Page 21 of Wedded to the Beastly Duke
Still, she committed to her ruse.
“It is for the cats,” she confided. “The Duke knows how much the dear things mean to me. He is so considerate.”
The words burned on her tongue, but she hoped they could come back to bite him later.
If everyone already knew how considerate he was by allowing his wife her little whims, they would be especially shocked if they heard he went back on his word.
François scowled at her. “Cats? My fish is being wasted on a cat?”
“Kittens.” Emmeline beamed. “The sweetest little kittens.”
“He should have drowned them.”
“François! How could you say such a thing?”
“Cats are pests. They are not like dogs, suited to sharing our lives with us.” He sounded disgusted. “They should stay in the stables, catching mice and paying for their upkeep.”
“Now, that’s not fair,” Emmeline said. “Dogs hardly pay fortheirupkeep.”
The cook grunted. “Well, you English seem to have a love of your dogs.”
“And I,” she said tartly, “have a love of my cats. Thank you for your help, François. I shall send for more milk and fish whenever I have need of it, so make sure there is always some available. Send this to the library, if you please. Thank you!”
With that, she walked briskly out of the kitchen.
ChapterSeven
Adam began to get the impression his wife was hiding something from him. He was accustomed to avoiding her, but now it seemed as though she was the one avoiding him, always ducking into another room when it seemed likely they would cross paths, and appearing preoccupied with whatever she was doing whenever he approached.
Avoidance, it turned out, was only satisfactory when he was the one doing it. When his wife, whom he felt should be deferential to him, was avoidinghim, he felt resentment grow in his chest.
He had yet to visit her bed, a choice largely made by the fact she was infrequently out of his thoughts, but he knew that the time would come soon. The earlier he had an heir or two, the better it would be for the both of them.
His only consolation was that her terrible playing had, at least for the time being, ceased.
When he entered his study in the east wing, however, he found a cat perched on his desk. A large tabby, tale flicked as it stared at him through large, malevolent yellow eyes.
A cat. In his home. For a moment, he could do nothing but stare at it in shock and horror. Cats were at best useful and at worst pets, and they had no business being inside a house. This one did not even look like a good mouser. It was too large for that, with an air of lazy superiority.
As it watched him, it raised a paw and swiped at his teacup, so it tumbled to the carpet.
“Get out,” he snarled, launching himself at the intruder.
With a yowl, the cat leaped from the desk and landed lightly, sprinting out the open door and away.
“Jarvis!” he yelled, chasing it back into the main house. “There’s a cat loose in the house. Please see it is caught.”
A thought occurred to him—an unpleasant thought that made rage pound dully at his temples. Had the cat been planted there by a certain young lady with a grudge? He would certainly not put it past her to sneak into the east wing and deposit a cat there purely to anger him.
Anger had him moving, first checking the drawing room, the morning room, the dining room, and finally the library. There, he found her sitting on the floor, her skirts spread around her and her glossy hair pinned loosely at the back of her head, a few curls falling free. She looked as though she could be a milkmaid more than the regal duchess he had expected to marry, and yet at the sight of her, desire warred with his rage. There was a simple elegance to her movements, coupled with the innocence he knew her to have, that made her almost unreasonably appealing.
The freckles on her nose stood out as she turned to glance at him, and her face paled.
“My Lord Duke!” The speed at which she jumped to her feet made him wonder what expression must be on his face to inspire such fear. “What are you doing here?”
“The question is, wife, what—” He broke off as he saw what she had been concealing with her body. A cat and kittens nestled against a pillow that had been torn, with the stuffing falling out.
A cat with kittens inhislibrary.
