Page 20 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
“I will ask you one more time,” he said, as calmly as he could. “What are you carrying?”
“Nothing that concerns you,” she said and scampered past him before he could so much as reach out and grab her.
Jaw clenched in frustration, he watched her practically skip up the stairs and toward the library.
Of all the women he could have married, of all the eligible ladies in London, he had chosen this one. If either of them survived the marriage, it would be a miracle.
* * *
Emmeline hurried down the corridor to her bedchamber, fighting the laughter that threatened to burst from her lips. When the cat in her arms had struggled, she had thought her ruse would be over for certain. Even now, she could still picture the bemusement on the Duke’s face, and the scowl that had soon followed.
He was unaccustomed to having his authority questioned, and Emmeline was having a rather fantastic time challenging it.
She let the door close behind her and opened the bundle, allowing the hissing tabby to leap free.
“Now then,” she said sternly, putting her hands on her hips. “I know you did not enjoy being carried in that way, but I really must insist that you rein in your temper.”
The cat’s hackles rose.
“If not, I shall have to put you in another bag, and that’s undignified for the both of us, don’t you agree?”
She assessed the cat. During her walk, she had heard some village children taunting the poor beast up a tree, and once she had chased them away, she had climbed up to rescue it.
The end result was that now she had the cat in the house, which was a step further in her grand scheme of making the Duke’s life unbearable. But she could not keep it in her bedchamber, especially if it was going to yowl like it wanted to.
“Now then,” she said sternly. “I must insist that you are quiet.”
Its yellow eyes held hers, but it made no noise.
“You are part of my revenge plan, and for it to work, you must be unobtrusive for now. Later, when he stumbles across the cats, you may jump on his face and scratch him to pieces.”
The tabby’s tail twitched, and Emmeline had the sense that it was considering her offer.
“Do we have a deal?” she asked.
The cat stalked away to investigate its surroundings, and Emmeline released a long sigh of relief. Then, before the Duke could find her and discover what she had been up to, she slipped away to the kitchens.
“More milk and fish?” François, the cook, glared at her, his prominent nose bent at a crooked angle. If his French accent had not been so overt, and if she had not tasted his food and known he was a chef of the first order, she might have presumed he had experience as a boxer. “For what purpose?”
“I have a fancy for it.”
François sniffed and nodded to one of the kitchen maids, who scuttled off before she could catch his wrath. Emmeline had only been in the house for a handful of days, but already she knew he was temperamental, and his temper was something to behold.
And, if possible, to avoid.
“I think I shall be wantinglotsof fish and milk over the coming weeks,” she said. “Perhaps we might order some more.”
“Is there anything else I can get for you, Your Grace?” François asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Not at all! Your cooking is splendid.”
“It cannot be so splendid if you are craving milk and fish!”
“Oh,” Emmeline said, laughing. “But it is not for me. Promise you will not tell His Grace.”
This was a gamble, for she knew just how much the servants revered the Duke. She had already gotten a few maids on her side, and she had assured Mrs. Pentwhistle that the Duke knew of the cats and approved of their presence, but only as he was not in the habit of going into the library much, and he would not like to have them mentioned.
The more of the staff knew, however, the more likely that news was to reach the Duke’s ears. Especially as Emmeline had reason to suspect the Duke’s valet, a young man in his twenties with deep brown eyes and a pleasing smile, was sweet on one of the kitchen maids. They were, as far as Emmeline could tell, walking out together, and if the maid knew, it was likely he would discover it also.
