“What areyou going to call the place?""I haven't decided yet. Carrington wantsto call it Clippety-Do-Da or Hairway toHeaven . . . but I told her we have to be alittle bit classier.""Julius Scissors," I suggested."Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow," Jackjoined in.Liberty covered her ears. "I'll go out ofbusiness in the first week.”

“Coming forward with a placating smile, Win handed him a piece of paper. "Of course we would never want to force you into a loveless marriage, dear. But we have put together a list of prospective brides, all of them lovely girls. Won't you take a glance and see if any of them appeals to you?"Deciding to humor her, Leo looked down at the list. "Marietta Newbury?""Yes," Amelia said. "What's wrong with her?""I don't like her teeth.""What about Isabella Charrington?""I don't like her mother.""Lady Blossom Tremaine?""I don't like her name.""Oh, for heaven's sake, Leo, that's not her fault.""I don't care. I can't have a wife named Blossom. Every night I would feel as if I were calling in one of the cows." Leo lifted his gaze heavenward. "I might as well marry the first woman off the street. Why, I'd be better off with Marks."Everyone was silent.”

“Captain Phelan and I dislike each other,” Beatrix told her. “In fact, we’re sworn enemies.”Christopher glanced at her quickly. “When did we become sworn enemies?”Ignoring him, Beatrix said to her sister, "Regardless, he’s staying for tea.”“Wonderful,” Amelia said equably. “Why are you enemies, dear?”“I met him yesterday while I was out walking,” Beatrix explained. “And he called Medusa a ‘garden pest,’ and faulted me for bringing her to a picnic.”Amelia smiled at Christopher. “Medusa has been called many worse things around here, including ‘diseased pincushion,’ and ‘perambulating cactus.”

“Mama said if I didn't stop reading helpful quotes, she was going to come after me with a switch. I said I'd have to help her up from the sofa first.”

“There's not much I wouldn't do for you, Ella, " he said quietly. "Haven't you figured that out yet?”

“After a universal silence, Leo was the first to speak. “Did anyone else notice—”“Yes,” Catherine said. “What do you make of it?”“I haven’t decided yet.” Leo frowned and took a sip of port. “He’s not someone I would pair Bea with.”“Whom would you pair her with?”“Hanged if I know,” Leo said. “Someone with similar interests. The local veterinarian, perhaps?”“He’s eighty-three years old and deaf,” Catherine said.“They would never argue,” Leo pointed out.”

“I'll follow you to the next life if I have to," he whispered harshly in her ear. "You'll never be free of me. I'll chase you through heaven and hell and beyond." He continued to whisper without stopping while his hands gripped her body close to his. "You stay with me, Holly," he muttered savagely. "Don't do this to me. You stay, damn you.”