"You''re seriously trying to walk?" Norton frowned, eyeing her. "You''re bleeding, Mavis. How are you supposed to walk like that?"


    Before Mavis could protest, Norton just scooped her up in his arms, bridal style, like it was the most natural thing in the world.<fn7675> Th?s chapter is updated by find?novel</fn7675>


    He was stronger than he looked, carrying her easily, bucket in one hand as he strode toward the edge of the river.


    Uriah and Ss had been deep in conversation nearby. It was Ss who looked up first, eyebrows shooting up in surprise.


    "Whoa, they''re moving fast, huh?" he remarked, nudging Uriah. "Already getting all handsy?"


    "Uriah, you''re doomed. Your protégé''s getting snatched away right under your nose!"


    Uriah turned, just in time to see Mavis nestled against Norton''s chest, looking way toofortable.


    In a split second, his face went red with anger.


    He charged over, practically fuming. "Hey! What''s going on over here?"


    "You two barely know each other and you''re already cuddling? Mavis, am I invisible to you now? I mean, if you''re gonna start dating someone, you could at least give me a heads-up, right?"


    He red at Norton, then reached out to pull Mavis away, maybe a little too roughly.


    Caught off guard, Mavis stumbled and went down hard, wincing as she hit the ground.


    She tried to steady herself, but her injured foot sent a jolt of pain up her leg. She sucked in a sharp breath.


    "Mavis!" Norton rushed to her side, looking worried. He helped her sit up carefully.


    Uriah suddenly realized something wasn''t right. He frowned, looking between the two of them.


    "Mr. Stewart," Norton said, exasperated, "her foot is hurt. She''s bleeding. I was just carrying her to the car to check out the injury."


    Uriah''s face turned a shade paler, his anger melting into embarrassment, and maybe a bit of concern.


    "She''s hurt? How did that happen?" He looked anxiously at Mavis, clearly wanting to help but Mavis shook her head and pulled herself back limping a little out of his reach.  s


    "I''m fine," she said, her tone cool.


    Uriah''s face fell. "Mavis, I''m sorry. I didn''t realize. I just thought-well, you know..." He trailed off, looking sheepish.


    She barely nced at him, then turned to let Norton help her up.


    At that moment, Calliope and the others rushed over, having seen themotion.


    "Let me see!" Calliope insisted, guiding Mavis to sit down so she could inspect the wound.


    broken shell, But we she a


    ?


    "It''s not too bad," Calliope said after a quick check. "Looks like you just got scraped by a rock or maybe a should really get this cleaned up. My first aid kit''s back at the guesthouse."  s


    "Yeah, let''s get her back," everyone agreed.


    Calliope shot a look at the tense standoff between Norton and Uriah, then called out, "Quentin, can you help get Mavis in the car?"


    Quentin stepped up without hesitation, gently helping Mavis into the back seat.


    Everyone hustled to pack up their things. Calliope, Portia, and Mavis climbed into the car and took off first.


    Thankfully, the guesthouse wasn''t


    far. Once they arrived, Calliope wasted no time. She grabbed her first aid kit, cleaned and disinfected the cut applied some ointment and finally gave Mavis a quick shot for good measure.  s


    "There you go," Calliope said, giving her a reassuring smile. "You''ll be just fine."