Page 97 of Duke of Destruction
“It turns out that youarea very gallant rescuer,” she returned, only half a mind on her comment. Instead, she was just drinking him in, looking at him with the knowledge that, for the very first time, she was not limited. She could look at him as much as she wanted. She could look at him forever.
So, she did just that for a little while. Percy didn’t seem to mind, judging by the broad smile on his face.
“I would very much like to kiss you,” he whispered eventually.
“I would like that, as well,” she replied. “But I have been lying in this bed for days—though, if you don’t mind?—”
Percy didn’t mind in the least. He illustrated this at length.
They kept at this for a delightful length of time. Catherine was tempted to indicate that she wished to go from kissing into something more, but, well, shehadbeen lying in a bed for two days, and shewasstill rather sore. Plus, she was in her family home, a place that was guaranteed nothing in the way of priva?—
“Your Grace?” A quiet voice proved the wisdom of Catherine’s restraint. Then, more loudly, “Oh, Kitty!”
Catherine barely had time to pull away from Percy properly before Ariadne bounded over, threw herself onto Catherine’s bed, went to hug her sister, and then pulled back at the last moment.
“Are you well?” she asked in a whisper, as if her volume had been a greater threat than her near-tackle.
“I am,” Catherine agreed with a smile, wrapping agentlehug around her sister. “Come here, sweet. Are you well?”
“Me?” Ariadne looked at Percy as if he could provide insight into this question. Percy, who had retreated as far as his armchair, was too occupied in pretending he didn’t exist to acknowledge this. Without an ally, Ari went on.
“Of course. His Grace felled Crompton before any of us even got there. It wasverygallant of him. Xander’s actually rather put out that he didn’t get to hit him. I mean, we are all more worried about you, of course, but you know Xander. Simply awful at showing his feelings, even with Helen around to help. We’ve all been sodreadfullyworried and I am so very, very happy that you are awake.”
Ariadne said this all on a single breath. Somewhere around the point where she was talking about Xander, this breath turned into crying.
“Oh, darling,” Catherine said, rubbing her sister’s arm briskly. “It’s all right.”
“Yes, of course,” Ari said, sniffing sharply and wiping furiously at her eyes as she drew back from Catherine’s embrace. In this moment, Catherine could see sharply how much her little sister had grown up in recent months—and even more so in the past few days. “Anyway, everyone will be thrilled to know you’re awake. Let me to get the rest of the family.”
She crossed to the door, and, briefly, Catherine thought she would get away free, but Ariadne was only waiting until Percy’s back was turned before she pointed emphatically in his direction, then clasped her hands over her mouth in evident delight.
Thenshe left.
“Ariadne likes you,” Catherine told Percy, who had leapt back into frenetic movement and was fussing with something over by the dressing table. Something about the frenzied movements soothed her. She’d seen Percy hiding that energy so often; it felt like the greatest compliment that he would let her see him this unguarded.
Maybe that was why she’d cried in front of him. Because she knew she could.
“None of them are going to like me if they find out that I let you go this long without feeding you,” he fretted. “Let alone if your sister tells them what she saw us doing just now.”
“My brother is not going to shoot you.”
“I would shoot someone if I caught them doing that with my unmarried sister in her bedchamber.”
“You don’t have a sister.”
“Catherine.” He turned, exasperation writ across his features. “Please. Just eat something.”
He had a tray in his hands, which he brought to her bedside. She wrinkled her nose.
“Broth? I don’t want broth.”
Nobody wanted broth. Ever. Not if there was literallyanyother option.
“You’re ill,” he protested.
“I’minjured,” she corrected. “And you said that the physician said I will recover. I haven’t eaten in days. I’m very hungry.”
“Well, what I have here is the broth,” he returned. “So why don’t you start with that, and then we shall call for something else if you’re still hungry.”
