Page 1 of Clarity

Oak Grove Hall, Derby, 1834

“ Y ou cannot be serious,” said a dark-haired young lass of eight. “No one will believe such a lark.”

Her companion, a boy of twelve with a shock of tawny-colored tousled hair and more good looks than sense, merely laughed.

“They will believe it when they see it,” he asserted, his green eyes flashing with merriment. He continued to tug the satin dress onto the fastest hunting dog in the spacious Diamond kennel.

By the time he’d succeeded in getting its front legs through the armholes, the gown was trampled, soiled, torn, and muddy. It also belonged to the visiting baroness, Lady Aston.

Once he’d secured the dress with a rope around the dog’s middle, the youth sent the canine queen , as he called it, running with a swat to its rump.

“Home,” he called after it, pointing to the large manor house. The dog was no longer looking at him but running helter-skelter, following the mouth-watering scent of recently cooked chicken pie, a platter of which had been carefully carried outside and was currently being served.

Of course, the well-dressed dog didn’t know twenty guests were enjoying an early evening outdoor meal on the other side of the house since the weather was extraordinarily mild. But the young lass and the youth knew. They also had a particular dislike for the dress’s owner as she was crabby, sour, and had ruined their fun since her arrival a week earlier. She also happened to be the boy’s aunt.

Partners in mischief, they stared at one another, her blue eyes wide, his grin growing. And then they heard the screams and the ruckus. It continued. However, when the sounds grew louder and angrier, she bit her lip and began to look afraid. His expression became more of a sickly grimace than an amused one.

“I don’t hear any laughter,” she pointed out, climbing down from the fence upon which she’d been perched and looking uncertainly toward her parents’ country home.

“Alexander!” roared his father’s voice.

“Clarity!” called her father.

More voices joined in, crying out their names in a none-too-pleased tone.

She swallowed and looked at him. He shrugged.

Joining hands, they ran as fast as they could in the other direction.