Snow wafted from the sky on tiny currents of wind. The hush that came with snow had blanketed Boston. The world all around was beautiful and white, but freezing cold. Ben tossed another log on the kitchen fire and returned to the table.
It was three days since Reid had shown up, and the most he had done to apprehend the Shadow Fox was visit the Rivers’s house everyday at tea time. This annoyed Robyn and Chaplen to no end. Not only had the corporal made no move to confront her, but he was consuming all of their food and Agent Chaplen’s tea. Because of the Rivers’s alliances, Ben had—to save Robyn from revealing her neutrality was false—told her she was not allowed to purchase tea. Chaplen, therefore, had to buy his own, which annoyed him.
Reid was currently attempting to flirt with Sovay and was earning daggers from Robyn, Ben, Alice, and Jacob. Sovay was about to use the literal one she had hidden in the pocket that dangled from her waist, and Chaplen had opted to pretend to be oblivious behind his paper. He was forced to take tea with them as Robyn had not taken pity on him and brought it to his room. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Slamming down his paper, the agent roared, “Enough!”
All present jumped, Reid stopped in mid-sentence, and Robyn choked on her coffee. Six pairs of eyes turned to him. Ignoring all but Reid’s, Chaplen let him have it. “What are you even doing here? Is the Shadow Fox taking tea with us?” He paused, hearing Sovay snicker. He glared her into silence then continued, “Is he even in this house? Are you questioning anyone who is not female? Do you have some sort of lead that tells you Miss Willow knows who he is? Is there information stating that he is her beau?” Now, he glared at Alice. She couldn’t help herself and had snorted rather loudly. “Miss Sumpter, I beg you to stop making such a sound. You bring to mind the Shadow Fox’s horse.”
Both Alice and Robyn stared at him indignantly. Both girls agreed that Alice sounded nothing like Midnight, however, Robyn might add that her horse did not make such sounds.
He turned back to Reid. “ Are you here for any other reason to annoy these young ladies by flirting with them all?” Before the boy could so much as open his mouth, Chaplen swiftly answered the all the previous questions for him. “No. It has been three days. If I were the Shadow Fox, I would be most insulted.”
“Oh trust me,” Robyn, who was at his left, muttered, “I am.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Rivers, what was that?”
Robyn was quite alarmed that he had heard her. She berated herself for assuming his attention was focused on Reid. “I was simply agreeing with you, Mr. Chaplen.”
Because she had agreed with him, he let the fact she had used the wrong title slide.
Almost out of habit, Alice said, “Agent Chaplen, Robyn.” She set down her tea cup and fixed her gaze directly across the round table. “You are perfectly aware his title is ‘Agent Chaplen. Why do you insist on calling him ‘Mr. Chaplen?’ Why are you acting so—“
Both Robyn and Sovay kicked her from under the table.
“Ow! Sovay!”
The other smiled winningly. “Yes?”
“You kicked me!”
“No I didn’t. It must have been Patriot.”
Over by the fire, the dog lifted his head and gave Sovay a miffed look as if to say, “Oh, yes, blame the dog.”
Agent Chaplen glanced at Robyn. She was looking rather confused. Dismissing her, he looked around the table. Without Reid flirting with their sisters, Ben and Jacob had fallen into a hushed conversation. This drew his interest. While the girls were arguing, Chaplen disappeared behind his newspaper and listened quietly to the boys’ conversation.
“And what does he think about Remington?” Jacob asked.
“Oh, he dislikes him very much. He even told me he prefers Chaplen to him,” Ben replied.
“Well, of course he does. You could put all Remington’s brains in a thimble. The Shadow Fox likes a challenge. Oh, and you did apologize for abandoning him for me? “
“He understood.”
“Good.”
They paused, then Jacob spoke in a lowered voice.“Think he is really reading that newspaper?”
“I doubt it.”
“Think he’ll tell my father?”
“I don’t think he really cares about you.”
“Correct, Mr. Rivers. I do not care about Mr. Sumpter’s leanings. As long as you are not aiding the Shadow Fox, I have no quarrel with you.”
“And if I am?”
The agent smiled rather unpleasantly. “Let us hope that you are not—for your sake.”
“Ouch!”
All turned to Reid, who was frowning at Ben and Jacob. They both looked back at him. “What?” they asked in unison.
“One of you kicked me!”
Both boys denied it fervently, but Reid did not believe them. Rising, to his feet, he said, “If this is how I am to be treated, I shall take my leave.”
And he did, limping dramatically.
Agent Chaplen looked around the table. They all had confused expression on their faces—all except Ben. However, his gaze was resting on Robyn. Agent Chaplen flicked his eyes to the girl next him. For a brief second, a smug smile crossed her face then vanished. He arched an eyebrow, very surprised that she had been Remington’s assailant.
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Hahaha. I write tea-time chapters just to crack me up. They don't gain much other than slowing down the story, lolz. That, and you get to see how annoying Reid is. Plus, kicking people under the table is fun. Sorry, it's late. Enjoy!
~C.P.
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