THIRTEEN
Hunter
I felt awful the moment I left you, but then that Lord Taggart needed me again and by the time I went back to the room you were gone,” says Patience, hugging her knees together as we sit by the brook and nibble on a tin of ginger mint biscuits. “I shouldn’t have stomped away like that. It was not…” She lowers her head. “It was not professional.”
Her words and her mournful expression are so pathetic I can’t help the bubble of laughter that escapes my throat. I slap a hand over my mouth, instantly embarrassed.
She glowers at me. “What?”
“You don’t have to be professional with me, Patience. We’re friends. You had something...incredible to tell me and I wasn’t listening. I’m sorry for being such a dunderhead.”
“And I’m sorry for not telling you straightaway. Especially af
