Ondine by Ebony McKenna

cope in such chaos? All on his own?
    â€˜I wouldn’t worry about Shambles, he knows he’s on to a good thing with you. He’ll find his way home.’
    â€˜But, Da, he could get trampled to death. Or worse. Someone could steal him!’ A fluttering sense of panic took hold of Ondine. Wrenching her arm free, she turned away from Josef and scanned the streets for any sign of black fur.
    â€˜For goodness’ sake! He’s just a ferret. If he doesn’t come home, I’ll get you another one. Now hurry upbefore we’re overrun by the mob.’ His firm hand gripped Ondine’s upper arm, dragging her at a fast clip towards the pub’s front door. They hardly ever entered by the main door. In this case her father made an exception, lest the patrons get into the pub before they did.
    â€˜But he’s not just a ferret, Da, he’s a real man! He’s only in ferret form because Great-Aunt Col turned him into one!’ Ondine yelped as they stumbled across the threshold. ‘He needs me or he won’t survive!’
    â€˜He’s a
what
?’ Josef’s eyes grew round like golf balls. If golf balls were lined with red squiggles from stress.
    There was no moisture in her throat when she swallowed. Oh dear. Now she’d blown it. And she had his full attention so there was no getting out of it. A pulse trembled at her neck as Josef stared her down. The secret was out and she had nobody to blame but herself. Her sisters knew how to keep secrets; why couldn’t she?
    â€˜Oh good, you’re back,’ Ma said from the doorway, breaking the tableau.
    A sigh of relief escaped Ondine’s lips and she felt her shoulders sag. God bless Ma’s incredible sense of timing!
    â€˜No, dear, you’re not interrupting me this time,’ Da said sternly.
    Caught in the spotlight of her father’s stare, Ondine felt her tongue turn to sandpaper. A squeak came out instead of words.
    â€˜Well, she’d better be quick,’ Ma said, looking out through the large front windows. ‘Is that the Duke of Brugel heading this way, with about two hundred followers?’ She turned and headed towards the kitchen. ‘Chef! Cybelle! Margi! Thomas! All hands on deck – the whole city’s coming for lunch.’
    â€˜I thought that ferret was a ferret, pure and simple,’ the head of the de Groot household said. Only moments earlier he’d been cuddling Ondine and telling her how much he loved her. Now he looked like he could happily have her sectioned.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Da. Shambles was a man once, and Old Col turned him into a ferret because he got drunk at her debutante ball.’
    â€˜And what? You just forgot to tell me?’
    A confusing sickness took hold of Ondine, spreading out from her heart and filling her body, right down to her boots. Before she could respond, they heard multiple footsteps on the path outside.
    Time was against them and Da had to let the situation drop so he could make ready with the beer. Any relief Ondine could have felt from her reprieve was quickly replaced by concern for Shambles. Then her concern for Shambles was quickly replaced by excitement at the appearance of the Duke of Brugel and his son Lord Vincent in the hotel’s doorway.
    Something light and fizzy stirred inside Ondine. Just from looking at Vincent. Because he was so very lovely to look at.
    No time to gaze, they had work to do. To help with the crowd, Margi, Thomas and Josef all tended bar, and Ondine felt seriously impressed at how well they worked together. Like they’d been doing it for years. She had to hand it to Margi, the older girl had held her ground – as had Thomas fromthe look of things. But as much as Ondine thought she should be worrying about her sister and her prospective brother-in-law, she couldn’t keep her mind from straying to thoughts of Shambles, and where he could be.
    You may have heard the expression ‘chick