Chapter Three: A Murder Most Foul...or Something

This chapter starts with Ravenclaw insulting his brother. It turns out that Penhurst failed Oxford, ran to London, gambled/whored away all but his vowels, then gave those to terrible moneylenders. I'm not sure what vowels are, but apparently they're terribly important. Ravenclaw is, understandably, pissed at his brother. Even Ravenclaw's vast fortune will take a dent from Penhurst's poor use of money. Penhurst was hiding out at Wolfinger Abbey, trying to think of his next move. Too bad that didn't work out for him. Anyway, Ravenclaw asked, point blank, if Penhurst has made a bastard child with Phoebe and Penhurst punches him in the face. The housekeeper walks in on them fighting and Penhurst runs outside in the rain. I'm pretty sure he's sulking.

From this scene, we're deposited on Prudence's writing desk. That Earl has certainly stimulated her...to write! What were you thinking? Prudence's writing is interrupted by a visitor. Their visitor is Mrs. Bates, again. Prudence wants to get out of it but apparently Phoebe knows her too well and demands that she deal with the gossipy fat lady.

Wait, they know each other too well? Just last chapter they didn't know each other well enough to pick up on things that basic logic should have told them. Fine.

Mrs. Bates, over dramatically, tells the sisters that Ravenclaw killed his brother last night and threw his body over the cliffs into the sea. She takes at least a page to get around to telling them this. Phoebe freaks out and faints. Prudence gets her sister to wake up but feels she's overreacting. I mean, really, murder is no big deal. Apparently, the old Devil Earl was murdered by his wife and somehow this incident is that blood coming back. Yeah, I don't know either. Prudence points out that killing someone in this way is really dumb. There's lots of witnesses, which is how Mrs. Bates knows about it, and slippery cliffs and such. Mrs. Bates fires back by saying it wasn't supposed to make sense. It was just passion. This sets them all back. Apparently they didn't expect this word in a romance novel. Mrs. Bates decides to leave.

Later, at Prudence's writing desk, she's moping over how her day sucks. Mrs. Bates interrupted her work, Phoebe is distressed at the news that some guy that she had a thing for was killed by his brother so Prudence had to put her to bed, and now there's another visitor. Really, everyone is being so rude to Prudence. She's just trying to write here, you guys.

Turns out the visitor is Ravenclaw. Prudence gets really excited for this and, of course, enters the room when his back is turned. She checks him out and likes what she sees. While she's doing this, he turns around and pins her with his gaze. This makes her blood race again and she thinks, “Here was a man to reckon with... Here was a man.” Well, she put that succinctly.

He asks where Phoebe is, which Prudence doesn't understand at first because she's simply over come just by looking at him. Finally, he gets through and Prudence offers to wake her sister. Ravenclaw's reaction is pretty much, “Damn right you will!” Prudence stares at him a bit longer and wonders what he wants with Phoebe.

It's obviously not because he picked up on Phoebe and Penhurst having a thing. Prudence didn't see that and she and her sister know each other too well. In any case, we'll have to wait until the next chapter to see what he wanted. (Is this how you build drama?)

By the way, throughout the above exchange, Prudence is thinking Ravenclaw is so sexy, etc. I think he's a jerk. He's snapping at her and demanding her sister get up to talk to him. He's full of himself and, as an advocate for Prudence, I can't in good conscious want them to get together. Then I remember how ridiculous Prudence is and I hope they do.