Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem

With Tarquin out of the picture, the crowd grew bold and brash. They traded barbs like kids trading baseball cards, each comment sharper and less polite than the last.

Elysia, frowning deeply, watched them with a quiet disdain, choosing to rise above the noise.

Her heart ached for Tarquin!

The Bradford clan was notorious for their sharp tongues and sharper claws. She couldn't even begin to imagine the kind of torment Tarquin must have endured as a child at their hands!

Once the hubbub died down, Elysia finally spoke up, her voice cutting through the silence. She pointedly asked each of them, "And what's your name? You, you, and you..... and you over there. Let's have it. I'll be remembering.”

The instigators of the harsh words frowned, suspicious and wary, "And why exactly do you want to know our names?"

"To make sure I don't mix up the names when it's time to cut out some tongues," Elysia replied, her tone icy.

group gasped collectively, their lips sealed shut in fear and anger. They remembered all too well Tarquin's warning about losing their tongues if they stepped out of

"When it comes to my son, I don't need your judgments or your gossip.

her rage, snapped back, "Oh, Elysia, acting all high and mighty just because

whip, Elysia retorted, "Why don't you go ahead and try

"You..."

at her face, her neck, her arms, her legs... It was as if her entire body was under siege by an invisible

group started scratching furiously,

done to us?!" one of them managed to

hide it, "Just a little lesson to remind you that I don't need a man to stand tall. I can make you itch, I can make you cry, and I can make you bedridden.

women, overwhelmed by the itching, forgot all about their quarrel with Elysia and scrambled

entire spectacle unfold, looked from the retreating figures of the Bradford women back

want to say?" Elysia turned to her, noticing her

not itching?" Verity inquired, genuinely

by my side; you weren't