Read Online Much Ado About Muffin by Victoria Hamilton - Free Book Online Page A

felt the cold hand of dread clutch at my stomach. I’ve been trying desperately to get the folks of Autumn Vale on my side. Another rude guest at the castle was not going to help. “I’ve heard some stuff from Mabel Thorpe and Janice Grover—and Doc, too—but not from Pish. He’s been toobusy trying to make us bestest friends to tell me about her failings. What’s gone on?”
    â€œYou’ve gotta hear this one. It involved Roma and
Minnie
, of all people.”
    â€œBattle royale, I’m assuming, given both of their characters.”
    Shilo had witnessed this incident firsthand. Pish had kept up my tea parties, trying to make nice with the natives, he called it, meaning the Autumn Vale townies, who were still split on whether I was a blessing or a blister on their fair town. A week or two ago Pish had one to which he invited Minnie, in the mistaken belief that it would endear her to me and my tenure at Wynter Castle.
    â€œSo Minnie was at the same table as Roma. Roma had just performed something in Italian or Spanish I didn’t recognize, and returned to her table,” Shilo said. “I was there to help serve, and I was close enough that I heard what Minnie said; she told Roma she had strangled cats that sounded prettier than her. Roma got all red in the face and said Minnie probably
sat
on the cat and killed it, rather than strangling it. Pish somehow managed to calm them both down, but as everyone was leaving, Minnie was in the great hall, bent over, huffing and puffing, tying her shoes, when Roma came down the big staircase with what everyone thought was a dagger raised above her head.”
    â€œOh no! What happened?”
    â€œRoma let out a high-C screech, said she’d slash her throat for insulting her singing, and fell on Minnie. It wasn’t a knife, though, or a real dagger, just an antique letter opener; she has a whole collection of them, I guess.”
    â€œWas Minnie hurt?”
    She shrugged. “Not that I saw. Roma slashed at her, but in a kind of wild way. I don’t think she actually intended to do any damage, she was just going through the emotions.”
    I smiled at her verbal slip, but felt like it described Roma appropriately, always “going through the emotions.”
    Shilo frowned and thought for a moment. “I kind of feel like Roma has spent her whole career trying to behave like people expect from an opera diva, you know?”
    â€œI would have kicked her out, if I’d been there. I’ve worked too hard on the people of Autumn Vale to have Roma destroy it all. I know Minnie doesn’t like me, but the last thing I need is for her to have more fuel for gossip about me and mine.”
    â€œDon’t blame Pish,” Shilo said softly. “He’s trying to help.”
    Bringing Roma to Wynter Castle was in no way helpful to
me
, but I couldn’t say that. I owed Pish so much in my life that he could ask anything of me, and I’d do it. I took a deep breath. I would try again to get along with Roma. I’d try very,
very
hard, for Pish’s sake. “Let’s talk about
you
,” I said to my best girlfriend. I searched her dark eyes and saw a misty cloud of some unexpressed pain. How to press her without upsetting her? “You tell me you’re happy, and I can see how you love this house, but what about everything else?” I wondered if I ought to mention what Doc had seen, but it was our first visit, and I didn’t want to rock the boat. I’d wait to see if she brought up the stranger she was talking to.
    She took my hand and said, “Merry, please . . . everything is good. There is not a thing any of you could possibly do to make me happier.”
    I wasn’t entirely satisfied with that answer, but an hour later, after talking over all her plans for the house, I left, with a promise to talk in a couple of days.

Chapter Five

    I was seething about the whole