.p.s. I have marked the direction out. Do attempt not to perish.
* * *
A short huffof amusement escaped him.
Trust Enid to salve the wound with her unflinching honesty.
Carefully folding up the missive, he tucked it safely into the inner pocket of his coat alongside the feather—he would carry that piece of her with him, always. He quickly set himself to rights, reclaiming abandoned articles of clothing and buttoning his shirt, jacket, and trousers—thankfully she hadn’t sliced the buttons off with her claws when she’d removed the articles.
As he stood, his gaze settled on an arrow formed of sticks in the middle of the glade.
“Marked the way indeed,” he murmured. “My thanks, lady.”
Allowing himself a final, longing look in the direction of Broadstone Hall, he turned on his heel and aimed unerringly to where the arrow pointed: away from the Hall and toward the road.
He straightened his shoulders, and a strange certainty washed over him.
Right now, their lives ran in different directions, like a river forced to part by a spear of rock. But he imagined that water always remained connected, even when it must rush along separate paths, and he felt an echoing tie to his harpy.
Theo might not have been a great believer in fate, but something told him that last night wouldn’t be the last he saw of Lady Enid DeWhitt.
* * *
THE END (For now)
* * *
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Theo and Enid, and this melding of monsters and regency, as much as I did writing it.
And Theo is not wrong, there’s more to come for him and his harpy. When Enid’s sister disappears, she turns to the one person she can trust: Theo Essex. Together they become embroiled in a deadly conspiracy and entangled by a fiery passion—both of which threatens to consume them.
You can preorderThe Harpy And The Gentleman, a regency monster mystery romance now!
If you weren’t already aware, you’ll be delighted to know that this story is connected to the world of The Monsters Ball—a shared world featuring twelve stand-alone stories by twelve monster romance authors. While each tale stands alone, you’ll enjoy interconnected relationships and a veritable cornucopia of easter eggs.
