The Marquise and Her Cat~A Puss in Boots Retelling by Shari L. Tapscott

Author:Shari L. Tapscott [Tapscott, Shari L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Romance, young adult
Goodreads: 37914200
Published: 2016-09-15T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

“Where’s the most exotic place you’ve traveled?” Etta asks as we ride through the countryside with no real destination in mind.

I think of her question, and hundreds of locations pass through my memory—deserted beaches, black forests, scorching deserts. “Vionella is rather exotic,” I finally answer. “It’s where my mother currently lives. I have a small cocoa plantation there, and I’m hoping to expand soon.”

Her smile is tempered with an emotion I can’t read, but she smiles. “Tell me about it.”

“The weather’s temperate—there are no true seasons. We have a small estate on a cliff that borders the sea, and it always smells of summer.”

And I’ll never go back without remembering Etta and the way, she too, smells of sunshine.

“It sounds lovely,” she says.

“Perhaps I’ll show it to you someday.” I say the words without thinking, and then I wince. In what world will I have the chance to take Etta across the sea? Certainly not the one where she’s in love with Kerrick.

Again, she smiles that odd sort of smile and then changes the subject to Thomas, who visited them a few days ago for the first time since he took on his apprenticeship.

Puss darts ahead of us, into a bush. We’re traveling at a sedate, leisurely pace, and he tired of sitting on Etta’s lap early in the afternoon.

The day is clear, perfect for a ride. The autumn countryside has faded to shades of gold and olive, but all except a few leaves on the trees are green. Late flowers bloom in the fields, brightly colored daisies that like the warmth of the day but thrive in cool evenings.

“Do you miss him?” Etta asks when I think the conversation is over.

I turn to her, raising my brows in question.

“Your father.” She shrugs in apology and looks forward. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”

“I do miss him.” As seems to be a habit, I rub my signet ring through the leather of my riding glove. “Sometimes it’s surreal that he’s gone and not just at sea.”

“Did you sail together?”

I nod. “Many times, but in the last few years, I’d taken command of my own ship, gone my own way. Cocoa was not his shipment of choice.”

“Do you love it? The sea?”

Turning to her, I smile. “I do.”

“And you miss it too?” Her eyes search mine, and I’m not sure what she’s hoping to find there. Softly, she continues, “I suppose I’m asking if you’re unhappy here.”

I hold her gaze a moment longer, long enough that she begins to fidget with the reins of her horse. “No, I’m not unhappy. Do I miss the sea? Yes, almost more than anything. But right now, this is the only place I want to be.”

Her smile is quick, and it does funny things to my pulse. “I’m going to talk with Broussard this evening.”

The abrupt change in conversation is enough to give a man whiplash. “Oh?”

“I’m going to decline his offer.”

“I promise things will work out.” I say it as the vow it is.

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