Page 85 of Ties of Legacy

“It took you two long enough,” she said. “I was starting to think I needed to knock some sense into both your heads. I was strategizing how to lure you back to my library.”

“Do you have some good books on knowing your own heart?” Elliot asked with a barely suppressed chuckle.

“No,” Mattie said, “I just have a lot of books that are a good size for whacking people over the head.”

Corbett snorted, and Mattie turned her assessing gaze on him. “One of your men directed me here from the cave. He let me take a look at the creature—you’re right about that thing coming from Mardella, north of the mountains. I have no idea how it made it over here, but their Legacy is the only one that makes wolves that enormous. There isn’t much written about the kingdom, but all the records agree on that.”

Corbett shook his head. “I have no idea how the Mardellans deal with such beasts on a regular basis.”

Mattie shrugged. “I don’t think they’re usually so twisted or so blindly aggressive. I wonder if it was the journey over the mountains or the Glandore Legacy that affected it so badly?”

Her manner assumed a scholarly air that reminded Elliot of her natural habitat—a library full of ancient records. Corbett, who hadn’t properly met Mattie before, was staring at her with bemused fascination. When she noticed, she didn’t look offended, and only peered at him more closely as if Corbett rated slightly above the deceased creature on her scale of interest.

“The man who showed me into the cave was going on about you being the new lord,” she said.

“Apparently I am.” Corbett still sounded a little dazed at the morning’s unexpected turn.

“I’m most disappointed,” Mattie said, making Elliot frown. “You have a fascinating wolf-creature to study back there, but you’re all out here talking about who lives in the biggest house.”

He relaxed, barely holding back a laugh.

“Rabid nonsense,” Frank cried, swooping in to land on Mattie’s shoulder.

To Elliot’s surprise, she made no attempt to shoo him away.

“I’ll forgive you on this occasion,” she told Corbett, “since you appear to have captured the man who abducted me. I hope you mean to punish him to the fullest extent of the law.”

“I certainly do,” Corbett said grimly, the topic of Rene shaking him out of his bemusement.

Mattie nodded, seeming satisfied, before turning on Avery with a forbidding look. “Since my cousin failed to wake me, it was left to the bird to do so. I’m not sure whether to be offended or glad I wasn’t entirely forgotten.”

“Sorry,” Avery said guiltily. “I left in a panic. I wasn’t thinking about much, if I’m honest.”

“When do you ever in a crisis?” Mattie asked. “Even as a child you were like that. If you saw someone in trouble, off you’d go.”She looked at Elliot. “I hope you’ll be able to guide her into better sense in that regard after the wedding.” She looked between them. “When is it to be?”

“Wedding?” Corbett’s brows rose. “That moved quickly.”

“Quickly? Ha! You wouldn’t say that if you were in my shoes.” Mattie gave him a scolding look. “And don’t try to distract from the question. If you can forget about that cave beast to talk about houses, we can pause for a moment to discuss the far more important topic of Avery’s upcoming nuptials.”

Elliot shook his head. “There are no upcoming nuptials.”

Several startled and disapproving eyes turned on him, and he hurried back into speech. “I need to ask her first! I haven’t had the chance yet. Perhaps if you could all…” His words trailed off as Avery burst into giggles.

His brows drew together in confusion as he looked into her laughing face.

“Sorry,” she giggled. “I don’t mean…It’s just that…Actually, you already did ask me. Weeks ago.”

“Weeksago?” Mattie stared at them both. “Then what in the kingdoms have the two of you been dancing around for the last—Oh!” She gave a bark of laughter.

“What are you talking about?” Elliot asked, utterly bewildered. “I’m fairly sure that’s not something I’d forget.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t take it seriously.” Avery smiled up at him, rising onto her toes to press a fleeting kiss on his lips, apparently amused by his continued expression of bewilderment.

He happily accepted the kiss, but he still had no idea what she and Mattie were talking about.

“He was very bold,” Avery said to Mattie with a wicked twinkle. “He asked me straight out if he could travel with me after our first proper conversation. It was only the third time we’d met!”

“I’ll make sure to note that in the records,” Mattie said gravely. “A romance for the ages.”

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