Page 14 of The Milliner and the Griffin Rider

He’d noticed the state of her slippers. Her heart banged dangerously against her rib cage, and she reminded herself sternly that the captain regarded her with suspicion. There was no point in her heart doing gymnastics, as if this sign of his capable leadership meant anything in particular. He was no doubt in a rush to get rid of her and knew he couldn’t do it unless she was shod.

She accepted the boots and also the sheets of paper that he held out for her to use to stuff in the toes. As soon as she had the boots laced up as tightly as possible, she straightened and announced she would return home.

She expected the captain to offer to accompany her—most likely in tones of extreme reluctance—but though his face certainly looked reluctant, he said nothing.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” she said with a smile. “You’re starting to make a habit of it.”

He bowed his acceptance of her thanks. “Let’s hope it’s not needed again.”

She flushed and hurried out the door, forgetting to take a final look at the two sleeping griffins. As she trudged through the grounds, she didn’t look for any sign of the Duke. In fact, she hoped she didn’t meet him. She must look terrible, her gown torn, mud stained, and utterly wrinkled. And her hair couldn’t be in much better shape.

Once again, her plan had failed spectacularly, and running into the Duke at that point could only hurt her efforts. She’d ruined Maddie’s dress for nothing.

She pondered the possibility of burning the ruined garment quietly without Maddie discovering what she’d done but concluded it was impossible. Even if Maddie didn’t return to the store until the deed was accomplished, the woman had an eagle eye for gowns. She would notice it was gone and badger Chloe until she got an answer.

She would have to confess everything. And given Maddie’s soft heart, she would focus only on the small element of danger to Chloe. Chloe’s heart sank even further. She deserved Maddie’s recrimination for her continued failure, but her kind friend would never give Chloe the blame she deserved.

It was up to Chloe to castigate herself—along with Captain Harrison, she thought wryly. But the captain didn’t know that she had wasted one precious week of the month before the deadline. If she didn’t make some progress soon, she would have no hope of winning the griffin egg that would save both her and Maddie.

Seven

Chloe spent two days frantically trimming hats in the backroom of the store, still determinedly keeping away from the front shop where she might be noticed by the wrong noble lady. It wasn’t too late to salvage her plan where the Duke was concerned, and she refused to give up.

But on the third day, she finally had to admit that her system, weakened by the soaking and stress, had picked up a spring cold. Maddie tucked her into bed, ordering Ammy to keep her company while Maddie returned to her own small boarding room to fetch Chloe some stew.

Chloe’s attempted protests were ignored, and she finally had to concede her pitiful state when Ammy agreed to be separated from Maddie in order to remain with Chloe.

“Not that I need it,” she told the vendrillon firmly, even as she opened her arms for the warm creature to burrow into bed beside her.

She dozed after that, only waking when Maddie returned. She drew the line at having stew ladled into her mouth, however, insisting on sitting up and feeding herself. She drifted off to sleep again afterward, though, admitting silently that she was too weak to do much beyond lie still.

By the third day in bed, however, her patience had been long since exhausted. Maddie would have had her lie around for a week, but Chloe thought she would explode if she didn’t get back on her feet.

Maddie at least extracted a promise that Chloe wouldn’t work, a promise she soon regretted making. What else was there to occupy her time? And it was essential that Chloe occupy her time and her thoughts. She had spent far too much of the last few days in bed thinking of her misadventure and her second experience of being held in Captain Harrison’s arms.

And if she wasn’t thinking of the infuriatingly handsome and strong captain, she was thinking of the small, fragile young griffin. Harrison had talked of her with sadness as if she were the runt of the squad, but Chloe couldn’t believe it. The young griffin might have been small, but her lines and proportions had been elegant.

But perhaps she was sick? Having just risen from her own sick bed, Chloe sympathized to the fullest extent. And before she knew what she was doing, she had started collecting blankets—softer ones than those she had used at the barracks—and leftovers of the stew Maddie had been feeding her. It had nice chunks of meat and might appeal to the young griffin, who obviously couldn’t hunt for herself if she wasn’t even well enough for the mews.

Without thinking her plan through, she packed it all into a large basket and started for the manor, slipping out the back while Maddie was occupied in the front of the shop. As she walked, uncertainty began to make itself heard. Visiting the griffin meant a good chance of running into Captain Harrison. There was even a chance she would run into the Duke himself, and she had no plans or stratagems in place. She wasn’t even dressed in a nice gown.

But having started, the basket heavy on her arm, she couldn’t bear to turn back. What if the little griffin was sitting alone in the barracks, all the men out, busy on squad business?

Her courage nearly failed her when she actually stood at the barrack’s door, although she had made it there without meeting anyone in the manor grounds. But she glanced down at her basket and drew a deep breath. Something about the unnamed griffin called to her, and she couldn’t ignore it. She rapped on the repaired door.

Steps sounded inside and someone pulled the door open. Chloe fell back a step, her heart sinking before bounding up again. She had reassured herself that the captain wouldn’t be hanging around the barracks during the day. But apparently she had been giving herself false hope.

“Chloe!” He looked her over, his brows pulled together. “Is something wrong? What are you doing here?”

She swallowed and held up her basket. “I came to visit the young griffin. I brought some things for her.”

“You brought some things…for the griffin.” He said the sentence as if the words were incomprehensible.

“Chloe!” Fletcher’s voice over his captain’s shoulder held far more welcome. “Well, come on, Captain. Don’t leave the lady standing outside.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said stiffly to Chloe, but Fletcher clapped him on the shoulder.

“Nonsense!” he said bracingly. “You heard the lady. She’s here for the griffin. You, of all people, can’t doubt someone caring more about griffins than people.” He chuckled as if at a private joke.