Back inside the castle, we found Andre and Nick waiting for us in the suite with Fee and Alistair and Bella, who was so happy to see Harry and me that she lost all sense of doggy decorum. I was right there with her. The sight of her pointy ears and stubby legs made my heart feel so full it actually hurt. I had missed my baby girl something fierce.

I dropped to the floor and gave her all the belly rubs she required. Once she calmed down, I glanced up at my friends.

“Where were you?” I asked Andre and Nick. “You were supposed to come back to the library.”

They exchanged a sheepish glance.

“Sorry,” Andre said. “We got distracted by the art. Have you seen the portraits in this place?”

“They’re delightfully snooty,” Nick added. “Absolutely dripping with disdain.”

Having had the same thought myself, I couldn’t fault them. I gave them an exasperated look and said, “Okay, I get it.”

“And what are you doing here?” Harry asked after Alistair had swooped down on Viv and given her a proper kiss hello.

“Fee and I were feeling horribly left out,” Alistair said.

“Utterly,” Fee agreed.

“And I wanted to check on Sunny and make certain that my colleague was able to take her case,” Alistair continued. “I’m pleased to say he was, but now it won’t be necessary. He just texted me that she’s been released and is going home to her mum’s house in Devon.”

“Oh, wonderful,” I said. I made a mental note to reach out to her. I expected that being a single mother was going to be a challenge.

“We decided we’d come and collect you all, not knowing that my girl would be the one to take the villain down,” Alistair said. “Very brave of you, love, but please don’t ever do that again.”

“It was Scarlett’s fault,” Viv said.

“Hey!” I protested.

“It was,” Viv said. “You’re the one who wanted to take this job so that you could examine the castle and see if it suited you for a wedding venue.”

“She’s right, your obsession with your wedding got us into this mess,” Andre agreed. “Now I propose we get out of here.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Onto our next engagement?” Alistair asked.

“Make them stop,” I muttered to Harry. He grinned down at me.

“We can be on our marry way as soon as I pack,” Viv said.

I gritted my teeth.

“I vow this has been an exciting day, yeah,” Fee said. I glowered and she laughed.

I glanced at Nick and Harry. “Go ahead, get it out before you explode.”

“Scarlett, dearest.” Nick put his hand on his chest. “We were just groomed to be punny.”

“Even if our reception is not always what we’d wish,” Harry said.

They all laughed, but I shook my head.