Against Her Rules by Victoria Barbour

me.”
      “So
you’ve been seeing her—Anna—since then?”
      “As
often as I could. She’s married, you know. And it would have been a bad scene
if her husband found out. Can you keep a secret?”
      She
stared at him incredulously. “What do you think?”
      “I
know. That’s what so great about you. You’re like a rock, Els. I can tell you
anything and you don’t get upset. There aren’t many women around like you,
luv.” He was lying on the bed on his stomach, his hands propping up his face.
For all the world, he looked like a boy. A sweet, misguided, stupid, horny,
dimwitted boy. “You take me as I am, flaws and all. Kiss me, mend me and get me
back on my feet. Oh. Hold on. That’s a great lyric. Let me write it down.” He
leapt up, rummaged through his pants pocket, fished out a marker and scribbled
on his arm.
      “Ash.
Anna?”
      “Right,
well, she was just a common girl from up Manchester way, and somehow hooked on
to the Earl of Southcott. Old family. Royal connections. She’s got it made. He’s
an old bloke. If anyone found out about us, he’d have her out in a second.”
      Oddly,
Elsie wasn’t surprised. Of course he’d been with plenty of women besides her.
It was one of the reasons she’d stopped reading celebrity magazines. She didn’t
need to know. But there was something discouraging about knowing there were
others just like her. She felt a little sick. But not shocked. It was like
having your worst fear confirmed. She really was nothing more than one of many
groupies.
      “Why
are you here, Ash?”
      He
looked at her quizzically. “What do you mean? I always come to you when I need
cheering. You’re my Heart’s Ease girl.”
      I’m
really going to throw up, she thought.
      “I
was keeping it a surprise, but there’s a song about you on my new album. Heart’s
Ease. Let me get my guitar.”
      “No!”
She almost screamed. She had to get out of this room. “I mean, not now.”
      “I
know. You’ve got work to do, and appearances to keep up. Don’t worry. I have no
plans of coming out of this room today. Not that I think any paparazzi followed
me here, but you never know, do you? You just come back when you get a chance.
I’ll be here.”
      She
sighed. “Just keep your clothes on, Asher. We’ll talk in a while. I have to
go.”
      “Don’t
I get a kiss first? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”
      “I
have to go. I’ll be back later.” She did her best not to slam the door. She was
going to have to start a new list: ‘Most Stomach-churning Moments’. Too bad the
top two had both happened today.
    ––––––––
      T here
was no point hiding in her room like a child. She was a grown woman. She’d just
have to deal with these men the best she could, and then hope to God neither of
them ever decided on a return visit. It was a good thing she had no romantic
ties to anyone local. It would have been too much like a bad joke: An
Englishman, a Scotsman, and a Newfoundlander walk into a bar—inn—same
difference.
      The
rain had let up, and she found her mother in the greenhouse picking herbs.
      “What
are you and Dad cooking up tonight?”
      Elsie
was lucky to have her parents around. They took turns cooking, leaving Elsie
free to do her thing. Although she knew her way around the kitchen, her mother
and father were far better cooks than she was. It was an inside joke to refer
to them as “the chef”. Everything they cooked was a twist on something they’d
found on the internet.
      “Nothing
fancy. Tomato poached cod stew. You left some mess in the kitchen this
afternoon. In too much of a hurry to clean up, were you?”
      Elsie
couldn’t help but grin. Leave it to her mother to put her in her place.
      “Sorry.
Had to make a late lunch for one of the guests.”
      “Would
that be the handsome one you gutted your brother’s cabin for?”
      Elsie
blushed. “Yea.”
      “So
what’s happening there